MULTI ASSET

EQUITY INVESTMENT

MLC has a major goal of advising partners on how to save and invest; going ahead to manage the investments of our clients and partners. We will outline the diverse methods by which equity investments can be diversified

Cash

These are liquid assets that are used on the go. We usually advise clients to keep a small percentage of their funds in cash/cash equivalents to prevent them from tampering with their investments in time of need

 

Bonds

Bonds are a common and fixed income investments, however, to many investors, they remain a mystery. A bond can benefit your investment portfolio. A bond is simply a loan given to a company or government by an investor. In the process of issuing a bond, a company or the government, borrows money from an investor, who in return are paid interest on the money they’ve loaned. Bonds are regularly issued to start new projects or fund ongoing expenses. Investors generally used bonds to preserve the money they have while also generating additional income.

Generally, bonds are always used as a less risky alternative to stocks, and are always advised as a way of diversifying the portfolio of investors. Bonds are usually issued and an interest rate is always agreed on a regular schedule, and the principal amount are paid back after the end of the agreed time. MLC helps clients pick and manage bonds with low risk.

Income Investments

Income investments as the name implies, are investments that earn the investors regular income with time. Contrary to what the general public believes, income-producing investments can play a bigger role in growing a portfolio than growth investments over the long term. They are risk adjusted and may decrease volatility over long periods of time, that’s because in income investments, investors are entitled to regular payments (dividends), this helps to offset volatility associated with growth investments like stocks. They usually come in 2 different forms; interest bearing investments and dividend-paying stocks. Investors can choose to re-invest the interest or dividends received as a means of creating compound interest or simply receive the interest as regular payments to run their everyday life. They are lower risk compared to stocks (growth investments). They help reduce the volatility in an investor’s portfolio. Investors with lower risk tolerance might choose to allocate smaller amounts to income producing investments.

Growth Investments

Unlike income-producing investments, growth investments are more volatile and they include stocks of companies being sold to the general public. Growth investments do not pay interests or dividends like income investments, rather, investors invest in them to make long term profits (capital appreciation) as they hope for the price of the stocks to “grow”.

Investors generally look for stocks that show signs of above average growth (even if the share price seems expensive). Valuation metrics such as price to book and price to earnings ratio are used. Risk can be avoided by investing in growth stocks that are found in the S&P 500 and holding them for the long term. Growth stocks can be affected by economic situation of a country, and might not recover until things become more stable. Understanding your goals is a key part of knowing which of investment options between value and growth investing as both can be beneficial. Owning a single stock reduces your diversification, and therefore increases your risk. 

Growth and Income Investments

Some investments are income producing and also long term investments for growth. A perfect example of this are mutual funds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). Mutual funds for example, is made up of collection of funds from investors for the purpose of investing in securities like bonds, stocks, and other asset classes. Observing the stated examples, we can see that the investments are both for growth and interest paying investments. Mutual funds grant access to professionally managed portfolios by money managers to investors. Some stocks of companies are growth and income investments, however, the dividends paid by the companies in this case might not be as significant. Research has shown that most of the money in retirement plans sponsored by employers goes into mutual funds. This is because it is diversified and perceived to be less volatile.

Aggressive Growth Investment

These are growth investments that are more volatile and are perceived to be riskier than your average growth investment. There are characterized by potential for higher returns and high volatility. Generally speaking, aggressive growth investments are selected based on the risk appetite, age and financial goals of the investors or partner. Aggressive growth investments are generally stocks of companies that are not listed in the S&P 500, stocks of new companies that have potential for growth and are affected majorly by the market “hype”. This is what makes them risky, but their returns are quite high.

Another perfect example of aggressive growth investments are investments in the cryptocurrency markets. They are generally more volatile but have high profit potentials. A panacea for the volatility of aggressive growth investments is one of the core values of MLC which is knowledge and education. MLC comes in to ensure that investments are well-research and understood before advising partners to jump into it. Understanding the method of operation of companies, their profit potential, and their potential/future prospects are the major keys in identifying potentially profitable aggressive growth investments.

Below is the different asset allocation related to investors age, financial situation, and goals; carried out by MLC

Note that this is not exact, but gives a generic idea of asset allocation techniques for just liquid assets

1. FINANCIAL SITUATION AND GOALS FOR TEENS TO LATE 20s INVESTORS

  • Aggressive
  • Growing net worth
  • Very long-term outlook
  • Willingness to take a fair amount of risk

ASSET ALLOCATION

  • 5% to 10% in Aggressive growth investments
  • 40% to 50% in growth investments
  • 30% to 40% in growth and income investments
  • 5% to 15% in Bonds
  • 5% to 10% cash

2. FINANCIAL SITUATION AND GOALS FOR 30s to late 40s INVESTORS

  • Ten or more years to retirement
  • Focused on building net worth
  • Willingness to take risk
  • Not needing investment income

ASSET ALLOCATION

  • 5% to 10% in Aggressive growth investments
  • 25% to 35% in growth investments
  • 35% to 45% in growth and income investments
  • 5% to 25% in Bonds
  • 5% to 10% cash

3. FINANCIAL SITUATION AND GOALS FOR 50s to mid-60s INVESTORS

  • Less than years to retirement
  • High income years with fewer financial responsibilities
  • Willingness to take some risk, but avoiding high volatility
  • Focused majorly on stability more than growth

ASSET ALLOCATION

  • 0% to 5% in Aggressive growth investments
  • 15% to 25% in growth investments
  • 30% to 40% in growth and income investments
  • 20% to 30% in Bonds
  • 5% to 10% cash

4. FINANCIAL SITUATION AND GOALS FOR 60s AND ABOVE INVESTORS

  • Enjoying retirement or very close to retirement
  • Focused on protecting net worth
  • Preferring investments with lowest possible volatility or less risk

ASSET ALLOCATION

  • 0% to 5% in Aggressive growth investments
  • 10% to 20% in growth investments
  • 30% to 40% in growth and income investments
  • 25% to 35% in Bonds
  • 10% to 15% cash