[Post 103] TipforThought: Building and managing your portfolio

Quick guide on building and managing your portfolio!

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1.Getting started and what to watch out for

• Most people save and invest because they want some money for future goal.
• If you are new to investing ,here are some step to help you get started on an investment plan.

2.Setting goals

• What are your goals?Common goals include paying off your student loan ,accumulating fund for retirement or savings for your children education
• Work out how much money you need for your goal
• Work out when you need the money for your goal.The time you have available to invest leading up to when the money is needed is known as your investment horizon.

3.How much can you afford to invest?

• How much money do you have available to invest ,after paying your  household expenses,insurance premium and debt as well as setting aside some savings?
• Can you cut back some expenses to free up more money for saving or investing?If your investment suffer a loss,will it impact your debt and other commitment ,or others goals?

• Do not commit to pay or invest more than you can possibly afford  long term.Look for a cost-effective alternative .If the product requires you to pay,what will be consequences if you do not have enough to pay.
• Do you intend to invest in one lump sum or fixed amount a regular amount ?e.g monthly,annually?
• How much time do you have/what's your age ?/do you have  time to ride out short term fluctuations or losses 

4.Know yourself and how some investing basics apply to you

5.Consolidate and priorities your goals

• After examining what you need ,when you need it,how much you can invest , and how much risk you can afford to take.
• You may need to re-prioritize your goals.You may need to settle for a smaller house or a smaller car,but it would be unwise not to build up adequate retirement savings and provide for adequate healthcare cover.

6.What's step should you take to achieve your goals?

• This could be saving up or Investing in a diversified portfolio to help you achieve what you need.Always keep the step above in mind when considering what action to take .
• Choose your investment based on how suitable it is for your needs and personal circumstances,how well you understand the product ,and how it will fit in your diversified portfolio to reach your investment objectives
• Do find out whether you can manage risk or limit losses once you are invested.Remember there are product where you can lose all your initial investment,products where you can lose more than your initial investment and products whose market values go up and down.
• With the latter,do be aware that markets could be at a downtown when you want to take out your money,so it is important to monitor your investments carefully in case you need to liquidate or take other action sooner.
• Do consider dollar cost averaging as a means to accumulating the assets you want

7.Monitoring Performance,Rebalancing and Adjusting your investments

• Investing is an on-going responsibility.Even if you can choose to be somewhat passive -Investing in unit trusts or funds that track indices - you should regularly review the performance of your investments to see if you are on track to achieving your goals .
• Keep watch over the factors which may influence the performance of your investments .You may need to take if your investment is under performing.

Thanks for reading!