Does your personality match your portfolio?

Good morning Dinks. So often our personality controls everything about our lives and sometimes we don’t even know it.  If we have a controlling personality we most likely have other aspects of our life under control.  If we like to be in control our finances are probably very in order and our spending is probably very limited.  If we like to be in control our homes are probably also very clean and organized.

The opposite can also be true, if you don’t like to keep everything neat, organized and tidy then maybe your financial life is the same way.  Maybe you spend and save all the money you have until you get paid again. This can be a personal and financial strategy that works for some people, but it doesn’t work for me…not anymore.

A controlled personality and controlled personal finances are not better or worse than a non controlled personality and personal finances.  It honestly just depends on what works for you and what makes you comfortable in your life and in your investment portfolio.

Are you conservative by nature?

If you like to think things over and weigh the pros and cons before making a decision then maybe you don’t like to take risk with your investments in the short term or in the long term.  Cash, near-cash and fixed income investments such as money market instruments and bonds probably make up the majority of your investment portfolio.

If you don’t like the unknown in your life you probably also don’t like it in your investments. People who don’t like to take risk with their investments are usually also not focused on growth. These people are willing to accept a lower rate of return in exchange for the security of their capital investment.

Does it take you forever to make a decision?

This is the category that I fall in to. I am a balanced investor with a 60% equity asset allocation and a 40% asset mix in my investment portfolio. Making a decision for me is sometimes like pulling out teeth, it’s mostly because I don’t have an opinion on the subject and it’s partially because I don’t want to make the wrong decision.

I make decisions in my life when I really want something or if I feel that the subject is really important to me, but before I make the decision I definitely think about the pros and cons. This is why a balanced investment approach best suits my personality because I don’t have to take too much risk and I really don’t have to pick or choose a side between security and growth…I get the best of both worlds.

Are you always the first one to jump into the water?

If you like to jump into situations with your eyes closed and you don’t have fear of the unknown then maybe you are also a very risky investor.  We know that with big risks can come potential big rewards, but the payoff is not guaranteed.  I don’t mind taking some risks when it comes to trying new things, but I definitely don’t want to take the risk of losing all my money.

Do you love to travel the world?

If you have a flare for travelling the world, experiencing new things and being adventurous in foreign territories then maybe you also like to invest in foreign countries.  Emerging markets such as Brazil, India, China and Russia are on the radar of the investing world right now.  Have you invested money outside the United States?

Photo by epsos

Kristina Tahnyak

Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.