Most people understand the value of maintaining a long-term outlook when it comes to their investment strategy. Amid ongoing market swings, however, it can feel difficult to stay the course. Despite the uncertainty, it’s important to remain focused on the big picture to help manage the effect that emotional selling may have on your overall financial plans. In fact, market downturns may even present portfolio and planning opportunities that may not seem obvious at first.

Along with investment market volatility, high inflation has recently been a persistent concern for investors. In March 2023, The Federal Reserve added fuel to that fire by signaling its readiness to ramp up interest rates in response to a string of red-hot economic reports.

It’s great to have investing goals–they help guide your savings and provide motivation to continue investing throughout the year. Considering how complex investing is today, you are probably asking yourself where to begin when setting investing goals. Plus, it’s easy to make mistakes that could dramatically alter your results.Avoiding these costly investing mistakes can help prevent you from feeling disappointed when reviewing your statements at the end of the year.

Fear is one of the most primal feelings in the human experience. When harnessed correctly, internal fear can be an incredibly powerful motivator. However, if fear is not harnessed correctly, or if the fear is too powerful, we can become paralyzed. Paralysis by fear inhibits our mental processes and can often lead to irrational thinking. This is especially problematic when fear creeps into investment decision making.

Smart financial planning is a crucial element when preparing for retirement, but that’s just one half of the equation. Effective portfolio management is an equally critical component.