Good Financial Reads: Optimize Your Investment Portfolio

As we approach an era of economic uncertainty, many investors are becoming concerned about the value of their investments falling. This is where, if used carefully, options contracts can give investors the ability to safeguard their investment portfolios. In this week’s episode, Grant explains the pros and cons using options as portfolio insurance, as well as some major risks investors could face when using this investment strategy. 

With both stocks and bonds stumbling out of the gate in 2022, there’s a lot of talk about whether the classic 60/40 investment portfolio is dead. The “60/40” as we like to call it, is the bedrock investment mix of many retirees. So it’s important to provide our thoughts about whether we’ve entered a unique investing world that warrants tossing aside a strategy that’s worked for a long time. Is the 60/40 portfolio dead, or is this just a temporary bump in the road?

One of the most common objections I hear from new clients when walking them through my portfolio recommendations is why the need for international diversification. Many are frightened by what they read in the news about various geopolitical hotspots around the world, and worry about increased risk in their portfolio. The term for this is “home bias”, which is the tendency to invest in familiar markets and avoid investing in unfamiliar markets.

A simple question, right? But you know me -- I love giving complicated answers to simple questions. And this is definitely one of those times when it's worth peeling back the onion a bit. Let's talk about why we own stocks and why we would care whether it generates dividends, and then come back to the question.