6 Top Investing Moves To Make Ahead of Fall, According to Experts

With the fall season, and Q4, around the corner, now is the best time to check in with your investing goals for 2024. Whether you’re right on track or are a little behind, there’s still time to get all your ducks in a row ahead of 2025 and reap the financial benefits that come with it.

GOBankingRates spoke to two financial experts about specific investing moves to make ahead of the fall season, regardless of where you are in your investing journey. Keep reading for their investment recommendations.

If you haven’t been able to max out contributions in a tax-advantaged retirement account like a Roth IRA this year, make sure to do it ahead of or during this fall. 

Doing so, said personal finance expert Erika Kullberg, sets you up to take advantage of tax benefits before the end of the year.

2024 is an election year, which can elicit the emotions of Americans. Brad Long, CFA, CIO and managing partner at Fiducient Advisors, said these same emotions can betray us when it comes to investing.

Before fall, as well as during subsequent seasons to come, Long’s recommendation is to rise above the noise and stay long-term with your investing strategy.

“Markets have succeeded under red, blue and purple political oversight,” Long told GOBankingRates.

Kullberg recommends spending some time ahead of the fall season reevaluating your investing strategies. If you need some guidance on where to start, consider reviewing the following areas:

• Check your portfolio balance to make sure it’s right. This is particularly important since Kullberg said the Federal rate cut is expected to come in September and there tend to be broad market adjustments during fall.
• Revisit your asset allocation. She said this area should still be in alignment with your long-term goals and overall risk tolerance.

According to Long, investors are currently enjoying the highest money market rates since 2000 which has led to trillions of dollars being parked in cash. As the Fed begins to ease rates, however, Long said the expected return on cash will fall in lockstep.

Savvy investors will want to put their cash back to work. If you haven’t already invested in bonds, for example, this may be of interest ahead of fall 2024. Long said the outlook for bonds in a falling rate environment is attractive and can help diversify the risks of a moderating economy.

Tax planning is important to focus on every year, but Long said with the Trump-era tax cuts set to expire it’s even more critical to conduct final prep for taxes ahead of fall. 

“It’s not just about what you earn in the market; it’s about what you keep after tax,” he said.

In previous GOBankingRates articles, financial experts have advised looking to other regions outside the United States to purchase stocks in non-US companies. Long also recommends exploring investment opportunities in international markets. 

“Not only do foreign markets trade at more attractive valuations in aggregate, but many also have higher expected growth rates,” he said. “Coupled with the potential for a weaker dollar as the Fed begins to lower rates and the Treasury seeks to address deficit funding, foreign markets may offer a compelling opportunity.”