While couch potato investing has become the mainstay of many portfolios, a static mix does little to aid in tumultuous times. Supplement your holdings with targeted exposure and alternative assets.
For the unacquainted, couch potato investing consists of a static portfolio of asset allocation funds - either mutual funds or ETFs that investors can contribute to on a consistent basis. The premise behind it is, you know your risk tolerance and should invest in a fixed ratio of equities and bonds that align with this risk tolerance.
Here are a few examples of the couch potato investing methodology:
Sure set it and forget it portfolios have worked historically when bonds were yielding in excess of 5%. However, we are now at a precipice where bond yields are at historical lows, with bond prices near historic highs. A period of rising interest rates will negatively effect bond prices - thus bond portfolios, which make up a large portion of these funds.
To top things off, equity and bond correlations are sitting at their highest point in the last 15 years. It used to be that if the stock market sold off, your bond portfolio would provide a cushion. With our current picture, this same safety net is not as apparent.
Pension funds, which are arguably investors with the longest time horizon are dropping exposure to traditional assets and increasing exposure into alternatives like private equity, real estate and infrastructure. Bank of Canada survey:
Our analysis reveals that, as the level of interest rates declined, 64 percent of plans in our sample shifted away from the traditional 60/40 mix. In its place, they opted for portfolios with more alternative assets, such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure, but a majority allocation in bonds. For one-third of these plans, the portfolio overhaul is substantial—representing more than 30 percent of all assets.
While pension funds have a long time horizon and different goals than an average investor, their search for uncorrelated assets should have you're-thinking your portfolio mix.
After all, with over 4,000 ETFs to choose from in North America, you can create a diverse, uncorrelated portfolio for yourself with only a handful of ETFs. In fact, there are several uncorrelated assets that ETFs target including real asset funds, hedge funds and crypto funds.
While an asset allocation ETF can make-up the majority of your ETF portfolio, you can look to set aside a portion of your funds for alternative assets and more targeted exposure (e.g., 60% of your portfolio can be allotted to an asset allocation fund, 15% can be made up of alternatives and the remaining 25% use targeted exposure to certain industries, factors or themes).
With 2023 expected to have increased volatility and higher inflation - now is the perfect time to revisit your couch potato ETF portfolio and make your portfolio work for you. Do your research, understand your goals and set yourself up for a successful financial future. If this all seems a little daunting - Investipal is here to help you along and provide you with custom ETF portfolios for your unique circumstances and goals.
Praesent vitae ultrices tellus, vel porta felis. Suspendisse sit amet fermentum urna pulvinar erat. Vivamus nec quam ac enim placerat mollis.
Factor investing is a strategy that chooses securities based on attributes that are associated with higher returns. These attributes, or 'factors', have been historically proven to outperform the broader market over time.
Popular index ETFs are behaving like tech portfolios due to their high tech ownership rates. Are you holding an undercover tech portfolio?
You've likely heard of total stock market funds But do you really know what they are, how they work, and more importantly, if they're the right fit for your portfolio? Let's dive in and find out!