You have worked hard, saved and invested your money so that it can work hard for you. You’ve carefully selected instruments to add to your portfolio. The decision is not a hasty one but a choice you’ve made rationally. 

The same way you buy a house. You consider all the factors that align with your wants and needs. Invest in a property that will eventually grow in value to fetch you a fruitful return. Similarly, you also invest in fixed deposits and bonds to achieve your money goals over a stipulated period.

Do you look at your mutual fund portfolio with the same view? Are you making short-term gains, long-term profits or losses in your portfolio? What are the plausible reasons you are making losses with your portfolio investments? Let’s delve further.

1. Why are you investing? 

The vehicle of savings instruments will drive you where you need to go. But before you begin your ride, you need to have your destination and more importantly, you need to map your way ahead. In absence of the same, you will drive aimlessly and chances are you may be lost in transit. If you have got a pathway charted, you know exactly what kind of car will be best suited for your journey, the time it will take, how to get there and the pit stops you can make. Along the journey, you will be relaxed knowing that things are in order. You will also be able to traverse any unknown occurrences if you know your ultimate drive-through.

2.  Conformity or Nonconformity?

Humans are wired to confirming to the herd mentality. Whether it is choosing the popular or the better-suited alternative or masking choices under influence. When it comes to investments, a lot of people coil under the pressure of market ideas, actions and sentiments. If your friend is breaking a deposit to survive the extra requirements in a pandemic, you don’t have to do the same, unless there is a dire need. Similarly, why do you need to exit the mutual funds, if markets are experiencing a blip? Would you do the same to your properties or bond investments? Before you follow the trend, remember why you invested in the folio and should you be a conformist or trust your instinct and be a nonconformist.

3. Time is the Real Money

Trees don’t grow in a day, neither was Rome built-in one. If you’ve set your mind on a goal, remember your portfolio needs to stay invested irrespective of short-term arrears. If you’re not convinced, trust your financial expert, a well-educated and reliable advisor to help you with the right way forward. 

4. Market Sentiments or Individual Choice?  

If you give in to the market sentiment and exit your portfolio, chances are down the line you may miss the big jackpot. Even if you don’t win the big lottery, staying invested could mean growth over time. Ultimately leading to a reward, achieving the goal you have always had in mind. Trust yourself, seek expert advice over the repeatedly forwarded Whatsapp advice that may or may not have the legs to hold the fort.