Portfolio Focus: Growth or Income?

It’s safe to say that the focus of your portfolio depends on your investment time period. Most investment advisors recommend that shorter time periods call for safer investments. For example, you will want to play safe if you are saving for college or a new car and your investment time period is two or three years.

If you are you saving for retirement or some other long-term goal, here’s an often cited advice: Your age should be the percentage of income investments that you hold. If you are 20 years old, then your portfolio should have 20% income investments. As you get closer to retirement, you will shift larger portions of your portfolio to these safer investments. Older people generally want to focus more on income over growth.