|
Advisors having determined the profile of his/her client will generally consider
recommending one of 3 primary portfolios: Conservative, Balance or Growth portfolios
as shown in Table 1,
|
Table 1
|
| Type of Portfolio |
Personality Type
|
| Conservative Portfolio |
|
Conservative Investor
|
Cautious Investor
|
|
Cash
Fixed Income Investments
Equity
|
20% - 30%
70% - 80%
Nil
|
10% - 20%
60% - 70%
10% - 30%
|
Balanced Portfolio
|
|
Prudent Investor
|
Assertive Investor
|
|
Cash
Fixed Income Investments
Equity
|
10%
20% - 50%
40% - 65%
|
10%
5% - 25%
55% - 80%
|
| Aggressive Portfolio |
|
Aggressive Investor
|
|
Cash
Fixed Income Investments
Equity
|
0% - 10%
0% - 10%
80% - 95%
|
By observing Table 1, the following can be concluded:

Up to 30% of a conservative's portfolio is in cash for capital preservation purposes.
An average of 75% weight is towards fixed income securities such as bonds.

Investments in a cautious investor's portfolio are for a period of at least three
years. Investment in equity is introduced which constitutes up to a maximum of 30%
of the portfolio value.

Investments are for a minimum of five years and will have at least 20% up to a maximum
of half of the portfolio in equity. A higher weightage in equity is an offsetting
factor against inflation and tax.

Investments in an assertive investor's portfolio are for not less than seven years
and will have about three-quarters of the portfolio in equity. The risk in equity
investments are partially offset by investments in fixed income securities and cash
which constitutes between 5% - 25% of the portfolio.

Investments are for at least ten years and will have most of the portfolio in stocks
and shares. In terms of equity investments, the bias is towards more aggressive investments
which may include derivatives.
Market conditions are constantly changing and the asset allocation in Table 1
is for illustrative purposes. Investment advisors may presently be considering reweighting
their recommendation taking into account current market conditions of peaking interest
rates which suggests an overweight in bonds. The reason is that it is possible to
have capital gains because the market value of a bond will generally go up if interest
rates goes down but the converse is also true.
For a prudent investor, his/her portfolio may be re-adjusted in response expectations
of a fall in interest rates by a reduction of equity in his/her portfolio to 40%
in the portfolio and a higher weight of say, 50% of the portfolio value may be invested
in bonds. Adopting this strategy may see high yield bonds investments and capital
gains to be made when interest rates start to fall. Portfolios can be modified in
response to near term investment expectations.
An investor's attitude towards risk is an important aspect in constructing a portfolio.
This may be achieved when an investment advisor who has carefully determined an investor's
profile and risk tolerance.
There is an old saying that says if you as an investor is unable "to sleep
at night" as a result of being concerned for your investments, then you should
not consider making those investments. But for those prepared to accept that the
likely long term benefits of a more risky stock market investments will involve a
short risk, you can vary the risk profile of your portfolio considerably in the selection
of the investments you include in it.
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