A beginner’s guide to investing after retirement

Published on May 5, 2022 | 4 min read | LPL Financial

You may be retired and considering investing some of your retirement nest egg. Depending on your situation, it is crucial that investing in the stock market, bond market, or other investments does not jeopardize your retirement savings. For this reason, investments that preserve your initial contribution but still provide growth opportunity is essential. Here, we will start with the basics for beginners interested in investing after retirement:

Review your financial plan- again

Investors often think that financial planning is for the accumulation phase, but financial planning is also for the spending down phase. With the pandemic and recent market volatility, meet with your financial professional to work towards aligning your retirement portfolio allocations with your investment strategy. Also, consider if investing will negatively impact your retirement income or not.

Account for risk

Investing in a down market can allow for the purchase of more shares. However, retirees need to be aware of the investment’s risk score since they will hold the investment for a shorter duration due to withdrawing each month. Their investment may need to liquidate during a period of low valuation, causing a loss on their initial investment. For this reason, a retiree’s investments should correlate with a lower risk score.

Watch inflation

Inflation can cause a portfolio to liquate faster than expected due to inflation risk. But positioning it by increasing positions such as gas and energy and consumer staples may produce a higher return than the inflation rate. However, once inflation is on the decline, it is time to reposition to investments that are not interest-rate sensitive.

Consider guaranteed income investments

Often retirees view bonds as “safe investments,” but that is not necessarily true today as bond rates are below the inflation rate, resulting in negative performance.

Another investment to consider is a Fixed-indexed annuity. Fixed-indexed annuities produce returns based on an index, such as the S&P 500, and your initial investment is protected. Fixed-indexed annuities are a contract with an insurance company that provides you with guaranteed income in retirement.

Explore Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)

REITs invest in commercial properties or mortgages and, by regulation, must distribute 90% of their taxable income in the form of dividends to investors. REITs develop and improve their properties to produce returns, eventually sell them, and reinvest in other properties, making a positive return for investors.

Work with a financial professional

If you are retired and considering investing, now is a great time to meet with a financial professional to determine a strategy aligned with your goals and investment horizon.

Important disclosures

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual security. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial professional prior to investing.

Investing involves risks including possible loss of principal. No investment strategy or risk management technique can guarantee return or eliminate risk in all market environments.

Inflation risk is the risk that unexpected changes in consumer prices will penalize an investor’s real return from holding an investment. Because investments from gold to bonds and stock are priced to include expected inflation rates, it is the unexpected changes that produce this risk. Fixed income securities, such as bonds and preferred stock, subject investors to the greatest amount of purchasing power risk since their payments are set at the time of issue and remain unchanged regardless of the inflation rate.

Alternative investments may not be suitable for all investors and should be considered as an investment for the risk capital portion of the investor’s portfolio. The strategies employed in the management of alternative investments may accelerate the velocity of potential losses.

Fixed Indexed Annuities (FIA) are not suitable for all investors. FIAs permit investors to participate in only a stated percentage of an increase in an index (participation rate) and may impose a maximum annual account value percentage increase. FIAs typically do not allow for participation in dividends accumulated on the securities represented by the index. Annuities are long-term, tax-deferred investment vehicles designed for retirement purposes. Withdrawals prior to 59 _ may result in an IRS penalty, and surrender charges may apply. Guarantees are based on the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

S&P 500 Index: The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 Index tracks the performance of 500 widely held, large-capitalization US stocks.

All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however LPL Financial makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.

This article was prepared by Fresh Finance.

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