Easy Peezy

Hi Wave Riders!

OK, you're here, so now what? How do you get the absolute MOST out of YOUR amazing new investment tool? So, it depends on where you are investing, or if you haven't started yet, where you INTEND to invest. We cannot give specific investment advice, but to be honest, with a few tools like InvestWaves, and a few minutes a month, you can probably do better with an inexpensive online account than the average buy and hold style 'professional' who offers to charge you a ton of money to do it for you. So here a a few tips to get started:

First, make sure to act on the emails you receive from us! We aren't going to bombard you with solicitations to buy stuff (OK, maybe occasionally but not all the time :-) ), so if you are receiving an email it is most likely a 'signal change'. It means it is time to either buy (Green) OR sell (Red). Letting it slip for a week, or even a few days, could be money out of your pocket. So be sure to act when you get a signal change.

So, let's say we have been RED for a while, and you get a notice that the markets have gone GREEN. If you have a 401(k) plan, what you do is either log in to your account, or call your plan rep (the number will be on your statement) and tell them you want to 'Reallocate your investment options'... The idea is that you want to have your money in stuff that goes up in value! Look at your statements, find the options that have the highest LIFETIME returns, and that's where you want to be in a rising, GREEN market. You can even choose more than one to spread it around a bit. But you are looking for GROWTH options in a GREEN, rising market environment. Then one day, you get a RED notice.....

When you get a RED notice, this means that the risk of losing money is elevated (there's ALWAYS that risk, but sometimes it's worse) and you want to play it safe. So again, you log in to your account, or call your plan rep, and tell them you want to 'Reallocate your investment options'. What you are looking for in a RED market, is the investment option that has, most likely, the LOWEST lifetime return, but specifically, has never lost money! These are often labeled 'Stable Value' funds, or money market fund, or something like that. Just ask your plan rep what the safest option is, and they should be able to help you.

One more thing. They will ask you if you want to change future allocations. Because we don't know how long a wave will last, you want your current contributions to go to the right place. So the answer would be 'yes'. Make sure the money you are currently investing is going to the same place you have moved the prior balance to.

Any other questions, just shoot us an email. While we cannot give specific investment advice, we CAN help you navigate the process. 

Until next time, Ride the Waves!

