“Starting early and often,” is a great investment tip - however starting early may no longer be an option for our older clients who are just now beginning their retirement plan. Let’s take a look at how the same monthly investment can have a drastically different outcome for various time horizons. The following projections assume the same rate of return of 6% a year:

• 35 year old investing $400.00/month = $402,248.08 at age 65

• 45 year old investing $400.00/month = $187,165.10 at age 65

• 55 year old investing $400.00/month = $67,063.89 at age 65

For investors in their 30s, your greatest asset is TIME. Starting early and often can make or break your future portfolio value. The biggest mistake I see investors in their 30s make is getting too hung up on chasing returns and trying to beat the market index. If you are a long term investor it is important to remember that it is not about TIMING the market, it’s about TIME-IN the market.

If you are in your 40s, don’t get discouraged if you haven’t started your retirement plan. Your time horizon may be shorter however starting now can still make a difference. To those individuals who have already started investing, it may be time to start considering the other aspects of your retirement plan, such as: Insurance Planning, Estate Planning, and College Planning. You are in the era of Review, make sure that you are on track in reference to your personal retirement goals and Adjust where necessary.

Hopefully, for those of you in your 50s you have established some sort of retirement plan. If not, it may be time to Double-Down. When I say double-down, I am not referring to the amount of risk you should be taking; instead I am referring to the dollar amount you should be investing into your retirement plan. Having a shorter time-horizon may mean less growth potential, however it also means that you will have access to your retirement assets sooner rather than later. If it was hard for you to part with your money for 30 years, then now there should be no excuse.

For those of you with established retirement accounts – take steps in order to Protect Your Assets. Strategies like Long Term Care and Estate Trust work can have a huge impact on protecting the assets that you have worked so hard to build-up. Furthermore, reassess your current investment strategies and asset allocation. Your risk profile may not be the same as it was in your 30s and if you haven’t reallocated your retirement accounts accordingly, then now would be the time to do so.

Joseph Carpenito

Financial Advisor

Raymond James Financial Services, Inc.

Member FINRA/SIPC

Opinions expressed in the attached article are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Raymond James. All opinions are as of this date and are subject to change without notice. The information contained in this report does not purport to be a complete description of the securities, markets, or developments referred to in this material. Investors may not make direct investments into any index. Past performance may not be indicative of future results