Page 26 - April 2024 Issue.indd

Slow and Steady: A Take advantage of an employer’s retirement plan. If your
employer offers a 401(k) or similar tax-advantaged retirement

Smart Way to Invest plan, try to take full advantage of it. Again, if you’re just begin-
ning your career, you may not be able to put away much in this
Submitted by Ann Jacobs, Financial type of plan, but even a small amount is better than nothing.
Advisor, Edward Jones - Denton And as soon as you can possibly afford it, try to put in enough

410-479-0271 to earn your employer’s matching contribution, if one is off ered.

These types of plans can offer some key benefits — and perhaps
You’ve probably heard stories about fortunate investors who the biggest one is that investing is automatic, in that the money
“get in the ground floor” of a new, hot company and quickly is moved directly from your paycheck into the investments

make a fortune. But while these things may happen, they you’ve chosen within your 401(k) or other plan.
are exceedingly rare and often depend on hard-to-duplicate

Be prepared for downturns. Th e financial markets will always

circumstances — and they really don’t represent a viable way
experience ups and downs. So, you need to be prepared for
of investing for one’s goals. A far more tried-and-true approach
those times when your investment statements may show
is the “slow-and-steady” method.
negative results. By understanding that these downturns are
To follow this strategy, consider these suggestions: a normal part of the investment environment, you can avoid
overreactions, such as selling quality investments with good
Start small — and add more when you can. When you’re fi rst fundamentals just because their price has temporarily dropped.
starting out in the working world, you may not have a lot of
extra money with which to invest, especially if you’re carrying Chart your progress regularly. A key element of a slow-and-
student loan debt. But one of the key advantages of the slow- steady investment approach is knowing how well it’s working.
and-steady method is that it does not require large investment But it’s important to measure your progress in a way that makes
sums to get going. If you can aff ord to put away even $50 or sense for you. So, for example, instead of measuring your port-
$100 a month into individual stocks or mutual funds, month folio’s performance against that of an external stock market
after month, you may be surprised and pleased at how your index, such as the S&P 500, you may want to assess where you

account can grow. And when your salary goes up, you can put are today versus one year ago, or whether the overall progress

away more money each month. you’re making is sufficient to help you meet the fi nancial goals
you’ve set for yourself well into the future. Another reason
not to use a market index as a measuring tool is that the index
only looks at a certain pool of investments, which, in the case
of the S&P 500, is simply the largest companies listed on U.S.
> edwardjones.com | Member SIPC stock exchanges. But long-term investors try to own a range of
assets — U.S. and foreign stocks, bonds, government securities,

Compare our CD Rates certificates of deposit, and so on.
Bank-issued, FDIC-insured
“Slow and steady” may not sound like an exciting approach to

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a lot more diligence, can prove to be quite eff ective.
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Edward Jones Financial Advisor. Edward Jones, Member SIPC
-ZFBS % APY* Minimum deposit This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local
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.
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Call or visit your local financial advisor today.
Ann M Jacobs, AAMS®
Financial Advisor
105 Franklin St
Denton, MD 21629-1207
410-479-0271 Janet Dove,
* Annual Percentage Yield (APY) effective3/21/2024. CDs offered by Edward Jones are bank

issued and FDIC-insured up to $250,000 (principal and interest accrued but not yet paid) per stylist
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interest rates rise, the prices of CDs can decrease. If CDs are sold prior to maturity, the 920 Gay St., Denton
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