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As market conditions fluctuate, proactive financial strategies can make all the difference between safeguarding one's wealth and witnessing a potentially significant decline in assets.

This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of wealth management strategies in the face of uncertainty to help you navigate financial challenges.

Diversify Investments

This means spreading your investments across a variety of asset classes, such as stocks, bonds, and real estate. The main objective of diversification is to mitigate risk and stabilize potential returns. In the face of financial uncertainty, diversification can serve as a buffer, protecting your portfolio from sudden market downturns. If one asset declines, the other assets may perform well and compensate for the loss. In essence, diversification is the financial equivalent of the saying, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." It's a prudent approach to investing, particularly during volatile market conditions.

Establish an Emergency Fund

This fund acts as a financial safety net, protecting you from unexpected expenses or income losses. The fund should ideally have enough money to cover three to six months of living expenditures. Keeping this fund in a highly liquid account, like a savings account, is recommended for easy access during emergencies.

With this buffer, you can have peace of mind, knowing that you are financially prepared to weather unexpected storms. Whether it's a sudden job loss, medical emergency, or significant repair costs, an emergency fund ensures you have the financial resources to handle these without jeopardizing your long-term financial goals.

Rebalance Portfolio Regularly

This involves realigning the proportions of your assets to ensure they still match your desired risk level and financial goals. Market conditions can cause certain assets in your portfolio to gain or lose value, shifting your portfolio away from its target allocation. By rebalancing, you are essentially selling high-performing assets and buying more of the underperforming ones, which aligns with the principle of 'buy low, sell high'.

This practice helps keep your investment strategy on track, mitigating risks and capitalizing on market changes. Keep in mind that rebalancing should be done periodically, such as annually or semi-annually, and not in response to short-term market fluctuations.

Long-term Perspective

Maintaining a long-term perspective is fundamental for effective wealth management, especially during periods of market volatility. While short-term market fluctuations can be unnerving, resisting the impulse to react hastily is important. Instead, focus on your long-term financial goals and resist swaying from your planned investment strategy based on short-term market dynamics.

Remember, the market has historically recovered from downturns, and temporary declines may provide buying opportunities for patient investors. Engaging a financial advisor can provide valuable counsel, help keep your emotions in check, and guide you in making informed decisions that align with your long-term financial objectives.

Avoid Overreacting

Making drastic changes to your investments during times of market volatility can be quite tempting. However, overreacting can often lead to decisions that may disrupt your long-term financial goals. Develop and stick to a disciplined investing plan, regardless of market conditions. Making rash judgments based on short-term market swings might cost you money and undermine your financial strategy.

Instead, strive to remain calm and composed, making rational decisions based on your long-term objectives and risk tolerance. Consult with your financial advisor before making significant decisions, particularly during periods of market uncertainty.

Final Thoughts

Financial planning is a dynamic process that requires regular attention and adjustments, especially amid economic uncertainty. Incorporating the proper strategy into your financial planning can go a long way in safeguarding your wealth and achieving your financial goals. It's important to remember, however, that every individual's financial situation is unique, and the best approach to wealth management will depend on personal circumstances, financial goals, risk tolerance, and life stage.

When immediate financial needs arise, quick and easy loans can be a beneficial tool. They provide immediate financial relief and are typically easy to apply for. While these loans can be a saving grace in emergencies, they should only be used wisely and sparingly, as they often come with higher interest rates.

To help you maximise your profits, the most established and top crypto futures exchanges offer you high leverage. So you get the chance to make more money by investing less. However, we cannot deny the fact that the crypto futures market is extremely volatile. As a result, you will need to have the best crypto futures trading strategies to make profits. To help you out, here we have mentioned a couple of good strategies:

The Pullback Strategy

The pullback strategy is one of the most powerful yet popular trading strategies out there. As you can see in the name, the trading strategy is based on price pullbacks.

Price pullbacks are a common thing during trending markets when the price breaks below or above the resistance or support level, reverses and gets back to the broken level.

Talking about resistant levels, it is a price point at which the market fails to break above. On the other hand, support levels are price points where the market is having difficulties breaking below.

During a market uptrend, the price breaks above an established resistance level and reverses and retests the resistance level. Once the retest is completed, you can enter the market by taking a long position in the direction of the underlying uptrend.

On the other hand, during an uptrend, the price breaks below an established support level. Then it reverses and returns to the support level again. This creates a pullback, and you can enter the market with a short position in the direction of the downtrend.

In the market, pullbacks are a common thing, and it appears when traders start taking profit which pushes the price of crypto futures in the opposite direction of the original breakout. So the traders who missed the initial price point can wait for the price to come down to the resistance level so they can enter the market. And this pushes the price of the crypto futures to go up again.

Going Long Or Short

Going long or short are two of the best crypto futures trading strategies. By going long, you hope that the crypto futures price will go up over a certain period of time. And when it reaches a favourable price point, you simply sell your holdings and book a profit.

As a trader, your job is to predict the direction and timing of the crypto futures market. To do this, you need to learn about technical analysis, which is a study of historical market data and patterns. Plus, use different indicators to figure out the next move of the market.

Also, apart from going long, you can short sell crypto futures. This means that if you believe that the price of crypto futures will fall, then you have to sell your assets first, and once the price of the crypto futures goes down, you simply buy your assets back. Plus, thanks to leveraged trading, you can enjoy maximised profits if trades go in your favour. But if it does not go as per your predictions, there will be huge losses too.

Breakout Trading

Breakout trading is another popular trading method that is used mainly in day trading. But it can also be used for trading crypto futures. A breakout occurs when an underlying asset’s price moves out of an established trading range.

Breakout trading purposes of catching the market volatility when the price is breaking out of support and resistance levels, trendlines, and other technical levels.

Breakouts often happen in the market, and you can easily spot them by using different indicators and trendlines. And it gets accompanied by an increase in the volume of buys or sales in the market.

Also, after a breakout happens, the market experiences great volatility. This happens due to executions of numerous pending orders.

You can take advantage of this volatility by taking a long or short position. You need to take a short position when the price breaks below support. Or go into a long position when the markets break the resistance levels.

Spread Trading

You can next try out spread trading. In this trading strategy, you are required to purchase 1 crypto futures contract and sell another futures contract at a different time. The main goal of this strategy is for you to profit from an unanticipated change in the relationship between the buying price of 1 contract and the selling price of another crypto futures contract.

Spread trading lowers your risk in trading. Also, each spread is a hedge, and trading differences between 2 crypto futures contracts result in lower risks to a trader. Plus, spread trading is also not affected by market volatility.

Trading The Range

Trading the ranger stands for a trading bounce off important support and resistance levels in a chart. In this case, when the market faces difficulties breaking above a certain level, the market participants will refer to that level as the resistant level.

And when the price reaches the same level again, there will be some traders who will start taking profits, and others will open short positions in the market. This will increase selling pressure on the crypto futures price, and the price of it will fall down.

Similarly, when the price fails to break below a certain level and reaches the same price level again, traders who have short sales will start taking profits. Also, some traders will start buying at a lower price. This will create buying pressure in the market which will drive the price up.

When trading in the range, the first thing you need to care about is whether the market is actually trading in a range or sideways. If there is an absence of higher highs or lower lows in the price, then the current market environment would be a ranging market typically.

Additionally, you can use trend-following technical indicators like the ADX indicator. An ADX value below 25 indicates that the market is not in a trend. So you can place your stop loss at important resistance levels if you are shorting the market or below an important support level in case of taking a long position.

Buyer And Seller Interest

As a trader, you can also use the data of buyer and seller interest to decide whether to buy or sell a futures contract. Buyer and sellers' interest is determined by the Depth of the Market or DOM window, which shows the number of open buys and sells orders for a crypto futures contract at a number of price levels. 

Also, DOM shows the liquidity for the underlying futures contracts. If there is a higher number of market orders at each price, then it refers to higher liquidity and vice versa.

Some brokers refer to the depth of the market as the order book, which is a common thing found across all the exchanges.

The order book gets updated in real-time, and it reflects the current trading activity in the market. Also, you should know that large trading orders will not affect the price of highly liquid security.

But if the depth of the market and liquidity is low, even small trading orders can have a significant impact on the price.

Counter-Trend Trading

Finally, there is counter-trend trading. In this trading strategy, you can take positions in the opposite of the underlying trend. For instance, a counter-trend trader would look for sell opportunities during uptrends and buy opportunities during downtrends.

In counter-trend trading, your job is to take advantage of the price common that succeeds each impulse move and place your profit targets at around 50% of the impulse move or at an important Fibonacci level. However, you should know that counter trend trading is extremely risky compared to other crypto futures trading strategies. And you should only follow this strategy once you have gained enough experience in crypto futures trading.

Final Words

So those were some of the best crypto futures trading strategies. As a trader, you must try out different strategies, learn technical analysis and follow proper money management. Once you have gained enough experience, you should only then risk higher funds when trading. 

Why is financial planning important?

Financial planning is a process that sets you on a course towards understanding and achieving your life goals through the proper management of your financial affairs. Financial planning is more than budgeting and cutting back, the right financial plan balances what you need and want today with the personal goals you have for the future. Comprehensive or holistic financial planning looks at the big picture to consider all relevant aspects of your life including budgeting, investing, tax, retirement, estate planning, debt or risk management

Working with a financial planner is about more than the short-term goals, it's about integrating all the financial needs of your life into one cohesive plan. Many people believe that you don’t need a financial plan until you are ready to retire, I argue that any life event that requires significant planning, a future date and significant funds requires a financial plan. Many of us have done aspects of financial planning on our own, think of planning for a wedding, or a new child, both of those things require a plan.

A Certified Financial Planner helps to integrate those plans into your larger financial picture to keep you on track for your short- and long-term goals. Canadians that work with a financial planner have told us they feel significantly more at ease with their day-to-day finances, they have more positive feelings towards handling any uncertainty that comes their way, they are better equipped to manage personal economic shocks such as job loss, divorce, illness or injury or any major family life event that can disrupt your finances.

A survey done by Financial Planning Canada indicates that again in 2020, finances are the number one cause of stress, by a big margin, outranking personal health, work, and relationships. This is particularly significant because we expected personal stress to exceed financial stress due to the pandemic.  Canadians that work with financial planners say they are significantly more likely to be shielded from financial stress and 53% of them say it doesn't impact their lives at all.

Canadians that work with financial planners say they are significantly more likely to be shielded from financial stress and 53% of them say it doesn't impact their lives at all.

How should people structure their portfolios during a crisis in the market?

During times of great market volatility, like we continue to see in 2020, it is important to look at your portfolio and asses if the current market swings of 5%, 10%, 15% etc. are causing you anxiety. It's one thing to not like what's going on in the news and the stock market and it's another for it to be causing you anxiety to the point where it's disrupting your sleep and your life. During a time of market volatility, it is key for me, as an adviser, to work with my clients to truly understand what their risk tolerance is. All of us, at some point or another, have overreached on our comfort level with risk and unfortunately, it is usually a market event that brings the overreach to light.

If you find that the current market rollercoaster is causing you significant worry, it is time to address what options you have to reduce the volatility in your portfolio. There are a few important things to remember:

In a financial planning context, the amount of risk that is taken on in a portfolio is generally less because the rate of return that we are trying to achieve is based on what is required to make your goals a reality; it is no longer about trying to beat an index. Portfolio construction and management are still key components and prudent management is still very important but the context of what investments are being chosen are different when the conversation is about what these funds need to do for you as an individual and a family to achieve the lifestyle you want to have.

What should people address in their plan for 2020 and 2021?

For many of the families I work with, the pandemic of 2020 has created a material shift in their priorities and goals. I recently had a meeting with a couple that were 3 years from retirement. Their goals were to travel extensively for 5 years and then settle into a routine of spending the winters in a warmer climate and the summers in Central Alberta. They planned on downsizing their home and moving into a condo so they could just lock up and drive to the airport on a whim. They were so excited about 2023. When we recently had a review meeting, they have had a significant change of heart - they really enjoyed the slower pace that the pandemic has forced on many of us. They started a garden in their back yard, they spent time working on their home and realised how much they missed seeing the grandkids. The pandemic changed their plan - now they want to retire earlier, keep their home and garden, and spend more time with family. They still plan to travel (when they can) but they plan on doing shorter trips and spending some of the funds they had set aside for travel to upgrade the home they love into a place they plan to stay in for another 20 years.

Many times, our goals and plans change and that is what causes the investments and planning goals to change. Our meeting meant starting from scratch on the retirement plan and cash flow analysis but that is why those documents are never set in stone. Financial planning is an ongoing process that changes as life changes - goals change, investments change, life happens.

With businesses embracing big data, new tech and digital media, the role of traditional CFO is evolving from financial expert to strategic partner, data analyst, talent curator and more. With the support of several data streams, James Booth, Chief Financial Officer at Instant Offices explains for Finance Monthly what this new era of the multidiscipline strategist means and how there is more potential than ever for CFOs to be the architects of change within business.

Five Factors Keeping CFOs Up at Night

  1. Brexit

Around 75% of CFOs worry Brexit could have a negative impact on business in the long-term, compared to just 9% who don’t, according to Deloitte. Along with Brexit risks, weak demand and the prospect of tighter monetary policies are ranked as the top worries for CFOs in 2018. Despite high levels of uncertainty across the board, research shows CFOs are still highly focused on growth plans, and the level of desire to expand business over the next year is at its highest since 2009.

  1. Skills Shortages

According to research, 44% of CFOs have reported recruitment difficulties and skills shortages in 2018. To add to the challenge, The Open University Business Barometer revealed a massive 91% of UK organisations say they have had difficulties hiring skilled employees in the last 12 months.

  1. Rising Stress Levels

78% of UK CFOs believe stress levels are set to rise in the next two years as workloads increase, business expectations grow, and companies face a lack of staff, according to Robert Half. Research also shows CFOs expect their finance teams’ workloads to increase, while 52% are planning to hire interim staff as a short-term solution.

  1. Big Data

Research firm IDC predicts that by 2025, we’ll see 163 trillion gigabytes of data output every year. And a recent study by Accenture suggests that by 2020, 90% of a CFO’s time and efforts will be spent on working with data scientists to turn data into actionable insights that organisations can use for strategic decision-making.

  1. Increased Cyber Security Threats

Studies from Verizon show that 59% of cybercriminals are motivated by financial gain and are likely to target finance and HR – areas which fall into the CFO realm – suggesting CFOs are going to be expected to take a proactive approach to cybersecurity.

Top Five CFO Priorities for the Upcoming Year

In Q2 of 2018, CFOs listed the following as strong priorities for business in the following 12 months:

  1. 49% say increasing cash flow is the top priority
  2. 47% say reducing costs
  3. 37% say introducing new products and services and expanding into new markets
  4. 18% say expanding by acquisition is a priority
  5. 14% say raising dividend or share buybacks

What Skills will CFOs Need by 2020?

The CFO Must Become a Leader of Innovation: New tech, including AI, will become a core part of the innovation strategy within businesses looking to remain competitive, and CFOs will be required to understand the opportunities presented by new tech to drive growth. By 2020, 48% of CFOs are set to be using AI to improve performance.

CFOs Must Embrace Big Data: According to a report by the ACCA and IMA, the CFO and finance team is set to be at the heart of the data revolution. In order to make sense of the large volumes of data the world will be generating by 2020, CFOs will need to be able to accurately interpret data to generate quality, actionable insights for CEOs and board-level decisions.

The CFO Must Manage Risk Under Scrutiny: As tech grows and presents more complex risks to business, expectations on the CFO will be high. They’ll be required to implement and manage cutting-edge risk management processes within the finance department and business as a whole. A proactive approach towards threats will be key. One report by NJAMHA showed four in ten finance chiefs currently own or co-own cybersecurity responsibility within their organisations.

The CFO Must Prepare Talent for the FuturePrepping talent for a finance role was once the domain of HR, but in order to prepare new employees for the future of finance, CFOs are going to be required to increase involvement to ensure new employees can multitask, show technical competence and handle business strategy. Around 42% of CFOs are also prioritising soft skills as a key element for future hires.

The CFO Must Be a Leader in a Rapidly Changing Workplace: With the consumerisation of real estate becoming a global trend, more businesses are choosing an agile approach to office space to expand into new markets, reduce costs, increase networking opportunities and improve staff happiness. Tied into this, the modern CFO will need to develop leadership skills to not only manage talent but also implement development strategies that work across remote teams with geographic and language differences.

Today, the role of the CFO has evolved from financial expert to a multidiscipline strategist. In addition to traditional accounting and finance responsibilities, by 2020 research shows the top priority for CFOs will be keeping pace with technology and harnessing big data.

Nowadays, CEOs expect CFOs to have an impact on business direction and strategy more than ever before. And while the question of who owns analytics is still an open question across sectors, according to a report by Deloitte, finance is the area most often found to invest in analytics at 79%, and CFOs can use it to bridge the gap between strategic and operational decision-making.

Finance Monthly speaks to Pierre-Noël Formigé, the Founder and CEO of Swiss company SEQUOIA, about the wealth management and estate planning solutions that his company provides, as well as his tips on maintaining and growing wealth for future generations.

 

Can you tell us about the core services that SEQUOIA offers?

SEQUOIA offers a holistic approach of wealth management thanks to a genuine "open architecture" which includes: wealth management, establishment of funds, management of funds - advice and follow-up, estate planning (trusts, foundations, companies), services of family offices, life insurance, financing (real estate, aircrafts, boats), reports and record keeping, risk management, compliance and regulatory assistance.

 

What would you say are the particular benefits for individuals of having professional assistance in relation to managing their wealth?

There are numerous benefits for individuals that decide to trust SEQUOIA with their wealth management. Our aim is not only to offer financial services, but also a financial experience and networking. Each solution and experience that we offer are specifically and uniquely tailored. SEQUOIA’s modularity and extensive experience allow for easy adaptation to our clients’ expectations.

 

What strategies do you and your team at SEQUOIA implement to ensure that your clients’ goals and objectives are achieved?

At SEQUOIA, clients are in the centre of our decision-making processes - they are our key priority. We have developed a well-informed overview of each of our clients’ financial situation, as well as a better understanding of clients’ goals and limitations.

Every portfolio construction starts with a discussion with the client or its representative, in order to fully understand their objectives and deliver a tailored-made investment proposal, allowing to approach and negotiate with partners. Our team can, at the request of the manager, take on a direct role in the relationship with customers, in accordance with their objectives and needs.

 

In your experience, are individuals fully aware of their assets and worth so that they can take advantage of tax planning?  Which types of assets are usually missed?

SEQUOIA’s clients are fully aware of their assets, however, they might not be fully aware of their tax impact. We ensure that clients have better tax awareness, as it does have the potential to improve individuals’ returns. According to surveys, while many factors impact investors, the majority of high-net-worth investors say that it’s more important to minimize the impact of taxes when making investment decisions, thus we offer the right measures to help high-net-worth clients reduce the taxes owed on income and investment gains.

In order to do so, we put a lot of effort in selecting the right investment products. We try to take advantage of some losses, and implement additional strategies that can help our clients to manage, defer, and reduce taxes. However, sometimes, clients do not mention their real estate assets, which could have an effect on tax planning; we provide advisory services in relation to that too.

 

What solutions do you offer in respect of maintaining and growing wealth for future generations of the same family?

Transmitting heritage built from generation to generation and building a better future for entrepreneurs is the essence of SEQUOIA Group. Our team of professionals provides high-quality services in order to manage our clients’ wealth, taking future generations into account.

From portfolio management - with tailor-made investment solutions matching the clients’ needs, to liability management - which includes heritage planning, distribution agreements, trustee and real estate project management, SEQUOIA provides a cost-effective turnkey solution based on legally compliant practices to deal with the impact of new regulatory landscape and the different legal, technical and operational risks.

 

How challenging is it to work in an ever-changing regulatory environment?

It is obvious that the status quo cannot be maintained in this ever-changing regulatory environment, however, SEQUOIA’s approach regarding this is to constantly adapt and understand those changes to serve our clients better. Choices that have been made in the past may not be completely relevant in today’s environment or vice versa, but our job is to continuously develop strategies that are relevant to our clients.

 

Website:

http://www.sequoia-ge.com

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Finance Monthly is a comprehensive website tailored for individuals seeking insights into the world of consumer finance and money management. It offers news, commentary, and in-depth analysis on topics crucial to personal financial management and decision-making. Whether you're interested in budgeting, investing, or understanding market trends, Finance Monthly provides valuable information to help you navigate the financial aspects of everyday life.
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