There’s more than one way to create and maintain an investment portfolio. Some tout the value of long term investments while others extol the virtues and possibilities that come with short term investments. Still others, like Nicholas Kyriacopoulos understand that making the most pragmatic use of both types of investments is a smart move. Here are some basics that you should understand as you decide how to structure your investment portfolio.
What’s the Difference?
There are a few differences between short term and long term investments that should be understood up front. This is something that professionals like Nicholas Kyriacopoulos learned early on and still use today. These differences transcend all sorts of investment options, ranging from stocks to bonds to futures.
Essentially, short term investments are those that you want to purchase, hold for a few weeks or months, and then sell at some sort of a profit. Long term investments are those that you plan on holding for a year, several years, or maybe even for decades. You can bet that successful investors like Nicholas Kyriacopoulos have some of both.
Reasons Why Long Term Investments Are Good
There’s a lot to be said for long term investments. Professionals like Nicholas Kyriacopoulos utilize them to provide foundations for their portfolios. These kinds of investments tend to carry lower amounts of risk or volatility, so the odds of market shifts adversely affecting performance are relatively small. Even when there is some sort of stall or even a slight loss, there’s every reason to believe that the asset will bounce back in time.
Through it all, the investment provides a steady although somewhat modest return in the form of dividends or interest. Consider it to be the dependable or reliable asset that is part of your portfolio. The amount of return remains steady enough that you can plan on how much you will gain from year to year. As a way to move closer to your goal of financial security, you can bet that people like Nicholas Kyriacopoulos see holding long term investments as a practical approach.
Why You Want to Include Short Term Investments in Your Planning
There’s also a lot to be said for short term investments. One is that they provide an opportunity to generate greater returns for a limited amount of time. In many instances, they are more sensitive to market movements related to the economy or a change in consumer tastes than long term investments tend to be. That’s actually one of the reasons why investors like Nicholas Kyriacopoulos devote part of their attention to acquiring and selling short term investments on a regular basis.
The beauty of a short term investment is that you can acquire shares when there are indications the stock is about to increase in value. This results in faster returns. At the same time, you monitor the market for signs that the investment is beginning to plateau. If there are also signs that it will lose value after plateauing, you can sell before that happens and avoid incurring losses. While it requires more attention than your long term investments, taking advantage of the higher returns related to the higher volatility can result in making a lot of money. Like Nicholas Kyriacopoulos, you can funnel some of what you’ve earned into purchasing more long term investments as well as having seed money to pick your next short term investment.
Establishing a Healthy Balance
As seasoned investment veterans like Nicholas Kyriacopoulos will point out, it’s not a situation of either-or when it comes to short term and long term investments. The savvy investor will know there’s a place for both of them in a portfolio. In fact, a balance between the two provides the perfect setting to take advantage of just about any market movement.
Experts like Nicholas Kyriacopoulos tend to view a foundation of long term investments as a stabilizing force. No matter what happens, those assets are likely to continue performing at acceptable levels. Couple that with short term investments that do carry more risk but also offer greater returns. By limiting the investment in assets you will only keep for a time to an amount you can afford to lose, there’s everything to gain and no real chance of undermining the portfolio.
Many professionals like Nicholas Kyriacopoulos began by acquiring a few investments with long and reliable track records. Once that was done, they began to allocate some funding to investments that were likely to provide quick returns and could be sold just before they peaked. You may find this dual approach would also help you create and maintain a viable investment portfolio.