Investment Planning

The process of developing a proper investment strategy should include a thorough examination of current holdings, as well as a plan for including any proposed holdings that may help you meet your personal financial goals. The investment strategy should include an agreed-upon asset allocation and Investment Policy Statement (IPS), which sets expectations for all parties involved in the plan.

Ongoing reviews should be conducted on a regular cadence, to help keep investors informed of their goals and their progress toward them. Advisors and investors should be prepared to pivot when investments or the investing environment changes the role of those investments in your portfolio.

Assess current portfolio structure: Is the current overall macro allocation of the portfolio too aggressive or too conservative for the investor based on their risk tolerance and objectives?

Analyze current risk levels: Examine each investments’ individual risk levels, volatility, and portfolio value-at-risk contribution levels.

Calculate correlations: Look at each investment’s contribution to overall portfolio diversification.

Assess current attractiveness: Based on each investment’s characteristics and current price level, is it currently expensive or cheap to hold in the portfolio?

Examine asset-level and segment-level composition: Evaluate total allocations to different asset classes and segments, including different sectors, styles, factors, regions, themes, etc.