Editors Note:
Burt Mayer, a senior at Lakeside High School in Seattle, WA interned at Merriman this summer with the intention of creating educational material for young investors.  This three part series featured on FundAdvice.com is perfect for those investors who are looking to get started but need to know the basics first.

Stocks have fallen dramatically since last October, and if you’re paying any attention at all you are probably at least wondering when the bad news will end and whether or when to throw in the towel. Some investors are distressed and even angry that the professionals they depend on haven’t protected them from losses.  

Editors Note:
Burt Mayer, a senior at Lakeside High School in Seattle, WA interned at Merriman this summer with the intention of creating educational material for young investors.  This three part series featured on FundAdvice.com is perfect for those investors who are looking to get started but need to know the basics first.

 
Merriman investment philosophy

As a firm, we are committed to giving sound investment advice to all investors, whether or not they are our clients. We believe the best way to maximize long-term investment returns is to use passive, low-cost, tax-efficient vehicles in a carefully chosen mix of asset classes. We use this approach in the accounts we manage for clients and also in our recommendations to do-it-yourself investors.

With the intense volatility the markets are experiencing, and economic news looking negative, many investors have been asking if they should sell their equity funds and move to the sidelines until the economic news gets better. History tells us that would most likely be a bad decision that could force investors to miss out on sizeable gains.

Even if you are completely capable of handling all your own affairs, having trusted advisors can be more valuable than you might think.

I once received a phone call from the daughter of one of my clients, asking me how much money her father had in his account. Of course I declined to provide that information, but I was curious about the reason behind her question.

By Tom Cock

As published in Horizon Air Magazine

A financial adviser I know told me she was once on her knees rooting through a file cabinet of records at the home of an elderly client when she came upon some old mutual-fund statements.
“Do you still own these funds?” she asked her client and his wife.
“I’m not sure,” said the man. “We’ll have to call and find out.”
It turned out they did own the funds, which were in a couple of
long-forgotten accounts worth about $300,000.That was a lucky break for the couple. Unfortunately, some people never get their finances in order well enough to ensure that they always know what they own and that their heirs will find those assets.

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