How Many Funds For a Diversified Portfolio? (2024)

How Many Funds For a Diversified Portfolio? (1)

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Diversify your investments. These words of wisdom are hammered into the minds of people looking to invest. While diversification is a crucial element and should be taken care off, most investors tend to go overboard and stuff their portfolio with a large number of funds

This can be counterproductive as a messy portfolio is difficult to track and manage.

So how many funds should you invest in to build a sufficiently diversified portfolio? Well, we read on to know all about it.

Let’s first talk about the number offunds

Yes. You should invest in more than one fund. While most mutual funds are inherently diversified, putting all your money in one fund means you are relying on the judgment and investing style of one person. This gives rise to fund manager risk, and this can work against you. That’s because even the best of fund managers can go wrong.

Now that we have established that your portfolio should have more than one fund let’s go to the next question.

How many funds areenough?

One thing you should always remember is that a lot of funds in your portfolio doesn’t mean you have a diversified portfolio. A portfolio with 15 funds that have overlapping is not diversified.

You should have no more than 4 funds in your portfolio. You don’t get any additional diversification if you invest in more funds.

That’s because most funds of a category invest in the same set of stocks, so buying more funds just means you are loading up on the same stocks via different funds

With the number of funds defined, we move to the next piece of the puzzle.

Should you pick these funds from the same category or different categories?

Well, it is ideal you pick fund from different categories. That’s because you will have exposure to different parts of the market and since stocks of different kind of companies tend to do well or do poorly at different times, your risk is reduced.

So, now that you know you need different categories, what those 4 categories to go for.

1. ELSS Fund -  This is the first fund any investor should buy. Not only it helps you save tax, but they are also multi caps funds under the hood. You can read more about why ELSS should be your first category.

2. Aggressive Hybrid Fund -  These funds were earlier called Balanced Fund. This fund category invests at least 25% in debt allowing you to have some exposure in another asset class.

3. Multi cap Fund -  These funds invest in companies of all sizes and across sectors. There go anywhere approach allows them to invest in the best ideas across the market and in the process build a diversified portfolio.

4. Large and Mid Cap Fund - This category of fund invests primarily in the top 200 companies in India. So you get a portfolio of leaders of today (large caps) and the potential leaders of tomorrow (mid caps).

Bottomline

A portfolio doesn’t need to have a lot of funds to be diversified. You just need to pick 3–4 categories and invest in one fund from each of those categories and you are done.

How Many Funds For a Diversified Portfolio? (2024)

FAQs

How Many Funds For a Diversified Portfolio? ›

Experts agree that for most personal investors, a portfolio comprising 5 to 10 ETFs is perfect in terms of diversification. But the number of ETFs is not what you should be looking at.

How many funds should be in a diversified portfolio? ›

You should therefore only keep as many funds in your portfolio as you're comfortable monitoring. For example, if you hold 10 or 20 different funds, you'll need to keep a close eye on the changing value of all these investments to make sure your asset allocation still matches your investment goals.

How many funds make an ideal portfolio? ›

Financial planners say it is difficult to put a cap on the number of schemes in an investor's portfolio, as investors increasingly use mutual funds to meet both long-term and short-term goals. However, they feel investors should restrict themselves to 10 schemes, as a higher number is difficult to monitor and manage.

What is the 75 5 10 rule for diversified mutual funds? ›

Diversified management investment companies have assets that fall within the 75-5-10 rule. A 75-5-10 diversified management investment company will have 75% of its assets in other issuers and cash, no more than 5% of assets in any one company, and no more than 10% ownership of any company's outstanding voting stock.

How many ETFs are needed for a diversified portfolio? ›

The answer depends on several factors when deciding how many ETFs you should own. Generally speaking, fewer than 10 ETFs are likely enough to diversify your portfolio, but this will vary depending on your financial goals, ranging from retirement savings to income generation.

What is a good diversified portfolio look like? ›

A diversified portfolio should have a broad mix of investments. For years, many financial advisors recommended building a 60/40 portfolio, allocating 60% of capital to stocks and 40% to fixed-income investments such as bonds. Meanwhile, others have argued for more stock exposure, especially for younger investors.

What is the rule of thumb for portfolio diversification? ›

First, set aside enough money in cash and income investments to handle emergencies and near-term goals. Next, use the following rule of thumb: Subtract your age from 100 and put the resulting percentage in stocks; the rest in bonds. In other words, if you're 20 years old, put 80% of your assets in stocks; 20% in bonds.

What is the 5% portfolio rule? ›

This rule suggests that investors should not allocate more than 5% of their portfolio in any one stock or investment. The idea behind this rule is to limit the potential risk to the overall portfolio if one investment does not perform as expected.

What is the ideal portfolio mix? ›

Many financial advisors recommend a 60/40 asset allocation between stocks and fixed income to take advantage of growth while keeping up your defenses.

What is a good portfolio size? ›

“It is generally recommended to have a portfolio size of at least $100,000 before considering investing in individual securities, and at least $500,000 before moving away from investment products and investing directly in stocks and bonds.”

What if I invest $10,000 every month in mutual funds? ›

If you invest Rs.10000 per month through SIP for 30 years at an annual expected rate of return of 11%, then you will receive Rs.2,83,02,278 at maturity.

What if I invest $5,000 in mutual funds for 5 years? ›

If you invest Rs. 5,000 per month through SIP for 5 years, assuming 12% return. The estimate total returns will be Rs. 1,12,432 and the estimate future value of your investment will be Rs. 4,12,431.

What is 15 15 30 rule in mutual funds? ›

The 15x15x30 rule of mutual funds involves investing Rs 15,000 per month for a period of 30 years in a fund that offers a 15% annual return. As per experts, this can give the investor an opportunity to accumulate Rs 10 crore against 1 crore.

What is a lazy portfolio? ›

A lazy portfolio is a collection of investments that require minimal management. It typically consists of a few (or even one) diversified, low-cost index funds or ETFs (exchange-traded funds). You can also get index mutual funds that will also do the job.

Which ETF is most diversified? ›

3 Top ETFs for a Diversified Stock Portfolio
  1. SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY 0.25%) mirrors the S&P 500 Index, encompassing 500 of the largest U.S. corporations. ...
  2. Invesco QQQ Trust. ...
  3. iShares Russell 2000 ETF.
May 12, 2024

What is the most diversified ETF in the world? ›

If you want to cover developed and emerging markets from all over the world with just one ETF, the following indices can be considered:
  • FTSE All-World.
  • MSCI ACWI.
  • MSCI ACWI IMI.
  • Solactive GBS Global Markets Large & Mid Cap.

What is the 25% diversification rule for mutual funds? ›

The 20/25 rule for mutual funds is a simple and effective way to diversify your portfolio and reduce your risk. It states that you should invest in no more than 20 mutual funds and no more than 25% of your portfolio in any one fund.

What is the optimal number of stocks for diversification? ›

If individual stocks are to make up the majority (50% or more) of the equity part of your portfolio, then you should plan to own 25 to 30 stocks. At a min- imum, we recommend owning at least 15 stocks to avoid over-concentration in any single stock or sector.

What percentage should be in a 3 fund portfolio? ›

So, a "three-fund portfolio" might consist of 42% Total Stock Market Index, 18% Total International Stock Index, and 40% Total Bond Market fund.

What is the ideal number of stocks to have in a portfolio? ›

How many different stocks should you own? The average diversified portfolio holds between 20 and 30 stocks. The Motley Fool's position is that investors should own at least 25 different stocks.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Terrell Hackett

Last Updated:

Views: 6460

Rating: 4.1 / 5 (72 voted)

Reviews: 95% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Terrell Hackett

Birthday: 1992-03-17

Address: Suite 453 459 Gibson Squares, East Adriane, AK 71925-5692

Phone: +21811810803470

Job: Chief Representative

Hobby: Board games, Rock climbing, Ghost hunting, Origami, Kabaddi, Mushroom hunting, Gaming

Introduction: My name is Terrell Hackett, I am a gleaming, brainy, courageous, helpful, healthy, cooperative, graceful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.