Just like every software needs regular updates to ensure its smooth and efficient functioning, your portfolio also needs regular reviewing to ensure that it delivers good returns and meets your financial goals. However, not everyone knows what a portfolio review is and why it’s important to review your portfolio as an alert investor. So, don’t worry, as we will be answering these questions in this blog.
Keep reading to find out!
What is Portfolio Review?
Before we start, it is important to note that reviewing your portfolio on your own is not recommended. You should seek the assistance of a professional to properly and accurately review your portfolio to get the most out of the process.
Now, without further ado, let’s get straight to the point.
A portfolio review is an evaluation of your investments to determine whether or not they align with your investment goal and risk appetite. Periodically reviewing your portfolio provides an opportunity to assess if you’re progressing towards the financial future you’ve been planning for. If not, it allows you to make changes and adjustments tailored to your needs.
What is the Importance of Regular Portfolio Review?
Apart from the fact that it helps you make informed investment decisions, there are plenty of other reasons why regular portfolio review is extremely important. Let’s take a detailed look at some of these reasons.
To Keep Your Asset Allocation at Its Best
Most investors like to distribute their assets into different classes based on their investment objectives and risk tolerance. However, market fluctuations can cause variations in the distribution, making your portfolio shift from its original allocation and objective. Therefore, regularly reviewing your portfolio can help you ensure that your asset allocation remains in its optimal condition and that your investments are still in tandem with your objectives. This will help you gain maximum returns on your investments.
To Accommodate Changes in Your Goals
It is quite natural for your dreams to change over time as you mature and your priorities evolve. You may not have factored in your changing standard of living, marital status, children, etc. while planning your goals. However, these changes are significant and can be the reason for you to add or remove certain goals. That’s why a portfolio review is an excellent way to adjust your investments to best suit your current goals. During the review, you can modify and diversify your portfolio across various asset classes to ensure that they’re in accord with your needs and risk profile and that you get maximum returns on your investments.
To Replace Underperforming Schemes
If you don’t review your portfolio regularly, it may be possible that you’ve been holding onto an underperforming scheme for a long time. This can put you at a higher risk of losing your investments and prevent you from achieving desired returns. By conducting regular portfolio reviews, you can easily identify these underperforming mutual fund schemes and replace them with the ones that can give you significantly better returns. This not only improves your potential returns but also helps you achieve your envisioned financial goals. Therefore, review your portfolio frequently to ensure it aligns with your financial goals.
To Avoid Portfolio Overlap
A regular portfolio review is crucial if you want to avoid portfolio overlap. As an investor, you might hold multiple assets, which could lead to purchasing schemes that belong to the same or similar asset class. This increases the risk of your portfolio as there won’t be proper distribution and diversification of funds, resulting in lower returns. By regularly reviewing your portfolio, you can overcome this obstacle by identifying any overlap and making necessary adjustments to ensure proper diversification of funds, leading to higher returns.
To Manage Taxes
Regular portfolio review can help you manage your taxes as it allows you to identify opportunities for tax-loss harvesting. Since tax is an important part of investment planning, regular portfolio review can help you find ways to reduce your overall taxes. It is recommended that you hold securities with high dividend yields, taxable bonds and even mutual funds in tax-deferred accounts to avoid immediate taxes on income.
Conclusion
Merely investing in mutual fund schemes is not enough to gain the desired returns from your investments. Along with investing, you should stay updated about your holdings, and the best way to achieve this is by conducting regular portfolio reviews. Portfolio review offers endless benefits, from optimising your asset allocation to replacing underperforming schemes and managing your taxes. By identifying and making necessary changes to your portfolio, you can ensure that you meet your financial goals and have a secured financial future.
Please share your thoughts on this post by leaving a reply in the comments section. Also, check out our recent post on “Goal Planning: How to Define and Prioritize Your Objectives“
