There is no doubt: Italians like real estate investments. At the end of 2010, approximately 68,7% of Italian families owned homes against a European average of 60% and according to the latest estimates by the Bank of Italy, investment in homes represents 54% of Italians' net wealth.
Do you also want to buy a house?
Surely it will be difficult (at times dramatic) to put aside a nest egg that allows you to fulfill the dream of buying a house, especially in this economic and financial scenario. Even in my very small sample of friends, I was often asked how to do it, what strategy to adopt and how to invest in order to increase a small initial savings.
The advice I feel like giving is to take the "Obiettivo casa" portfolio as a model, a portfolio already presented this autumn to the readers of "F" magazine and recently proposed and rebalanced on the Advise Only website (you can consult it, follow it, copy it for free) .
The purpose of “Obiettivo casa” is to generate in the medium term a capital that can be used for the purchase of a house, typically to complement the capital obtained through a mortgage.
A young couple, a single person eager to conquer his physical space of autonomy, or parents or grandparents who want to help a child or grandchild to accumulate capital to take the big step can benefit from this capital.
With what logic was the “Obiettivo Casa” portfolio built?
First, an attempt was made to combine a gradual payment policy over time with a simple portfolio structure that minimized management costs. Here is a summary diagram on portfolio choices:
Time horizon: about 5-8 years, which we think is a reasonable period if we think, for example, of a young couple who start saving and accumulating the necessary capital to purchase their first home (a step which, rightly or wrongly , many Italians love to carry out).
Risk: medium-low risk of definitive loss of capital. The portfolio is designed for those who need a non-negligible capital growth potential and, as is known, without running some risk, nothing is achieved! The portfolio nonetheless responds to a prudent management logic.
"Minimum cut" of the gradual payment over time (PAC): approximately 3.000 euros, it is obviously possible to invest multiples of this amount. The sum is by no means low, we realize that. This depends on the need to purchase government bonds whose minimum denomination is 1.000 euros. However, it is possible to replace these stocks with similar ETFs: this is an approximation – it is not optimal – but it is doable
Frequency of periodic payments (PAC): monthly, bimonthly, quarterly or even half-yearly, depending on the saver's economic resources. We allow ourselves a digression: it's better to save little and gradually but methodically and regularly than to say to yourself "I can't do it". We often buy completely unessential goods or services and waste not inconsiderably: setting ourselves a substantial goal, like the one associated with this portfolio, is an important step in building something solid and "cutting dry branches".
Investment logic: rather defensive, with the bond component (72% of the portfolio) aiming to protect invested capital and the equity component (28%) of a tactical nature, which will be modified over time and with the aim of generating returns in the long run
Bonds: preference was given to Italian government bonds (60% of the portfolio) through the purchase of a CTZ (zero coupon) to be held until maturity and an "Inflation-Linked" BTP with the aim of protecting the investor's purchasing power. For diversification it was decided to invest the remaining 12% in ETFs on emerging countries, European corporate securities and government bonds of the "Core" countries of the Eurozone.
Shares: currently consists of "Value" shares (i.e. those that have a "real" value based on the Price/Earnings Ratio) of Developed and Emerging Countries with a small amount of African shares which, in the face of known political risks , has the highest potential for economic and industrial growth in the coming years.
How has it been since startup?
As shown in the Risk and Performance Advise Only chart, since its inception (October 2012) the portfolio has had a return of 4,79% with an annual volatility index of 4,40%, which expresses a fairly contained risk, thanks above all to a prudent exposure to the main risk factors of the moment which is reflected in a rather high diversification index. In essence, so far the wallet has done the job it was designed to do.
