Monthly Archives: July 2019

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Investment Portfolio Review – How, Why & When?

As an investor, you might have often put in a lot of effort to build an investment portfolio. But have you considered reviewing it at periodic intervals? This step is vital when designing and implementing a strict portfolio strategy. You must adhere to a regular review schedule.

In order to save money and invest it profitably, you must analyse your plan periodically. Only then, you can know about the hidden opportunities for improvement, in order to reap greater financial rewards.

What is an investment portfolio review?

Investment portfolio review comprises breaking down and analyzing your investment portfolio with an aim to better investor’s needs, preferences. It helps one to increase the probability of him meeting his set goals. It also enables one to meet the objectives of a given investment mandate, by shedding light on historical asset class performance, inflation and other related factors.

Why is an investment portfolio review necessary?

Let us help answer this question by citing an example. For example, you need to approach an investment advisor or asset management company and request them to give you a detailed portfolio analysis. The professional will first check the holdings included in the portfolio. He shall also analyze if such holdings include assets that have a high possibility of maintaining low volatility, price fluctuations, and enough liquidity to covert the assets cash when required. He will calculate the amount of investment income in the form of dividends or interest. This expert will then tell you about measures to take so that your capital does not undergo any losses.

How to perform an investment portfolio analysis?

You need to examine your investment portfolio on an aggregate basis while comparing its status to other benchmark portfolios. Some of the elements that you must consider are the total number of portfolio components, the price-to-earnings ratio, the dividend yield, and the estimated growth rate. This is then tallied against a stock market index.

The next step is to weigh the elements in relation to each other. You should understand how these different components affect each asset individually. It should cover all related ventures such as investments in a small business or real estate spends. Lastly, analyze all the portfolio components as stand-alone investments. Understand why you own a certain element, what are your after-tax cash flows, and should you continue holding your stake.

Once you have conducted all these steps, your investment portfolio review is complete. It is an important risk management tool, wherein you know which asset to buy, which asset to keep, and how to increase your financial wealth.

When should you do an investment portfolio review?

An investment portfolio review should be done when you wish to add value to your financial plan. Usually conducted on an annual basis, this activity can be carried out at the end of the financial year before you file for your taxes. It helps you to analyze the transaction costs involved, along with taxes and setting the allocation tolerance bands.

While going for asset allocation strategies, you can go for either long-term or tactical methods — which are implemented at regular intervals. At the start of a financial year, you get better visibility of your revised cash flows, tax-rule, and regulatory, changes. Hence, this is the perfect time to review your investment portfolio.

Conclusion

During your review, here are some results to look out for. Suppose you observe a trend of poor performance over the last couple of years, you should know that it is time to take a different approach. Again, analyze stocks or bonds that have been reasons for such bad performance.
Lastly, whatever step you take, do not allow emotions to affect your decisions. Create an investment policy statement with guidelines that you are sure you shall follow in the long run. Only then, your entire exercise will be worthwhile.

Wondering about your investment portfolio review?? Want to know more about reviewing your portfolio. Feel free to write us on contact@sbsfin.com

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This Monsoon, don’t fall for Dengue

Rain has set in and it’s time to relax after a hot summer. Rain brings joy to everyone – we give a miss going to school or offices to enjoy chai-pakoda time, we ditch the umbrellas just to get drenched. But as much rain brings relief from the scorching heat, it also brings in troubles in the form of dengue, malaria, and chikungunya. Rainy season provides the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes, and dangerous disease like Dengue is spread by infected mosquitoes.

The virus is transmitted by female mosquitoes, mainly of the species Aedes aegypti. This mosquito also transmits chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika infection. The incidence of dengue has grown dramatically around the world in recent decades. And India stands at the top recording a high number of dengue-related cases.

Now that’s just the disease part! The cost of treatment has its own roadblock. An average cost of hospitalization for dengue treatment ranges between Rs. 50, 000 to Rs. 70, 000 (estimated figure), and in some hazardous cases the expenses may reach up to Lakhs! Even though the government has regulated the prices of blood tests required for detecting dengue, the procedure of platelet transplant has not yet been regulated. Which means it’s quite impossible to estimate how much the treatment can cost you and your family. It’s shocking but that doesn’t mean we can’t be prepared. After all, we strongly live by the motto “Prevention is better than cure”. The first step towards fighting it is taking extra precautionary measures.

Here are important Dengue Prevention Tips:

To protect yourself from dengue-infected mosquitoes:

Avoid wearing dark clothes as they attract mosquitoes. Prefer wearing light-colored clothes when stepping out. When outdoors, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants tucked into socks

Stay away from heavily populated residential areas, as the dengue causing mosquitoes easily find the breeding ground in densely populated atmosphere.

Use repellants and patches and cream to yourself and your family members before leaving the house for work, college or school. Use mosquito nets at night for better prevention

Be Careful In Mornings and Evenings as Dengue infected mosquitoes are most active around mornings and early evenings.

Avoid collection of water in places where mosquitoes can breed. These include old tires, cans, or flower pots that collect rain. Regularly change the water in cooler, outdoor bird baths and pets’ water dishes

Watch out for Symptoms which include irregular fever, headache, body ache, joint pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and skin rashes which appear two to five days after the onset of fever, mild bleeding (such a nose bleed, bleeding gums, or easy bruising)

Speak to your doctor immediately if you or your family members have symptoms of dengue. Mosquitoes that bite the infected family member could spread the infection to others in your home. So take the infected one to the hospital immediately

To protect yourself from dengue: (Cure Tips)

Identify Symptoms In Time. Dengue fever symptoms start anytime between 4 days and 2 weeks after being bitten and typically last for up to a week if taken care of in time. A delay in detection and treatment can cause a critical fall in platelet count, which can be fatal and expensive to treat.

Get Tested Immediately after you detect the symptoms. The longer you stall, the longer you delay the treatment!

Intake Lots Of Fluids especially coconut water for helping build back the depleted platelet count.

Get Insurance Cover. Make sure your insurance covers you for OPD costs and hospitalization in case of dengue fever. Since there is no regulation on the cost of platelet transplant, the impossible costs of hospitalization are quite possible! So be prepared.

Do remember, there is no vaccine to prevent dengue fever in the market. The best way to prevent the disease is to prevent bites from infected mosquitoes. Spread the word and stay healthy!