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A portfolio is a grouping of financial assets such as stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies and cash equivalents, as well as their fund counterparts, including mutual, exchange-traded and closed funds. A portfolio can also consist of non publicly tradable securities, like real estate, art, and private investments. Portfolios are held directly by investors and/or managed by financial professionals and money managers. Investors should construct an investment portfolio in accordance with their risk tolerance and their investing objectives. Investors can also have multiple portfolios for various purposes. It all depends on one’s objectives as an investor.

An investment portfolio can be thought of as a pie that is divided into pieces of varying sizes, representing a variety of asset classes and/or types of investments to accomplish an appropriate risk-return portfolio allocation. Many different types of securities can be used to build a diversified portfolio, but stocks, bonds and cash are generally considered a portfolio’s core building blocks. Other potential asset classes include, but aren’t limited to, real estate, gold and currency.