Currency diversification can prove beneficial when considering global investments

Keith and his wife, Emilia, own their own business in Oregon, and their daughter, Isabel, is currently attending the University of Oxford in England.  Working with their JPM Morgan team, the family recently realized their goal of buying a vacation home in Spain near to Emilia’s family and hometown, where they eventually plan to retire.

In a recent review with their JPM Team, Keith and Emilia’s advisor Sarah discussed adjusting their portfolio to reflect a more global perspective.  Sarah advised that the couple diversify the currency exposure within their portfolio to ensure they aren’t exposed to an unexpected decline in the value of the dollar given they have liabilities in other currencies like euros and British pounds. After all, Sarah advised, similar to not investing all equity allocations in a single stock, all currency in their portfolio shouldn’t necessarily be U.S. dollars.  Diversifying their currencies could help to lower risk and, perhaps, along with JP Morgan’s help, even generate alpha.

Their JPM team identified the most appropriate currencies to include in their portfolio, and will continue to monitor their investments.

All case studies are shown for illustrative purposes only and should not be relied upon as advice or interpreted as a recommendation. They are based on current market conditions that constitute our judgment and are subject to change. Results shown are not meant to be representative of actual results or experience of other individuals. Past performance is not a guarantee of the future performance of an investment.​

Investments in commodities may have greater volatility than investments in traditional securities, particularly if the instruments involve leverage. The value of commodity-linked derivative instruments may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs and international economic, political and regulatory developments. Use of leveraged commodity-linked derivatives creates an opportunity for increased return but, at the same time, creates the possibility for greater loss.