Template:Self-assessment questionnaires

Usage: This template describes self-assessment questionnaires which are used to help investors define an initial asset allocation. The template places the following text into the page:

Various advisory services offer two self-assessment questionnaires to help determine your risk tolerance.

The first tool is the Investor Questionnaire. By answering a few questions, you can quickly determine an asset allocation. This tool does not recommend any funds.

The second Vanguard offering is the Get A Recommendation tool and is typical of the genre; it asks six questions and suggests a portfolio resembling one of the LifeStrategy funds.

These tools are useful with caveats. Their real purpose may be to protect the firm by putting the client on record as accepting a certain level of risk.

The usefulness of the questionnaire has recently come into question, as it does not address three factors that have the greatest impact on a person’s attitude toward risk:
 * 1) One’s hereditary penchant to take on financial risks;
 * 2) One’s friends and acquaintances and their influence on framing opinions;
 * 3) One’s life experiences, especially in the formative years.

However, this kind of tool is a worthwhile exercise because it at least asks a question that is different from saying "What percentage of stocks do you think you are comfortable with?"

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