| |
| |
|
|
Investing Information |
|
Asset Allocation: Critical to Your Investment Success
Asset allocation is a critical component of investing success. Both research and academic studies show asset allocation to be single most significant factor in determining your financial goals. Allocation influences both the total long-term return and risk of your investment portfolio. Other factors such as security selection and market timing account for a very small percentage of your investment returns. Unfortunately, the most important decision to achieving financial success is also the least understood. What is asset allocation? Most people confuse asset allocation with diversification. They believe it has something to do with making multiple investments among groups of similar assets. Ask investors to list the assets in which they would consider investing. Typical answers include "growth stocks", "bonds", "large caps", and sometimes "international stocks." But their diversification is limited to selection within one asset. For example, someone choosing to purchase technology stocks may invest in five or six companies - but all within the technology industry. This reduces risk if one of the companies should fail, but is useless when the technology industry (or entire stock market) slumps. Asset allocation goes beyond diversification to reduce risk across all type of financial assets (cash, stocks, bonds, commodities, real estate, and even venture capital or hedge funds). Investments and risk can be divided further into subcategories of stocks including large-cap, mid-cap, small-cap, value vs. growth, and international vs. domestic. Similarly, bonds can be divided into subcategories of short-term, and long-term, tax-free, high yield, convertible, emerging markets, floating rate, and international vs. domestic. Multiple combinations allow investors to allocate their portfolios into a number of asset classes and categories. Adding high risk asset classes and investments to a portfolio may seem risky. But combining assets that behave differently, or even opposite to each other, both increases the return and lowers the risk of an entire portfolio. For example, international stocks are considered "riskier" than domestic stocks. Yet, we often see the prices of U.S. stocks go up on the same day prices of international stocks go down -- and vice versa. We call this negative correlation. Profits from one asset balance the losses from another. Combining international and U.S. stocks actually lowers investment risk by reducing daily price swings of our entire portfolio. History demonstrates many markets exhibit similar negative price correlation. In a slumping economy, bonds vastly outperform stocks as interest rates drop. In an overheating economy, inflation helps generate stellar returns in the commodities market. But timing such events is unpredictable, and the variability of returns represents risk to any investor. Choosing to purchase only stocks, only bonds, or any single asset class increases the risk of losing money if that market underperforms. The power of asset allocation comes from reducing risk while increasing returns. Reducing risk by combining multiple asset classes, however, is not a simple process. While each asset has its own unique measure of risk, many assets share similar price behavior (their prices go up and down together in any market). Combining such complimentary investments increase the risk of wild changes in price. Trade-offs between asset risk and expected return must also be considered. High yield assets typically experience high volatility, or large changes in price. These assets must be balanced by investments with lower rates of return to protect against large declines in value. Successful asset allocation requires finding the proper mix of assets to balance reward with an acceptable level of risk. Proper allocation planning requires asset research and investment analysis. Fortunately, tools are available to assist the independent investor. Popular financial websites offers independent investors help with educational links and software to build portfolio allocations based on a survey of financial questions. For advanced investors, many books have been written to painstakingly explain the theory and practice of asset allocation - also called MPT (Modern Portfolio Theory). Casual investors can purchase mutual funds specifically designed to automate asset allocation based on an expected retirement date. Pragmatic investors can explore the many financial planners and advisory services that offer asset allocation portfolios specific to their needs. Consider your options carefully. Each solution offers its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Pick a style that closely reflects your own. Just how important is asset allocation? It's the single largest determinant of your long-term financial success. Tim Olson TheAssetAdvisor.comSubscribe to our free newsletter. Mr. Olson is the editor of The Asset Advisor, a financial investment service providing proven strategies for no-load mutual fund investors. He brings 26 years of education and experience from Stanford University, Ernst & Young, personal wealth management, and venture capital investing.
MORE RESOURCES:
Investing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Art Investing for a Financial Future When we think of investing we probably conjure images in our minds of the New York Stock Exchange, suited stock brokers making deals, bonds and treasury bills, and all manner of financial matters. The last thing we probably think about is art. Getting Started In Investing Are you ready to open your pathway to financial independence?Well you should be. The sooner the better. Scots Beat Yanks in China Bank Deal With visions of an ATM in every neighborhood in China, foreign banks and investment firms are queuing up to join the "China Club."Moneybags CommunismThe initiation fee for the "China Club" is straightforward and pure moneybags communism: invest cold hard cash in its largely insolvent state-owned banks, put your reputation on the line, reassure nervous foreign investors about upcoming IPO's, and share your risk management, corporate banking and other expertise with eager Chinese executives. Invest or be Pink Slipped Firing an employee seems to be easier and easier for corporations. Up until now you allowed them to set your clocks. Have You Ever Seen A Map of the World Turned Upside Down? For those accustomed to viewing things a certain way, it is quite disconcerting. One almost expects the ocean to pour out. Find Your Investing Soulmate on the Jersey Turnpike As a followup to a previous column, "Irreconcilable Differences," I received an e-mail from a reader asking how she could ensure, ahead of time, investment compatibility with a future spouse.Unfortunately, like most issues in life, the direct approach does not work. Guru Focused: Robert Olstein's Short Sells While it is rather rare that value gurus sell stocks short, Robert Olstein has been selling short in his Financial Alert Fund. The accountant-turned fund manager spots values by looking behind the numbers. Property Investment Just Got Exciting There is an area in Brazil that has lower crime & lower property prices than where your are probably sitting right now!Demand from the increasing retirement population and from those who have benefited from their own property markets are now pushing overseas property prices up. Brazilian property prices are still very low and offer the overseas property buyer quality real estate in stunning locations. HYIPs Investments or Scams? High Yield Investment Programs (HYIPs) appear at first to be the secret to unlimited wealth and fortune, but as you can guess that quickly changes. However, I have found myself still using them in a very limited fashion as a generator for my digital currency exchange. Investing and Understanding What You Buy "There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action!" Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)I don't really know how cars actually work. Not really! I know how to drive them, but if you asked me how they work, I would not really know how to definitely explain it. Lobster Trapping for Investment Ideas Recently, my family and I took a trip to Maine to visit relatives. During our stay, we toured the rocky shore lines and took in the beautiful architecture of the old towns. Asset Allocation: Critical to Your Investment Success Asset allocation is a critical component of investing success. Both research and academic studies show asset allocation to be single most significant factor in determining your financial goals. Retirement is Never Urgent Until If you're like many people, your retirement savings have not been growing consistently over the years. We're not referring to the wild fluctuations in the stock market, but rather the fluctuations in our short-term needs. The Realities Of Market Timing Market timing systems are based on patterns of activity in the past. Every system that you are likely to hear about works well when it is applied to historical data. Justify Social Security ... Dont Save for Retirement It is a common question when investors review their retirement plan-should we include social security benefits into our retirement income projections?It seems the closer an investor is to retirement, the more likely he/she will include social security benefits into the analysis. Younger investors, however, may feel compelled to omit such benefits. Seven Investment Terms Everyone Should Know For those who have never given their financial future a second thought, the term "Financial Planning" could be a scary one. Investments can be a smart way to invest money for your future, but it can be confusing for those who have no experience in the financial business. Waiting 20 Years Can Cost You Millions - Dont Wait Start Today Many Young people live for Today. They really don't fully understand the power of compound interest. Focus Your Investments on the Long Term "All human power is a compound of time and patience!" Honore de Balzac (1799 - 1850)Long term investing or "Buy and Hold" is not about hunches, emotions, stock tips, market timing or making quick profits! It's about using proven long-term strategies to accumulate wealth over time!A large part of the daily volume on the exchanges is due to traders who hope to make a small profit by taking advantage of small discrepancies in the pricing of securities, or who are able to buy a stock as soon a favorable analysts report is issued and who hope to profit before the inevitable runup.The instantaneous access to information that financial institutions have gives them an enormous advantage over the individual investor when it comes to short-term trading. Finding a Broker "Hey Joe! I need help finding a broker. I notice that discount commission rates are pretty much the same. The High Price of Oil In less than four years, the price of oil has risen about 300%, or over $50 a barrel. The Light Crude Continuous Contract (of oil futures) hit an all-time high at $67.
|
||||||||||||||||||
