Introduction To Asset Allocation and Diversification- Part 3
This Blog is sponsored by Soundview Financial’s Retirement Savings Guide. Click here to visit Soundview Financial to get access to helpful articles, tips and resources for retirement planning.
In our earlier posts, we provided you with an introduction to asset allocation and a description on the three major assets categories: stocks, bonds and cash. Now, for the fun stuff– Why is asset allocation so important?
By including asset categories with investment returns that move up and down under different market conditions within a portfolio, you can protect against significant losses. Historically, the returns of the three major asset categories have not moved up and down at the same time. Market conditions that cause one asset category to do well often cause another asset category to have average or poor returns. By investing in more than one asset category, you’ll reduce the risk that you’ll lose money and your portfolio’s overall investment returns will have a smoother ride. If one asset category’s investment return falls, you’ll be in a position to counteract your losses in that asset category with better investment returns in another asset category.
The Magic of Diversification. The practice of spreading money among different investments to reduce risk is known as diversification. By picking the right group of investments, you may be able to limit your losses and reduce the fluctuations of investment returns without sacrificing too much potential gain.
In addition, asset allocation is important because it has major impact on whether you will meet your financial goal. If you don’t include enough risk in your portfolio, your investments may not earn a large enough return to meet your goal. For example, if you are saving for a long-term goal, such as retirement or college, most financial experts agree that you will likely need to include at least some stock or stock mutual funds in your portfolio. On the other hand, if you include too much risk in your portfolio, the money for your goal may not be there when you need it. A portfolio heavily weighted in stock or stock mutual funds, for instance, would be inappropriate for a short-term goal, such as saving for a family’s summer vacation.
Determining the appropriate asset allocation model for a financial goal is a complicated task. Basically, you’re trying to pick a mix of assets that has the highest probability of meeting your goal at a level of risk you can live with. As you get closer to meeting your goal, you’ll need to be able to adjust the mix of assets.
If you understand your time horizon and risk tolerance – and have some investing experience – you may feel comfortable creating your own asset allocation model. “How to” books on investing often discuss general “rules of thumb,” and various online resources can help you with your decision. While we don’t recommend any particular asset allocation model, we provide articles on asset allocations based on your stage of life at Soundview Financial’s Retirement Savings Guide. In the end, you’ll be making a very personal choice. There is no single asset allocation model that is right for every financial goal. You’ll need to use the one that is right for you.
Some financial experts believe that determining your asset allocation is the most important decision that you’ll make with respect to your investments – that it’s even more important than the individual investments you buy. With that in mind, you may want to consider asking a financial professional to help you determine your initial asset allocation and suggest adjustments for the future.
In future posts, we’ll discuss portfolio diversification and rebalancing.
This Blog is sponsored by Soundview Financial’s Retirement Savings Guide. Click here to visit Soundview Financial to get access to helpful articles, tips and resources for retirement planning.
