Making smarter investment choices is one of the key elements in building up adequate retirement savings. People are constantly inundated with sales pitches for investment opportunities from banks, insurance companies, and their friends and relatives. For an individual with limited investment knowledge, this can be intimidating.
The natural inclination is to seek advice from a professional investment advisor, however, many investment advisors may be motivated to recommend the investment vehicles that will pay them the highest commission. In this environment, it is wise for individual investors to have a basic knowledge of investments. This paper aims to provide seven fundamental principles that should lead to smarter investment decisions.