Is your portfolio on autopilot?
When the markets are good, investors tend to expect blue skies forever. When things turn, there’s a tendency to adopt a “hang in there, it always bounces back” mentality. This buy-and-hold philosophy has become standard procedure for many advisors and investors, and usually works out ok – except when it doesn’t.
What are the real risks of big stock market crashes?
The big risk is that some market bounce backs take too long for investors to successfully live through. This is especially true for those in or near retirement.
Consider the Y2K stock crash, when tech stocks plunged some 80%, and took nearly 15 years just to break even. If that happened at age 65, you’ll be in the hole until age 80. And if you needed to take income off the portfolio for retirement, you could be locked into a death spiral where you were selling investments at losses to create the income you need to live.
This is a scenario where you can never break even. This is technically called sequence of return risk, and could greatly increase your risks of running out of money.
Think you’re not in tech stocks? – you may have more than you think
Big market crash risks are not limited to specific sectors. When bubbles burst, the fallout can be widespread. But before you think your tech exposure is limited, consider this.
Increasingly, tech drives the world, and no, that’s not a Tesla joke! And there’s no mistaking that as the economy becomes more tech-centric, the stock market becomes increasingly dominated by the tech companies that drive economic activity.
By some estimates, the S&P 500’s allocation to tech is approaching 50% in terms of total value exposure, and this trend of increasing tech will probably continue. Spend a few moments feeling what it could mean for your portfolio…
So how can a Camarda Portfolio Stress Test help?
Our Stress Test – exclusive to us and designed by Dr. Jeff Camarda – looks at key risk factors you may want to consider before it’s too late. These include:
- Your overall asset allocation and sector and concentration risks
- Geographic (non-US) diversification and risk exposure
- Traditionally “safe” investments like bonds that can be higher risk in the current interest rate environment
- Technical scores and portfolio exposures: how much in “top performers” vs. “danger zone” categories
- Morningstar scores and ratings for each of your listed investments, no matter how many
- An overall portfolio rating GPA, on both an average and dollar-weighted basis
- Detailed “hidden fees and costs” data on each of your listed investments – these are sometimes surprisingly high
- Comparison of your current portfolio vs. the S&P 500 for the past 10 years – has your portfolio under or over performed?
- Trailing return analysis from 3 months to 10 years
- Style box and scatter plot graphs
- Much, much more
That’s a lot of analysis and data – do you charge for this?
No, this is a free service for clients and friends considering using Camarda as an advisor. Our Stress Tests generate a lot of valuable information, which you are free to use on your own, with other advisors, or as part of a new or existing relationship with Camarda.
Why should I request a Camarda Stress Test now?
Whatever the market conditions, we believe it’s vitally important to analyze your risk of loss, total investment costs, and if potential returns seem sufficient to achieve your financial goals such as funding a long and comfortable retirement without running out of money.
And when markets seem overvalued or otherwise poised for steep losses, having such information before it’s too late can make all the difference between successful investing and lifelong disappointment you might never recover from.
Remember – buy and hold works – but only until it doesn’t. Information is power, and having the intel you need to consider if Camarda’s tactical investment approach is better for you can empower your future. Camarda prides itself on being an extremely proactive manager. We watch the markets closely and stand ready to make the moves designed to optimize results and avoid losses. Our objective is strong portfolio growth with downside protection.
That sounds great, how do I request a Camarda Portfolio Stress Test?
Just click here, and get us some basic information so we can get that going for you!