Rebalance Mutual Fund Investments? 60-Year-Old Seeks Expert Advice

Ans: At 60, you have a disciplined approach to investing, and your mutual funds have provided you with an average return of 10%-13% over the last 5 years. It's excellent that you’re happy with your returns. However, even if you are satisfied with the returns, rebalancing plays a critical role in ensuring long-term financial stability. Let’s explore why, when, and how to consider rebalancing.

1. Why You Should Rebalance Even with Good Returns
Your investments may be giving great returns, but rebalancing is about risk management and ensuring that your portfolio aligns with your changing financial needs as you age. Here’s why rebalancing is important:

Portfolio Drift: Over time, your portfolio might have become more equity-heavy due to market growth. This could expose you to higher risks, even though you are seeing good returns.

Changing Risk Tolerance: As you age, your risk tolerance generally decreases. At 60, protecting your capital becomes more critical than seeking higher returns.

Market Volatility: While equity markets have been kind to you, markets are unpredictable. Without rebalancing, a market downturn could wipe out a significant portion of your gains.

Goal Alignment: Your financial goals might have changed over time. Rebalancing ensures that your portfolio is still aligned with your retirement or lifestyle goals.

Consistent Returns: Rebalancing periodically can help lock in profits and prevent overexposure to high-risk assets. It ensures that you don’t rely solely on equity markets for returns, balancing your portfolio between equity and safer assets like debt funds or liquid funds.

2. When to Rebalance Your Investment
Rebalancing isn’t based on age alone, but on various factors like risk tolerance, market performance, and financial goals. However, certain key moments in your life should trigger rebalancing:

Age-Based Trigger: At 60, your focus shifts more towards capital preservation than aggressive growth. It is essential to start rebalancing your portfolio to reduce exposure to volatile assets like equity and increase allocation to safer assets like debt funds.

Every Year or Market Movement: Many Certified Financial Planners recommend rebalancing your portfolio once a year. Another strategy is to rebalance when your asset allocation drifts significantly from your target (e.g., if your equity allocation grows more than 5%-10% higher than your target allocation due to market performance).

Specific Milestones: Major life events, such as retirement, health changes, or unexpected expenses, could also require portfolio rebalancing.

3. How to Rebalance Your Portfolio
Rebalancing doesn’t mean exiting equity investments altogether. Instead, it involves adjusting your asset allocation to match your age, financial goals, and risk tolerance. Here’s how you can approach it:

Gradual Shift: Start shifting a portion of your equity investments into debt funds or liquid funds. This reduces market risk while still allowing your money to grow steadily.

Fixed Asset Allocation: Based on your risk tolerance, maintain a fixed ratio of equity to debt. For instance, you might aim for 60% in debt funds and 40% in equity at your age.

Systematic Rebalancing: You don’t have to rebalance all at once. A Systematic Transfer Plan (STP) can help you gradually move funds from equity to safer options like debt or liquid funds.

Consult a Certified Financial Planner: To get a clearer idea of the right asset allocation, consider consulting a Certified Financial Planner. They can provide tailored advice based on your overall financial picture and retirement needs.

4. Consequences of Not Rebalancing
If you choose not to rebalance, you might enjoy continued growth during bull markets. However, ignoring rebalancing could expose you to significant risks:

Increased Risk Exposure: Without rebalancing, your portfolio may become too equity-heavy. This can lead to high volatility, which might be unsuitable at your age. If the market crashes, your portfolio could lose significant value.

Missed Opportunity for Profit Protection: By not rebalancing, you miss the chance to lock in profits. Equity investments are volatile, and without moving some gains to safer investments, you risk losing them during market downturns.

Not Meeting Financial Goals: Over time, your goals change. If your portfolio is not rebalanced, it might no longer align with your retirement needs. For example, you might need more liquid funds for regular withdrawals, but an equity-heavy portfolio won’t offer this.

Potential Stress During Volatile Markets: At 60, you may not want to deal with the stress of market volatility. A balanced portfolio gives you peace of mind, knowing that your investments are safer, even if the market faces turbulence.

5. Rebalancing at What Age
There’s no fixed age to rebalance your portfolio, but as you move closer to retirement and beyond, consider rebalancing more frequently:

60 to 65 Years: This is when you should start shifting more of your portfolio into debt funds, liquid funds, or other low-risk options. A 50:50 or 60:40 debt-to-equity ratio may work best for you at this stage, depending on your retirement plans.

65+ Years: By this age, your focus should be on income generation and capital protection. At this stage, you may want 70%-80% of your investments in safer assets like debt funds and fixed-income products, while keeping a small portion in equity for continued growth.

6. What Happens if You Do Rebalance
The primary benefit of rebalancing is that it protects your portfolio from excessive risk and aligns it with your retirement needs. Here’s what you can expect:

Stability in Volatile Markets: A balanced portfolio ensures that you won’t lose too much in market corrections, as your investments are spread across safer assets.

Peace of Mind: By gradually shifting to safer investments, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that your retirement funds are more secure.

Steady Income: Rebalancing into debt funds or liquid funds gives you the ability to use Systematic Withdrawal Plans (SWP) to generate regular income during retirement.

Better Alignment with Goals: Rebalancing ensures that your portfolio continues to meet your financial goals as they evolve, especially as your focus shifts from growth to stability.

7. Common Rebalancing Strategies
Here are a few rebalancing strategies that you can consider:

Age-Based Strategy: A simple rule is to subtract your age from 100 to determine how much of your portfolio should be in equity. For instance, at 60, you could aim for 40% equity and 60% debt.

Target-Date Strategy: As you approach specific target dates (such as retirement), gradually reduce your equity exposure and increase debt.

Market-Driven Rebalancing: Rebalance based on market performance. If your equity portion grows significantly, move a portion to safer assets like debt or liquid funds.

Final Insights
Rebalancing is not just about returns; it’s about managing risk and aligning your portfolio with your evolving goals.

At 60, it’s essential to start reducing your exposure to equities, even if they are delivering good returns. This ensures capital protection and provides you with liquidity when needed.

You can rebalance gradually, shifting profits into safer investments like debt or liquid funds.

If you don’t rebalance, your portfolio may become too risky for your age, exposing you to market volatility and reducing the chance of meeting your retirement goals.

Regular rebalancing, either yearly or triggered by significant market movement, helps keep your investments in check.

By adopting a rebalancing strategy that aligns with your needs and goals, you’ll not only protect your capital but also ensure long-term financial stability.

Best Regards,

K. Ramalingam, MBA, CFP,

Chief Financial Planner,

www.holisticinvestment.in

https://www.youtube.com/@HolisticInvestment