Financial experts have always advocated portfolio diversification as a risk management strategy. However, diversification helps only when done in moderation. Over diversification can do more harm than good.
What is over-diversification, and why is it harmful?
While there is no one figure to know if an investor is overly diversified, over-diversification is spreading your investments too thin, for example, investing in more than 15 sectors.
Risks of over-diversification
Lowers returns
Over diversification often lowers returns from the portfolio without reducing the risks. For a diversified and balanced portfolio, ideally, the investor should refrain from investing in too many or too few stocks or
mutual funds.
Tracking gets difficult
Investing in over 50 different stocks or mutual funds can make tracking difficult, resulting in holding the stock for too long or selling it too soon. As against this, if an investor is invested in say, 3 to 5 mutual funds, tracking, and monitoring become easier.
Diversifying inefficiently
The crux of diversifying is risk management. Let us say, if a person invests in 3 different small-cap mutual funds, there is no real diversification as the investment is still in the same asset category.
How to balance your portfolio to avoid over-diversification:
Keep your portfolio at a manageable level
A simple way to avoid diversification is to maintain a portfolio that can be easily managed. Invest in more assets and products only if they offer a specific advantage relevant to your profile and objectives.
Don’t invest in stocks and sectors you do not understand
If you have invested in certain sectors that you are not convinced about, say an upcoming technology about which little is known, or industrial stocks or highly volatile segment, you avoid that investment.
Avoid overlapping investments
Understand your portfolio and sell overlapping investments. For example, if you have invested in multiple balanced funds, consolidate your investments into a single balanced fund that has worked better for you.
By overly diversifying your portfolio, you may not lose much, but you may be diluting potential returns. Diversification is essential, but only in moderation.
Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.