Rani Jarkas _Choosing an ide al time horizon for your investments and identifying precise forecasting strategies

1. Rani Jarkas – Choosing an ideal time horizon for your investments and identifying precise forecasting strategies It is one of the most important questions when contemplating an investment as "What is your time horizon?" The answer can help you decide what type of investment vehicle you should consider, and how long to hold your investment before selling so as to make precise forecasting strategies. An investment time horizon is the period of time one expects to hold an investment until they need the money back. Time horizons are largely dictated by investment goals and strategies. Short Term. Short-term goals, as a general rule, are those less than five years in the future. To reduce the risk of loss, holding funds in cash or cash-like vehicles is likely the most appropriate strategy. Money market funds and short-term certificates of deposit are popular conservative investments, as are savings accounts. Intermediate Term. Intermediate-term goals are those five to 10 years in the future. At this range, some exposure to stocks and bonds will help grow the initial investment's value, and the amount of time until the money must be spent is far enough in the future to permit a degree of volatility. Balanced mutual funds, which include a mix of stocks and bonds, are popular investments for intermediate-term goals. Long-Term. Long-term goals are those more than 10 years in the future. More conservative investors may cite 15 years as the time horizon for long-term goals. Over long-term time periods, stocks offer greater potential rewards. While they also contain greater risk, there is time available to recover from a loss. Time horizon investing is all about planning. You need to think about your goals. Once you have done that, investment selection is based on the amount of time you have until the goal must be funded. Mr. Rani Jarkas is a highly experienced and accomplished financial services executive, with over 23 years of international banking experience. Currently, Mr. Jarkas is the Chairman and CEO of Cedrus Investments. Cedrus Investments is a global boutique investment banking firm he founded over 18 years ago.