Portfolio Management

Portfolio management is a diverse topic that investors can dive into as shallow or deep as they want. Learn the basics of portfolio management—what it is, how it works, and the beginning and advanced strategies—so you can feel confident enough to build and maintain your portfolio.

Portfolio Management Topics Made Simple

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Rule of Thumb for Average Stock Market Return
Frequently Asked Questions
  • Does past performance guarantee future results?

    No. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Just because a stock had a great year doesn’t mean it will match that growth the following year. An asset’s performance tends to change often, and its performance is open to interpretation. Avoid trying to time the market, and perform due diligence to get a sense of who the company is and where it’s headed.

  • How do you build a complete financial portfolio?

    You can build a complete portfolio by going through a series of steps in several areas. You can start by creating a balance sheet for your finances. Once you understand how much money is coming in, what’s going out, and what you owe, you can move to investing and saving strategies like 401(k)s, an emergency fund, paying off debt, and funding a Roth IRA.

  • What can you do to hedge against inflation?

    There are a couple of traditional ways to make sure you protect your portfolio from inflation. Investing in treasury inflation-protect securities, floating-rate bonds, stocks, real estate, and commodities are a few options. You can also consider gold, which investors typically believe moves in step with inflation.

  • Do a company’s annual reports matter?

    Yes, they do. Annual reports show you key information about a business’s inner workings, such as how the business operates, what its culture is like, and who its leaders are. Other clues to look for are the tone and content included in a company’s annual report. You’ll also want to look for a clear dividend policy, sensible executive salaries, and transparency.

  • What’s the difference between a 10-Q and 10-K?

    10-Qs are financial statements that a company files every quarter, per SEC rules. They’re unaudited and don’t share the same level of details as their 10-K counterpart. 10-K’s are filed yearly, are granular in their detail, and are audited. Whereas 10-Q’s provide an ongoing view of the company’s financial position, the 10-K gives you a comprehensive look at the company’s finances. 

Key Terms

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