Become an expert

Although a diverse portfolio is the basis for smart investment portfolio management, your portfolio runs the risk of growing too diverse. In 1989 Peter Lynch already recognised the problem of ‘diworsification’ in his book ‘One Up on Wall Street’, explaining how diversification can turn sour. But how do I diversify my portfolio without going too far?

Last week the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) sent out a warning about a pyramid and Ponzi scheme in response to the Questra Holdings Company. At the start of your investment, this company promises to let an investment of 10.000 euro grow to 160.000 euro in one year’s time.

We have brought this up several times, but knowledge of diamonds is no mere luxury when you want to invest in it. This is exactly why the city of Antwerp is investing in a new diamond museum.

If you want to invest in diamonds, you naturally want to be absolutely sure that the gemstones are actually worth what you are paying for them. One crucial aspect of this is knowing exactly where they came from. Unfortunately there is now an increased risk of you buying a synthetic diamond when you thought you were acquiring a natural one. How can you distinguish between the two, making sure you are paying the right price for the right quality?

Investing in the Netherlands is fairly common, but if you are Belgian and you invest in Dutch companies, up until recently you owed a 15 percent dividend tax to the Dutch tax authorities. An arrest made by the European Court will make a change in this.

What kind of things are included in your current investment portfolio? Shares, bonds? What about raw materials, like diamonds? There is every chance you are at least considering this, as you’re currently reading this text. And even more so if you happen to live in China or India. A total of 45% and 50% of the respective populations are considering diamonds as an investment, according to the 2013 Global Diamond Report issued by the Bain & Company consultancy.