We all have a tendency to lean on other people’s opinions. I know, because I regularly ask my contacts in the City to enlighten me on what is happening on the financial scene. In fact, we rely very much (perhaps too much) on people who know more than us in the world of finance. But it’s not impossible to become pretty clued-up yourself. Try to find out as much as possible about the subject and take into consideration the wider scheme of things. It is important to question things, and I believe that asking the experts the right questions is half the battle. Do not get me wrong, there are many people in the financial world who are good at what they do. However, there are some who do not necessarily know a lot more than you do. Remember that investment opinions are, by their very nature, subjective. Financial expertise is mainly born of experience, which teaches us that stock market crashes are never the same each time, economic cycles never cosily repeat themselves, and heaven only knows where interest rates will be in 18 months from now. We all have an opinion on the subject and so do the experts.

One fact that we can be certain of is that the future is devilishly difficult to predict. Be aware that even the greatest experts are fallible. So by all means, listen to what the experts are saying, and digest and process that information carefully. Then use your own counsel. Provided you exercise healthy caution and ask the right questions, then diversify your investments sensibly, any mistake as a result of following the advice of an expert or even just a friend won’t be fatal to your financial health.