As an investor, you build and oversee your investments to meet your financial goals. It could be to preserve wealth for your grandchild’s education, ensure financial security for your retirement, or avoid excessive taxes for your business. 

Aside from these, you naturally want to build a good investment portfolio as well. 

While different goals will require you to take different paths, they have one thing in common: they all necessitate sound strategies.

The strategies you need to employ will naturally differ from other investors. Nevertheless, there are smart basic guidelines that you can follow to get started on the right track, like the following:

1. Track Your Net Worth 

Your wealth is not defined by your income alone. In reality, it is determined by the assets you are able to preserve and grow. Furthermore, it takes into account both your assets and liabilities at a certain point in time. 

If your goal is to become wealthy, the basic step you’ll need to take is to track your net worth closely. 

Monitoring your net worth will give you a more accurate picture of your wealth and financial standing. It will also help you measure these aspects accurately and concretely. Ultimately, comparing it every year will help you determine if you are growing your wealth or not. 

2. Conduct a Portfolio Stress Test 

The goal of portfolio stress tests is to measure the impact of economic scenarios on your portfolio and other investments. In this process, “what if” scenarios based on real-life uncertainties are created to determine how they will affect your portfolio. A great portfolio can withstand macroeconomic scenarios, no matter how bad they are. 

With that said, you should remember that stress testing is not conducted to predict the future. It is simply meant to help you identify potential risks and prepare for them in advance. 

Conducting a stress test will help you determine if your current investments can fund your retirement goals, even if a market crisis were to occur. It will also help you understand if you are close to achieving your goal of financial stability, or if you still have a long way to go. 

3. Create a Strategic Portfolio Plan

Truth be told, managing finances can be quite stressful at times. 

One straightforward way to help you reduce these stresses is to segment parts of your portfolio into less risky investments. This diversification strategy will allow you to hold assets which are not highly correlated. Consequently, this setup assures you that your investments will not move in the same direction if a negative event occurs. 

To get the most out of this strategy, it’s best to work with advisors. They will be able to help you design a broad portfolio allocation that suits your risk propensity. Ultimately, they can help you oversee your acquisitions smartly, allowing you to sleep peacefully at night. 

Conclusion 

Whatever investment goal you may have, you must have a clear and detailed plan for it. Furthermore, you have to take certain fundamental steps to get started on the right track to hitting your portfolio goals. The good news is that beginning is not as difficult as it seems; you can kick off with the tips mentioned above. Lastly, remember that there are plenty of resources and help available that you can utilize to succeed in this endeavor.  

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