How to do Asset Allocation the Right Way | Best Mutual Fund Asset Allocation Strategies | ETMONEY

How to do Asset Allocation the Right Way | Best Mutual Fund Asset Allocation Strategies | ETMONEY

New Section

This section introduces the concept of asset allocation and its importance in investment portfolios. It explains how asset allocation is a process of investing across diversified asset classes to achieve a better risk-adjusted return.

Understanding Asset Allocation

  • Asset allocation is the process of investing across diversified asset classes.
  • The objective of asset allocation is to balance risk and return in an investor's portfolio.
  • A better risk-adjusted return can be achieved by either increasing returns at the same level of risk or reducing risk while maintaining the same level of returns.

Diversification and Correlation

  • Asset allocation involves investing in diversified asset classes that have weak correlations in terms of their performance.
  • Diversification helps spread out the risk in a portfolio.
  • Examples are given to illustrate assets with weak correlations, such as equities and gold, versus assets with strong correlations, such as nifty 50 and mid cap 150 indices.

Key Takeaways

  • Asset allocation should be approached as a process to improve the risk-reward equation.
  • Effective asset allocation requires diversifying investments across different asset classes with weak correlations.
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New Section

This section expands on the concept of asset classes and discusses various types of assets where investments can be made, including bonds, equities, gold, commodities, real estate, cash, futures, bitcoin, and derivatives.

Types of Assets for Investment

  • Investments can be made in multiple asset classes such as bonds, equities, gold, commodities, real estate, cash, futures, bitcoin, and derivatives.
  • Each asset class has its own characteristics and potential returns.

Importance of Asset Allocation

  • Diversifying investments across multiple assets helps spread out the risk in a portfolio.
  • Financial planners emphasize the importance of asset allocation to achieve better risk-adjusted returns.

Performance of Different Asset Classes

  • The performance of different asset classes varies over time.
  • A table is shown to illustrate the changing nature of asset performance over the years.
  • Different assets perform well in different years, highlighting the need for diversification.

Key Takeaways

  • Asset allocation involves investing across diversified asset classes to achieve a better risk-adjusted return.
  • Understanding the performance of different asset classes over time can help in making informed investment decisions.

New Section

This section delves deeper into the concept of asset allocation as a process that aims to balance risk and return in an investor's portfolio. It explains how this process involves constantly evaluating and adjusting investments to achieve a better risk-adjusted return.

The Process of Asset Allocation

  • Asset allocation is a process that aims to balance risk and return in an investor's portfolio.
  • The purpose is to achieve a better risk-adjusted return by constantly evaluating and adjusting investments.

Risk and Return Relationship

  • Traditionally, there is a positive correlation between risk and return.
  • Graphical representation shows points on a graph where low returns are associated with low risks and high returns with high risks.

Objectives of Asset Allocation

  • The objective of asset allocation is to set up an investment portfolio that achieves higher returns at the same risk or the same level of returns at a lower risk.
  • This represents an improvement in the risk-adjusted portfolio return.

Key Takeaways

  • Asset allocation is a process that aims to achieve a better risk-adjusted return for an investor's portfolio.
  • The objective is to balance risk and return by adjusting investments.
  • The process involves evaluating and adjusting investments to improve the risk-reward equation.

New Section

This section discusses different asset allocation strategies that can be implemented in an investment portfolio. It emphasizes the importance of choosing a strategy based on individual goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon.

Importance of Asset Allocation Strategies

  • Different asset allocation strategies can be deployed in an investment portfolio.
  • Choosing the right strategy depends on individual goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon.

Three Asset Allocation Strategies

  1. Conservative Strategy:
  • Focuses on preserving capital and generating stable income.
  • Allocates a larger portion of the portfolio to fixed-income assets such as bonds and cash equivalents.
  1. Balanced Strategy:
  • Aims for moderate growth while managing risks.
  • Allocates a balanced portion of the portfolio to both equities and fixed-income assets.
  1. Aggressive Strategy:
  • Seeks high growth potential but with higher risks.
  • Allocates a larger portion of the portfolio to equities and other high-risk/high-return assets.

Considerations for Choosing a Strategy

  • Individual goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon should guide the selection of an asset allocation strategy.
  • It is important to regularly review and rebalance portfolios based on changing circumstances or market conditions.

Key Takeaways

  • Different asset allocation strategies can be implemented based on individual goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon.
  • Conservative, balanced, and aggressive strategies offer varying levels of risk and potential returns.
  • Regular portfolio review and rebalancing are essential for maintaining the desired asset allocation strategy.

Asset Allocation Techniques

This section discusses two commonly used approaches for asset allocation: age-based and risk profile-based. The age-based approach calculates the proportion of equity assets in an investor's portfolio based on their age. However, this approach does not consider important variables like investment objectives and risk profiles. The risk profile-based approach, on the other hand, uses the investor's risk tolerance to determine how assets should be divided.

Age-Based Asset Allocation Technique

  • The age-based asset allocation technique calculates the proportion of recommended equity assets in an investor's portfolio by subtracting their age from a base value of 100.
  • This approach is a starting point for asset allocation but is not sufficient as it does not consider important variables such as investment objectives and risk profiles.

Risk Profile-Based Asset Allocation Technique

  • The risk profile-based asset allocation method considers the investor's risk tolerance in determining how assets should be divided.
  • Investors are classified into conservative, income, balanced, growth, or aggressive categories based on their risk preferences.
  • Each category signifies the amount of volatility an investor can tolerate in their portfolio.
  • As the risk profile changes from conservative to aggressive, the proportion of equities and gold increases while the proportion of debt decreases.

Backtesting and Benchmarking

This section explains how backtesting was conducted using available benchmark indices for different asset classes. It also highlights that the percentages mentioned earlier were derived from multiple studies found during research.

Backtesting Process

  • Four asset classes were considered: domestic equities, international equities, bonds, and gold.
  • Available benchmark indices were used for backtesting purposes.
  • Indices used include Nifty 50 for domestic equities, NASDAQ 100 for international equities, S&P BSE India 10-year sovereign bond index for bonds, and listed price of gold in India for gold.
  • The data for these indices was examined over a period of 15 years to analyze annual returns.

Performance Analysis

  • The backtesting process helped calculate the returns that investors with different risk profiles should have achieved based on the discussed weightages.
  • As the risk profile moves from conservative to aggressive, the variability in performance increases.
  • Risk profile-based asset allocation is an improvement over age-based strategy and can be suitable for long-term goals like retirement planning.

Importance of Asset Allocation

This section emphasizes the importance of asset allocation in improving risk-adjusted returns. It highlights how a balanced investor achieved similar returns as an investor solely focused on equities but with significantly lower risk.

Performance Comparison

  • If no asset allocation was done and the entire portfolio was invested in one asset class (e.g., Nifty 50), the performance would have been similar to that of a balanced investor over a 15-year period.
  • Asset allocation aims to improve risk-adjusted returns by diversifying investments across different asset classes.
  • The essence of asset allocation is to achieve comparable returns while taking on lower levels of risk.

The transcript provided does not include any timestamps beyond this point.

New Section

This section introduces the concept of risk-return models and tactical asset allocation using dynamic asset allocation funds.

Risk-Return Models and Tactical Asset Allocation

  • Risk-return models are used to adjust exposure to different asset classes based on macro fundamentals, valuations, and market movements.
  • Dynamic asset allocation funds, also known as balanced advantage funds, follow a methodology of adjusting investment proportions based on market highs and lows.
  • The principle behind these funds is to reduce portfolio risk by exiting risky investments at high valuations and improve returns by buying assets at low valuations.

New Section

This section explores the portfolio of a prominent fund in the dynamic asset allocation category to illustrate how asset allocation changes with market conditions.

Portfolio Analysis of ICICI Prudential Balance Advantage Fund

  • The ICICI Prudential Balance Advantage Fund adjusts its equity proportion based on market levels.
  • During March and April 2020, when the stock market was down, the fund increased its equity portion to 74%.
  • In December of the same year, as the stock market reached all-time highs, the fund focused on reducing portfolio risk by decreasing the equity proportion to 40%.

New Section

This section provides tips for effective asset allocation planning.

Tips for Effective Asset Allocation Planning

  1. Avoid framing oneself as either a conservative or aggressive investor. Adjust your asset allocation according to changing circumstances.
  1. Personalize your strategy based on your goals, present situation, risk appetite, and investment horizon.
  1. Consider having multiple strategies for different goals to smartly bracket your investments.
  1. Choose diverse assets with low correlation to maximize returns and manage risks effectively.
  1. Periodically monitor and adjust your asset allocation to ensure it aligns with your goals. Rebalancing may be necessary.

New Section

This section concludes the video by emphasizing the importance of monitoring and adjusting asset allocation, and encourages viewers to draw learnings from the presented data and insights.

Conclusion

  • Asset allocation needs periodic monitoring and adjustments to ensure alignment with goals.
  • Rebalancing plays a crucial role in maintaining portfolio performance.
  • Viewers are encouraged to draw learnings from the data and insights presented in the video.

The transcript is already in English, so there is no need for translation.

Video description

Asset allocation is a very important element to successful investing. In this video, ETMONEY’s Shankar Nath takes you through what asset allocation really means as we detail three different asset allocation strategies that you can deploy on your investment portfolio starting today. This video will be packed with a lot of data and insights and comes with Hindi subtitles which you can access by tapping on the CC button What’s covered in this video? 00:00 Introduction 01:30 What is Asset Allocation 06:38 Strategic Asset Allocation 13:12 Tactical Asset Allocation 15:38 Useful Tips and Strategies 👉 Some Must Read Books for Your Money Library 📚 Rich Dad Poor Dad : https://amzn.to/3pJkVL1 📚 The Psychology of Money : https://amzn.to/3FNI1Wd 📚 Learn to Earn : https://amzn.to/3FKmKg1 📚 The Little Book That Still Beats the Market : https://amzn.to/3HvsKtN 📚 The Dhandho Investor : https://amzn.to/3mONPaG 👉 WHAT IS ASSET ALLOCATION? Asset allocation is the process of investing across diversified asset classes. There are two words one needs to focus on here - a) it’s a process and b) the assets are diversified. a) Asset allocation is a process because it is constantly looking to balance the risk and returns in an investor’s portfolio to achieve the better risk-adjusted return b) Diversified in the context of asset allocation means assets that are not correlated in terms of their performance. For example – a weak correlation can be seen when we compare the NIFTY 50 performance with that of Gold over a twenty-year period. 👉 STRATEGIC ASSET ALLOCATION Strategic Asset Allocation refers to techniques that are aimed at providing long-term focus to your investment portfolio. There are two commonly used approaches here. 1. Age-based asset allocation where the proportion of recommended equity assets in an investor’s portfolio is simply the balance of the investor’s age from a base value of 100. 2. Risk-profile-based asset allocation method which focuses on classifying an investor in one of five buckets i.e. conservative, income, balanced, growth, or aggressive investor. Each of these 5 labels signifies the amount of volatility that one can take in his or her portfolio. For example - a conservative investor is risk-averse and prefers a stable rate of return even if it means compromising on a little or a lot of returns. On the contrary, the aggressive investor is return-centric and understands the variable nature of performance where investments can rise and fall heavily over shorter time periods. Now, once the investor is classified, this asset allocation strategy goes on to proportion a fixed percentage of the asset class to each risk profile as we have explained in the video. In our study, we go on backtest the results with four asset classes i.e. domestic equities, international equities, bonds, and gold. This backtesting helped us prove the point that a balanced investor could have made comparable returns to a NIFTY 50 only investor but by taking much less risk in his or her investment portfolio. This is the essence of asset allocation and something that one should never forget 👉 TACTICAL ASSET ALLOCATION Tactical asset allocation aims to improve your risk-adjusted returns by taking advantage of short-term opportunities without losing sight of the long-term direction. This is done by using active management or risk-return models to increase or decrease exposure to certain asset classes based on macro fundamentals, valuations, and of course, the market movements. An existing mutual fund category that does this is the dynamic asset allocation funds that follow a methodology of adjusting their investment proportion based on the highs and lows of the market often moving between equity, debt, and cash. These funds are also called balanced advantage funds In the video, we show you the net equity position of the ICICI Prudential Balanced Advantage Fund and how it has changed it over the 12 months of the year 2020 👉 USEFUL TIPS & STRATEGIES 1. Don’t get boxed i.e. try not to make up your mind that you are a conservative investor or an aggressive investor. Doing this will make you miss out on opportunities or you might end up taking too much risk 2. Build a strategy per your present situation, goals, and risk type 3. Allocate assets differently for varied goals (but don’t overdo it) 4. Choose diverse assets whose returns have a low correlation with other asset classes 5. Periodically monitor and adjust the allocation #ETMONEY #AssetAllocation 👉 To invest in Direct Plans of top Mutual Funds for free, download the ETMONEY app: https://etmoney.onelink.me/unJQ/5ca1ae3b 👉 Follow us on: ► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ETMONEY/ ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/etmoney ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/etmoney_official/ ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/et_money/