DM – Q1 Portfolio Commentary
Gradual improvements don’t make great headlines – Geopolitically speaking, the year’s opening quarter brought more of the same: North Korea lobbed some missiles into the Sea of Japan, Russia continued to stir up trouble, and, back on our shores, one could be forgiven for mistaking actual White House press briefings for their subsequent Saturday Night Live parodies. Against this disconcerting backdrop, however, stocks behaved as if the outside world had somehow stumbled into a rare state of tranquility.
Click here to read more: DM-Portfolio-Commentary-Q1-17
Provisus Monthly Insight – April 2017
Stocks Decline All The Time; So What? – Stock markets have been getting a little choppy lately. Is it time to panic? Investors understand that market fluctuations are part of stock market investing but they are nevertheless scary. Investing in stocks is hard and to earn superior rewards you need to take risks. Unfortunately, returns never come smoothly, there are ups and downs. Thankfully the ups are much more prevalent.
Click here to read more: Monthly Insight – April 2017 – Stocks Decline All the Time; So What
Why an advisor makes a difference in net returns over DIY investors
It’s a common question in recent times, especially in an age when technology and algorithms can make decisions at a fraction of the cost. Is it worth it to hire a financial advisor? Or is it better to save the fees and go for a DIY strategy?
It depends who you ask but there are many – often not so obvious – factors that could make a difference to your net returns when putting your trust in a financial advisor.
Proper financial planning goes beyond how and where you invest. Good financial planning can increase your standard of living throughout your life.
Even for a complete novice it is possible to start investing in products without the help of professionals. The problem with this option is the lack of knowledge. Knowledge is crucial when it comes to investing. Read more 
Replace bad financial habits
Most people have at least one bad financial habit. Whether it’s impulse shopping, forgetting to pay bills on time or putting off building that emergency fund balancing what you want to do and what you “should” do is never easy.
You might recognize a few of these common bad financial habits in your life:
- Paying bills after the due date
- Paying only the minimum required on bills
- Ignoring bills and letting them go to collections
- Putting off saving for retirement or a rainy day
- Impulse shopping or “retail therapy”
- Not keeping track of how much debt you have
- Taking on debt to pay for something you don’t currently need.
