PRINCETON, NJ, March 26, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Professional financial advisors will tell you that personal financial planning is an ongoing process that requires a comprehensive strategy with continuous reviews and adjustments. The recent Federal Reserve's QE2 policy will put that adage to the test now and for some time to come. The Fed's QE2 policy was partially intended to boost the economy by creating upward pricing pressure on US equities. The premise was that average investors will see their 401k plans, IRAs and other equity investments rise, and thus feel more financially secure. In turn investors would begin to feel more confident about their personal finances and this would proceed to a broad based consumer spending binge. So far the first part has happened with the stock market rising, and investors seeing the S&P 500 up 25% since last August. The problem has been that the dollar has fallen 10% since then against the Euro. This has resulted in an increase in commodity prices and in turn higher prices at the pump and in the food store. Whether this policy will work is yet to be seen. However it's not promising.
This financial strategy is based on "tricking" the consumer and the investor into believing that they are actually wealthier and hoping they do not understand that their investments have actual lost purchasing power. Judging on recent polls showing consumer confidence has fallen the past 3 months, it appear that the consumers are not taking the "financial" bait. The most likely reason for this outcome is because artificial gains in investments cannot make up for increases in the consumer's daily personal expenses without a corresponding increase in wages. And with relatively high unemployment there is little pressure for employers to raise wages. In the long run inflation is devastating to the economy because it undermines both the business and consumer confidence in understanding the future value of both investments and personal or business expenses.
This drives investors into inflation hedging investments such as gold, oil and other precious metals. This creates even more inflationary pressures. Consumers and professional financial service providers need to start evaluating the impact on their retirement planning strategies by building higher inflation into their financial forecasts. This will help show the corrosive nature of inflation and the loss of purchasing power over time and provide a more accurate picture of one's retirement planning position. With this new "financial picture" you can them begin to restructure your investment strategies and your retirement goals for an inflationary long term financial environment.
When reviewing a personal financial planning software, the financial planning software should incorporate an actual federal tax analysis that is also indexed to inflation as well as the ability to inflate investment returns and personal expenses. This is important on many fronts, particularly with regards to items such as AMT, qualified plan contribution limitations, and the cost of recapturing capital gains. ExecPlan Express financial planning software has included the current indexed inflation rates for 2011 in its newest release and allows the user to index various inflation rates for taxation, personal expenses, wages and investments.
"Though professional planners are our core clients for the past 30 years," says Robert Fourman sales and marketing director for ExecPlan Express. "Our free trial version has drawn a lot of attention from individuals concerned about whether their investment assets will manage to keep up with inflation." Ultimately the best way to really evaluate what will work best is to crunch the numbers or seek a professional financial planner to help guide you to the right answers. The key to successfully managing the impact of inflation on any retirement planning strategy is creating an effective investment and tax plan with periodical updates to changing financial conditions. For more information on using financial planning software or to obtain a free evaluation copy visit www.execplanexpress.com.
Sawhney Systems is a provided of comprehensive financial planning software for the professional financial advisor. For information on our products ExecPlan and ExecPlan Express please contact us at (800)850-8444.
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