1. What am I saving for?
It seems obvious, but knowing exactly what you’re saving for will help inform your investing decisions. And be specific. “I’m saving for a house,” is vague. Try this instead: “I’m saving for a 20% down payment on a home that will cost $500,000, and I’m looking to buy it in seven years.”
Putting actual values on your financial goal makes them less abstract—and easier to work toward. When you know your target, you can plan your investment accordingly and adjust if necessary. Enter your target number into Truist Invest so it can help determine if your contributions are adequate in light of investment performance to keep your goal on track over the course of your investing period.
2. How much risk can I afford to take?
The most important thing to consider is your risk tolerance—or how much loss you might be willing to endure. Once you’ve established this, you’ll have a clearer picture of how you should invest.
Your risk tolerance is based on several factors:
- When you need the money—Investors with longer time horizons can typically afford more risk since there’s more opportunity for their portfolios to recover from losses due to volatility.
- How much you want to earn—Aggressive, high-risk investing can sometimes yield greater reward—whereas conservative investments are designed to grow slowly and steadily over time.
- How much you can invest—If you have a modest contribution to put toward your goal, you may want to weigh your options from moderate to conservative investing.
- Your comfort level—Losing any amount of money may make investors anxious—especially if it’s a nest egg they’ve saved over a long period of time.
Setting your risk tolerance in Truist Invest automates your investment accordingly to help reduce potential loss of principal.
3. How will you fund your investment?
Whether you’re making a one-time contribution or setting up recurring transfers, you’ll need a linked account to fund your investment portfolio. Will you be investing a lump sum from a savings account? Making monthly contributions from your income? Or will it be a combination of the two?
Truist Invest allows you to link and manage multiple accounts. You can establish an investing cadence with set dollar amounts from a checking account—or make one-time contributions from unplanned income such as gifts or an inheritance.
Change is inevitable
The answers to these questions may shift throughout the course of your investing period—and that’s OK! Truist Invest makes investing flexible, tailored, and easy to manage so that it adapts to your needs when necessary. Editing your investing goals at any time within the platform is simple and can be done in minutes. Still concerned about change? Truist InvestDisclosure 1 pairs a human financial advisor with the robo-advisor to offer guidance when adjusting your portfolio due to planned or unplanned life moments.