Rethinking wealth creation: Why a 70:30 portfolio is gaining traction

Mumbai: For years, the debate has been whether staying fully invested in equities is the best way to build long-term wealth.

A growing number of money managers and wealth advisors now argue that mixing equities with debt may offer a better balance between returns and volatility.A study by WhiteOak Capital Mutual Fund showed that a portfolio with 70% equity and 30% debt, which is rebalanced whenever the equity allocation falls below 65% or rises above 80%, generated an annualised return of 14.3% over 20 years with a standard deviation-a measure of how volatile an investment's returns are - of 14.4%.

In comparison, the Nifty 500 Total Returns Index (TRI) returned 14.1% annually, but with a standard deviation of 20.1%, indicating higher volatility.The study allocated the equity portion to the Nifty 500 Multicap 50:25:25 TRI and the debt component to the Nifty 5-Year Benchmark G-Sec Index.

The investment portfolio also outperformed over both three- and five-year periods, delivering annualised returns of 13.6% each as against the Nifty 500 TRI's 13.0% and 13.1%, respectively."History has shown that a well-diversified portfolio comprising both equity and debt has the potential to deliver a more balanced investment experience than an allocation solely to either asset class," said Mitul Kalawadia, senior fund manager at ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund.

132150238Sharp market corrections often test investors' resolve, prompting many to exit early.

By combining equity with debt, it would be easier for investors to stay put through market cycles.

Investors looking for a product could consider aggressive hybrid funds"The category also benefits from disciplined asset allocation through periodic rebalancing, which naturally follows a buy-low, sell-high approach," said Kirti Dalvi, fund manager at Mahindra Manulife Mutual Fund.Despite the debt allocation, investors cannot entirely rule out sharp swings in returns in this product"While the debt allocation provides a downside cushion, these schemes have 65-80% equity and therefore remain meaningfully influenced by equity market movements," said Aditya Agarwal, co-founder of Wealthy.in.

He recommends investing through a staggered approach to reduce timing risk and soften the impact of short-term market volatility. ...