Are You Prepared?

As you may know, my wife has been a successful triathlete. Before our three children arrived she raced as a professional, and now she's back to racing at an elite level while also trying to break into the world of triathlon and performance enhancement coaching.

She just finished a blog entry regarding how she reacts to unexpected challenges during her races. I bring this up now because I just learned that September is designated National Preparedness Month by the federal government. As a firm, Signal Ridge must—and does—consider things like business continuity should there be a natural disaster or worse, disaster recovery should our office suffer from a fire or flood, and other risk management considerations. Some of this is regulated, some is just good business. So how does this relate to you?

Being prepared begins with having a plan. Having a plan means evaluating your current state of affairs, establishing goals and objectives, and then thoughtfully considering things that could go wrong and potentially knock you off track.

Planning is an integral part of our process. Without a plan, it is impossible for us to build an appropriate portfolio. But planning extends far beyond your investments. Being prepared means considering insurance for disability, life, property and liability. It means considering liabilities, current and future, and making sure that assets are managed properly in light of those factors. It means having an estate plan that provides continuity to your family in the event of a devastating loss of life.

In the interest of supporting the intent of naming September National Preparedness Month, we would be remiss to not suggest that you consider how you and your family would respond to a natural disaster, a prolonged power outage, or other event. Making a plan now is easy and would pay dividends should the unthinkable occur. Resources for creating an emergency communication plan can be found here.

So how prepared are you? I am reminded of a quote that I like a lot, “Investment management is risk management. Nothing more and nothing less.” This is even more true in wealth management where we integrate financial planning with investment decisions. We are always here to help you prepare for the unexpected. If you are ever feeling the need to review your situation, please give us a call.

Samuel D. Webster, CIMA® Managing Partner