<\/p>\n
You need to consider what you really want from your investments. A review will also ensure you are on top of your overall asset allocation and individual shares and funds. We\u2019ll make sure they are consistent with how much risk you want to \u2013 and can afford to \u2013 take. Knowing yourself, your needs and goals, and your appetite for risk is essential.<\/p>\n
1. Consider your reasons for investing<\/strong> For example, you might be:<\/strong><\/p>\n Looking for a way to get higher returns than on your cash savings Determining your reasons for investing now will help you work out your investment goals and influence how you manage your investments in future.<\/p>\n 2. Decide on how long you can invest<\/strong> Investments rise and fall in value, so it\u2019s sensible to use cash savings for your short-term goals and invest for your longer-term goals.<\/p>\n Short term<\/strong> Medium term <\/strong> Long term<\/strong> As you get closer to retirement, you might sell off some of these riskier investments and move to safer options with the aim of protecting your investments and their returns.<\/p>\n How much time you\u2019ve got to work with will have a big impact on the decisions you make. As a general rule, the longer you hold investments, the better the chance they\u2019ll outperform cash \u2013 but there can never be a guarantee of this.<\/p>\n 3. Make an investment plan<\/strong> 4. Build a diversified portfolio<\/strong> You can diversify your portfolio in a few different ways through funds that invest across:<\/strong><\/p>\n Different types of investments A diversified portfolio is likely to include a wide mix of investment types, markets and industries. How much you invest in each is called your \u2018asset allocation\u2019.<\/p>\n 5. Make the most of tax allowances<\/strong> 6. Review portfolios periodically<\/strong> These are some aspects of your portfolio you may want to check up on annually:<\/strong><\/p>\n Changes to your financial goals<\/strong> Asset allocation<\/strong> Diversification<\/strong> There are four main asset classes \u2013 cash, fixed-interest securities, property and equities \u2013 and having exposure to them all will help reduce the overall level of risk of your investment portfolio. If one part of your portfolio isn\u2019t doing well, the other investments you\u2019ve made elsewhere should compensate for any market corrections.<\/p>\n Performance<\/strong> The primary goal of a rebalancing strategy is to minimise risk relative to a target asset allocation, rather than to maximise returns. Over time, asset classes produce different returns that can change the portfolio\u2019s asset allocation. To recapture the portfolio\u2019s original risk-and-return characteristics, the portfolio should therefore be rebalanced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Knowing yourself, your needs and goals, and your appetite for risk is essential A financial review is a great way to take a fresh look at your finances and plan for the journey ahead. More importantly, it enables you to talk through your long-term financial objectives and discuss with us a way forward to deliver… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rothesaybennett.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3527"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rothesaybennett.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rothesaybennett.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rothesaybennett.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rothesaybennett.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rothesaybennett.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3527\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rothesaybennett.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rothesaybennett.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rothesaybennett.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nIt\u2019s important to know why you\u2019re investing. The first step is to consider your financial situation and your reasons for investing.<\/p>\n
\nPutting money aside to help pay for a specific goal such as your children\u2019s or grandchildren\u2019s education or their future wedding
\nPlanning for your retirement<\/p>\n
\nIf you\u2019re investing with a goal in mind, you\u2019ve probably got a date in mind too. If you\u2019ve got a few goals, some may be further away in time than others, so you\u2019ll probably have different strategies for your different investments.<\/p>\n
\nMost investments need at least a five-year commitment, but there are other options if you don\u2019t want to invest for this long, such as cash savings.<\/p>\n
\nIf you can commit your money for at least five years, a selection of investments might suit you. Your investments make up your \u2018portfolio\u2019 and could contain a mix of funds investing in shares, bonds and other assets, or a mixture of these.<\/p>\n
\nLet\u2019s say you start investing for your retirement when you\u2019re fairly young. You might have 20 or 30 years before you need to start drawing money from your investments. With time on your side, you might consider higher-risk fund exposure that can offer the chance of higher returns in exchange for an increased risk of losing your money.<\/p>\n
\nOnce you\u2019re clear on your needs and goals, and you\u2019ve assessed how much risk you can take, we\u2019ll help you identify the types of investment options that could be suitable for you.<\/p>\n
\nHolding a balanced, diversified portfolio with a mix of investments can help protect it from the ups and downs of the market. Different types of investments perform well under different economic conditions. By diversifying your portfolio, you can aim to make these differences in performance work for you.<\/p>\n
\nDifferent countries and markets
\nDifferent types of industries and companies<\/p>\n
\nAs well as deciding what to invest in, think about how you\u2019ll hold your investments. Some types of tax-efficient account mean you can normally keep more of the returns you make. It\u2019s always worth thinking about whether you\u2019re making the most of your tax allowances too.
\nYou need always to bear in mind that these tax rules can change at any time, and the value of any particular tax treatment to you will depend on your individual circumstances.<\/p>\n
\nPeriodically, a financial review will provide the opportunity to check and see if your portfolio\u2019s wide mix of investment types and markets still aligns with your goals.<\/p>\n
\nHas something happened in your life that calls for a fundamental change to your financial plan? Maybe a change in circumstances has changed your time horizon or the amount of risk you\u2019re willing to handle. If so, it\u2019s important to take a hard look at your portfolio to determine whether it aligns with your revised financial goals.<\/p>\n
\nAn important part of investment planning is setting an asset allocation that you feel comfortable with. Although your portfolio may have been in line with your desired asset allocation at the beginning of the year, depending on the performance of your portfolio, your asset allocation may have changed over the period in question. If your actual allocations are outside of your targets, then perhaps it\u2019s time to readjust your portfolio to get it back in line with your original targets.<\/p>\n
\nAlong with a portfolio with a proper asset class balance, you will want to ensure that you\u2019re properly diversified inside each asset class. Diversification means owning a variety of assets that perform differently over time, but not too much of any one investment or type.<\/p>\n
\nConsider if there are certain aspects of your portfolio that need rebalancing. You may also want to consider selling to help offset capital gains you might make throughout the year.<\/p>\n