Seek advice when making investment decisions

When it comes to money matters, sometimes, two heads could be better than one.

We all have certain reservations about making huge financial decisions —whether this is about buying a house in Klang Valley or getting a housing loan from AmBank or HSBC—especially since these kinds of decisions affect almost every aspect of our daily lives, and getting the advice of people we trust would go a long way in reassuring us that we are taking the proper steps toward the right financial choices.

So, when it comes to investments and other financial concerns, who should we trust?

Who should we consult in order to make these types of choices?

Here are some suggestions on who would be ideal sources of sound investment advice:

Professionals

This tops the list for a very specific and simple answer: these people just know what they are talking about.

These people have studied and made a living by knowing about investments and finances, and in almost every case, they stand to gain financially as well if they do give you advice that pays off.

So, in terms of knowledge as well as vested interest, finance professionals are the best sources of advice one could get when making investment decisions.

There are a couple of things to remember when dealing with these people, though.

One thing is that consulting with these professionals are not going to come cheap.

The information these professionals would provide you would be worth every Ringgit that you spend, of course, but it is highly important that you do have the money to spend.

Another thing to consider is that these professionals, while knowledgeable, could only give you ideal options and suggestions.

It would still be up to you to weigh these options and invest as you see fit.

Your spouse

Consulting your spouse about investment options is not just about getting the ideal option to go with, it also happens to be a necessity, especially since you would be using mutually-owned funds.

Spouses are supposed to be partners in every avenue of their lives together, and when it comes to family resources, investments are things that every couple needs to discuss.

In any ideal relationship, partners that manage to work together would be able to combine their respective strengths in order to come up with an investment strategy that would be financially viable as well as a good way to strengthen the relationship they share.

Such a method would work, at least in theory, because both parties have the same goal in mind: the prosperity of the family.

Friends and peers

If you have trusted friends that you know for sure are knowledgeable in investments or have enjoyed some measure of success when it comes to their investments, then it certainly would not hurt to consult these people.

The key to asking investment advice from friends and peers is to choose wisely.

Trusting just anyone with such an important opportunity is going to be a very risky move, so when considering approaching a friend for such a role, be sure to take all factors into consideration.

When approaching your friends about investing, this would lead to the possibility of partnership opportunities and you might even find someone to have a long-term business relationship with that could be mutually beneficial.

If so, then however your investment ends up, whether it pays off or not, you open up the door to new prospects.

Old teachers

If you have old professors you trust and you know could give solid advice on investments, it would not hurt to reconnect with these people. Teachers mostly have an affinity towards helping out old students, and would normally have no reservations in sharing their knowledge.

Find a professor you have a good relationship with and take the opportunity to pick this person’s brain. This could be a truly learning experience for you.

There are a number of people out there that could give you advice on your investments, but the point is to always find out who would be able to help you out the most.

Whether you hire professional consultants or you want to approach people you actually know, it is always best to find out as much as you could.

Do your own research. This would supplement the advice you would be accumulating, and help you have a definitely clear idea of what investment path to take.

This content is created by Nazirah Ashari for the readers of The Star. Nazirah is Head of Content at CompareHero, the leading Malaysian financial comparison platform, aimed at helping Malaysians save time and money. Visit CompareHero here