The recent decline in the stock market is the second time this occurred this year.  The first occurrence was in February. 

With that statement I thought I would start out this month's blog by sharing with all of you that I am not a good golfer.  The reason is that I don't care to go to the driving range to hit golf balls.  Also when I have had the odd lesson in the past I did not immediately apply what I learned.  Therefore as time passes by my I forget what I was taught.  For those of you who do play golf you truly appreciate the importance of lessons and practice when it comes to chipping your ball onto the green.  Enough said!

With this image in mind let's focus on the value of ongoing advice from your financial advisor.  I will start with the assumption that most of you who are reading this blog have employed the services of a financial advisor and that a portion of your investments are allocated towards the stock market.  The recent decline in the stock market may likely give you a moment to pause and reflect.

Questions such as Do I have too much exposure to the stock market?  Have I updated my retirement plan recently?  Have I recently had a meaningful conversation with my advisor?    This recent stock market decline is the opportunity to have a conversation from your advisor.  I believe that with the frequency of these ongoing conversations their perspective and their knowledge of your situation will help greatly with making sure that you have a plan and that you adhere to the plan on an ongoing basis.  I say this because during these conversations you have the opportunity to present information that has been provided to you by various media sources.  Your advisor can distill this information and help you with staying focused on maintaining your current plan.  I don't believe that one conversation per year will accomplish this. 

Therefore the foundation of being a successful investor is a well rounded ongoing working relationship with your advisor.