Ask the advisors: I am 40 years old, I am married and I have 2 children. How aggressively should I invest my money right now and should I own crypto? Here’s what 5 financial advisors told him to do right now.

Answer: How aggressively someone should invest in the market depends on a variety of factors such as how much you can save, how long investments can accumulate, how much you plan to spend in retirement, and your willingness both to take and bear the risk. “Being more aggressive with your investments can mean taking on more risk, which you may or may not be able to do,” says Jay Zigmont, Certified Financial Planner at Live, Learn, Plan. (This tool can help connect you with an advisor who might meet your needs.)

But taking calculated risks may be what you need to do if you want to quit your job soon. “This means you may need to be more aggressive in your asset allocation. The term for this in the investment world is ‘there is no alternative’ (TINA),” says Matthew Jenkins , Certified Financial Advisor at Noble Hill Planning, who adds that “increasing your savings rate is also paramount. In your case, your savings rate may need to go well beyond 10-15% traditionally recommended.

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So what might that look like for a 40-something who wants to stop working in 10 or 15 years? First, think about what you want your after-work lifestyle to look like. Depending on how lavish or meager it is, the pros say you might want to have between 60% and 100% of your pre-retirement income available to you each year of retirement; you can also take social security into account when you start taking it, and don’t forget to note health costs. Because you’re hoping to leave work sooner, you might want to assume that you’ll be withdrawing 2-3% per year, rather than 4% per year.

And, says Certified Financial Planner Lei Deng, you’ll want to make all of your goals more concrete to help solidify those numbers. Ask yourself questions like, “At what age do you plan to retire? How much money do you plan to spend in retirement? What is a rough estimate of your life expectancy? These questions can help you figure out how much money you’ll need in retirement,” she says.

Should you hire a financial adviser to help you invest?

When it comes to knowing how to invest your money to achieve these goals, many people turn to a financial planner to help them – this tool can help put you in touch with an advisor who might meet your needs – although it comes at a cost. It may depend on how comfortable you are with doing it yourself and whether you like to entrust financial decisions to others. Here’s a guide to what to ask of any advisor you might hire, and here’s what you can expect to pay an advisor (but note that many advisor fees are negotiable).

If you decide to choose investments yourself, this guide to diversification and this one on how to invest if you want to retire early, which highlights diversification and low-cost funds as keys to success , can help you. “Diversify sectors, add 15 to 20 years and you could have a good retirement income-generating portfolio that keeps up with inflation,” says certified financial planner John Piershale of John Piershale Wealth Management, who adds that you will want income students. blue-chip, high-quality, dividend-paying stocks with a history of increasing dividends in your portfolio as well.

Should crypto be part of your investment strategy?

Many advisors say that most, if not all, portfolios should contain alternative investments. “The 60/40 bond-to-equity portfolio has been under pressure lately and adding alternative investments is a good idea when looking to diversify,” says Josh Chamberlain, Certified Financial Planner at Chamberlain Financial. Advisors. But beware of investing in an asset you don’t understand, and the part of your portfolio you put in alternative assets doesn’t need to include crypto, although it can. Remember that the “up and down swings in crypto can be dizzying,” says Chamberlain.

Asking yourself what is attractive with crypto, what is the purpose of having crypto in your portfolio, and whether it is for diversification or for potential return, can help determine whether you should invest in it. “If you are a strong crypto believer and already have a good portfolio in place to achieve your goal, you can allocate a small portion to crypto that matches your comfort level,” Deng says. Ultimately, crypto may be a wild ride. “There’s money to be made, but you’ll have to do your homework and make sure you have ice water flowing through your veins. There will be a lot of ups and downs going forward,” says Jenkins. (This tool can help connect you with an advisor who might meet your needs.)

Don’t forget to account for taxes

Other things to consider are a tax plan and where to save money. “If you withdraw funds from retirement accounts before age 55, you have very few options to avoid the 10% penalty and taxes,” says certified financial planner Blaine Thiederman. So you’ll also want money in non-retirement accounts like a brokerage account. “The reason for this is that if you wish to withdraw from these accounts well before the normal retirement age, you are not charged any penalty on withdrawals and you can still benefit from certain tax saving techniques,” explains Thiederman.

Do you have an investment question? Email [email protected] and we’ll have a panel of CFPs answer it for you.