Holiday-proof your financial plan

Holidays should be a time of restoration and relaxation. But for savvy investors, who are seldom able to switch off or turn down the volume on their analytical brain activity, it can be a time of stress and panic. Whether you’re entering your annual time of leave or it’s a sneaky mid-year break, if you’re understandably nervous about your financial plan, fear not. 

While no portfolio is fireproof to completely uncontrollable events like black swans and major unforeseen global macroeconomic events, there is a lot you can do to limit your exposure to market-affecting shenanigans on the home front.

Don’t make any sudden moves. When it comes to investing, always remember: any change costs something, and it is also expensive when everyone else pulls the same move (like investing offshore). Try not to suddenly pull huge lump sums out of equities and into a different class without it being in line with your long-term strategy.

Switching things up in your portfolio is sometimes necessary, but we must do it with a comprehensive strategy, not a panicked whim before you go on leave. When nearing the end of an investment term, it could be an excellent time to change your weighting in various classes and the diversification of your portfolio. Feeling scared watching the news is not.

Don’t get involved in something you don’t know well. December is often the time for year-end bonuses. Feeling jolly, you may think: “Heck, why not try out Crypto?” 

Unless you’ve studied the market history, inner workings and headlines surrounding your options for more than a year, maybe give it a little more thought. (Many tried this back in 2017 when Bitcoin was trending and either lost all that irreplaceable, untraceable investment in a hacker’s spree or waited until December 2018 to find out it was worth 80 per cent less.)

Lastly - manage your emotions. We’ve shared many blogs on this, as it doesn’t only crop up when we’re heading offline for a break. Our feelings need to be felt, experienced and expressed, but they are not our whole truth and should not govern the direction of our financial plan.

Ultimately, investing always works best when you have a trusted, second opinion on any significant choice you make. Either knuckle down and focus on the people around you and let your money work for you, or let’s get in touch and have a comforting cup of coffee to bolster your portfolio.