You’ve made your money and invested it wisely; of course, you want to make sure that you keep it all intact! Indeed, that’s the bare minimum that you’re hoping for.
You’re trying to make money, here. But before you can begin thinking about the riches may or may not come your way, it’s important that your primary concern is to ensure that you don’t lose any of your cash.
Below, we take a look at six tactics for maintaining and protecting your portfolio.
Get Ready To Sell
Always beware one of the humankind’s most subtle traps: greed. When you invest your cash in stocks, you should prepare to sell those stocks once you’ve hit your intended profit target.
You will always be tempted to keep things a little bit longer to see if they increase even further in value, and may even recall some of the investors who sold shares in some of the world’s biggest companies before they came in for real.
But those stories are the exception, not the rule, and careful investment management means not taking these kinds of risks.
Invest in the Staples
Your portfolio needs to be diverse (more on that later) and should include a few of the ‘staples’, those things that have always been considered wise investments because of their security and the small increase in returns.
An example of these would be real estate, gold, and mutual funds. Top investment advisors recommended investing around 5-10% of your portfolio in gold; if you haven’t yet, review a gold directory to find dealers.
If you’re planning on investing in real estate, then make sure you’re taking the correct steps to ensure you’re buying a property that’ll give you a return on your investment, as it can very quickly go wrong when it comes to real estate!
Look Internationally
It’s worth remembering that your country might not be the best one for you to invest in. And with plenty of experts on hand to help you buy stocks in other countries, you’re able to add international markets to your portfolio easily.
It’s about following the money: if you can’t get a good deal in the United States, then take a look at other strong markets across the world that offer better yields.
Keep Some Cash Behind
It’s a mistake to have your money wrapped up in just a few investments, but similarly, it’s a mistake to have all your money wrapped up in investments altogether, no matter how to spread they are.
In your portfolio, remember to keep some cash on hand. If the stock market were to have a hiccup as it has in the past (and certainly will again), your portfolio would still be in a healthy state.
Your cash won’t bring any return (and will eventually betray you), but on a small scale, it’s the safest way to protect your portfolio against the volatility of the stock market.
Diversify
And finally, we’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: diversify. Having all your eggs in one basket is a dangerous game to play, no matter how good the eggs look!
