Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Expert views on Portfolio management in latest context of stock market - Useful for all stock investors

Portfolio is none other than Basket of Stocks. Portfolio Management is the professional management of various securities (shares, bonds and other securities) and assets (e.g., real estate) in order to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of the investors.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portfolio_management

The art and science of making decisions about investment mix and policy, matching investments to objectives, asset allocation for individuals and institutions, and balancing risk against performance.

Portfolio management is all about strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the choice of debt vs. equity, domestic vs. international, growth vs. safety, and many other tradeoffs encountered in the attempt to maximize return at a given appetite for risk.
Source: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/portfoliomanagement.asp

From the above definitions it is evident that portfolio management is systematic management of securities and assets for achieving desired gains by balancing the risk. It is imperative to build a well-maintained portfolio in order to ensure that an investors succeeds in his/her endeavor. The basic rule of portfolio management is,"Don't put all your eggs in one basket." This means don't put all your money in scripts of one sector only. In our context you can choose stocks from a host of sectors like banking, trading, hotels, development banks, hydropower, finance, insurance and others. Therefore, diversification is key to maintaining a well balanced portfolio as it minimizes risk and ensures that you are still floating when things aren't rosy. It also depends on the fund available with you and allocation of funds for the securities and assets on the basis of your investment goals and strategies. Another factor which is equally important is your attitude (risk taker/risk averse) towards investment. If you are a risk taker it would be prudent to include about 50-55 (%) of equities, 30-35 (%) of fixed income securities (bonds, debentures, fixed deposits) and 5-10 (%) of cash and equivalents in your portfolio. On the other hand, if you are risk averse then then you are advised to include 70-75 (%) of fixed income securities, 35-40 (%) of securities and 5-10 (%) of cash and equivalents. Investing in IPOs and mutual funds would also be a good idea if you are relatively new to stock market and learn the basics before entering the secondary market. Also make sure that you analyze and re-balance your portfolio from time to time as there is constant fluctuation in the market and it is going to cause change in your weightage. If you are able to keep these things in mind then you are surely going to succeed. Best of luck.

src : Jamb forum Posted by Freak Money