New (Financial) Year's Resolutions

The new financial year is the perfect time to make some financial resolutions and review your portfolio, particularly in light of the recent – and continued – volatility in markets. Of course, your personal financial resolutions will depend on your investment objectives, but here are some ideas to spark some thought.

Lose weight, improve balance, get fit – Now may be an opportune time to review your portfolio and trim some “fat” in any overweight asset classes. This kind of ‘bulge’ could have occurred as a result of outperformance in a specific asset class, or more simply if your investment portfolio is not particularly well balanced or diversified.

Diversification is the key to keeping your portfolio ‘fit’ through the investment cycle. Just as doing push-ups only would not generally be enough to improve your overall fitness, the same applies with investments. No one asset class consistently outperforms. Improve your portfolio’s overall fitness with diversification (see our recent post on asset allocation).

A broad range of asset class exposures including domestic and global equities, cash and fixed interest, commodities and currencies to mention a few are available via ETFs which can be simply traded on the ASX.

Travel – Do you want your investment portfolio to travel beyond the Australian market? International Equity ETFs was the category with the strongest inflows in the Australian ETF market for 2015 and this theme has continued this year. With over 60 global equity exchange traded funds available on the ASX, you are bound to find the investment destination of your choice.

BetaShares has recently added to this range with the BetaShares WisdomTree Japan ETF – Currency hedged (ASX Code HJPN) and BetaShares WisdomTree Europe ETF – Currency hedged (ASX Code HEUR). For example, investors looking for a tactical exposure to European Equities post the Brexit decision, but one which excludes UK equities, they may wish to consider HEUR.

Learn something new – Are you new to ETFs and want to learn more? The Resources section of the BetaShares website provides valuable information and educational items to improve your knowledge. Subscribers to our blog posts receive regular updates on the ETF market, invitations to our educational webinars and updates from our Chief Economist. Join us at the next webinar to ask our experts any questions you have on ETFs and learn about other topical market news.

Reduce stress– Investors and their advisers are increasingly aware of a major investment challenge. Invest too cautiously and risk insufficient investment outcomes required to fund future needs. On the other hand, invest too aggressively and risk exposure to significant losses during a share market decline. Sound stressful? The BetaShares Managed Risk Series is designed to meet the needs of those investors who want share market exposure but who are also looking for a ‘smoother investment ride’. We have three funds in this series;

• BetaShares Australian Dividend Harvester Fund (managed fund) (ASX Code HVST)
• BetaShares Managed Risk Australian Share Fund (managed fund) (ASX Code AUST)
• BetaShares Managed Risk Global Share Fund (managed fund) (ASX Code WRLD)

– Is this a financial resolution? Perhaps not, but it’s certainly an investment in the wellbeing of you and your loved ones.

We trust that our ideas will help you think about setting your own new financial year’s resolutions and position your portfolios to meet your investment objectives into the new financial year.