"Declutter" Your Portfolio

 “Take My Stuff. Please.” is an interesting article in Advisor Perspectives magazine that talks about how investors can “clutter” their portfolios like objects in their home. The author, Mariko Gordon, believes people tend to hold onto investments based on various factors, such as how they feel, instead of deciding if the investment is truly useful to their portfolio. She also points out that this happens to money managers. “The fact is, if the portfolio you’ve been presented by your money manager doesn’t include a howler or two, be very suspicious.”  At the same time, be cautious of too many “howlers”. Money managers may not change a portfolio for fear of admitting a mistake. In summary, “every attempt to declutter your portfolio must be accompanied by an attempt to declutter your attachment to the glorious past it represents, or the glorious future it will deliver.”