5 Reasons Your Portfolio Has Too Much Risk!

 No element of Alternative Strategy or Absolute Returns!

• Holding some non correlated investments in your portfolio is a smart idea to lower the volatility.  Prior to 2008 having investments in different sectors and geographic locations used to be enough as a recession in Europe didn't affect Asia or the US.  That has now changed and many markets are linked together.  What you need are products that are not tied to the stock market.
  Check out Private Placements as an example of something to consider.
  Major pension funds and high net worth investors utilize these types of products.  They are now available in smaller purchase options for regular investors like you and me.

• Canada is a good example, it is only 3% of the global market and is heavily weighted to the energy  and financial sector.  Do you have too many of your eggs in this basket?  Most Canadian investors favour their home country and this has proven well for the last decade with commodities but like everything they don't stay hot forever.  Ensuring you are diversified and not too heavy in one area is important.

• We see this all the time, clients have 2 or 3 of the same mutual fund or they have 15-20 funds overall!  The problem is no more greater than in Canada where almost every Canadian mutual fund will hold many of the same stocks.  By owning funds at TD and Fidelity you are not improving your diversification you are increasing your portfolio risk.  Those funds will react the same way and this adds more volatility to your portfolio. 

• Does your advisor or banker contact you on a regular basis?  When was the last time your portfolio was reviewed?  Does your advisor know  your name or would he/she recognize you on the street?  It is your money you should be getting regular reviews and contact.  At Gilbert Wealth Management we schedule at minimum annual reviews to visit our clients money.

• This is very common, clients who want growth get a cookie cutter approach or are too weighted in fixed income and clients who want protection don't have enough fixed income.  What is in your portfolio?  How has it performed against its peers?