What Does a Reasonable Portfolio Look Like

I get asked this all the time, “What should I have in my financial portfolio so I don’t have to eat cat food when I’m older?”

The usual response you get from your banker, accountant, lawyer, financial planner is: mutual funds, registered funds, tax free savings and insurance.

Well OK.

But I think a balanced fund looks more like this:

-your principal residence, held in the name of the spouse with the lowest risk profile

-a cottage property

-some cash

-some insurance, probably term insurance, which is cheap and provides protection for your family, but has no investment upside potential

-some basic financial investments, probably mutual funds 

-a personal business for life, one you own and control

-some real estate, maybe a few residential rental properties, some land or a lot, plus perhaps some small commercial such as a mini storage place, a shopping plaza or an industrial condo

I think you should keep your affairs as simple as possible, but no simpler. Complexity is the enemy of success.

@ profbruce