Your gateway to global investment opportunities

By Peter Tangalos, Head Of Wealth & Investment Services at Hellenic Bank

What we commonly refer to today as financial well-being is directly related to  the peace of mind derived from the knowledge that you have enough money to meet your needs.  Those same needs are a reflection of where you are in the context of your own life’s journey.  The needs of an individual who recently entered the workforce differ markedly from that of a middle-aged person with school-aged children or a baby boomer approaching retirement.

In the past, once you had resolved to ‘save for a rainy day,’ financial well-being took care of itself and life goals were supported by interest earned on savings — your money working for you. The equation today is not so simple, a zero or negative interest rate environment is compounded by the fallout from a global pandemic which, at best, sees the current status quo of a benign or negative interest rate environment continuing into the medium term. The outcome? Savings are victim of the effects of ‘wealth erosion’ impacting the purchasing power of most households.    At Hellenic Bank Wealth & Investment Services, we see “financial well-being” not necessarily defined through the prism of a household’s ability to save, but by its ability to Save & Invest.

This is where things begin to get more complicated. In particular how does one navigate the vast universe of global investment opportunities to choose an investment approach that is suitable to one’s life goals? After all, if a zero interest rate environment has made investment decisions more complicated, it is equally true that product innovation and technological advances have opened up opportunities to investors, be they retail, affluent or wealthy, previously not thought possible.

As of June 30, 60 per cent of the global bond market was yielding less than one per cent, resulting in what many within the industry describe as a “hunt for yield,” and by extension underpinning movement up the risk curve by investors to take advantage of potentially better returns, or in layman’s terms, taking on more risk in search of better returns.  With the potential for increased returns comes additional risk, and against this backdrop as a first-time investor you can be forgiven for thinking it’s all too hard. The reality is very different however and this is where an investment advisor comes in.

People’s attitude towards investing are often rooted in long-held views related to:

• Fear of losing it all;
• It’s too complicated to understand;
• Focus on trying to “time the market;” or the
• Notion that investing is only for the wealthy, all of which are very human responses and all of which an investment advisor can help you frame in the context of what our partners at Allianz Global Investors reflect on as one of seven key tenets of successful investing, namely, “Know yourself and challenge your intentions.”

Whether a seasoned or a first-time investor, a trusted investment advisor can act as your gateway to a portfolio of global investment opportunities.

Find out more at https://hbcy.me/invest