Americans should invest at any age: ‘It’s never too late’

Investors getting started in the market should feel empowered to do so at any age and set aside apprehensions about it being too late to do so, a wealth management expert says.

“You manage money, you invest money to mortality. It’s just never too late,” Wealth Enhancement Group Senior Vice President Nicole Webb said in an appearance on FOX Business Network’s “Making Money With Charles Payne” Thursday.

Webb noted one of the simplest ways to invest is by looking to improve the yield on savings given the federal funds rate. The benchmark interest rate used by the Federal Reserve that influences banks’ interest rates as well as those on mortgages and credit cards is above 5%. That level is higher than what many regular checking or savings accounts provide.

“Bankrate actually just published in the last week that with the fed funds rate above 5%, we actually have 35% of Americans earning less than 1% on their cash and only 20% earning 4% on their cash,” Webb explained. “Even if the easiest step to start investing is to move cash to money markets, everybody has that opportunity. And, so, I would say that your hesitancy is costing you – whatever that hesitancy is.”

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Host Charles Payne referenced some of the traditional investing rules of thumb, such as tailoring a portfolio’s composition based on your age by subtracting your age from 100 or 110 and shifting from a portfolio of mostly stocks to mostly bonds as you age.

Payne said he believes those investing rules have become outdated because Americans are living longer. Webb agreed and said that sort of formula is “horribly outdated” and that an individual’s investment portfolio should be tailored to personal needs and goals.

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“The acronym that I say in my office constantly is WDIW – what do I want – and I think that, for everyone, your money should be prescriptive to you,” Webb said. “You should prescribe or have prescribed to you, the right situation of investment, the right breakout of investment, because, quite frankly, everybody’s lifestyle needs and income demands are different. So, focus on the right mandate for you, and I just really believe that the person at the center is the core.”

Webb said investors worried about mistiming a new investment or thinking it’s too late to put money in the market should look for ways to invest in historically strong companies that might be coming off a rough quarter.

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“Honing in on this theme of ‘is it too late?’ It’s so easy to look at the market year-to-date and say, ‘Once again, I’m too late’ or ‘My hesitancy got in my way.’ And I would just say there’s plenty of beaten-down household names there. And if there’s one thing that you should really hone in on it’s that you want to be an investor, not a trader,” Webb explained. 

“So when you look at household names like Apple, Starbucks, Nike, McDonald’s — they have had a tough go of it to kick off the year,” Webb noted. “And while you might be an early investor, it might take some time for you to see that share price come back. This is a good entry point to companies that are not going anywhere.”

Here’s a look at how those stocks referenced by Webb have performed year to date versus the last five years as of Thursday’s market close:

• Apple is down 5.71% YTD and up 252.05% over five years.
• Starbucks is down 8.3% YTD and up 12.07% over five years.
• Nike is down 13.66% YTD and up 6.68% over five years.
• McDonald’s is down 9.57% YTD and up 40.2% over five years.