When you connect with an Ayco coach you can expect a real, one-on-one conversation. We’re speaking with people every day who are feeling confused and trying to figure out the right financial steps to take during these unprecedented times. We’re helping each of them and we’re here to help you too.
First, we’ll ask questions so we can get to know you and give you personalized guidance. Some of the questions you can expect from our coaches, include:
- Why are you concerned today?
- How are you thinking about your cash flow or short-term needs?
- Are you thinking about retirement and worrying about the impact of market volatility on your retirement accounts?
Then we’ll start working on a financial plan that works for you. During times of uncertainty, we start with the basics: checking on your cash flow and investments.
- Cash flow
- Identify your sources of income, including potential payments arising from the recently passed CARES Act
- Review your expenses and make a plan to cut back if necessary
- Identify liquid assets and make a plan for financial emergencies
- Investing
- Complete a Risk Tolerance Assessment or review your assessment answers if you’ve recently completed it. This will take into account your time horizon, including both short- and long-term goals
- Determine the right mix of investment types for you. Investing in the right portfolio should allow you to take the emotion out of decision making so you can stick with your allocation even in bad times
- We’ll make sure you understand what is happening and why. Market pullbacks are exactly why we talk about asset allocation
- Including assets like bonds in a well-diversified portfolio can moderate losses, allowing the investor to sleep at night, even when stocks experience steep declines in value
- We were at all-time market highs prior to the selloff in the first quarter of 2020, so some portfolios may still be in gain positions—rebalancing is key
- Production and consumption are being hurt because of this pandemic which is impacting GDP in the first half of the year (and potentially longer). There are not systemic issues like in 2008, and Goldman Sachs has not revised their position regarding the risk of recession
- Experts are asking when—not if—the stock market will rebound
We’ll help you plan your next steps
- Complete a Risk Tolerance Assessment, review your investment report and make a plan for your portfolio
- Review your budget and track expenses. We provide access to a digital tool, Ayco360, and paper-based solutions like our one-month cash-flow worksheet so you can do this the way that works best for you
- Prepare a retirement report if you are approaching retirement in the next few years. We can help you gauge whether you’re on track and, if not, what changes you may need to make to get back on track
- Schedule a check-in. Once you have a plan in place, we will schedule regular, periodic check-ins to make sure you stay on track and help you make adjustments as necessary
