Building Your First Portfolio From Scratch

Building, your, first, portfolio, doesn't, mean, you, need, to, pick, 15-20, individual, stocks., For, most, beginners,, the, easiest, approach, is, often, the, best:, choose, a, single, broad-market, index, fund, or, a, target-date, fund, aligned, with, your, expected, retirement, year., These, options, provide, a, complete,, diversified, portfolio, in, just, one, purchase., A, target-date, fund, takes, care, of, a, crucial, ongoing, decision, automatically., It, adjusts, its, mix, of, stocks, and, bonds,, becoming, more, conservative, as, the, target, year, gets, closer., You, won’t, have, to, rebalance, anything, yourself.

Your, time, horizon, should, guide, how, you, build, your, first, portfolio., If, you, might, need, the, money, in, the, next, couple, of, years—for, an, emergency, fund, or, a, house, down, payment—it, should, go, somewhere, more, stable, than, the, stock, market., On, the, other, hand,, money, you, won’t, touch, for, decades,, like, retirement, savings,, can, usually, handle, more, stock, exposure., A, longer, horizon, gives, you, time, to, bounce, back, from, short-term, volatility.