Like many financial advisors, I am often called on to help my family and friends with financial matters. In my experience advising different generations and age groups, there are some common questions and problems that keep coming up, especially in relation to investment fear and greed. What I tell them—and what I wish trusted advisors would tell their existing and prospective clients—depends on where they are in life.

When thinking about market risk factors we should worry about, the list is quite extensive. Just googling “economic statistics,” for example, will give you about 365 million results. If you search “stock market statistics,” you’ll get only 8.5 million hits. The question, then, is how can we refine the data points to determine which indicators truly belong on our risk radar?

There's been a lot of media attention placed on younger generations (Gen X and Y) and their potential to help advisors grow their businesses. Still, many advisors remain reluctant to tap into this market, despite the knowledge and expertise they have to share.