With 2016 just around the corner, many traders and investors will be taking advantage of the festive lull in trading to review their performance the year, and make resolutions for their trading over the next twelve months.
| View offers and promotions from this broker: E*TRADE Offer |
U.S. broker E*Trade (NASDAQ: ETFC), which conducts a quarterly survey of the opinions of seasoned investors in its StreetWise publication, has recently asked participants to rank their top investment resolutions for 2016. Here are the top five results:
- Learn more about investing, trading, and the markets.
- Use digital tools more often to make sure they are diversified and meeting their goals.
- Increase their retirement plan contributions.
- Adjust the risk tolerance of their investing style.
- Seek the help of investing professionals.
The investors surveyed were given six options to rank when choosing their 2016 trading resolutions. A majority of 41% selected to “learn more about investing, trading, and the markets” as their number one or two goal for development next year, reflecting just how important experienced market participants feel it is to continue learning. In the last position was a commitment to seeking the help of investment professionals; this is interest because although E*Trade provides an online discount brokerage service, it also offers many full service broker and advisory services to its clients.
When asked about their biggest worries, attention shifted away from the markets, with the number one fear being the loss of a loved one and not having sufficient funds saved for a comfortable retirement. Perhaps surprisingly, the age demographic most concerned with retirement prospects was the 25-34 year age group. This might reflect a shifting focus among young people away from private pension schemes and mutual funds, with savers in their twenties viewing active management and responsibility for their own investment goals as a viable solution to the problems that have dogged pension funds in the last decade.
Lena Haas, SVP, Retirement, Investing and Savings at E*TRADE Financial, summarized the survey’s findings:
The desire to learn more and use tools more often in 2016 suggests that experienced investors increasingly want to feel like they are in the driver’s seat. Given the explosion of free educational resources and easy-to-use online tools, it has never been a better time for investors to start taking more control over their finances.
As the New Year approaches, Ms. Haas offered the following observations on the state of long-term investing:
- Investors are going digital for their annual reviews. Nearly three out of five investors surveyed — and nearly two out of three millennials — plan to use a digital tool to review their portfolios at year-end.
- Retirement worry looms. Investors surveyed throughout 2015 worried more about saving for retirement than they did about the loss of a job or personal injury.
- Short-term decisions can undermine long-term goals. Roughly a quarter of all investors surveyed took an early withdrawal from their qualified retirement accounts, and on average, half of those investors later regretted it.
The full Q4 results of the StreetWise study can be found on the E*Trade website.
What Are Your 2016 Trading Resolutions?
Have you taken some time to think about how you will progress your trading in the coming year?
Remember, making new year trading resolutions isn’t just about revising your trading plan or strategy; it’s a great time of year to think about the bigger picture and the role that the markets play in your life. We all know that trading the financial markets can become all-consuming, and time spent with family and friends over the holiday season can help us to refocus on what’s really important.
About E*TRADE Financial
E*TRADE is an innovative financial services company offering a full suite of easy-to-use online brokerage, investing and related banking solutions, delivered at a competitive price. We empower individuals to take control of their financial futures by providing the products, tools and services they need to meet their near- and long-term investing goals.
We provide these services to customers online and through our network of customer service representatives, investment professionals, and investment advisers – over the phone and-in person at our 30 E*TRADE branches.