When you start investing your money to increase your wealth over time, you are essentially creating the building blocks of an investment portfolio. While it is easy to contribute to a retirement or savings account or buy a few time-tested stocks, building an effective investment portfolio requires much more research and a focus on the importance of wealth management.
An expert in wealth management can help you take the first steps of creating an investment portfolio and provide a lifetime of services as your wealth grows, including a regular investment portfolio analysis and investment portfolio valuation.
However, new investors can start growing their wealth by keeping the following guidelines in mind for building a solid and profitable investment management portfolio.
What are the Elements of an Effective Investment Portfolio?
Investments can vary widely and can include all kinds of assets. However, the factors that make up a great investment portfolio are generally the same. These factors include the following.
Diversification – Variety is essential when it comes to investing, and having a variety of assets such as stocks, bonds, cash, and even alternative investments like real estate help create a portfolio that is less likely to be impacted by market trends or changing economic conditions.
Balance of risk and reward – Your investments should align with your objectives, timeline, and risk tolerance in order to provide both peace of mind and ensure that you reach your investment goals.
Low cost and tax efficiency – The costs of owning assets should be minimal to ensure that the expenses that may be affiliated with your assets do not affect your returns. (Real estate investments are a perfect example of this scenario.) In addition, you want to ensure your taxes are minimized, and you’ll want to research how your gains and losses may be taxed now and into the future to avoid hefty tax penalties.
Easy to manage (preferably with a professional) – Keeping up with the returns, losses, and potential tax or other economic hurdles with every investment can be challenging. Still, an experienced wealth manager can assist with ensuring your investment portfolio is on track when it comes to maximum returns every step of the way.
Steps to Building an Investment Portfolio
With the above guidelines in mind, investors generally take the following preliminary steps to build their investment portfolio.
Consider your financial goals
What are the backbone reasons behind your investments? Do you want a comfortable retirement and a great future for your children, or are you saving to buy a first or second home? These answers will help you develop a solid idea of your desired returns off your investments, and the timeline to reach these financial milestones.
Determine your risk tolerance
Your current level of wealth shapes your risk tolerance, timeframe for reaching your financial goals, and overall experience with investing. For example, if you already have a solid nest egg and a longer investment horizon of 20 years or more, you can likely take more risks in your investments, leading to greater rewards.
Consider your asset allocation options
There are different formulas and frameworks when it comes to determining your asset allocation. An example is the 60/40 rule, where 60% of your portfolio’s value is allocated to growth assets such as stocks, while 40% is allocated to more diversified assets like bonds. An expert guide like Saddock Wealth can help you examine your options and find the perfect balance that aligns with your goals.
Research markets and products
Once again, this is an area of investing with seemingly limitless options. For example, you can invest in individual stocks, buy units in a managed fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF), or lean towards more conservative investments like bonds. There are different global and national variations in all these options, so in-depth research is required to ensure that your investments align with risk tolerance and your investment timeline and goals.
Build Your Investment Portfolio with Saddock Wealth
It’s understandable that new investors don’t have decades of experience in global and local markets and the intricacies of building a portfolio custom-tailored to their distinctive financial goals, timeframe, and risk tolerance. This is why you need an expert hand to guide the way.
Reach out to the experienced and dedicated team at Saddock Wealth to get started. With a wealth of expertise and a focus on your financial goals, you can build an effective portfolio that will allow your future financial ambitions to come to fruition.