Richard Evans, principal of Richard L. Evans Investment Management, a forty-year veteran of the industry, knows that the most successful financial plans use a conservative, balanced approach. He has been around to see the ups, downs, wins and losses – and firmly adheres to the tried-and-true portfolio split of 60 percent stocks and 40 percent bonds, insisting this limits exposure during market dips.

“Every market cycle, there’s a new set of gimmicks that come out. The year 1987 was so bad that people were buying portfolio insurance to protect against losses,” Evans said, adding that ironically, people with portfolio insurance suffered the greatest losses. “When the market is volatile, these gimmicks just don’t work.”

Evans doesn’t worry about alpha and beta, either, even though he knows the terms are popular. “I look at how much risk is inherent in a fund,” he said, explaining how the holdings for a fund are an indicator of how it will perform for his investors.

“People get into bad investments because they are scared of volatility,” he said. “Annuities make bad investments. Structured products and liquid alternatives are poor investments. People are being sold things because of the fear of volatility.”

While he acknowledged that the newest trend of robo-advisors has some advantages – mainly encouraging people to become more educated about the market – Evans fears that this trend, too, will prove disastrous for some investors during the next market decline, largely due to a lack of personalized expertise and guidance.

He noted, “A good advisor who is worth his salt is going to try to keep those people in the market. Robo-advisors are a fad – and the outcome is not going to be very pretty.”

“Here we are at the top of a 7-year market and everything is looking rosy, but it’s not always going to be that way,” Evans cautioned. “We want to help more people protect their money, because typically what is sold is not going to protect their capital very well.”

For more information, visit: www.rlevansinvestments.com