invest intelligently.
Research shows it’s next to impossible for most individual investors to know when the market’s going to be up or down at any given time. Your best bet is to invest steadily and regularly.
The worksheets in this article can help you on your way. In addition, good investment professionals and financial planners abound. The key is to know thyself and start today.
TOP GROWTH FUNDS:
Fidelity Blue Chip Growth 800-544-8888
Dreyfus Appreciation 800-645-6561
Vanguard U.S. Growth 800-662-7447
Franklin CA Growth 800-342-5236
Merrill Lynch Growth B 800-637-3863
Putnam New Opportunities 800-225-1581
TOP GROWTH and INCOME FUNDS:
Sequoia: 800-686-6884
Fidelity Equity Income II 800-544-8888
Davis New York Venture 800-279-0279
Oakmark 800-625-6275
Franklin Mutual Shares 800-553-3014
INVESTOR PROFILE QUESTIONNAIRE
The purpose of this worksheet is to provide you with a rule of thumb to determine your investment profile. We ask that you follow the instructions and add up points along the way that will help you best decide your tolerance for risk.
There are two things we’d like to stress. The numerical values posted by each question are not value judgments, neither should they be looked upon as absolute. If you feel you fall somewhere in-between, feel free to fudge your point figure to better reflect your nature. The same goes for your final tally. If you think it just doesn’t reflect your personality, feel free to tinker–after all, it’s your personal profile we’re after:
1. How much money do you currently have to invest?
(a) Less than $2,000 –add 0
(b) Between $2,000 and $50,000 –add 5
(c) More than $50,000 –add 10
2. How long do you have to invest before you will need money to fund your most important financial goals?
(a) Less than 2 years –add 0
(b) Between 2 and 7 years –add 5
(c) Beyond 7 years –add 10
3. What rate of return do you expect to earn on your investments?
(a) 6%-8% per year –add 0
(b) 9%-11% per year –add 5
(c) above 12% per year –add 10
4. What is most important to you?
(a) How much monthly income you can generate. –add 0
(b) The safety of your savings. –add 5
(c) How fast you can increase your wealth. –add 10
5. You turn on the news and hear that your favorite stock investment has just lost 10% of its value. What do you do?
(a) Sell immediately. –add 0
(b) Wait until it drops further. –add 0
(c) Call your broker and place an order to buy more shares because you think that it’s cheap. –add 10
6. Do you think your income over the next five years will
(a) Decrease –add 0
(b) Stay roughly the same –add 5
(c) Increase –add 10
7. How would you describe your appetite for risk?
(a) Low–add 0
(b) Moderate–add 5
(c) High–add 10
8. How secure do you feel about your job, your future?
(a) Worried –add 0
(b) Reasonably confident –add 5
(c) Secure and improving –add 10
9. What’s your feeling on the economy?
(a) You’re either not very confident about the direction of things or you’re feeling that it’s impossible to pinpoint where it’s going. –add 0
(b) Your impressions are that the economy is stable; it’ll keep moving steadily along, neither
