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How to Manage Your Investment Risk

Diversification vs. Asset Allocation-How to Manage Your Risk?

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Common Investment Mistakes or Poor Investment Decisions?

  1. Concentrated Positions
  2. Hot Tips
  3. IPOs: Initial Public Offerings
  4. Emotions
  5. Analyst Credibility
  6. Garbage In Means Garbage Out
  7. Buying an Index Fund

  8. Avoiding Unnecessary Taxes

  9. Avoid Banks or other Savings institutions

  10. Procrastinating

Diversification vs. Asset Allocation-Managing Investment Risk

  1. Types of Risk
  2. Blind Diversification vs. Strategic Diversification
  3. Asset Allocation

Cash Flow Analysis

Bonds

Dollar Cost Averaging

Portfolio Management

Hope for the Best but Plan for the Worst

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Summary

  1. Suggestions
  2. Final thought

Asset Allocation (based on the Markowitz Portfolio Theory) 

Once you have established the asset classes in your strategically diversified portfolio, how do you determine the weight allocated to each security?  The question leads us to infinite possibilities with each weighting leading to its own unique expected return and expected level of risk (variability measured by standard deviation).  Portfolio risk encompasses not only the individual security returns, but also the variance of each security, the covariance between securities, and the portfolio weights for each security.  Using these inputs, we can calculate the portfolio with the smallest variance (risk) for a given level of expected return.  This becomes your benchmark portfolio that falls on the efficient frontier.  The efficient frontier is a series of points on a chart created by the intersection of x & y values that express the highest return (y-axis) given a level of risk (x-axis).  Any point you select on the efficient frontier based on the risk and return trade off, will determine the weighting of each asset class.

The beauty of this method of investing is that it does not depend on either the credibility of an analyst or the accuracy of a company’s financial statements.  It also takes investment decisions based on fear and greed out of the equation.  Other than rebalancing your asset allocation periodically, it is not necessary to predict market bottoms or tops.  When you attempt to pick market bottoms or tops, you are gambling.  No one has ever consistently picked market peaks and troughs, although some may be better than others.  The accurateness of this investment strategy is based on the accuracy of the inputs.  The inputs are future projections based on the past performance and the covariance of asset classes included in your portfolio.   Here is the uncertainty.  Although we can use data dating back to the early 1900s to determine the historic average returns and use that data to determine the interrelationship of the returns between asset classes, the best we can do is make a calculated assumption for the future.  Although using historic returns to predict future returns may be a logical assessment, past performance will not guarantee future performance.  

Once a benchmark portfolio has been established, you may want to fine-tune your asset weightings according to current and expected market conditions.  If you do not have an economic or financial background to adequately assess the economy, you may want to consult a professional. 

 

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