Long term investment returns are always directly determined by the types of assets held in an investor’s portfolio. An ideal portfolio mix can only be determined by first assessing a variety of critical factors such as: risk tolerance, personal income level, age range and investing time horizon.
Depending on these various factors, a portfolio mix (equities vs fixed income vs cash) can be determined to provide the highest possible probability of achieving a desired long-term rate of return while at the same time minimizing short-term financial risks.
To achieve an optimal portfolio asset allocation, the individual investor must balance their portfolio goals with their risk tolerance. Owning growth-oriented assets is essential to help offset the long-term risk of inflation, but the rewards of growth also involve the short-term risks of enduring market volatility and uncertainty.
The analysis of an individual portfolio is best conducted by a professional who has the required knowledge and expertise to properly evaluate all the different variables that affect the long-term performance of different asset classes. Proper portfolio analysis is important to long-term financial success because each asset class within a portfolio comes with a different type of short and long term risk.
By measuring an investor’s short and long term investment goals against various investment possibilities and return probabilities, a professional advisor can assist an investor in determining the portfolio mix best suited to their unique situation.
