Why Not Diversify?
A key lesson I picked up as I started my investment journey is how crucial diversification can be.
Diversification is crucial since different types of assets tend to behave distinctively. Take for instance last year; local bonds outperformed stocks. Yet, at other points in history, equities have shown superior performance compared to fixed-income securities.
Having assets from different classes will make your investment portfolio less prone to fluctuations and help it perform more steadily over time when contrasted with a portfolio that only concentrates on a single type of asset.
Among the numerous stocks listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), their performance levels differ significantly. Take for instance the constituents of the PSE Index (PSEi); Converge emerged as the top performer in 2024 with its share price nearly doubling. Conversely, Bloomberry stood out as the poorest performing stock within this timeframe, seeing its share value drop by 53.5 percent.
Should you unfortunately hold shares in Bloomberry, your investment portfolio wouldn’t have taken as big of a hit if you had other stock holdings too.
A key rationale for diversification is to steer clear of errors that could result in substantial financial setbacks.
In terms of investment, the size of your funds significantly influences the total profits you can achieve. To illustrate, a 20% gain on a ₱100,000 investment yields just ₱20,000 whereas a 10% profit on a ₱1 million portfolio amounts to ₱100,000.
If you already possess P1 million, you wouldn’t want to make errors that could result in a substantial decrease of your funds.
A method to achieve this is by steering clear of putting all your investments into one stock since unexpected events might lead to a sharp decline in a company’s share price, resulting in considerable financial loss.
In addition to investing in multiple asset classes and various stocks or bonds, there are numerous other methods to diversify your investments.
A method is to purchase international shares and debentures. These financial instruments from abroad tend to behave distinctively when contrasted with local equities and fixed-income securities, particularly those issued by nations beyond Asia.
In the previous year, the U.S.’s S&P 500 index surged by 23.3 percent whereas the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) climbed just 1.2 percent. As of now this year, both indices have experienced declines. Nonetheless, some markets like China’s are showing robust performance.
The positive development here is that investment funds targeting foreign stocks and bonds are now accessible to Filipinos interested in exploring international markets. You can acquire these funds via asset management firms, banks, and brokers with just a few thousand pesos.
A different approach to diversification involves purchasing stocks and bonds from various sectors. These distinct elements impacting separate industries account for their varying performance levels.
Last year, the PSE Financials Index rose by 24.1 percent due to increased profit margins for banks and consistent loan requests. Conversely, the PSE Property Index declined by 16.7 percent because negative sentiments towards property firms were fueled by elevated interest rates and an abundance of unsold residential condos and leased offices.
Ultimately, when purchasing bonds, you can spread out risk by acquiring those with varying maturity periods—ranging from short-term to long-term ones. This strategy ensures that not all of your bonds will be ready for redemption simultaneously, enhancing both your cash flow flexibility and your capacity to take advantage of new prospects as they arise.
If, for instance, you allocated all your resources into a 10-year bond at the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak when interest rates were extremely low, you wouldn’t have been able to put money into bonds offering significantly better returns currently available.
Diversification serves as a crucial strategy for managing risks since it aids in minimizing volatility and prevents substantial financial losses. While your possible returns may not match those from heavily investing in a single stock that significantly increases in value within a year, you gain peace of mind knowing that the likelihood of suffering major setbacks due to poor decisions is greatly reduced. INQ
