“Some of these investments are more akin to gambling, so it is important to be diversified across many different types of assets rather than putting everything into one highly volatile investment,” she added. “Those closer to retirement and those in retirement will need to be more cautious about the risk that they are taking on in their portfolios, because if they lose a significant proportion they will have very few years to regain any significant losses.”
She added that age is not the only factor to consider. All investors need to decide whether they can cope financially and mentally if their risks do not pay off.
In addition to their personal situations, investors need to look at the macroeconomic backdrop at the moment. “There are concerns about inflation, rising interest rates, the size of government debt, the new Covid variant and the impact all of these can have on the returns of asset classes in the coming year or so.”