Diversification: The only constant strategy in this fast-changing world

The world witnessed an unprecedented event of Russia-Ukraine conflict bringing tragic consequences in loss of thousands of lives and millions being turned refugees.

- Ajit Menon, CEO, PGIM India Mutual Fund

The situation also escalated quickly in terms of its impact on markets and the heightened volatility it caused. However, I take solace in the mature way Indian investors and advisors have handled this issue so far, helped to a great extent to get the asset allocation and diversification right, instead of focusing on events beyond their control.

Asset Allocation offers better control over expected returns as well as the expected risk of a portfolio by mixing uncorrelated asset classes in various combinations. Uncorrelated assets tend to behave differently in the same market conditions. For e.g. Gold has provided a safe haven to investors during war-like situations in the past whereas equities in general declined during such periods. We can observe this low correlation between Gold and Equities in the recent phase also. Thus, mixing Gold and Equities in a portfolio can be beneficial as per investor’s risk appetite.