Where are you advising clients to invest while still remaining cautious?

Cindy Krischer Goodman | 3/27/2012

Scott Poulin
Director of Florida Wescott Financial Advisory Group - Miami

"We believe in keeping some of a client's portfolio liquid. Whatever a client's expenses are, we multiply that between two and four and keep that in cash or short-term bonds. That way, if we have a repeat of 2008, we're not selling something at the wrong time.

We are recommending an asset allocation that includes three categories: The first is stocks — domestic and international; the second is fixed income. We like government and corporate bonds of high grade; the third category includes some alternative investments in energy master limited partnerships, global REITs and natural resources. Rather than investing in gold futures contracts, we buy into the company that manufactures or produces the gold. For the more conservative clients, we suggest more bonds or fixed income. For the more aggressive, we recommend more equities and alternatives.

For the long term, I'm concerned about being too aggressive in bonds. There's potentially another bubble on the horizon. Bonds have only one way to go, and that's lower in value. I think international stocks are where the value is. I think it's better to have a healthy exposure to equities rather than running into the bond market."

Tags: Banking & Finance