All investments have some risk, but a good investment strategy can help you manage that risk. It can also help keep your hard-earned money safe from losses and improve your chances of achieving your financial goals.
The level of risk you can tolerate and the type of investments you should invest in depends on your age, goals and emotions. It’s a good idea to understand your risk profile (PDF) and build your portfolio accordingly.
Diversification
Diversification is one of the best ways to manage risk in investing. It involves spreading your money across different types of investments and asset categories, such as stocks, bonds, and cash equivalents.
If you have all your eggs in one basket, you may lose everything if that investment goes bad. By diversifying, you can offset the fall in any one investment and minimize your overall losses.
A diversified portfolio can reduce the impact of market volatility, which is when investments go up and down in value. This can make it easier to ride out a few years of choppy returns without losing too much.
Another way to diversify is to invest in a variety of companies with different growth and return characteristics. This can include buying stocks or bonds of new, fast-growing companies and older, established companies.
Time-tested Strategies
Managing risk in investing is an important component of ensuring long-term financial success. By taking the time to understand your goals and investment portfolio, your financial advisor can help you reduce volatility and increase potential returns over time with time-tested strategies that are tailored to your needs and unique portfolio.
One of the most common risk factors is market volatility, which can cause investors to sell their investments and lose valuable capital. However, history shows that people who stay invested throughout market and economic cycles are more likely to earn positive returns over the long term.
Risk can also be affected by a company’s performance, political or economic instability, and liquidity risks, which can affect how easy or difficult it is to cash out your investments when you need them. These types of risks can be mitigated with diversification and hedging strategies that may help you reach your personal financial goals faster.
Keeping an Eye on Your Goals
Keeping an eye on your goals can help you manage risk in investing. You can set a specific investment goal, such as purchasing a home within two years, or an overall financial goal, such as saving for retirement.
Your goals are likely to change over time as your life changes and circumstances evolve. Setting goals that you can revisit periodically, or even make a new one each year, can be helpful in adjusting your strategy and portfolio to fit your current situation.
Choosing a strategy that will support your goals, while still being appropriate for you, is the key to success. This includes using the right mix of stocks, bonds, and other investment products to match your needs and your risk tolerance. A diversified portfolio is the best way to minimize the impact of market swings on your financial goals.
Talk to a Professional
Risk is a part of life, and if you aren’t careful it can affect your financial well-being. Managing risk is an important skill for investors, and finding a professional to help you navigate it can make all the difference in your overall financial well-being.
A good investment professional can assess your personal risk profile and build an investment portfolio that helps you achieve your financial goals. Their ability to understand your current risk capacity and emotions can also help them develop an investing strategy that works for you.
Your personal risk profile can vary depending on your age, financial goals, and timeline for reaching those goals. But there are some general guidelines to follow.
For example, if you are young and want to build a portfolio that will work for you in the long term, it may be better to invest in riskier assets like stocks. However, if you are older and want to build a portfolio that will provide income over time, it can be safer to invest in less risky assets like bonds.
