Risk management strategies for investors

Posted on 27 May '19 by , under money.

When it comes to investing your money, there is the possibility that it may not perform as well as expected, possibly losing you some or all of the original investment amount. While no investment is free of risk, some carry more risk than others. These are a few strategies that can help minimise the risk of investments without sacrificing your returns, and not be left out of pocket in volatile and fluctuating markets.

Diversification:
Investment diversification involves buying asset classes or sectors that are not correlated. Diversified portfolios give you the advantage of being less exposed to particular economic events. It can be an effective way to limit your risk, as the fall in the value of one asset class may be offset by an increase in the value of another.

Keep goals:
When buying growth investment assets, you may expect to see some short-term volatility. It would be helpful to separate your short-term and long-term goals and determine how much will be needed for each. Consider investing for the long term in growth assets, while setting aside funds for the short term in a cash investment or another similar defensive asset, ensuring short term funds are available and longer term growth investments are not affected.

Track your investments:
The balance of your assets may change as they gain or lose value, reducing the diversity of your portfolio. Tracking investments is useful in these circumstances as you may need to rebalance your portfolio. Doing this will make sure your investments still align with your strategy to mitigate risk.