Our phones will be on Auto Attendant between 1:30 – 2:30 pm for training purposes and lunches.

April is National Financial Literacy Month

Published on April 17, 2015

A Senate resolution back in 2004 named April as National Financial Literacy Month. So how’s your financial literacy today? Do you feel as if you truly know and understand the investments you are making?

What is Financial Literacy?

The President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy defines personal financial literacy as “the ability to use knowledge and skills to manage financial resources effectively for a lifetime of financial well-being.” (2008 Annual Report to the President)
Many account holders of self-directed retirement plans are indeed quite financially literate and understand a great deal about the alternative assets they include in their self-directed IRAs and other retirement accounts. This is a must, since self-directed account holders make all their own investment decisions and typically include nontraditional investments within their retirement plans. This implies (and we strongly recommend) that individuals do their research about those target investments and thoroughly understand how to make them, why to make them and in some cases, when to do so. Since Next Generation Trust Services does not endorse any investments nor give investment advice, we are strong proponents of financial literacy as it particularly pertains to retirement savings.

Open a Retirement Plan

Of course, the first step toward building greater retirement stability (which implies financial literacy on some level) is opening and funding a retirement plan, whether an IRA (individual retirement arrangement—either Traditional or Roth), a SIMPLE or SEP IRA for business owners and employers and their employees, or another type of employer-sponsored retirement plan such as a 401k. All of these can be self-directed (for those investors “in the know”) and may include both traditional and non-publicly traded alternative assets such as real estate, commodities, precious metals, private placements and so much more. The key to building a potentially more lucrative retirement portfolio through self-direction is—this month’s magic words—financial literacy regarding these nontraditional investments.

If you’re looking for some information about self-direction as a retirement wealth-building strategy, here’s a helpful tip: contact the professionals at Next Generation Trust Services for answers to your questions.

 

Call 888-857-8058
E-mail Info@NextGenerationTrust.com

 

You can also download our white papers about self-directed retirement plans, or read through our Starter Kits or our website.

Back to Blog