Building and running your first portfolio

You now know why to invest, what drives markets, which asset classes exist and how strategies differ. This lesson turns it into a practical routine.

1. Build the foundation

• Keep an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses in cash. It stops you from selling investments at the worst time.
• Pay off expensive debt such as credit cards first — no investment reliably beats 15–20% interest.
• Know your savings rate and set up an automatic monthly transfer.

2. Choose a broker

Look for low trading costs, a good regulator, access to the ETFs you need and a user-friendly app. Investors in the EU usually buy UCITS versions of ETFs, because most US-listed ETFs are not available to retail clients there. Compare options in the brokers section of the Research Terminal.

3. Pick a simple set of building blocks

For most people, a handful of broad, low-cost ETFs is enough: global or US stocks, government bonds, perhaps gold. Avoid buying dozens of overlapping funds — more holdings do not mean more diversification.

4. Decide your rules in advance

Write down your target mix and your strategy — buy & hold or trend-following — before you invest. Decide how often you check (monthly is plenty) and when you rebalance. Rules written on a calm day protect you on a panicky one.

5. Keep costs and taxes low

Prefer low fund fees, trade rarely, and use tax-advantaged accounts where your country offers them. Small savings compound just like returns do.

6. Run a monthly routine

Once a month: invest your savings, check your signals or allocation, rebalance if needed, then close the app. Fifteen minutes is enough. The Research Terminal is built for exactly this routine.

Mistakes to avoid

• Selling after a crash and buying back after the recovery.
• Chasing last year's winners or social-media tips.
• Investing money you need within a few years.
• Constantly changing strategy.

Key takeaways

• Emergency fund and expensive debt first.
• A few broad, low-cost ETFs and written rules.
• A short monthly routine beats daily watching.
• Behaviour decides results more than product choice.

By Dr. Harry Hamann · 7 min read