Tips on Wise Investing
It is ideal to invest wisely or to change our financial situation during these tumultuous times. No to pessimism, be prudent, prioritize, and ask experts.
Do not give in to pessimism, helplessness or despair. A Tunisian proverb wisely proclaims, “The difference between a desert and a garden is not water; it is man.” The problems and uncertainties in our economic landscape are man-made. Therefore, man is also the key factor in turning the situation around. One has just to identify the problem, understand it, and be filled with unshakable faith that it can be overcome with proper resolve.
It pays to be prudent during times like these. Do not ever succumb to the temptation of seeking short-term gain but risking long term pain. Business decision must be premised on safeguarding future interest as well. A Harvard Business School study in the seventies concluded that the most successful men and women in America possessed a distinct long-time perspective in that their present day actions always took into consideration future interest; thus, they were well-poised to survive the storm because they suppressed the temptation for instant gratification and were willing to make sacrifices today in exchange for a more secure tomorrow.
Know your priorities. Wealth management is all about making the choices in the proper order. Provide amply first for basic security needs before going into short-term placements. Then move up to longer-longer term investment, and finally devote your resources to growth investments. The effect is to create a financial architecture akin to the Egyptian pyramids wherein the base is strong and enduring. As you move up this asset allocation model, the pyramid narrows, but it assures you that even as you invest at the top of that structure and are thus prepared to take higher financial risks for greater potential returns, even if you lose out in some decisions, you do not endanger your financial foundation. Doing it the other way around, that is, prioritizing the top before the bottom only result in an inverted pyramid that simply untenable because if you lose too much at the top you do not have enough to recover from below.
Do not attempt to do everything by yourself. As every learned specialist knows, it is best to stick to what your training and competence have prepared you to do best. For other things not within your expertise, choose the right professionals and institutions that excel in those fields. Keep your best people or hire them into your organization. Economic rough waters notwithstanding, never stay still and wait for the turbulence to go away. Have a bias for action that moves you forward, even by an inch at a time, and remember there will be always be opportunities to be found amid even the roughest adversities.
