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In today’s complex and volatile markets, making sound investment and financial decisions is a challenge. Investing on your own can be complicated, overwhelming and risky. In fact, studies have shown that self-directed investors can often be their own worst enemies, entering and exiting the market at inopportune times in reaction to market movements that make them uncomfortable or emotional.

Steps to Successful Investment

Successful investing involves fortitude and a focus on the long term. The first steps you can take toward minimizing the likelihood of costly mistakes are:

1. Understanding the emotional and behavioral factors that contribute to investor pitfalls

Psychology influences the choices investors make, such as how often they trade and how they make buy-sell decisions. Common psychological blind spots include:

Overconfidence – assuming you know more than you do.
Mental accounting – consciously or unconsciously dividing your wealth into separate buckets.
Anchoring – fixating on past prices, such as what you paid for a particular stock.
Loss aversion – putting more emphasis on avoiding losses.

2. Defining your goals and developing a plan–and an asset allocation–that helps you reach them

Having a plan and sticking to it can help you avoid making emotional decisions.

3. Having the discipline to stay the course as markets fluctuate

Some investors try to time the market by moving in and out of it. Professional advice can help keep you focused by taking emotions out of the equation.

Your Financial Life Is More Than Just Your Investments

Over the past few years, the proliferation of robo-advisors that provide digital financial advice based on algorithms has received significant buzz. While robo advice offers a low-cost entry into investing, it also comes with little to no human intervention. Instead, an asset allocation is generated from an investor’s answers to an online questionnaire. But, how you value money–and what you believe about money–cannot be captured or solved by mathematical rules or algorithms.

The bottom line is that you want advice that connects with your thinking, experiences and beliefs around money.

If you’re deciding among traditional Financial Advisors or robo-advisors, consider the following:

What is most important to you at this stage of your financial life?
How confident are you in your financial knowledge?
Are you able to take emotions out of your financial decision-making?
What are the financial complexities that you currently face?

If there are complexities in your financial life–debt, children, employee benefits, major life events, estate and tax issues–you may want to consider choosing a traditional Financial Advisor who can help you customize a plan that is tailored to your specific situation.

And, keep in mind that reaching your goals often involves going beyond investment advice to include conversations about estate and wealth transfer planning, risk management and even your philanthropic aspirations.

By working with an experienced Financial Advisor, you can have the best of both worlds–the freedom to make your own investment and financial choices, but with the guidance of a professional who understands your unique needs, improving your chances of achieving your goals.

Disclosures

Article by Morgan Stanley and provided courtesy of Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor.

Richard Bloom is a Financial Advisor in 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104 at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”). He can be reached by email at Richard.Bloom@morganstanley.com or by telephone at (212) 893-7597.

This article has been prepared for informational purposes only. The information and data in the article has been obtained from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of the information or data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. It does not provide individually tailored investment advice and has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it. The strategies and/or investments discussed in this article may not be suitable for all investors. Morgan Stanley recommends that investors independently evaluate particular investments and strategies, and encourages investors to seek the advice of a Financial Advisor. The appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor’s individual circumstances and objectives.

Asset Allocation does not assure a profit or protect against loss in declining financial markets.

Richard Bloom may only transact business, follow-up with individualized responses, or render personalized investment advice for compensation, in states where he is registered or excluded or exempted from registration, http://brokercheck.finra.org/Search/Search.aspx.

There’s no doubt Spring is right around the corner… and for most Americans, that means hours upon hours of arduous Spring cleaning. Lucky for New Castle residents, Chappaqua Self-Storage (part of the Westchester Self-Storage Group) is here to lift the burden, and make the onerous task a little less stressful. With locations in Chappaqua, Armonk, Bedford and Mt. Kisco, this locally-owned, nationally-known business, now entering its 26th year, offers a one-of-a-kind self-storage experience you’ll never forget!

“If you have things in your house, apartment, condo, or office and you’re looking to store them (for Spring cleaning or otherwise), Westchester Self-Storage is the one that you should call!” asserts company President and CEO Peter Ferraro, Sr. “We have the highest integrity in customer service”–as proven by their Gold Key status, recognizing the highest standards in customer service and value–“and we’ve been in business a long time!”

Peter Ferraro, Sr. (Center) with Westchester County Executive Rob Asterino and Board Chairman of the New York Self-Storage Association Frank Crivello. Ferraro, Sr. also serves as CEO of the New York State Self-Storage Association, which represents over 400 self-storage members and facilities.

You can say that again. Now entering its 26th year, Westchester Self-Storage has aimed to provide top-notch service in all areas of decluttering and reorganization, leaving each client not only with a happy, more systemized home, but also with relaxing peace of mind about their storage situations. With over 7,500 customers ranging from homeowners, local business owners and everything in between, there’s no storage need they can’t handle!

“We offer temperature-controlled rooms, and non-temperature controlled rooms for long-term and short-term storage solutions,” explains Ferraro, Sr., on the facility’s unmatched features and benefits. “You can rent a storage room on a month-to-month basis, or [on a] more long-term [basis], depending upon your needs.” Unique to their facilities, too, is the fact that “you get an individual storage room [with] your own lock and key–you’re not co-mingling with someone else–and you can come and go as you please.

“We’re not like any other business,” adds CFO Peter Ferraro, Jr. “At Westchester Self-Storage, we actually take the time to suggest the right-size personal storage room to accommodate your needs and your family’s budget.” To help meet the wide variety of storage needs, room sizes start at 100 cubic feet up to 5,000 cubic feet. What’s more? Westchester Self-Storage offers free pick-up services.

“So, there’s no need to hire a moving company or rent a truck,” Ferraro, Jr. says, with a laugh. “We pride ourselves on our unique ‘Door to Store’ service.”

In short, Springtime is the time to “declutter.” And whether you’re cleaning out your closets for Spring, or downsizing your home…. whether you’ve got kids returning home from college or you just plain need more space in the house, Westchester Self-Storage is undoubtedly your storage solution.

Westchester Self-Storage Headquarters are located at 34 Norm Avenue in Bedford Hills, NY. For more information, please visit www.westchesterselfstorage.com.

Matt Smith is a writer and contributor to The Inside Press. For information or inquiry, please visit www.mattsmiththeatre.com.