Now there is some truth that when we’re investing, we need to look at a longer-term time horizon. However, that doesn’t mean we as advisors, and as your portfolio managers or money managers shouldn’t be making adjustments along the way.

An advisor who sets up a pretty pie chart and then never does any ongoing management is like someone who mows your yard once and expects to be paid all year. What are you paying for?

Investing for risk-adjusted returns, as well as making adjustments based on what’s happening, and what’s going on in the economy, and then the world, should be part of any investment strategy that you are paying for, just like caring for the lawn is more than a one-time event.

Another consideration should be when you will need the money for retirement income. Morningstar published a new report about safe withdrawal rates for retirement income and the percentage they say is safe has now dropped below 4% again.

What they’re saying is, that if you take a big loss early on in retirement, or right before you retire, it might not recover enough for you to be able to take out a higher percentage for retirement income. Taking more means you might end up running out of money before you’ve run out of life, which is not anything we ever want.

The other part of summer that I’m not so fond of is road construction, it seems everywhere you turn, there’s road construction which leads to detours.

You can’t just drive on autopilot and get to the destination, you often have to take another way.

Investing is sometimes similar. We have to think about what’s happening. Sometimes there are construction projects in the way, sometimes there are areas we want to avoid because there’s more risk potential in that area at that time.

We need an investment plan that can take a detour. That is what your portfolio management team should be doing for you to ensure you stay on track.

You need to be able to be sure your plan is agile and can adjust to life changes for you as well as look at the big picture, and the economic and market conditions to manage accordingly.

So if your advisor just tells you that “You’re in it for the long haul” or something similar and cannot point to what they are doing to actually manage your accounts, then you need to get a second opinion. Come talk with us. We’ll do an assessment to see exactly what risk you have in your portfolio, what is currently being done, and any areas that you should be avoiding.

We never just say you’re in it for the long haul. That’s a lazy answer and not doing our job as fiduciaries. Our portfolio team will always be available to explain what we’re doing and why. Yes, it is important to have a long-term perspective while not overlooking the short-term.