How to Build a Diversified Investment Portfolio – Strategies for Long-Term Success

Diversification on the one hand protects against the catastrophic losses while lowering the average annual return, on the other. Your time horizon, along with your risk tolerance, are your best guides.

Portfolio diversification is a concept where a collection of stocks, bonds and short-term deposit securities in a portfolio (also known as assets) reduce the level of risk. These assets are further divisible by industrial sector, geographic location and term length.

Invest in Diverse Companies

Diversification mitigates that risk by spreading your investments across as many companies, industries or markets as possible. This means diversifying and investing in different types of companies, but it also means different industries or markets.

In a period of economic stagnation, you can make money by dividing it Although all assets have some risk with respect to the return on your money (and the inherent satisfaction of owning an asset varies from person to person, depending on things such as the marketing or the ease of storage), holding more asset types will usually mitigate tail risk: the possibility that all or many of your asset types will go down in value at the same time, leading to an overall loss. When diversification was recognised as a wealth-generation strategy, very few people owned most or all of their wealth in the form of predial assets such as real estate.

The fourth step: diversify your portfolio by making investments into alternative investments outside the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) system that regulates stocks, bonds and cash alternatives – such as collectibles (think cars or baseball cards), real estate and commodities (such as gold). You might even look at index funds or fixed income solutions based on indices as a way to further diversify it.

Invest in Diverse Industries

But portfolio diversification doesn’t just protect against loss from individual assets; it also helps to reduce overall risk. This is because returns from different assets aren’t totally correlated. These graphs showing returns over several decades on a selection of assets demonstrate that, when one zigs, another zags.

Second, diversify by industry. That includes alternative assets (which operate outside of the normal markets and assets.

Other commonly used methods of diversifying one’s investment portfolio include bonds, certificates of deposit and gold. You might also consider adding non-correlated assets such as crypto and DeFi (virtual currencies), and/or NFTs to the mix. Brokerage fees of trading on eToro can quickly add up as well, eating away at your returns over time.

Invest in Diverse Countries

Everyone has heard the adage ‘don’t put all your eggs in one basket’. This old proverb is one of the better metaphors for describing the benefits of diversification (because if one’s only investment happened to become worthless – say, on that infamous Texas day in October 1987 – the investor would also suddenly suffer a catastrophically large loss).

Meantime, by diversifying your portfolio, you get to gain access to a broader range of international markets or industries that could be growing at a faster pace than your home country, and to different countries whose economies are at different stages of development and whose fortunes might move in different directions.

Rebalance your investments periodically by buying or selling investments to keep your weights where they should be. Breaking down the portfolio like this and periodically checking on each bucket will help you make sure more money isn’t going in than necessary. Working with a professional financial adviser can also help you stay on track. A great advisor will overcome common mistakes with diversification: over-diversification and ignoring correlation; but again, make sure your adviser puts you first!

Invest in Diverse Funds

‘Don’t put all your eggs in one basket’ By diversifying, investors can reduce the likelihood that all the companies they own deteriorate at the same time – in effect guarding against any potential risks, and enhancing their likelihood of attaining their financial goals.

Consider investing in funds that target a broad selection of stocks or assets that can include collectibles, real estate and structured products. These vehicles offer a simple, low-cost solution for beginners and experienced investors alike.

There are also do-it-yourself online brokerage options that give you the possibility to diversify for almost no commission. Meanwhile, regular rebalancing can help mitigate against your portfolio becoming over-exposed to asset classes that get too hot or too cold – your goal should be a balanced, diversified portfolio over the long term at all market highs and lows using the strategies listed here.

Invest in Diverse Asset Classes

Remember: ‘Don’t put all your eggs in one basket?’ In practical terms this means diversifying your portfolio among various asset classes to reduce the possibility of suffering heavy losses in any single sector: different asset classes experience different ways of being affected by market downturns, so loss at one point could be offset by the rise of other assets.

You should diversify across asset classes as well as over them: different ways of investing in different types of assets. The simplest approach that I like is an index fund or an exchange-traded fund designed to track a broad stock market index. Alternatively, if you’re more comfortable with a hands-off approach, target date funds automate the work of asset allocation and diversification for you.

Bonds add diversification to your portfolio, with low correlations against stock markets that tend to buffer your portfolio against a volatile market. Own bonds representing various types (corporate and treasury), with different maturities (long and short-term) and credit qualities (high and low) to minimise risk.