Understanding Risk Tolerance: A Guide for A.O. Smith Employees Navigating Retirement Changes

Healthcare Provider Update: Healthcare Provider for A.O. Smith A.O. Smith primarily offers healthcare benefits to its employees through a selection of insurance plans, which include both individual and family coverage options. Specific details on the providers or plans may vary based on location and employee level, but many employees utilize major providers like Blue Cross Blue Shield or Aetna for their healthcare needs. Potential Healthcare Cost Increases in 2026 In 2026, A.O. Smith employees may face significant healthcare cost increases, primarily driven by anticipated hikes in Affordable Care Act (ACA) premiums. Reports indicate that some states are expecting increases of over 60%, affecting the insurance landscape as federal subsidizations expire. As many as 22 million marketplace enrollees-constituting about 92% of policyholders-could see their out-of-pocket premiums rise by more than 75%. This drastic increase in healthcare costs is compounded by rising medical expenses and pressure from major insurers, resulting in a challenging financial environment for employees planning their healthcare budgets. Click here to learn more

The world of investing is very subjective--the investment plan that’s right for you depends largely upon the level of comfort that you have when it comes to risk. We'd like our clients from A.O. Smith to remember that you can’t completely avoid risk when it comes to investing, but it's possible for you to manage it.

There are two aspects of risk tolerance for A.O. Smith employees to consider: (1) the capacity of your investment plan itself to absorb losses, and (2) how comfortable you are personally with risk. The first aspect can be quantified--the more flexibility your investment plan has when it comes to potential loss, the more risk your plan can tolerate. For example, as we’ve discussed, a long investment time horizon may allow you to take on more risk than a short time horizon.

'You can’t completely avoid risk when it comes to investing, but it is possible for you to manage it..'

The second aspect, how comfortable you are personally with risk, is more of an emotional measure, and depends on many factors, including your objectives, life stage, personality, and investment experience. Some investors are comfortable with a high degree of risk, while others can tolerate only minimal risk. Individual risk tolerance is an important factor for A.O. Smith employees in deciding which individual investments are appropriate for them, as well as how their investment dollars should be allocated among different investment classes.

Articles you may find interesting:

Investors are typically grouped into three categories for purposes of discussing risk tolerance: aggressive (those who have a high degree of risk tolerance); moderate (those willing to accept some degree of risk), and conservative (those who are risk averse).