Kelly Ruggles and financial planning: No place for fads

Kelly Ruggles | Image credit: yourmodernliving.com

Today, many people are being bombarded with overly sensationalized investment fads based on hype and short-term gain rather than sound and intelligent planning. Kelly Ruggles notes that this faddish behavior has no place in a person’s long-term financial plan, which must be grounded on well-thought-out investment choices. He notes that there are many common mistakes committed by many investors as a result in investments based on spur-of-the-moment fads, which can often do more harm than good financially.

Many first-time investors base their investments on fleeting, faddish behaviors that may seem sound at first glance (such as investing in a company that is currently a major player in the industry) without thoroughly analyzing the risks involved. These often lead people into investing in large companies from similar industries based solely on fleeting factors like past performances, causing them significant losses when these businesses underperform.

Kelly Ruggles | Image credit: munknee.com

For Kelly Ruggles, “beating the market” is an impossible and illusory goal that usually leads to more ill-informed investment decisions. Realizing that a person has made bad decisions in the past and is willing to take time to understand his investments is the best way that an investor can turn a bad financial situation around.

Financial planning should be an activity reliant on thoughtful, well-informed decisions based on sound financial advice rather than sporadic guesswork based solely on poorly analyzed current trends.

Kelly Ruggles | Image credit: allaboutmoney.com

More information on common financial and investment follies and more can be accessed from Kelly Ruggles’ official website.

Kelly Ruggles: Symptoms of bad investment

Kelly Ruggles image credit: newmediaandmarketing.com

For many people, because of poor knowledge and lack of experience, investment is a tricky proposition that is more akin to gambling than anything else. According to Kelly Ruggles, financial planner and educator, there are five main symptoms to bad investments, which are usually easier to detect than the actual cause. This makes it more difficult for them to devise a solution to keep them from losing money and actually start gaining a return on their investments.

The first of these symptoms are doubts. While no one can ever be completely sure of their investments, too much doubt on the part of the investor or his or her advisor is a clear sign that the decisions made were incorrect.

Kelly Ruggles image credit: eliminate-creditcard-debts.com

The second, huge losses, may appear to be natural at first; after all, losses are to be expected from time to time. For Kelly Ruggles, however, it is bad practice to continue investing after large losses.

The third is complexity and confusion. These take the form of investments so complicated and poorly understood that many suspect that it was designed to confound them.

The fourth, broken promises, can be really frustrating; one has the right to be fed up when an advisor gives unrealistic promises while glossing over or whitewashing risks.

The last, unnecessary tax burdens, can be particularly harmful to the investor. This is what happens when the stocks in a mutual fund are periodically sold instead of maintained, accruing taxes in the process.

Kelly Ruggles image credit: argplanning.com

More information on the symptoms to look out for while investing can be accessed from Kelly Ruggles’ website.