What Type of Investor Are You?
With an IAble account, you have choices: you can place your money in the IAble checking account option, one of the investment options or both. You should ask yourself these four questions to help decide what is best for your disability-related expenses needs.
1. What is my savings goal?
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Am I saving for a larger, more expensive item, like a wheelchair or wheelchair accessible vehicle, that may require a longer savings timeline?
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Am I hoping to use these funds to pay for a stable and ongoing expense, such as rent or health and wellness activities, that require easy access to funds at a certain time each month?
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Am I hoping to use some of the funds to save for a larger item and some to cover ongoing monthly expenses?
2. When will I need the money?
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What disability-related expenses do I need to pay for today, tomorrow, next week or next month? These are called short-term expenses.
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What disability-related expenses do I want to save for down the road, perhaps in one to three years? These are called medium-term expenses.
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What disability-related expenses do I want to save for in the longer term? Example: over the next four years or more. These are called long-term expenses.
When thinking of savings, think about your short-term, medium-term and long-term disability-related expenses. This can help you decide whether and which of the checking or investment options are right for your IAble account.
3. What is risk?
Risk is any uncertainty in the financial markets, now or in the future, that has the potential to negatively affect the money you invested. In other words, when you invest your money, the investment values might rise or fall because of market conditions, which means your account balance could increase or decrease. This is not the case with the IAble Checking account option. In the IAble Checking account option, your funds are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and are not exposed to market fluctuations.
4. What is my risk tolerance?
When investing, risk tolerance is the degree to which an investor is comfortable with his or her money fluctuating with the changes in the market.
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Someone with a low risk tolerance would most likely invest in conservative options where there is little to no fluctuation in the initial investment and earnings. This would aim to ensure the initial investment is preserved and often results in very little interest earned.
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Someone with a moderate risk tolerance would most likely invest in more moderate or growth options, where investments take a balanced approach and often invest in an almost equal combination of stocks (more likely to fluctuate with the stock market) and bonds (more stable). This would aim to provide moderate current income with moderate interest earned.
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Someone with a high risk tolerance would most likely invest in more aggressive options, where the potential for higher returns (more money made on the initial investment) outweighs the risk of losing money. This would aim to provide more money earned in interest, but could also result in a loss of money (including the initial investment) depending on market conditions.
With these questions in mind, which of the descriptions below best represent your goals and comfort with risk?
If you would like to:
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Save for a larger, more expensive item (such as a wheelchair)
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Save over a longer period of time
If you think:
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Market fluctuations are not a big deal
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The potential for higher returns outweighs the risk of losing money
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Stocks may be better than bonds and short-term investments because they have the potential to earn more interest
If you would like to:
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Pay for ongoing, stable expenses (such as rent or health and wellness activities) AND potentially save for a larger, more expensive item (such as a wheelchair)
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Maintain the money you place in your account but also have the potential to earn moderate interest
If you think:
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An almost equal mixture of stocks and bonds is more comfortable than mostly stocks or mostly bonds
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You can tolerate small market fluctuations
If you would like to:
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Primarily pay for ongoing, stable expenses (such as monthly rent or health and wellness activities)
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Maintain the money you place in your account, even if it means your account may not earn much interest
If you think:
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Bonds and short-term investments may be better than stocks because they are less likely to fluctuate with the market
Match your investment choices with your needs, your timing and your risk tolerance
Below are examples of how some hypothetical Account Owners go through the process of matching their needs with their timing and their risk tolerance in making their investment and/or checking option choices:
John needs a new computer
John's short-term goal is to save enough money to buy a computer at the end of the year. He will not be comfortable with the possibility of the value of his investment going down between now and the time he buys the computer. John's risk tolerance could be described as low. Based on his needs, timing and risk tolerance, John is considering the Conservative, Moderately Conservative and the Checking Option.
Anne wants a new wheelchair in a few years
Anne's goal is to buy a new wheelchair in about three years and she wants to begin saving for it now. She hopes to see the value of her investment grow steadily so that she can pay for a new wheelchair, but understands this is not guaranteed. Anne decides that she has moderate risk tolerance for the potential ups and downs of the financial markets and that a combination of stocks and bonds will best fit her needs, timing and risk tolerance. Anne is considering investing in the Moderate, Growth, or Moderately Aggressive Option or a combination of those options.
Lisa's parents are investing for down the road
Lisa is a toddler with a disability whose parents want to grow her IAble account to use after she finishes high school. Lisa's parents are comfortable with potentially big swings in the financial markets and know that prices may fluctuate a lot over the long-term. They would be considered to have high risk tolerance, and they decide to invest funds in the Moderately Aggressive and Aggressive Investment Options, where there is a higher chance for fluctuation in the account value both up and down, but also a higher chance of returns over the long-term.
