How to Create a Diversified Portfolio

Key Points

• Diversification spreads investments across various assets to reduce risk and enhance portfolio stability.
• Effective diversification balances potential returns and risk, aligning with your financial goals and risk tolerance.
• Over-diversification can lead to diluted returns, increased complexity, and higher costs, making balanced diversification crucial for success.

When talking about investing, diversification is one of the terms you'll hear most often. That's because it's a vital part of any investor's financial strategy. Simply put, diversification means spreading your investments over various assets, sectors and markets. 

It helps to reduce risk and make your portfolio more resilient, so if any single investment plummets, you'll still have others to fall back on. This article will help you understand what a diversified investment portfolio is and why it's important for whatever stage of life you're in. We'll also give you some simple strategies for creating or rebalancing your portfolio with an eye toward diversification.

What Is a Diversified Investment Portfolio?

A diversified investment portfolio is a collection of different types of investments or assets designed to reduce risk by spreading exposure across various markets, sectors, and asset classes. The idea behind diversification is to mitigate potential losses in one area by gaining in another, ultimately providing more consistent returns over time. Creating a diversified portfolio is all about asset allocation and should take into account your risk tolerance, your investment goals, and your timeline for reaching those goals.

To illustrate what a diversified portfolio looks like, think back to the food pyramid you learned about in elementary school. The food pyramid reminds us of the importance of a balanced (or diverse) diet. Different foods provide different benefits to our bodies. Too much of one group at the expense of another may lead to short- or long-term health problems.

It's the same way with investing. Failing to diversify your investments can harm your portfolio.

Like having varied meals instead of eating steak daily, diversifying your portfolio will help you avoid taking too much risk in one area. If the majority of your portfolio is in tech stocks, a tech sector downturn would have a massive effect on your portfolio. 

Why Diversify Your Investments?

A diversified investment portfolio is important for several key reasons:

Reduces Risk

By spreading investments across different asset classes (stocks, bonds, real estate, etc.), sectors, and geographic regions, diversification reduces the impact of any one asset or investment performing poorly. This means that losses in one area may be offset by gains in another, lowering overall portfolio volatility.

Stabilizes Performance

Diversification tends to smooth out the ups and downs of your investment returns. While one asset class might be experiencing a downturn, another might be performing well, leading to more consistent returns over time.

Protects Against Market Volatility

Financial markets can be unpredictable, and certain assets or sectors may be more sensitive to economic events or interest rates. A diversified portfolio helps protect against sudden downturns in specific markets by spreading the risk across various investments.

Enhances Long-Term Returns

Diversification allows you to benefit from different types of investments as economic conditions change. For example, stocks may outperform in a growing economy, while bonds might do better in a downturn. Over the long term, diversified portfolios can provide solid risk-adjusted returns.

Reduces Emotional Investing

Knowing that your portfolio is diversified can give you peace of mind during market downturns. It helps avoid emotional decision-making like panic selling since not all investments in a diversified portfolio are likely to fall at the same time.

Increases Flexibility and Adaptability

A diversified portfolio is more adaptable to changing economic conditions. You can rebalance it based on performance, risk tolerance, or changes in the market without a significant impact on the overall risk profile.

Investment Diversification Strategies 

Let's take a look at some of the most common ways that investors will diversify their assets, spreading risk and increasing potential returns.

Asset Classes

A well-diversified portfolio contains a variety of asset classes. An asset class is a group of investments that share similar characteristics and are subject to the same laws and regulations. The primary asset classes are:

• Stocks (Equities): Ownership in a company, typically offering higher potential returns but with more risk
• Bonds (Fixed Income): Loans to companies or governments that provide interest payments, generally lower risk but with lower returns
• Cash/Cash Equivalents: Highly liquid assets like savings accounts or money market funds, offering stability but low returns
• Real Estate: Investments in physical property or REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts), which can provide income and potential appreciation
• Commodities: Assets like gold, oil, or agricultural products

Each asset class behaves differently in terms of risk, return, and market conditions. Stocks provide growth, bonds offer stability and income, and cash ensures liquidity. Adding real estate (either through direct ownership or REITs) can introduce another layer of diversification, as property values and rents may not move in sync with stock or bond markets. Investing in commodities like gold, silver, oil, or agricultural products offers protection against inflation and potential currency devaluation.

Sectors

Instead of concentrating investments in a single sector (e.g., technology or healthcare), spread your investments across multiple sectors such as finance, consumer goods, energy, utilities, and industrials. Different sectors tend to perform differently based on economic cycles. Defensive sectors like utilities and consumer staples tend to be more stable in downturns, while cyclical sectors like consumer discretionary and industrials tend to perform better in economic expansions.

Geography

Invest in both domestic and foreign markets to reduce the risk tied to any single country's economy or political environment. International exposure includes developed markets (e.g., Europe and Japan) and emerging markets (e.g., Brazil, China, India). International investments often introduce currency exposure, which can further diversify the portfolio.

Market Capitalization 

Including small, mid, and large-cap companies in your portfolio. Large-cap companies tend to be more stable and established, while small-cap and mid-cap companies may offer higher growth potential but with more risk. Consider large multinational corporations along with smaller regional players.

Investment Style

Growth stocks represent companies expected to grow faster than the market but may be more expensive and volatile. Value stocks are considered undervalued by the market and can offer stability. Combine both growth and value strategies in one fund or portfolio to balance risk and potential reward.

Alternative Investments

Alternative investments like private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, and cryptocurrency can offer significant returns but often come with higher risk. These assets typically don’t move in tandem with the stock or bond markets, adding another layer of diversification. Other alternative assets that may have unique return profiles include precious metals, art, and collectibles.

Investment Vehicle

Mutual funds and ETFs allow for automatic diversification within a specific asset class, sector, or strategy by pooling money from many investors and spreading it across various assets. Index funds invest in a broad market index like the S&P 500 to diversify across many companies.

Time

By investing the same amount of money at regular intervals (e.g., monthly or quarterly), you can smooth out the impact of market volatility. Dollar-cost averaging reduces the risk of investing a large sum at the wrong time. In fixed income, you can ladder bonds or CDs, investing in different maturities to manage interest rate risk and provide regular income.

Risk

More conservative investors might have bonds and dividend-paying stocks as a larger proportion of the portfolio. More aggressive investors, on the other hand, usually have a larger concentration of higher-risk stocks or growth sectors.

How to Diversify Your Portfolio  

The first step to creating a diversified portfolio is to assess your risk tolerance, risk appetite, and financial goals. Your risk tolerance dictates how much risk you’re willing to take in exchange for potential returns, influencing how aggressively or conservatively you diversify. Your risk appetite will shape the types of assets you choose to invest in and the allocation of those assets, influencing whether your portfolio leans more toward growth-focused, higher-risk investments or stable, lower-risk options. Your investment horizon (short-term vs. long-term) also plays a key role. 

Measuring Diversification  

When diversifying your portfolio, start with figuring out how much risk you're taking and what type of return you can expect. You can use several indicators to determine the level of investment diversification strategy to use in your portfolio. Some common measurements include:

Diversification Ratio 

This is the ratio of the weighted average of individual asset risks to the total portfolio risk. It captures how diversification reduces the risk compared to holding individual assets. A higher diversification ratio indicates better diversification, as it shows that portfolio risk is reduced relative to the individual asset risks.

Standard Deviation

Standard deviation measures the total volatility or risk of the portfolio. A lower standard deviation relative to the individual asset risks suggests better diversification, as it shows that diversification is reducing overall volatility.

Portfolio Beta 

Beta measures the sensitivity of the portfolio’s returns relative to a benchmark (usually the overall market). A lower beta indicates that the portfolio is less volatile than the market. A lower portfolio beta suggests better diversification, as the portfolio is less impacted by market movements.

Correlation Coefficients 

A correlation coefficient indicates the degree to which two securities move with each other. If two securities move up and down together in perfect tandem, they have a +1; if they move in opposite directions, they have a -1. Low or negative correlations between assets indicate better diversification because the assets do not move together, reducing portfolio risk.

Sharpe Ratio

This ratio measures the portfolio’s risk-adjusted return, calculated by dividing the excess return (return above the risk-free rate) by the portfolio’s standard deviation (risk). A higher Sharpe ratio suggests better diversification and more efficient risk management since it indicates that the portfolio is earning better returns for the level of risk taken.

Example of a Moderately Diversified Portfolio 

A moderately diversified portfolio would generally consist of 60% stocks, 30% bonds, and 10% alternatives. 

Stocks (60%)

• U.S. Large-Cap Stocks (25%): Invest in established, large companies in the U.S. that are typically more stable and represent various sectors (e.g., S&P 500 Index Fund or ETF).
• International Developed Market Stocks (15%): Invest in companies from developed countries outside the U.S. (e.g., Europe, Japan).
• U.S. Small- and Mid-Cap Stocks (10%): Invest in smaller U.S. companies that offer higher growth potential but with more volatility.
• Emerging Market Stocks (10%): Invest in companies from emerging economies such as China, India, and Brazil, which can offer higher growth but come with higher risk.

Bonds (30%)

• U.S. Government Bonds (15%): Treasuries or bonds issued by the U.S. government, offering stability and lower risk.
• Corporate Bonds (10%): Bonds issued by corporations, which typically offer higher yields than government bonds but with more risk.
• International Bonds (5%): Bonds from foreign governments or corporations to provide additional geographic diversification.

Alternative Investments (10%)

• Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) (5%): Invest in REITs to gain exposure to real estate without directly owning property, offering both income and potential appreciation.
• Commodities (5%): Invest in commodities like gold, oil, or agricultural products as a hedge against inflation and to further diversify beyond traditional financial assets.

Cash or Cash Equivalents (Optional, 5-10%)

• Money Market Funds or Certificates of Deposit (CDs): Highly liquid, low-risk investments to maintain liquidity and provide stability.

Over-Diversification Risks

If a little diversification is good, is a lot of diversification even better? The answer is no.

Over-diversification can dilute your returns because gains from strong investments may be offset by weaker ones, leading to average performance. Managing a large number of assets also becomes complicated and time-consuming, making it harder to keep the portfolio balanced. Additionally, over-diversifying can increase costs due to more transaction fees and higher management expenses. There’s also the risk of owning similar assets, which reduces the effectiveness of diversification. This can give a false sense of security, as many investments may still lose value together in a market downturn. In summary, while diversification helps reduce risk, overdoing it can create unnecessary complexity and lower your potential returns.

Minimize Risk and Maximize Returns 

Diversification is an essential strategy for managing risk and enhancing the resilience of your investment portfolio. By spreading investments across various asset classes, sectors, and geographies, you can protect yourself from the negative impacts of market volatility and improve the consistency of your returns over time. However, it's important to strike a balance—over-diversification can dilute returns, increase complexity, and raise costs. The key is to diversify effectively based on your risk tolerance, financial goals, and time horizon, ensuring that your portfolio remains adaptable and aligned with your objectives while avoiding the pitfalls of excessive complexity.