by: Richard A. Anderson, CFA
I am a process-driven person. I have found that by following a pre-defined process, I am more likely to stick with it. It has worked in pretty much every aspect of my daily routine, with diet, exercise, budgeting, and time management being among the most effective.
One of the areas where I have found following a process to be most effective is meal planning, and more particularly, how that interacts with dieting, budgeting, and time management. Every Sunday morning, I sit down with my smartphone and browse my favorite grocery store’s weekly circular. In that sitting, I plan my meals for the week and make my grocery list based on what is on sale during the week and what I already have on hand.
This process forces me to plan ahead, so I tend to eat healthier because I am preparing my own meals rather than picking up an unhealthier option on my way home from work. This process also allows me to budget more efficiently because I can know before I go to the store roughly how much I am going to spend on food for the week. It also makes my shopping trips shorter because I go to the store, get what I need, and get out. No more wandering up and down the aisles trying to decide what to buy. This doesn’t stop me from browsing, it just limits the chances of making an impulse decision to buy something I don’t necessarily need at the time.
When browsing the aisles, some items may catch my eye. I can make a note of it and buy it at another time when it is on sale, or when I need it for a meal I plan on making in the future.
I can’t help but see a parallel between my meal planning process and the way we at HIGHLAND manage your investment portfolio. We follow a process-oriented approach to investment management that seeks to remove emotions from investment decisions in order to improve your probability of achieving your financial goals. Of course, you can’t completely remove emotions from the investment decision making process. But by following a process, we can reduce the probability of an emotionally induced error. Every investment decision has a purpose and each security is selected to meet a specific need. This helps us to avoid accumulating securities that were the new hottest trend in the industry but didn’t ultimately serve a purpose in your portfolio.
Just like browsing the aisles in the grocery store, having a process-oriented investment management approach doesn’t stop us from monitoring the investment landscape for new opportunities. We are always following economic and market news and talking with our peers and other industry professionals to stay on top of new product offerings. While this research may not result in an immediate change, it will help keep us informed and knowledgeable should the need for a change arise down the road.
Learn more about Highland Financial Advisors’ Investment Approach, or schedule an appointment to speak with an advisor.
Author’s Bio
Richard A. Anderson is a portfolio analyst at HIGHLAND Financial Advisors, LLC based out of Wayne, NJ. HIGHLAND Financial Advisors, LLC is a Fee-Only financial planning firm that offers comprehensive financial planning, retirement planning, employer retirement planning, and investment management services to help clients focus on what matters most to them.
Richard graduated from Ramapo College of New Jersey where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. Richard joined the firm in June 2013 and is responsible for assisting HIGHLAND’s Wealth Advisors in developing portfolios to help individuals, families, and institutions reach their financial goals. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder and member of CFA Society New York. For more of Rich’s thoughts on the markets and sports, follow him on Twitter and connect with him on LinkedIn.