Spread money to manage the risks
THE end of financial year is with us and, if we take a look at how some of the major asset classes have performed, it turns out the past 12 months have been pretty good for investors.
Residential property has stolen the limelight, with figures from CoreLogic showing property values have climbed 8.3% across our state capitals over the past year.
As market conditions vary between locations, it’s important to look at state-by-state results. Over the past 12 months for instance, the property markets in Sydney (up 11.1%) and Melbourne (11.5%) have done most of the heavy lifting for the national figure. Perth and Darwin have been far less rewarding with values falling by 3.8% and 6.4% respectively.
The thing is, plenty of other investments have outperformed bricks and mortar. Figures from Morningstar show that over the current financial year to the end of May, Australian shares dished up total
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The thing is, plenty of other investments have outperformed bricks and mortar.
returns – capital growth plus dividends – of 13.89%.
A number of global share markets have performed well too, and that’s been good for international shares, with gains of 17.84%.
Infrastructure investments also turned in a solid result, with the S&P Global Infrastructure index showing returns of 13.73%.
By contrast, cash returns remain in the doldrums. At best you may earn 3% on a 12-month term deposit right now, and after tax and inflation you will be lucky to keep your purchasing power, let alone go forward.
Cash still plays a role in any portfolio – just how much of a role will depend on your life stage. As I’m now in my 60s, I am moving from a wealth-creation strategy to wealth preservation. Logically, I should be taking less risk, because if I lose lumps of capital it is hard for me to replace it through work as my working years are winding down.
But for younger investors with time on their side, it’s worth holding a decent chunk of your portfolio in growth assets.
This can be achieved by steadily drip feeding spare cash directly into individual shares. Or it can be done by investing in managed funds – or a combination of both.
No one can say for sure how asset markets will perform in the financial year ahead, but spreading your money across a variety of investments helps to manage risk while benefiting from any market upswings.