The Meaningful Money Personal Finance Podcast

Last week we talked about asset allocation and choosing the right kinds of assets and funds to invest for your future. These days, most people invest via something called a platform. This week I’ll be looking at why that is the case, whether or not that approach is right for you, and what criteria you […]

Asset allocation is a subject we’ve covered at various times here on MeaningfulMoney as it is a core tenet of successful investing. But how do you apply it in real life to your investments? Is there such a thing as a ‘correct’ asset allocation? Let’s find out…

 

Sponsor Message

This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk

Practical Asset Allocation

Last week we talked about risk tolerance and risk capacity, and I suggested that you should maybe get your own risk tolerance measured over at myrisktolerance.com and then  conduct a couple of thought experiments to see where you might sit. That’s entirely theoretical though, and it may be the case that only once you have some skin in the game, i.e. some real money invested, that you’ll really know how you will cope with the inherent risk that comes wth investing.

But how do you apply the theoretical to the real world? Let’s try to give you a start…

In this session, you'll discover:

1. What Asset Allocation is, and how it works
2. The difference between Strategic and Tactical Asset Allocation, and why you should embrace one and ignore the other
3. That there's no such thing as an optimal asset allocation
4. Why you should start simple and build up carefully
5. What kinds of funds you should actually buy to populate your asset allocation
6. The off-the-shelf solution which will save you a load of work

Resources mentioned in this week's show

Risk Profiling: myrisktolerance.com

Podcast: Season 2, Episode 1 - Why Invest?

Podcast: Season 2 Episode 2 - Risk, Volatility & Timescale

Podcast: Season 2 Episode 3 - Know Yourself: Risk Tolerance & Risk Capacity Try Audible for Free

Previous Posts on Asset Allocation

Podcast: Asset Classes, or stuff you can invest in Podcast: Investment Masterclass: Asset Allocation

Videos on each asset class

Cash    Gilts    Corporate Bonds    Shares    Property    Commodities     Gold    Hedge Funds    The Rest

Free email course - Learn How To Invest

 

And of course, there is a full transcript available by clicking the big blue button below: TRANSCRIPT COMING SOON!

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Question: How have you set up your asset allocation?

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Asset allocation is a subject we’ve covered at various times here on MeaningfulMoney as it is a core tenet of successful investing. But how do you apply it in real life to your investments? Is there such a thing as a ‘correct’ asset allocation? Let’s find out… Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new […]

Last week we talked about risk and how it relates to the timescale of your investments and the underlying volatility of the portfolio you build. Today I want to clear up, once and for all, some confusion about risk tolerance and risk capacity. This is essential to your investing success, so tune in…

 

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download

Sponsor Message

This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk

Risk Tolerance & Risk Capacity

For novice investors, risk can sound exciting, because they have heard that rewards accompany risky investments. For those in later life, perhaps with some investing miles under their tyres, risk is something to be wary of, if not avoided entirely. There are two major factors you need to consider when thinking about the risk you should take with your investments, and that’s what I’m carefully going to go through with you today.

This might be the most important episode in this season, so pay close attention.

In this session, you'll discover:

1. That Risk Tolerance and Risk Capacity are two very different things
2. One is your emotional ability to cope with investment loss, and
3. The other is your financial ability to cope with investment loss.
4. When a loss is not really a loss
5. The best place to get your own risk tolerance measured
6. A thought experiment to determine how you might react in certain circumstances

Resources mentioned in this week's show

Risk Profiling: myrisktolerance.com Podcast: Season 2, Episode 1 - Why Invest? Podcast: Season 2 Episode 2 - Risk, Volatility & Timescale Try Audible for Free

Free email course - Learn How To Invest

 

 

Join the conversation

I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share.

Question: What was your risk tolerance? Were you surprised with the result of the test?

Share the love

If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

Last week we talked about risk and how it relates to the timescale of your investments and the underlying volatility of the portfolio you build. Today I want to clear up, once and for all, some confusion about risk tolerance and risk capacity. This is essential to your investing success, so tune in… Podcast: Subscribe […]

Investing can be scary, not least because of the frequent use of words like risk and volatility. But these are just mechanisms to be explained and understood, just like anything else. If you understand them, you can harness them to your advantage. And that’s what I’m going to help you to do today.

 

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download

Sponsor Message

This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk

Risk, Volatility and Timescale

Last week I said that one of the differences between saving and investing is risk. Money saved in a bank account is essentially risk-free. You know that the money will always be there, unless the bank itself goes under, which doesn’t happen that often. Investments, by contrast, have converted cash into real assets like shares, bonds, gold and property. Those things always carry an element of risk, and we need to understand how this works so that we can make the most of the opportunities which always accompany risk…

So, as usual, let’s look at what you need to KNOW first, then what you need to DO…

In this session, you'll discover:

1. The four main risks when it comes to investing
2. Why volatility is not the same as risk
3. Why you should be very wary of averages
4. Why timescale is a key factor when deciding risks
5. How to smooth out risk (to some degree) with cost-averaging
6. The three key methods for managing risk

Resources mentioned in this week's show

Podcast: Why Invest?

 

Try Audible for Free

Free email course - Learn How To Invest

 

 

Join the conversation

I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share.

Question: Have you had any bad experiences when investing - what went wrong?

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If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

Here in the UK we’re in the aftermath of the referendum vote to leave the EU, and stock markets are very volatile. Headlines are screaming about billions wiped off the stock market. The pound is suffering compared with other currencies. With all these concerns, isn’t it better to keep your money where it is safe, say under the mattress or in a high-interest savings account?

Why invest at all?

Today I’m going to answer that question...

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download

Sponsor Message

This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk

Why invest?

It seems to be assumed that investing is THE way to become wealthy. There are far more column inches dedicated to choosing the right funds or tax wrappers than there are listing the best high-interest accounts. Probably because there are no really high-interest accounts these days.

But why invest at all? As usual, I’m going to look at what you need to KNOW first, followed by what you need to DO, assuming you decide that you should consider investing some of your heard-earned cash.

In this session, you'll discover:

1. Why the current unprecedented times are heralding a new normal
2. The difference between saving and investing, and why it matters
3. The relationship between risk and reward
4. Why you must have a why (for investing)
5. The importance of educating yourself
6. Some books, podcasts and websites you can use to do just that
7. How much you should invest

Resources mentioned in this week's show

Book: Money, Master the Game, by Tony Robbins

Book: The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach

Podcast: Money To The Masses, with Damien Fahy

Website: FinancialMentor.com

Free email course - Learn How To Invest

 

Join the conversation

I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: Do you have any concerns or questions about investing? Share them in the comments section below...

Share the love

If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

Here in the UK we’re in the aftermath of the referendum vote to leave the EU, and stock markets are very volatile. Headlines are screaming about billions wiped off the stock market. The pound is suffering compared with other currencies. With all these concerns, isn’t it better to keep your money where it is safe, […]

So, the UK voted leave the European Union. Whatever your view on this, we are where we are. But what does it mean for your pensions and investments? That’s what I’m going to attempt to cover in this week’s show.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download

Sponsor Message

This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk

Brexit - what next?

I’ve been intentionally quiet on my views about Brexit. For what it's worth, I voted to Remain and am disappointed by the vote. I’m not wallowing in self-pity though - it’s time to move on. It remains to be seen what our leaders will do. Will they pull their fingers out, put aside their personal agendas and grasp the nettle? We’ll see.

I want to look at what we know about the future, and what we don’t but more important what you should and shouldn’t do in light of the decision to leave the EU.

In this session, you'll discover:

1. Why I'm still pretty bullish about the UK economy - we're coming from a pretty good place
2. That there's a world of value to be had for investors outside the UK
3. Why I hate the media's reporting, particularly of market movements
4. Why diversification is still the best strategy
5. Why you should hold your nerve
6. That there may even be opportunities in the volatility, if you have money you're prepared to lose.
7. Why you should always focus on the long term
8. Why you should review your portfolio, and what might trigger you to change things.

You know that Ill never sugar-coat what I think is happening. Too many of you are tuning in, and too many of you know where I live for me ever to tell you anything other than what I perceive to be true.

Finally remember that unlike the journalists touting scare-stories all over the media, I have to sit at my clients’ kitchen table and look them in the eye wheel I tell them that their portfolios have dropped in value.

I also get the joy of telling them that their dreams need not be parked for the foreseeable future because we have planned for the volatility.

I am doing this day in, day out, watching the markets, reassuring clients who trust me with £120 million or so of their money.

Resources mentioned in this week's show

Course: Learn How To Invest - sign up here to be notified when the next course is launched

Work with Pete: Click here to find out more about how you and I can work together directly

So, the UK voted leave the European Union. Whatever your view on this, we are where we are. But what does it mean for your pensions and investments? That’s what I’m going to attempt to cover in this week’s show. Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Sponsor Message This podcast […]