Diversify Your Investments
It's about balancing potential risks and rewards.
An investment strategy is key in limiting your financial risk. It's recommended that you spread your wealth out across a variety of investments, something known as portfolio diversification. If you're already an investor, you know that market conditions change over time and some investments in your portfolio will outperform others.
Diversification happens on a couple of levels. First is the asset allocation − that's when you spread your money over the three major asset classes (stocks, bonds and cash equivalents). Second is spreading your money over various investment options within a particular asset class. This is how diversification helps you balance the risks and rewards of the asset classes and the investment within the asset class itself.
How do you choose between asset classes?
Good question! Your level of risk tolerance and the amount of time you have before you need the money will help you decide what percentage of your portfolio to assign to each asset class. Depending on your age, risk tolerance and your other assets, your investor profile might be described as aggressive, moderate or conservative or someplace in between.
Once you've identified your profile and determined the percentages to allocate to the asset classes, the next task is to pick the options within the asset classes you want. This part depends entirely on the type of investor you are. Three basic investment styles are conservative, moderate and aggressive, although many people fall in between these types.
A moderate investor might invest a significant percentage of his or her portfolio in stock or stock funds and the balance in bonds, bond funds or other fixed income investments. The percentage assigned to the equity asset class could be divided among different segments of the equity market, ranging from large companies to small companies or domestic to international.
You should note that funds that invest internationally involve risks not associated with investing solely in the U.S., such as currency fluctuation, political risk, differences in accounting and the limited availability of information. Small company funds involve increased risk and volatility. Bond funds are subject to the same interest rate, inflation and credit risks that are associated with the underlying bonds owned by the fund.
The more aggressive an investor you are and the longer you can leave your money invested, the more you might consider diversifying your investments among more volatile investments like stocks and bonds. On the other hand, if you're a more conservative investor and have a shorter time to invest, you might consider diversifying your money among less aggressive investments like bonds and cash equivalents.
Remember, no two investors are exactly alike! Only you can decide which options to choose and how much you spread your money around.
With a diversified mix of investments, you may be better able to ride out the downs of economic cycles and limit the risk to your investment portfolio while seeking the growth you want.
Diversification is an investment strategy. It does not assure a profit or guarantee against loss in a declining market. Investing may involve market risk, including the possible loss of principal.
