Core Holding

Let’s hope you don’t like to speculate too much as an investor. Instead, let’s hope you prefer to buy and hold and then occasionally take some risks every now and then with new technologies that come along.

You have a portfolio of six stocks. For the long-term, you hold five stocks: Exxon, Apple, Microsoft, JPMorgan, Johnson & Johnson, and Unilever...because they provide growth and income potential.

Then you speculate with two other positions in your portfolio. You buy and sell on a regular basis, trying to time the market or take advantage of market selloffs.

The first six stocks that we listed are your core holdings. These are central to your long-term portfolio, and you hold them over an extended period of time. The second group represents your secondary holdings, which are non-core, and are meant to try to outperform the market by a wider margin.

Core assets aren’t limited to stocks. They could include gold, S&P 500 index funds, even lumber if you’re so inclined. But the goal here is to beat the market and ensure long-term appreciation of your money.