Supporting Your Enlistee’s Investment Opportunities While Serving
Your service member enlisting in the military shouldn’t be a death penalty for all their prior investment. From their business investments to stock portfolios and even retirement savings, there are ways to maintain—and even grow—these assets while on active duty. With the right strategy, support system, and tools, you can help your enlist continue building their wealth while they focus on their military duty.
The Trick to It
While preparing this article, we interviewed a few financial advisors, both from civilian and military backgrounds. They all agreed on one thing: the key to helping your service member grow their investment is staying informed.
“You’d need to understand what kind of investments your service member holds, what financial goals they have, and how military life might impact those plans,” one financial advisor says. “Ask yourself these questions: Did they own a business they are planning on scaling? Do they have stocks that need management or retirement accounts that could benefit from regular contributions? Is there something you can do about it?”
All these questions matter, and finding the answer to them is the first step to creating a support plan that ensures your service member’s investment thrives despite their military career.
Creating a Support Plan
Your support plan would typically depend on the specific investments your service member owns and their financial goals. You’d also want to consider how military life may affect their ability to manage their assets; some investments can be more easily managed remotely, while others might require more hands-on involvement. Additionally, you’ll need to factor in the potential for deployments, relocations, and varying income due to military pay and allowances.
Here are some steps you can take to create a comprehensive support plan:
Assess Investment Types and Management Needs
Evaluate the types of investments your service member holds. Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds can often be managed remotely via online platforms, which is helpful during deployments or relocations. However, if they have a business or property investments, these might require more in-person attention, and you may need to find ways to manage these remotely or with the help of trusted individuals.
Leverage Digital Tools and Technology
Encourage your service member to use online tools and apps that can help them monitor those investments that can be monitored remotely. There are a variety of platforms that allow for the tracking of stock portfolios, mutual fund performance, and retirement accounts, all of which can be accessed from anywhere.
Hire a Pro
For businesses and investment options that can’t be handled remotely, getting an expert to help manage things might be the best option. Businesses you are confident you can handle can be managed by you, but for those investments that need more trained hands, you’re better off just hiring an expert. From financial advisors to tax experts, having the right person in charge can ensure that things run smoothly in your absence
Automate Investments and Contributions
Practically every investment requires capital to grow. Where possible, automate regular contributions to investment accounts, such as retirement savings, mutual funds, or business reinvestment funds. This ensures that even while your service member is busy with military duties, their investment keeps growing.
Conclusion
Supporting your service member’s investment opportunities while they serve is an important role for you as their parent. You can do that by following the steps listed above. But remember, it all starts with getting informed. Find out all the information you need about their investments from your service member, and half the work is done.
Useful Resources
Military OneSource - A comprehensive resource offered by the Department of Defense for all your resource needs.
USAA Financial Services - Provides a wide range of financial tools, including tools for investment management.
Military Financial Advisors Association (MFAA) - A professional association of financial advisors who specialize in meeting the needs of service members.
