A strategic investment plan allows you to put together the steps you need to take today to save for some specific purpose you have for the future. The first step in putting together a strategic plan involves determining the purpose or the reason you are putting the strategic investment plan in place. You can then decide if you want to create your own plan or work with a professional. Either way, you’ll also need to conduct research to find the investments that will help you to reach the goal you have set in the first place.
State the reason you are developing a strategic investment plan. The reasons for creating an investment plan can almost be endless. Common reasons are retirement plans, college funds, to save money for a home purchase or simply to have a nest egg in case of emergencies. Once you know the reason you have in mind for establishing the strategic investment plan, then you can assess the amount of time you have to invest in the plan to reach your goal, which also trickles down into some of the future steps.
For example, if you are developing a strategic investment plan to save money for your child to go to college, you know how much time you have to save and invest the money. If the child is one year old, then you have about 17 years or so on your side to turn your money of today into enough money to cover a four-year college education in the future.
You then need to decide if you want to build the plan on your own or choose to work with a financial professional to help you put the strategic investment plan in writing. Some financial professionals will also be able to help you implement the plan by buying and managing the investments. If you feel you have the knowledge and experience to handle this on your own, then you can proceed to the next step. If not, the next step is to find the financial professional you want to work with to help you with your plan.
Once you've determined the purpose and timeline of the investments, the next step is to conduct research on the types of investments you can put your money into to help you achieve your financial goals. Depending on your plan's timeline, you’ll also need to assess your plan regularly. If it is short term, then daily, weekly or monthly checks may be in order, but if the investment is a long-term one, monthly or annually may be sufficient. Monitoring your investments help ensure that your portfolio is growing in the right direction, which is to meet or exceed your investment goals. If it is not, then you need to tweak the plan so that it gets you back on track to meet your financial goals.
