If someone were to ask you to identify the characteristics of what you would consider your ideal investment, what would they be? Perhaps that list would look something like this.
1. Safe
2. Good return
3. Liquid
4. Tax free
5. Uncomplicated
Let's break those down a bit more.
Safe - The ideal investment would not be risky. Your principal would be safe, and the likelihood of loss, if any at all, would be small.
Good Return - The ideal investment would produce a good return. What does "good return" mean? We all would likely have a different answer to that question, but it would certainly mean beating inflation by some amount and with inflation running between 3 and 4% historically, you would expect your investment to return something better than that and perhaps even significantly better.
Liquid - The ideal investment would enable you to access the value of your investment easily, quickly, and without penalty.
Tax Free - The ideal investment should not only grow tax-free, but be accessed tax free.
Uncomplicated - The ideal investment should not require constant monitoring or maintenance, nor should it be difficult to understand.
How do your investments stack up? If you are like most people, your money and investments are in stocks and mutual funds through 401(k), IRA and brokerage accounts, real estate (your home), and bank products through savings, money market and CDs. Let's evaluate these common investments against the above criteria.
Is it possible to have all of the characteristics of the ideal investment in one vehicle? Most people wouldn't think so. Contact me if you're one of those and we can discuss a product that just might check all the boxes!