Investing Without Leaving the House

With everything going on in the world today, it’s more important than ever to get your finances in check. If you haven’t checked in on your retirement plan over the last couple of weeks, you’re in for a shock. If you are completely invested in the stock market, your balance(s) will be a lot smaller than they were just a couple of months ago. In the following, we will talk about how to properly diversify your retirement portfolio. Better yet, we will show you how you can make investments without ever leaving the house.

First Thing’s First

First and foremost, you need to self-direct your retirement plan. This is because most IRA and 401(k) plans offer limited investment options. While many institutions offer self-directed plans, you must still get custodial permission when choosing an investment. However, when setting up a Self-Directed IRA with IRA Financial, you never need permission to make an investment. You can have total “checkbook control” of your funds. This means you can act on an investment as soon as it presents itself.

Setting up a Self-Directed IRA

With the IRA Financial app, you can set up your Self-Directed IRA in a matter of minutes. Once the plan is established, a specialist will set up the bank account associated with your IRA. You never have to leave the comfort of your home. All documents can be signed and submitted securely through our app. You can even roll over previous retirement funds into your new Self-Directed IRA.

Once your IRA is created, the bank account is set up and funded, you are now free to invest in just about anything you desire. The only limitations set forth by the IRS are that you cannot use IRA funds to invest in life insurance, most collectibles and anything deemed a prohibited transaction.

Choosing Your Investments

Now, it’s time to decide on your investments. Generally, a mix of traditional and alternatives are a good bet for most investors. Of course, that depends on your personal goals and expertise. If you’re an expert in real estate, then, by all means, focus on that asset class. A great option during turbulent times is precious metals. Whatever, you decide on, be sure to not put all your eggs in one basket. Invest in one real estate project or business and it goes belly-up? You’re looking at a long road to recoup all the losses.

Dealing with Volatile Markets

With the recent volatility of the stock markets, more and more people are starting to turn to a Self-Directed IRA as a means of diversifying their retirement portfolio.  With the advent of ETF and commission free trading, there is a strong chance the volatility on Wall Street will become the norm.

The coronavirus and its disastrous impact on the equity markets is a glaring reminder of the financial crisis of 2008. The 2008 financial crisis was a prime example of the value of diversifying portfolios with real estate and other investment options.  Some eleven and half years later, we are back in the same position. The equity markets are extremely volatile, where the Dow Jones can go down 2000 points in a given day.  For many retirement investors seeking steady and stable income and returns for their retirement, the lessons of 2008 and the recent market turmoil are proof of the importance of investment diversification.

Retirement account investors should be focused on working with their tax advisor to develop a well-diversified retirement portfolio that will be properly balanced to navigate a potentially disruptive stock market. Real estate and precious metal have proven to be good buys during economic strife. Your investment strategy will be different than someone else’s. Understand the risk/reward of your investment and make sure it’s in your comfort zone.

Why It’s Important to Diversify

Obviously, with recent events being what they are, you don’t want to see all your hard work go to waste. If you have now taken the time to look at your account balances, you will see why. It’s not unheard of to lose 10-20% or more of your savings in just a matter of weeks or days. Investing across different asset classes is an important hedge during uncertain times.

One thing is for certain, everything comes full circle. The highs don’t last forever and the lows could always be worse. Trying to “time the market” is a bad way to look at things. Looking at safer, alternative investments should at least be on everyone’s radar now.

Investing Without Leaving the House

Thanks to the advancements in technology, it’s now easier than ever to invest without leaving the house. You don’t even need a computer anymore to do it, either. A decent smart phone an an internet connection is all that’s needed. Of course, you also need the right provider. IRA Financial works with our clients every step of the way. However, we don’t offer investment advice. You need to find a trusted source to help you with your decision making. When you do find the right investment, we will ensure that you have the funds available to get it fast.

Take a look for yourselves and see how our app works. It’s available for download for both Android and iOS. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call us @ 800.472.1043.