As a Canadian Investment Manager (CIM), I believe that it is important to adhere to a diversification strategy that will attempt to cushion you against market declines and help you profit from rising markets. Portfolio performance is directly impacted by 5 critical factors, each of which provides an additional level of diversification and risk control to a portfolio. Asset Diversification is owning a mix of stocks, bonds, and cash, which reduces volatility and is responsible for 90% of the variability of returns. Style Diversification is investing in a mix of growth, value and market driven companies since these do not move in tandem. Geographic Diversification looks at owning securities in global markets to avoid risk of regional concentration. Industry Diversification reduces the reliance on any one particular industry for performance. Security Diversification helps to mitigate and reduce the risks associated with individual holdings.