In this economy you should be thinking about cash, bond funds or treasuries, and some global exposure to Asia. Only invest in equities with a short term outlook. I still feel this economy will dip once stimulus has worn off. There were a lot of tax credits and breaks this year and a lot of refunds. Once that goes away and it becomes the just the real economy, cash may be the safe place. So, if I was diversifying my portfolio next week I would park the money in a money market or short term CD. Maybe throw a little into an International Fund dealing with Asia. It's the only economy in the world showing real growth.
Everyone is different, so don't compare yourself with another. You put some money into bonds, and some into stocks, and maybe mutual funds. How much depends on you.
Then you decide what type of funds, bonds, and stocks. Do you like large cap funds, small cap, gold funds, international, medical, etc. Will you get into government bonds, municipal, corporate, AAA rated, AA, or BB, or whatever. Then if you buy stocks, you may diversify by buying various industries, such as high tech, pharma, gold, aerospace, oil, financial, etc.
There is a lot to think about. You change up whenever you feel the need to.
Never, ever invest in a bond mutual fund. If you buy a bond or a CD from the issuer you get a guarantee that you’ll get your money back when the bond or CD matures, and a guaranteed interest rate until it matures. If you invest in a bond fund, you get no guarantees at all.
If you want to invest in the stock market, start slow and stick to mutual funds or ETFs. The safest way to invest in stocks is to put your money in a few indexed mutual funds or ETFs. Rydex offers some of the better known mutual funds. You can check out a review of them at this site, and maybe get some other ideas. http://www.money-zine.com/Investing/Mutual-Funds/R...
First Local equity markets, and in this atmosphere I would recommend stocks with good dividend payout for that will tell the company is expecting to continue seeing cash inflow. I recommend etf's for this one. Secondly government bonds. Thirdly property based funds or security. Forth commodities, watch out for gold/steel/oil etf. Five international equity, again etf. And the last one cash equivalent or funds that invest in money markets.
If you're talking about a design portfolio, you should try to branch out into other aspects of design. For example, if you're a product designer, try to get some urban design or fine art into your portfolio. As an automotive designer, I'm always being told to do some architecture, 3D modelling, animation etc and put it in my portfolio. You'll be much more employable if you have a wider set of skills than Joe Blogs who gets a first in his subject and hasn't had experience in any other field.
Comments
First would be cash - stocks - bonds
Then within stocks: international - domestic
Then within international: developed countries (Europe, Japan) - Emerging (Brazil, China, India)
Then cap size: large cap - mid cap - small cap
Then sectors: there are many - tech, retail, manufacturing, mining/steel, consumer products, etc.
For bonds: short term - mid term - long term
For bonds: high yield - top rated companies
As you can see there are a lot of decisions involved in diversification
In this economy you should be thinking about cash, bond funds or treasuries, and some global exposure to Asia. Only invest in equities with a short term outlook. I still feel this economy will dip once stimulus has worn off. There were a lot of tax credits and breaks this year and a lot of refunds. Once that goes away and it becomes the just the real economy, cash may be the safe place. So, if I was diversifying my portfolio next week I would park the money in a money market or short term CD. Maybe throw a little into an International Fund dealing with Asia. It's the only economy in the world showing real growth.
Good luck.
Everyone is different, so don't compare yourself with another. You put some money into bonds, and some into stocks, and maybe mutual funds. How much depends on you.
Then you decide what type of funds, bonds, and stocks. Do you like large cap funds, small cap, gold funds, international, medical, etc. Will you get into government bonds, municipal, corporate, AAA rated, AA, or BB, or whatever. Then if you buy stocks, you may diversify by buying various industries, such as high tech, pharma, gold, aerospace, oil, financial, etc.
There is a lot to think about. You change up whenever you feel the need to.
Never, ever invest in a bond mutual fund. If you buy a bond or a CD from the issuer you get a guarantee that you’ll get your money back when the bond or CD matures, and a guaranteed interest rate until it matures. If you invest in a bond fund, you get no guarantees at all.
If you want to invest in the stock market, start slow and stick to mutual funds or ETFs. The safest way to invest in stocks is to put your money in a few indexed mutual funds or ETFs. Rydex offers some of the better known mutual funds. You can check out a review of them at this site, and maybe get some other ideas. http://www.money-zine.com/Investing/Mutual-Funds/R...
Good Luck
First Local equity markets, and in this atmosphere I would recommend stocks with good dividend payout for that will tell the company is expecting to continue seeing cash inflow. I recommend etf's for this one. Secondly government bonds. Thirdly property based funds or security. Forth commodities, watch out for gold/steel/oil etf. Five international equity, again etf. And the last one cash equivalent or funds that invest in money markets.
If you're talking about a design portfolio, you should try to branch out into other aspects of design. For example, if you're a product designer, try to get some urban design or fine art into your portfolio. As an automotive designer, I'm always being told to do some architecture, 3D modelling, animation etc and put it in my portfolio. You'll be much more employable if you have a wider set of skills than Joe Blogs who gets a first in his subject and hasn't had experience in any other field.