People often have a conflicted relationship to risk: we’re urged to take risks, but warned about its perils. The fraught emotional terrain can make objective decision-making difficult, particularly around something as personal as money. Getting more comfortable starts with evaluating your relationship to risk, how it relates to your financial goals, and how to strike a balance in your portfolio.

As Patrick Nolan, Portfolio Strategist at BlackRock explains, “It’s important to accept that your portfolio will lose value from time to time. We cannot generate the returns we need to properly plan for long-term goals without taking some risk. The important thing is to make sure that the risks we take in our investment portfolios are deliberate, diversified, and appropriate to your needs and tolerance.”

This article was produced on behalf of iShares by Quartz Creative and not by the Quartz editorial staff.

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