1. Making Financial Decisions One at a Time
The mistake: Treating investments, taxes, insurance, and retirement planning as separate projects.
Why it matters: Imagine building a house without a blueprint, with each contractor working independently. You might miss tax-saving opportunities, overlook risks, or duplicate efforts. That is what can happen when financial decisions are not connected.
A better approach: Think of your financial life as an ecosystem. A coordinated plan brings everything together so that each decision supports the others.
2. Taking the Wrong Level of Investment Risk
The mistake: Holding a portfolio that is too aggressive or too conservative for your actual goals.
Why it matters: Misaligned risk can cause unnecessary stress during volatility, or limit long-term growth.
A better approach: Align your investment strategy with your real-life goals. Build a portfolio that fits your timeline, cash-flow needs, and comfort level with risk, so you can stay confident and invested through market ups and downs.
3. Not Considering Taxes Until It’s Too Late
The mistake: Focusing only on returns without factoring in taxes.
Why it matters: Taxes can quietly reduce long-term performance if planning isn’t proactive. For example, selling investments without a strategy might trigger unnecessary capital gains, which, over time, add up.
A better approach: Tax-aware investing, strategic harvesting, and coordinated planning with your tax professional can make a big difference.
4. Putting Off Estate or Beneficiary Planning
The mistake: Assuming you have plenty of time to put a plan in place.
Why it matters: Life changes fast; marriage, divorce, blended families, aging parents. Without updated documents, your wishes may not be honored, and loved ones could face unnecessary stress.
A better approach: Review your estate plan regularly. Make sure beneficiary designations are up to date and that your plan reflects today’s reality, not yesterday’s assumptions.
5. Believing a High Account Balance Automatically Means You’re on Track
The mistake: Relying on your account size instead of a real financial roadmap.
Why it matters: A large balance does not guarantee security. Markets, inflation, healthcare costs, and retirement timing all play a role in long-term security.
A better approach: Build a roadmap. Model different scenarios, stress-test your strategy, and adjust as life evolves. Confidence comes from planning, not just numbers.
How We Can Help
If you’re unsure whether your current approach covers all the bases, a brief conversation can provide clarity.
We can help you evaluate:
- Whether your current plan is coordinated
- If your investment risk matches your goals
- Tax-efficiency opportunities
- Any gaps in your retirement or protection planning
Ready for peace of mind? Schedule a complimentary consultation today and see where you stand.
Working With Janney
Depending on your financial needs and personal preferences, you may opt to engage in a brokerage relationship, an advisory relationship or a combination of both. Each time you open an account, we will make recommendations on which type of relationship is in your best interest based on the information you provide when you complete or update your client profile.
If you engage in a brokerage relationship, you will buy and sell securities on a transaction basis and pay a commission for these services. Our recommendations for the purchase and sale of securities will be based on what is in your best interest and reflect reasonably available alternatives at that time.
If you engage in an advisory relationship, you will pay an asset-based fee, which encompasses, among other things, a defined investment strategy, ongoing monitoring, and performance reporting. Your Financial Advisor will serve in a fiduciary capacity for your advisory relationships.
For more information about Janney, please see Janney’s Relationship Summary (Form CRS) on www.janney.com/crs which details all material facts about the scope and terms of our relationship with you and any potential conflicts of interest.
By establishing a relationship with us, we can build a tailored financial plan and make recommendations about solutions that are aligned with your best interest and unique needs, goals, and preferences.
Contact us today to discuss how we can put a plan in place designed to help you reach your financial goals.
Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, its affiliates, and its employees are not in the business of providing tax, regulatory, accounting, or legal advice. These materials and any tax-related statements are not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used or relied upon, by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties. Any such taxpayer should seek advice based on the taxpayer’s particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor.
