As the year closes and a new year begins, it’s the perfect time to reflect on your investment portfolio and assess its performance. Conducting a comprehensive review of your investments at year-end can provide valuable insights and enable you to make informed decisions for the upcoming year.
By evaluating your portfolio’s performance, you can unlock its potential and set yourself up for maximising returns. This blog post will discuss key steps to consider when reviewing your investment portfolio.
But before that let’s discuss what reviewing an investment portfolio means.
What Is An Investment Portfolio Review?
An investment portfolio review is an assessment of your investment portfolio to evaluate whether it’s aligned with your financial goals, risk tolerance, and tax efficiency objectives.
It involves analyzing your asset allocation, diversification, risk exposure, management expenses, ownership costs, and tax strategies. The primary objective of an investment portfolio review is to ensure that your portfolio is well-positioned to achieve your long-term financial goals while minimizing risk.
During an investment portfolio review, you may evaluate the performance of your investments, assess the level of risk in your portfolio, and identify areas that require adjustments to achieve your financial objectives. You will also evaluate the tax efficiency of your portfolio by assessing the impact of turnover on your taxes and evaluating your portfolio’s tax strategies.
Why Is An Investment Portfolio Review Important?
An investment portfolio review is important for several reasons.
- First, it helps you evaluate the performance of your portfolio against your financial goals and objectives. By reviewing your portfolio periodically, you can identify areas that require adjustments to achieve your long-term financial goals.
- Secondly, a portfolio review helps you assess the level of risk in your portfolio. By evaluating your asset allocation, diversification, and risk exposure, you can ensure that your portfolio is well-positioned to achieve your financial objectives while minimizing risk.
- Thirdly, an investment review helps you assess the tax efficiency of your portfolio. Taxes can have a significant impact on investment returns, especially for high-net-worth investors. By evaluating your portfolio’s tax strategies and assessing the impact of turnover on your taxes, you can optimize your portfolio for tax efficiency and improve your after-tax returns.
- Fourthly, an investment portfolio analysis helps you evaluate the expenses associated with managing your portfolio. By evaluating the management expenses and ownership costs of your investment holdings, you can ensure that you’re paying reasonable fees for the value provided.
- Finally, an investment portfolio review helps you stay disciplined and focused on your long-term financial goals. Market volatility and short-term fluctuations can tempt investors to make emotional investment decisions that can harm their long-term financial prospects. By conducting regular portfolio reviews, you can maintain a long-term perspective and stay disciplined in your investment decisions.
How To Review Your Investment Portfolio: A Guide
Let us discuss the basic steps that one should follow to review their Investment Portfolio:
Assessing Performance
The first step in reviewing your investment portfolio is to assess its performance over the past year. Analyze the returns generated by each investment and compare them against relevant benchmarks. Look for patterns and identify which assets have performed well and which have underperformed. This evaluation will help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your portfolio.
Rebalancing
Once you have assessed the performance, consider rebalancing your portfolio. Rebalancing involves adjusting the allocation of your investments to maintain the desired asset mix and risk level. If certain investments have outperformed others, they may now constitute a higher percentage of your portfolio, exposing you to additional risk. Rebalancing ensures that you maintain a diversified portfolio and align it with your investment objectives.
Analyzing Risk
Year-end is an opportune time to analyze the risk exposure of your investment portfolio. Review the asset classes and sectors you have invested in and assess their risk profiles. Consider the potential impact of various market scenarios on your portfolio. If you find that your risk tolerance has changed or that your portfolio is excessively concentrated in certain areas, it may be prudent to adjust your holdings accordingly.
Reviewing Investment Goals
Take the time to review your investment goals and objectives. Assess whether your current portfolio aligns with your financial goals and risk tolerance. If your circumstances have changed or you have new investment aspirations, adjust your portfolio accordingly. For example, if you are nearing retirement, you may want to reduce exposure to high-risk assets and focus more on capital preservation.
Tax Planning
Year-end also presents an opportunity for tax planning. Evaluate the tax implications of your investment decisions and consider strategies to optimize your tax position. Review the capital gains and losses incurred throughout the year and assess whether harvesting capital losses can help offset gains. Consult with a tax professional to ensure you take advantage of any available tax-efficient investment strategies.
Seeking Professional Advice
If you are uncertain about any aspect of reviewing your investment portfolio or if you lack the time and expertise to conduct a thorough analysis, it’s worth considering seeking professional advice. Financial advisors can provide valuable insights, help you navigate complex investment strategies, and ensure your portfolio is aligned with your goals and risk tolerance.
FAQ: How To Review Investment Portfolio
How often should I review my investment portfolio?
Investors should take a cursory look every two or three months to make sure there are no dramatic changes in either direction. A portfolio that doubles the return of the market in a short period may have more embedded risk than you originally thought.
What is the 3 portfolio rule?
The three-fund portfolio consists of a total stock market index fund, a total international stock index fund, and a total bond market fund. Asset allocation between those three funds is up to the investor based on their age and risk tolerance.
How do I know if my portfolio is performing well?
Comparing your return to the overall market is a better measure. If your total portfolio is up 20% for the year and the overall market is only up 15%, you have done very well. Or if your portfolio is down 10% and the overall market is down 15%, you have done well.
How do I grow my portfolio?
Ways to make your portfolio grow faster include choosing stocks over bonds, investing in small-cap companies, investing in low-fee funds, diversifying your portfolio, and rebalancing your portfolio regularly.
Conclusion
It is essential to review your investment portfolio at the end of the year to ensure that you are maximizing returns and staying on track with your financial goals. This involves evaluating performance, rebalancing assets, analyzing risk, reviewing investment objectives, planning for taxes, and seeking professional guidance if necessary.
By doing so, you can unlock the full potential of your portfolio. It is important to remember that investment decisions should be based on a long-term perspective, and any adjustments made during the year-end review should be carefully considered. With a well-planned approach and regular portfolio assessments, you can position yourself for financial success in the future.
Ready to explore a world of diversified investments? Sustvest has got you covered. Level up your portfolio with us!
Founder of Sustvest
Hardik completed his B.Tech from BITS Pilani. Keeping the current global scenario, the growth of renewable energy in mind, and people looking for investment opportunities in mind he founded SustVest ( formerly, Solar Grid X ) in 2018. This venture led him to achieve the ‘Emerging Fintech Talent of the Year in MENA region ‘ in October 2019.
