The Right Asset Allocation for You

There are three major asset classes that you can put your money into, namely equities, fixed income and money market instruments. In order to decide how much of your money goes into which investment class you must first consider a few important factors (most of these will be tackled by you during your goal definition phase):

• Return expected on your investment 
• Amount you will be able to save (present as well as future) 
• Cash outflows you might have at certain points of time in the future 
• Risk appetite 
• Amount you will require for your retirement 
• Liquidity 
• Your Age

Hence due to the variable nature of the investor’s finances and requirements there are no set strategies used by financial consultants. But we can provide you with broad strategies that you can adapt to meet you own needs.

But first please take a look at the chart below to see which category you broadly fall into. Investment protection leads to safer interest generating asset allocations where as Investment Growth leads to higher volatility assets, that may tend to grow over a period of time.

Investment Protection Vs. Investment Growth

Investor Characteristic

Investment Growth

Investment Protection

Time Horizon

Short-term

Long-term

Future Income Requirements

Steady / High

Variable / Low

Volatility Limit 
(Risk Averseness)

Low

High

Inflation Protection

Low Protection Needed

High Protection Needed

Investor take on Equity Market

Mostly Bearish

Mostly Bullish

If you are a person who broadly falls into the Investment Growth category you might be interested in looking at an Aggressive portfolio. On the other hand if you are leaning towards an interest income with minimal risk investments you might look at a Conservative asset allocation. Someone who wants a bit of steady income as well as asset growth might go in for a moderate or a balanced asset allocation.

Aggressive Portfolio

Aggressive Portfolio

 

Moderate Portfolio

Moderate Portfolio

 

Conservative Portfolio

Conservative Portfolio

Another way to ascertain the right asset allocation is by looking at your life cycle. The basis of this theory lies in the simple maxim that younger people with secure jobs will normally opt for higher returns and take higher risks compared to older retired people. One must remember that these are only indicative strategies and will probably have to be fine-tuned to meet your individual needs.

Age

Main Objectives

Portfolio Strategy

20-29

Aggressive Growth – Sow the seeds, plan for housing and create a safety cushion 

50% - Growth Funds
30% - Balanced Funds
20% - Money Markets / Cash

30-39

Growth – Save for housing, children’s expenses (present and future – education etc.) and safety cushion 

45% - Growth Funds 
30% - Balanced Funds 
05% - Blue Chip Stocks 
20% - Money Markets / Cash

40-49

Growth – Children’s expenses (present and future – education etc.) and safety cushion

40% - Growth Funds 
30% - Balanced Funds 
10% - Blue Chip Stocks 
20% - Money Markets / Cash 

50-59

Retirement – Save for retirement and build on safety cushion

30% - Growth Funds
40% - Balanced Funds 
10% - Blue Chip Stocks 
20% - Money Markets / Cash 

60-69

Safety – Preserve investments/ savings and opt for minimal growth

10% - Balanced Funds 
15% - Income Funds 
10% - Blue Chip Stocks 
20% - Dividend Stocks 
30% - Certificates of Deposits (Shorter-term) 
15% - Money Markets / Cash

70-

Safety – Preserve investments/ savings

30% - Income Funds 
25% - Dividend Stocks 
35% - Certificates of Deposits (Shorter-term) 
10% - Money Markets / Cash 

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