Investing is a great way to generate income, but you need to learn how to play the game before seeing a profit. For example, instead of putting all their eggs in one basket, investors build a stock portfolio comprised of various assets and sometimes across different accounts. Building an investment portfolio may take some time and practice, but we’ll help you step in the right direction with the following tips.
Goal Setting and Timelines
Before you start pumping cash into various stocks, it’s important to spend time thinking about your financial goals. For example, if you’re generating cash for a wedding, a vacation, and retirement, the way you trade will change.
Once you’ve come up with clear goals, split them up into a timeline including short, medium, and long-term goals. To achieve your short-term goals, you might make a risky investment in an up-and-coming company. Whereas, saving for retirement may involve holding assets regardless of market fluctuations.
Choosing the Correct Accounts
Having your goal in mind will help you when it comes to choosing accounts that align with your needs. For example, opening a high-yield account to complement your retirement account may be beneficial. After all, you can access savings in this account whenever you need, which gives you flexibility for the cost of living.
Know Your Risk Tolerance
With your goals clear in your mind and accounts ready to go, you need to spend time deciding what your risk tolerance is, i.e., how much money you can afford to lose in the short term. Typically, the longer the timeframe for the goal, the riskier the moves you will make. Essentially, you need to find the right balance between actions you’re willing to take and what’s required to meet all your financial goals.
Select Your Investments
Now comes the fun part – you get to put your plans into action by selecting which type of investments to make. For example, you can invest in stocks, which are partial ownership in companies listed on the exchange. Additionally, you may choose to invest in funds and bonds.
Regardless of which type of investment you make, you need to make purchases that work well for your current situation. For example, if you want to save money on securities, you should check an ex-dividend calendar first.
Diversifying Your Asset Allocation
After making your first couple of investments, it’s time to think about diversifying your portfolio, which means searching for alternative types of stocks or markets. This can be achieved through buying shares in different companies or exploring different types of stocks, like growth, value, and penny stocks.
Monitoring and Adjusting
Once your stock portfolio is operational and working well for you, it’s still going to need regular TLC. For example, every six months, it’s recommended to make sure that your assets still align with your goals. In some cases, you may need to move assets to combat volatile market shifts.
There may be times when life throws curveballs your way, and you need to shuffle your investment plans. For example, becoming a parent, getting married/divorced, and gaining an inheritance will all change your financial properties.
Building your stock portfolio is only the start of your investment journey. Over time, you’ll learn more about how the different markets work and you will find new means of making your portfolio work harder for you.
