Fixed income are investments with predefined remuneration rules (CDB, LCI, LCA, Tesouro Direto, debentures): you know the rate or index at which you will earn. Variable income (shares, FIIs, BDRs) has no guarantee of return — the return depends on the performance of the asset in the market, which can be positive or negative.

IBOVESPA has presented a historical average return of approximately 15-18% per nominal year since 2000, but with high volatility. In real terms (discounting inflation), the average profitability was 8-10% per year. In some years the stock market falls by 30-40% and in others it rises by 70-100%. Therefore, shares are only recommended for investment horizons above 5 years.

FIIs (Real Estate Investment Funds) are exchange-traded funds that invest in real estate or real estate sector securities. They distribute monthly income (generally exempt from income tax for individuals) and allow investing in properties with low initial capital. Historically, FIIs have profitability between CDI + 1% and CDI + 4%, with daily liquidity.

Each asset class has different tax treatment: fixed income (CDB, Treasury) has IR according to the regressive table (22.5% to 15%); shares have IR of 15% on the profit on sale (20% for day trade); FIIs have exempt monthly income, but capital gains on sales are taxed at 20%; cryptocurrencies have 15% IR on gains above $ 35.000/mês por exchange. Considere o IR líquido ao comparar alternativas.

Seu perfil de investidor (conservador, moderado ou arrojado) é determinado por: tolerância a perdas (quanto aceita perder antes de vender), horizonte temporal (quanto tempo o dinheiro pode ficar investido), objetivos financeiros e experiência com mercado financeiro. Corretoras são obrigadas a fazer um questionário de Suitability (API) para identificar seu perfil antes de sugerir produtos.

É possível começar com pouco. FIIs e ações podem ser adquiridos a partir de $ 10-50 per share. Tesouro Direto allows purchases from $ 30. CDBs de bancos digitais aceitam investimentos mínimos de $ 1. The important thing is the regularity of contributions — even $200-300 per month, with discipline and time, can accumulate significant assets thanks to compound interest.

Rebalancing is the periodic reallocation of assets to maintain the percentages originally defined in the portfolio. For example, if stocks appreciated a lot and went from 30% to 45% of the portfolio, you sell part and buy more fixed income to get back to balance. Rebalancing is recommended annually, or when an asset deviates more than 5 percentage points from the target percentage.

Gross profitability is the return before deducting taxes and fees. Net profitability is what actually remains for the investor, after deducting income tax on gains, fund management fee, brokerage fee (when applicable) and inflation for the period. Always compare portfolios by net real profitability for a fair analysis.