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Ways to Customize Your Investments to Pursue Long-Term Success

At Beck Capital Management (BCM) in Austin, we understand that every investor’s journey is unique and special. We believe the key to successful long-term investing isn’t just about picking the right stocks or timing the ups and downs of the securities markets; it’s about aligning your investment strategy with your personal goals, risk tolerance, and life stage.  

As a high-income earner with investable assets of $1 million or more, it’s possible that cookie-cutter investment models may not be appropriate for your situation. This is where having access to a team of Austin investment advisors may be beneficial.  

We think that as your wealth grows, so should the sophistication of managing it long-term. You may benefit from having a customized investment strategy that supports your long-term vision, whether saving for retirement, planning to leave a legacy, or balancing current income needs during retirement with the goal of preserving capital. 

In today’s blog, we’ll look at various ways you can customize your investments in pursuit of long-term success.  

 

Read our latest Quick Guide: Wealth & Legacy Planning for Austin High Net Worth Investors 

 

Understanding Your Unique Financial Situation 

First and foremost, we believe you need a team of financial advisors who can evaluate your current financial situation and expectations. At BCM, we begin this process with a comprehensive analysis, including: 

  • Life Stage: Are you nearing retirement, enjoying your golden years, or entering your mid-career years? Your age influences your risk tolerance and investment timelines—your need for assets, income, or both. 
  • Financial Goals: Do you want to leave a legacy, fund education for your grandchildren, or ensure a comfortable retirement? Each goal requires a tailored approach. 
  • Timeline: If you are entering your early retirement years, there is a reasonable probability that you or your spouse will live another 30 years or more. 
  • Income and Expenses: Your philosophy might be more performance-driven if you’re still in the workforce. For those in retirement, seeking to preserve capital might take precedence over accumulating more assets. 
  • Risk Tolerance: How much market volatility can you emotionally and financially handle? This critical factor shapes our asset allocation recommendations. 

 

Watch our podcast, “How do Stock Market Valuations Really Work?” 

 

Planning for Retirement and Income Needs 

You should consider a more conservative investment approach if you are close to retirement or are already in your early retirement years. Following are some tactics worth considering:  

  • Income Generation: Focus on investments that seek to generate steady income, like dividends from blue-chip stocks or interest from short and intermediate-maturity fixed income. This helps replace employment income without invading your principal. 
  • Capital Preservation: As we age, we have less time to recover from significant market volatility. A suitable strategy may be a portfolio that emphasizes higher-quality, lower-volatility investments. 
  • Withdrawal Strategy: Calculate a withdrawal rate that aims to ensure you can live off your investment income without the risk of outliving your assets. This might involve a bucket strategy where funds are allocated for short-term, intermediate, and long-term growth. 

 

Aggressive Strategies for Growth 

If you are younger, with ten or more years before you retire, your time horizon is longer, and you can take more risks to accumulate increased wealth. Consider these strategies: 

  • Growth-Oriented Investments: Increase your exposure to equities, especially in sectors with high growth potential. 
  • Riskier Assets: This could include a higher allocation to small company stocks, growth equities, or alternative investments like real estate or private equity, where risk tolerance can lead to higher returns. 
  • Reinvestment: Dividends are typically reinvested to compound additional growth over longer time periods. The power of compounding should never be overlooked. The longer you have, the greater the potential benefit. 

 

Asset Allocation and Location: The BCM Approach 

Asset allocation is not just about choosing between stocks and bonds; it’s about how these assets are distributed across different account types: 

  • Tax Efficiency: Consider placing your assets in accounts (like Roth IRAs for growth stocks due to tax-free withdrawals) where they can grow with lower future tax impacts. 
  • Retirement Accounts: We recommend maximizing traditional IRAs or 401(k)s to grow assets tax-deferred until retirement. 
  • Taxable Accounts: Here, we might focus on investments that generate appreciation and pay lower capital gains taxes.  
  • Geographical Diversification: Investing globally to spread risk between countries and markets. 
  • Sector Diversification: This spreads exposure across various industries (tech, energy, healthcare) to reduce excess exposure to sector-specific risks. 

 

Check out our newest podcast, “Will the Financial Sector Boom or Bust in 2025?” 

 

Long-Term Goals and Legacy Planning 

It’s important to consider not just the accumulation but the eventual distribution of your wealth to heirs and charities you want to support. Following are some estate and legacy planning tactics that you should discuss with an Austin investment management team, like BCM: 

  • Use gifting if you are interested in philanthropy, like donor-advised funds or charitable trusts that offer tax benefits and potential income while supporting causes you care about. 
  • At BCM, we coordinate with your estate planning attorney to help ensure that investments are positioned to pass efficiently to heirs, possibly using trusts or life insurance to manage the payment of estate taxes.
  • If you want to use more of your wealth during your lifetimes (both spouses), we can build strategies that balance the enjoyment of your wealth with the risk of outliving assets by adjusting the asset mix as you age. 

 

The Importance of Working with an Experienced Investment Advisor  

As you’ve read, there are many strategies you can employ to manage your wealth. Without the acumen, time, and interest, navigating these complexities alone may not be your best alternative. You and your family may benefit when you employ an financial advisor who deeply understands you, your family, and wealth accumulation and preservation principles. 

  • Personalized Communication: Regular, tailored discussions about your portfolio’s performance and adjustments keep you fully informed about what is happening with your investments and why. 
  • Education: Empowering you with the information and knowledge to feel confident you and your family are on the right path. 
  • Dynamic Adjustments: Markets and personal circumstances change. We’re here to help you make seamless adjustments. 

 

Why Choose Beck Capital Management to Help Develop and Implement a Customized Investment Strategy for You and Your Family? 

As we wrap up our discussion on investment strategies, it’s crucial to consider where you place your trust and assets for future growth and income. This is why, we believe, Beck Capital Management should be at the top of your financial advisor list: 

Our approach goes beyond cookie-cutter solutions. Our philosophy, deeply rooted in our understanding of market dynamics, emphasizes active management tailored to your financial goals. Our commitment is to follow the market and analyze and adapt to market changes to help ensure your portfolio isn’t just managed; it’s curated based on your unique financial footprint. 

Our approach isn’t about chasing trends but creating sustainable growth based on data and analytics that we use to produce informed strategic decisions. 

Our focus on strong client relationships sets us apart from other Austin investment management firms. This client-first mentality means your investment strategy is a bespoke plan designed around what matters most to you, your family, and your financial independence. 

As you consider where to invest your future, ask yourself if you want a partner who will customize a strategy to fit your life’s goals and aspirations. We are not just a portfolio management service. We are an important partner in pursuing your life’s dreams and the legacy you leave for loved ones. Beck Capital Management offers investment solutions and a partnership to help you navigate this complex financial journey.  

Connect with Beck Capital Management to explore how we can tailor an investment strategy that fits your unique requirements.

 

 
This material is for general information and educational purposes only. Information is based on data gathered from what we believe are reliable sources. It is not guaranteed as to accuracy, does not purport to be complete and is not intended to be used as a primary basis for investment decisions. 
Beck Capital Management does not offer legal or tax advice. As such, this information should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional accounting, tax, legal or other competent advisers. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult with a qualified professional. 
Neither Asset Allocation nor Diversification guarantee a profit or protect against a loss in a declining market.  They are methods used to help manage investment risk. 
There is no guarantee that the investment objectives of any particular program will be achieved. 
Rebalancing can entail transaction costs and tax consequences that should be considered when determining a rebalancing strategy. 
Sector Strategies: Portfolios that invest exclusively in one sector or industry involve additional risks. The lack of industry diversification subjects the investor to increased industry-specific risks. 
Alternative investments, including hedge funds, commodities, and managed futures involve a high degree of risk, often engage in leveraging and other speculative investments practices that may increase risk of investment loss, can be highly illiquid, are not required to provide periodic pricing or valuation information to investors, may involve complex tax structures and delays in distributing important tax information, are subject to the same regulatory requirements as mutual funds, often charge higher fees which may offset any trading profits, and in many cases the underlying investments are not transparent and are known only to the investment manager. 
Small capitalization securities involve greater issuer risk than larger capitalization securities, and the markets for such securities may be more volatile and less liquid.  Specifically, small capitalization companies may be subject to more volatile market movements than securities of larger, more established companies, both because the securities typically are traded in lower volume and because the issuers typically are more subject to changes in earnings and prospects. 
Investing internationally carries additional risks such as differences in financial reporting, currency exchange risk, as well as economic and political risk unique to the specific country. This may result in greater share price volatility. Shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost. 

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