Portfolio strategies
A well-designed portfolio is instrumental in positioning clients for long-term investment success. Key to this process is understanding the behavioral aspects of investing and how each individual is likely to respond through varying market cycles.
A behavior-based approach
Schwab Asset Management has long advocated for investment solutions that consider investors’ behavioral tendencies. We promote a portfolio construction process that helps merge the emotional experience investors want with the investment results they need to achieve their long-term financial goals.
Principles of behavior-based investing
Applying behavioral finance to portfolios can help keep clients invested for the long haul. We aim to design investment portfolios that support strategic long-term, diversified, risk-appropriate investing across market conditions.
Stay invested
When investors are given ways to personalize their portfolio, they are more likely to stay invested through changes in market volatility. We design products and portfolio solutions that aim to help advisors keep investors invested for the long haul, and to avoid market timing.
Stay diversified
Our building-block approach to asset allocation that diversifies by styles, geographies and approaches helps us incorporate concepts of behavioral finance into the portfolio construction process. This, combined with a focus on outcomes and dynamic risk management, helps us deliver products and portfolio solutions that offer a balance between what investors want and what they need.
Stay disciplined
A systematic approach to implementation is critical in helping reduce the effects of investors’ behavioral biases, especially during periods of market stress. For instance, we advocate for a portfolio rebalancing strategy that will potentially reduce the cost of implementation and improve tax efficiency.
Choosing investment strategies and solutions
One way to incorporate behavioral finance is with investment solutions built to help control the effects of biases.
Building bias-optimized portfolios
Another important strategy is to fine-tune portfolios to better address clients’ behavioral and generational biases. The Biagnostics Advisor Guide outlines key steps.