by Ann Zuraw | Featured Contributor
Let’s say you inherited an IRA from your parents, or you’re the beneficiary of an inheritance from your beloved Grandmother. Or your business is finally doing so well (after many years of hard work and losses), that you have more income than you imagined. All of a sudden with this financial improvement, you are trying to figure out how to handle the money. Even if this financial gain was expected, you might find the size or the complexity of managing the assets overwhelming.
As a financial advisors to those that find themselves in this situation, I am continually fascinated by how people handle their assets. Everyone views their assets in a variety of different ways. For instance, if you look at a certain stock in your portfolio and think of the person who gave it to you, you may find you now hold a certain amount of personal sentiment to it. Does this mean you will never sell this stock? Why do some people not think twice about selling a stock gift, while others would never consider selling it? As your financial assets grow, your ability to evaluate and manage these assets needs to grow also.
We advise you to evaluate your new financial position as well as learn to manage your assets and the tax implications. Investments including businesses are ongoing entities, so they need to be managed from the perspective of an overall portfolio.
- If your grandmother gave you the stock is it still your Grandmother’s money? Or maybe you had built your company that may have been in the family before, or you started it from scratch.
- When do you take ownership and responsibility for the gains or losses of the investment?
- When do you have the right to make the decisions about how to spend or invest the money?
- Let’s say your Aunt gave you Apple stock 15 years ago, and it has gone up tremendously.—Do you just give her credit for that decision and plan to hold it forever?—What if she gave you GE and you did not sell it and lost money? Do you blame your Aunt for the win and yourself for the loss?
When we manage money for clients –when the assets go up the clients take the credit, and when it goes down, it is the advisor’s fault. I get it—that is human nature and fact of this investment business. But why do we become attached to certain stocks or investments because of the history?
We need to be professional about these decisions in managing our investment portfolio and not take unnecessary risk. As entrepreneurs, you are dedicated to the growth of your business and are you reinvesting your assets in your company?
“Woman Up” and take responsibility and control of your assets. It is your money.
Ann Zuraw, Founder, and Fearless Leader/President of Zuraw Financial Advisors, a financial planning and investment management firm based in Greensboro, North Carolina serving families in all stages of life.
“Never Give Up, and it is Never Too Late to Learn.” —this is Ann Zuraw’s (AZ) mantra.
Our goal at ZFA is to encourage women to take responsibility for their finances. As a Chartered Financial Analyst, CFA ®, Certified Financial Planner, CFP ® and MBA- and entrepreneur, Ann built www.ZurawFinancialAdvisors.com as a Registered Investment Advisor with assets under management of $190 million.
Ann served for 25 years as the only female on the board of her family’s real estate company. She witnessed firsthand the difficulties of running and expanding a business, along with the hardships of balancing family dynamics through economic ups and downs. At ZFA we believe that everyone can and should understand their finances and investment opportunities whether you have $5000 or $5 million.
Ann utilizes her blog www.ChicksChatandChange.com to educate women about improving their financial life whether dealing with aging parents, kids, partners or just controlling their spending.
Born in New Orleans and currently living in Greensboro, North Carolina, Ann lived in NYC, San Francisco & Oakland, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. My family includes 3 young adult kids who like it or not are always learning about money and—2 English Bulldogs who refuse to listen…
