Regularly evaluating your investment portfolio can help you ensure your financial goals are on track. 

A financial advisor can play a crucial role in this process by providing expert guidance and helping you adjust your strategy as needed. This article will answer, “How often should you meet with your financial advisor”,  to optimize portfolio performance and maintain financial health. 

Remember, partnering with experienced financial advisors like us at Cooke Wealth Management can help you address the unknowns, and stay confident and proactive in achieving your financial goals.

1. Why Regular Portfolio Reviews are Crucial

The financial markets are constantly changing and influenced by a wide range of factors like economic shifts, political events, global trends, and the daily news. These changes can impact your investment portfolio, making regular reviews of your investments helpful to ensure that they continue to align with your financial goals. 

Life changes also play a significant role in the need for portfolio reviews. Major life events such as getting married, buying a home, having children, retiring, or inheriting funds can all affect your financial situation and goals. Each of these events likely warrants an evaluation of your investments and plan. Regularly meeting with your financial advisor can help you adjust your plan to reflect these life changes, ensuring that your investments and finances remain in line with your evolving needs.

Your financial goals may evolve, and your investment strategy should be flexible enough to adapt to these changes. Regular portfolio reviews allow you and your advisor to evaluate whether your current investments are still suitable for your goals, whether it’s saving for retirement, funding your children’s education, or passing on wealth to the next generation. This ongoing alignment helps keep your financial strategy on track, avoiding unnecessary risks and capitalizing on potential opportunities.

2. Factors That Influence the Frequency of Meetings

Investment Strategy: The frequency of your meetings with your financial advisor should be influenced by your investment strategy. If you have a more aggressive approach, heavily speculating in stocks or other volatile assets, more frequent meetings might be necessary to monitor performance and make timely adjustments. 

Market Conditions: Market volatility can affect how often you meet with your financial advisor. Your advisor is likely already making adjustments if needed. Regardless, during periods of high volatility, more frequent check-ins might be needed to provide peace of mind, adjust your portfolio, and protect your investments. Conversely, in stable markets, you might not need to meet as often, unless other factors necessitate a review.

Life Events: Certain life events should trigger a meeting with your financial advisor. These include milestones such as marriage, the birth of a child, the death of a loved one, buying a home, a change in health, or retirement. But it might also include smaller life events, such as a job change, a change in income, or a new financial goal or concern.  Each of these events can have a profound impact on your financial situation and goals, making it essential to reassess your portfolio and make any necessary adjustments.

Regulatory Changes: Changes in tax laws or financial regulations can also necessitate more frequent meetings. Your financial advisor can help you navigate these changes, ensuring that your portfolio remains positioned to help you accomplish your goals and take advantage of new opportunities for tax efficiency or investment strategies.

3. Recommended Meeting Schedules

Annual Reviews: For long-term investors with stable portfolios, an annual review may be appropriate. This meeting can provide an opportunity to assess your portfolio’s performance, rebalance if necessary, and review your financial goals for the upcoming year.

Semi-Annual Reviews: If you prefer a bit more oversight or have moderate exposure to market risks, semi-annual reviews might be more appropriate. These check-ins can allow for timely adjustments and provide peace of mind that your investments are on track.

Quarterly Reviews: For active traders or those with more volatile investments, quarterly meetings may be warranted. This frequency can help ensure that you can respond quickly to market changes and optimize your portfolio.

Ad-Hoc Meetings: Unscheduled meetings may also be necessary in certain situations, such as unexpected life events, or significant changes in your financial situation. These meetings may allow you to address urgent concerns and make immediate adjustments to your portfolio or overall financial situation.

4. What to Discuss During Your Meetings

Portfolio Performance: It’s likely important to assess how your portfolio is performing. Consider how it’s performing compared to the rest of the market or benchmarks, or if it’s on track to help you accomplish your goals. This evaluation helps determine whether your investments are meeting your expectations and whether any changes might be needed.

Rebalancing Needs: Over time, market movements can cause your portfolio’s asset allocation to drift from your target. Your advisor is likely rebalancing your portfolio over time, ensuring that it remains aligned with your risk tolerance and investment objectives. Regular meetings can provide you with the opportunity to ask any questions you might have about trades or the general mix of your investments.  

Goal Progress: Reviewing your financial goals is often another aspect of your meetings. Whether you’re saving for retirement, an emergency fund, a major purchase, or your children’s education, regular check-ins allow you to monitor your progress and adjust your strategy as needed.

Tax Considerations: Tax efficiency is crucial in portfolio management. Your financial advisor can help you plan for taxes, identify opportunities for tax-loss harvesting, and ensure that your investments are structured in a way that minimizes your tax liability.

Other Financial Concerns or Items: It can be important to review your overall finances with your advisor. Items like savings, taxes, cash flow, debt, insurance, and wealth transfer can all be open for discussion. If anything has changed or you have had questions since you last met, now is the time to address it. It might also be a good idea to review your advisor services and fees, to help you understand and evaluate the value you’re receiving.   

5. The Role of Technology

Digital Tools and Platforms: Technology can greatly enhance monitoring and your portfolio management process. Outside of meetings or phone calls with your advisor, digital platforms and tools can allow you to monitor your investments in real-time, access performance data, and communicate with your advisor more efficiently.

The world of video conferencing has made meeting with an advisor easier than ever. For some, nothing beats a face-to-face, as it can provide additional context and depth to a meeting, but that may be a personal choice. Whether it’s via Zoom, an in-depth phone call, or an in-person meeting, taking the time to meet with your advisor can be essential for your long-term financial success  

Robo-Advisors vs. Human Advisors: While robo-advisors offer a convenient, low-cost way to manage your portfolio, they may lack the personalized advice and strategic insights that a human advisor can provide. If you are using a robo-advisor and your platform offers meetings or real-life support, all of the above may give you a reason to take advantage of that.  

Staying on Track with Your Financial Goals

Regular meetings with your financial advisor are often key to keeping your finances and investments aligned with your goals. The question of “how often should you meet with your financial advisor” is likely a personal one: dependent on your preference, strategy, and circumstance. 

At Cooke Wealth Management, we provide tailored financial planning and investment management, designed to help you navigate your financial journey with confidence and peace of mind.

FAQs

1. How often should I meet with my financial advisor?

The frequency might depend on your investment strategy, market conditions, and personal circumstances, but annual or semi-annual reviews are typically a good idea.

2. What should I discuss during portfolio review meetings?

Consider looking at your portfolio performance, rebalancing needs, goal progress, tax considerations, and any significant life changes that might impact your financial strategy.

3. Can I review my portfolio without meeting in person?

Yes, technology like digital platforms and apps can help monitor your portfolio, but periodic in-person or virtual meetings may be essential for comprehensive reviews.

4. Do market conditions affect how often I should meet with my advisor?

It wouldn’t hurt. Volatile markets may require more frequent check-ins to provide confidence, or align with your advisor on strategies to help you protect your investments from unnecessary risks.

5. Is it necessary to meet more often if I'm approaching retirement?

Considering meeting with your advisor as you approach any goal might be a good idea, and retirement is certainly a good one. As you near retirement, more frequent meetings can help ensure your portfolio aligns with your evolving risk tolerance and retirement goals. Not to mention, address other areas of retirement such as social security, medicare, and more.