The New Investor’s Survival Guide

February 22, 2021 | Stacy Miller, CFP® | Money Magazine 

As a Wealth Advisor, Certified Financial Planner™, and mom to two college-age sons, I have been inundated by questions about Robinhood, GameStop, and investing by my boys, their peers, and my peers who have kids the same age. Investing is always risky but making an informed investment decision is vastly different than the speculative trading that is being encouraged by social media influencers right now. 

I am afraid that the decisions these young speculative investors made in 2020 are going to come calling on Tax Day, and they are not going to be prepared. I am afraid that they are gambling away money they can not afford to lose. Finally, I am afraid that this current behavior will affect their long-term planning through short-term consequences. 

I am honored to be included in The New Investor’s Survival Guide by Money Magazine. In it you will find nine questions about investing responsibly with answers from several industry experts. You will find me in #6 “Should you hire a robo-advisor?”. It is my fiduciary duty to give advice in the best interest of the client (or prospect), and if my services are not the best fit, I will point them in another direction. Every time.  

Bottom line, investing can be complicated and risky, and social media influencers are making it more complicated and riskier. My goal is to help young investors take advantage of the opportunity of decades of compounding interest and returns, in a thoughtful and responsible way. I hope you will read The New Investor’s Survival Guide and share with other young investors.