Adjusting your portfolio – The secret of smart investing in a bear or bull market
Editors Note: It is important to manage your portfolio as market conditions evolve. It is also important to invest differently for different types of savings goals. Gloria’s article helps explain these comments.
Guest Post by Gloria Agnello
The success of investment generally hinges on long-term planning. However, most investors can’t help but make day-to-day shifts with their investment portfolios. Some of the concern is certainly justified given the increase in the volatility over the last few years. The fact is that both bull and bear market are completely dissimilar and can behave distinctly during different situations. The stock market investors must be feeling pretty satisfied with 2013 so far as the Dow Jones industrial average is up by 900 points and has been flirting around with a record-high level before the economic downturn that set at 2008. Some of the other major indices are S&P 500 and Nasdaq that have also been doing specifically well.
Even so, years after years of turbulence and tumbles in the stock market has left the investors wondering whether or not their portfolio is set up in an effective way that can help beat the odds and the future financial storms. As the previous market meltdown is still freshly placed in our memories, even slight declines in the price of stocks leave investors wondering whether or not they’re going to end up in a plunge in their assets. There have been countless studies to ensure the investment strategy to adopt in every kind of markets, but rarely there has been a worthwhile result. Here’s how you can make your own mix to take advantage of a mixed financial environment.
Start off with the best strategy for your needs: Always remember that a long term strategy for investment should offer a mix of various types of assets, including stocks and some other high risk investments for growth like bonds and other income producing investments. Everyone’s financial needs are different and therefore you need to customize your portfolio mix than accepting a solution that is common for all. If your goals are pretty short-term, you might want more predictable investment like bank CDs, bonds in spite of their low returns.
Hold on to the right stocks at the right time: Usually the right move is by keeping the stock allocations in the right move but which stocks you need to favor will depend on few current conditions. Soon after the market rose sharply, the solid blue-chips with dependable dividend income can even stem your losses in case of a bear market. Kraft Foods [stckqut]KRFT[/stckqut] or energy giant Chevron [stckqut]CVX[/stckqut] are some of the successful stock examples.
Allow your money to travel the world: Whether you’re investing in bonds or stocks, one should have both international and domestic investments. Adjust your mix as market conditions will constantly keep changing. For instance, even though the US stock market has risen to record high levels, the stock markets in Brazil and China remain below their levels. Therefore, you need to know every detail of the investment market in order to make the best choice.
You will see that hot investment fads will come and go but still you shouldn’t let go of your basic investment strategy to take the plunge into the latest bandwagon. Have the right investment mix in order to be a confident investor who has the potential to beat the odds of the financial catastrophes.
Gloria Agnello is an independent Financial adviser and also a content writer who has written many articles on debt, mortgage and on other finance related topics. She has been associated with some leading finance related websites. You can reach her at: gloria dot agnello at gmail.