With 53 days to manage our $500,000 in StockTrak, our goal is clear: never lose money while still making smart, strategic investments. But how do we balance risk and return in such a short timeframe?

The answer lies in choosing the right portfolio type—one that minimizes downside while still allowing us to generate steady returns.

Exploring Portfolio Strategies

We have identified the following types:

• Conservative Portofolio (Capital Preservation)
  • Focuses on minimizing risk and maintaining table returns.
  • Strategy: Holds stable assets like Treasury Bills (T-Bills), short-term bonds, and dividend stocks.
  • The risk is very low and ensures stability and protection from large losses. The caveat if a lower returns relative to growth-focuses strategies.
• Balanced Portfolio (Stability and Some Growth)
  • Comprised of a mix of stability and controlled growth
  • Strategy: Split between stocks, bonds, and alternative assets/comodities like gold.
  • This portfolio offers growth potential while controlling downside risk. But increases the exposure to eventual market downturns.
• Income Portofolio (Dividend-Focused)
  • Comprised of investments that pay a steady income.
  • Strategy: Buy dividend-paying stocks, REITs, and bonds
  • This portfolio provides passive income while keeping risk lowers than a growth portfolio. But with relative lowers risk, there is also a limited potential for rapid capital appreciation.
• Growth Porfolio
  • A way to maximize the expected returns within the 53 day challenge period.
  • Strategy: Buy Growth Stocks (Tech, emerging markets, AI sector), and more volatile alternatives found in Crypto and similar speculative assets.

Our Chosen Portfolio Strategy: Safe & Smart

Since losing money is NOT an option, we’re sticking with a Conservative/Income Hybrid Portfolio:

🔹 50% Treasury Bills & Short-Term Bonds – Safe, stable, and low-risk
🔹 30% Dividend Stocks (Blue-Chip Companies) – Reliable income, steady growth
🔹 10% Gold or Inflation-Hedged Assets – Protects against inflation & market downturns
🔹 10% Cash or Money Market Funds – Ensures liquidity and flexibility

Why This Works for Us?

✅ Minimizes risk while earning steady returns
✅ Provides income without heavy exposure to volatility
✅ Gives us flexibility to adjust if market conditions change\

Ultimately we wish to actively manage our portfolio to match real time market conditions.

Tactical Portfolio (Active Management) 🔄

✅ Goal: Adjust holdings based on market conditions
✅ Strategy: Rotate between stocks, bonds, and cash while using hedging strategies (like options and inverse ETFs)
✅ Risk Level: Moderate
✅ Pros: Provides flexibility and adaptability
✅ Cons: Requires constant monitoring and adjustments

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Next Steps: Deploying Capital

With our portfolio strategy in place, our next move is allocating funds into specific assets. We’ll focus on:
✔️ Short-term U.S. Treasury ETFs (e.g., BIL, SHV)
✔️ Dividend-paying stocks (e.g., KO, JNJ, PG)
✔️ Gold ETFs (e.g., GLD, IAU)
✔️ Keeping some cash in reserve for opportunities

By playing it safe and avoiding unnecessary risks, we aim to maximize our capital without taking losses. Stay tuned for next week’s update as we begin executing our trades!

📌 Keywords & Definitions

1. Capital Preservation

✅ An investment strategy focused on protecting the value of an investor’s assets and minimizing the risk of losing money. Often involves low-risk investments like bonds and Treasury bills.

2. Treasury Bills (T-Bills)

✅ Short-term debt securities issued by the U.S. government with maturities of one year or less. They are considered risk-free since they are backed by the U.S. government.

3. Short-Term Bonds

✅ Bonds that mature in one to three years, offering lower risk than long-term bonds while providing steady interest income.

4. Dividend Stocks

✅ Stocks of companies that regularly distribute a portion of their profits to shareholders as dividends, providing passive income in addition to potential price appreciation.

5. Gold & Inflation-Hedged Assets

✅ Assets like gold, real estate, or Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) that help protect against the loss of purchasing power due to inflation.

6. Money Market Funds

✅ A type of low-risk mutual fund that invests in short-term, high-quality debt instruments like T-Bills and commercial paper, offering higher returns than a regular savings account while maintaining liquidity.

7. Liquidity

✅ The ease with which an asset can be quickly converted into cash without significantly affecting its price. Cash and money market funds are highly liquid investments.

8. Portfolio Strategy

✅ The approach used to allocate investments across different asset classes to meet specific financial goals, such as capital preservation, growth, or income generation.

9. Low-Volatility Investments

✅ Investments that have small price fluctuations and are considered stable, such as government bonds, blue-chip stocks, and dividend-paying stocks.

10. Stock Market Volatility

✅ The degree of variation in stock prices over time. High volatility means large price swings, while low volatility indicates steady price movement.

11. Blue-Chip Stocks

✅ Stocks of large, well-established, and financially stable companies with a history of strong performance and reliability, such as Coca-Cola (KO), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and Procter & Gamble (PG).

12. Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)

✅ Investment funds that trade like stocks and hold a basket of assets, such as stocks, bonds, or commodities. ETFs provide diversification and liquidity.

13. Risk Management

✅ Strategies used to reduce potential losses in an investment portfolio, such as diversification, hedging, or investing in defensive assets.

14. Hedging

✅ An investment strategy that reduces potential losses by taking offsetting positions, such as buying put options or investing in gold during economic downturns.

15. Tactical Portfolio

✅ A flexible investment strategy where assets are actively adjusted based on market conditions to take advantage of opportunities or reduce risks.