Which stocks do I actually own? Why experts say it’s important to know

For many investors, the 24-hour news cycle almost always gives them reason to question the health of their portfolio.

For example, as the war between the United States and Iran and the resulting conflict over the Strait of Hormuz enters its third month, you may have questions about your interactions with oil producers and multinational corporations operating in the Middle East.

And even if you get excited about buying a new investment after seeing the headlines, perhaps excited about advances in AI or SpaceX’s upcoming IPO, investment experts say it’s wise to look inside the things you want to buy and the stocks you own to see if they fit into your broader portfolio strategy.

“Before you buy (an exchange-traded fund), it’s worth checking to see what the top holdings are,” said Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at investment research firm TMX VettaFi. “Then you’ll want to compare it to what you already own.”

Here’s what he and other market experts say to look for.

If you own a portfolio of mutual funds or ETFs, you may have exposure to hundreds or even thousands of individual stocks. That’s generally a good thing, financial experts say. The general idea is that by spreading your bets across a variety of investments, a decline in one asset is less likely to detract from the performance of your entire portfolio.

But Zachary Evens, Manager Research Analyst at Morningstar, says there are reasons to want to know the details of what you own. For example, if you’re worried about geopolitical events, you might want to know how exposed you are to foreign stocks, he says. Or maybe you want to know how much of your portfolio is concentrated in a particular sector.

Evens recommends investors talk to a financial advisor first, but “if you’re uncomfortable with that exposure, you might want to consider rebalancing to something a little more diversified,” he says.

You can search for your specific fund on free websites like Morningstar and ETF.com to find sector and country details. You may also be able to find a breakdown of all the funds you own through your online brokerage.

If you want to know exactly which stocks you own, mutual fund and ETF websites regularly feature complete fund portfolios. ETF directories are typically updated daily, but mutual funds may only post their holdings monthly or quarterly.

“There will be a lag in (mutual fund) data,” Rosenbluth said. “So that fund may have held something longer than you valued it.”

One reason to consider each stock is to understand if you own a stock that you don’t like. For example, when a war breaks out, you may decide that you no longer want to profit from owning shares in a weapons manufacturing company.

Depending on what you want to eliminate, you can organize the fund’s holdings yourself or use free online tools, such as sustainable investment research firm As You So’s Invest Your Values ​​tool, which rates fund portfolios based on factors such as fossil fuel exposure, gender equality, and investments in tobacco companies.

If you’re planning on adding new stocks or ETFs to your portfolio, it’s worth checking out what you already own to make sure the new investments fit your strategy the way you want, investment experts say. Depending on the fund you invest in, your new investment may overlap with what you already own.

“Investors should look at their existing allocations before adding anything else. Investors may not want duplication, but they may also want duplication because they really believe in those companies,” Evens says. “Investors, with the help of their advisors, need to think about what they want from their exposure and what types of companies they want to target.”

Here’s an example of what he meant. Let’s say you want to tilt your portfolio toward AI and plan to add an ETF focused on artificial intelligence companies. First, examine the portfolio of the ETF you are considering. You might notice that one of the AI ​​ETFs holds giant companies like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Alphabet. Another company may have a smaller company that focuses purely on AI.

Next, look at a portfolio invested in a broad U.S. stock market ETF that tracks the S&P 500. Three of the fund’s top five holdings are Nvidia, Microsoft, and Alphabet.

Now you can make informed choices and talk to an advisor, Rosenbluth says. With the giant AI ETF, “you’re seeing your exposure to those companies double,” he says. Another is “being able to gain exposure to smaller companies that you can’t easily include in your portfolio.”

The same thought process can be repeated if you want to add individual stocks that you may already own in one or more funds, Evens says.

“This issue needs to be handled on a case-by-case basis. First, we discuss what we want from this assignment and how it can fit into our existing strategy,” Evens says.

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