A question from one of our Members:

Dan S. writes: After meetings with a traditional financial adviser, I feel that I can achieve greater financial freedom and success by doing this on my own. Do you have any suggestions on steps I can do to get started such as online broker accounts, funding etc… Thanks a bunch!

Answer:

First off, congrats on your decision to take full responsibility for your financial future. Your email reminded me of a conversation one of my personal contacts recently had with a financial adviser over at Etrade.

When this particular Etrade adviser was asked if he had any alternative suggestions to recommend for my contact’s self-directed 401(k), the answer he got was something to the effect of — and I’m paraphrasing here — “Just stay in mutual funds for now since you’ll make money over the long run”…

D’oh!

Eh… needless to say, that conversation was enough to prompt my contact to also decide to take his investment portfolio into his own hands as well.

The majority will always flock to the path of least resistance and that usually equates to them taking on a lot more risk due to a lack of complete control over how their nest egg is managed.

Stepping away from the mainstream status quo and the “convenience” of investing your hard-earned money with traditional investment firms takes guts… but it also requires a well thought-out plan too.

And while we can’t give you one-on-one investment advice or tell you what you should do with your money Dan, we can pass along some tips and strategies that’ll help you create a financial roadmap for yourself so you can get to where you want to go.

Just keep in ind that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to deciding on which specific asset classes or IVs to invest in. What works for one person may not be a good fit for someone else.

The investment choices you make are largely dependent upon your age, personal financial situation, investment goals, risk tolerance, current economic circumstances… and how well you want to sleep at night.

So before you start diving into any investment ideas head first, I suggest that you read our Sane Investing Report, which will give you a solid foundation of how portfolio diversification and asset allocation can be optimized.

I also cover some of the most important questions you need to ask yourself… questions like:

• What do you hope to achieve with your investments?
• Are you looking for short-term monthly cash-flow, long-term conservative growth, or some combination of both?
• Will you be funding a college education? Buying a home? Retiring soon?
• Do you have the intestinal fortitude to tolerate the roller-coaster ride and potential losses that are associated with high-risk investments?… etc., etc.

There’s much more to it than just these few questions, which is why this report will be a good starting point for you.

Once you’ve got a handle on some of the basics, make sure you thoroughly read the review for each IV or money-growing idea you have an interest in BEFORE you invest any money in them. Understanding WHAT you’re investing in is just as important as WHY.

Also, be sure that you’ve read our Hitchhiker’s Guide To M4 Insider, which will give you some key pointers to your first steps within our flagship wealth-building club.