The PEA-PME has a particularity that many investors discover after opening. Unlike the classic PEA, it is no longer possible to accommodate ETFs there. We must therefore resolve to invest in actively managed fundsor to do stock-picking: select your own stocks. To build your PEA-PME, you must therefore choose your securities one by one, from around 1,300 theoretically eligible securities listed by Euronext, of which only 438 are listed on regulated markets. You also have to accept liquidity that is often reduced in small capitalizations.
This is where the question of number of lines on its PEA-PME takes on its full meaning. On a classic PEA, a single ETF World covers thousands of companies in one purchase. On a PEA-PME, each line is an active decision that requires time and vigilance. Andrea Tueni, market expert at Saxo, immediately sets the benchmarks: “The worst, is to have only one line. » With just one stock, or two or three from the same sector, concentration becomes a trap. If the sector declines, the entire portfolio declines.
Between 10 and 20 lines: the security corridor
The consensus of managers places the ideal number between 10 and 20 lines for an individual who manages his portfolio alone. Andrea Tueni confirms this: “You need to have a minimum of ten lines, or even 15, to allow for diversification. Everything that is below 10 starts to get complicated. » Below this threshold, sectoral diversification becomes impossible to maintain, and a shock on a single security can unbalance the whole.
Sectoral diversification is precisely the real compass for building a PEA-SME. Andrea Tueni explains: “If we concentrate our lines on stocks in a single sector, we have a huge risk of correlation. And even worse with the sub-sectors. For tech, for example: software, chips, infrastructure, energy… the concentration risk becomes serious. » And as shocks always hit small stocks harder than large caps, spreading out the sectors becomes common sense.
Nevertheless, “having sectoral diversification does not necessarily mean being invested in all sectors”he moderates. Favor those we know wellor depending on the economic cycle, may be a good idea. “Currently we are in a cycle with a geopolitical risk premium ; we know that stocks in the energy sector will perform better in proportion. Also basic consumer values, rather than luxury »analyzes the market expert.
Beyond 30 lines, the wallet exceeds you
But be careful of over-diversification: beyond 25 or 30 lines, management becomes a constraint for a simple individual. “It involves managing these lines on a daily basis, warns our expert. You need to understand your investments, know when to strengthen, maintain or get out of line. Typically in a period of business results, one must monitor all results to know if an investment is still reasonable. »
Over-diversification also has a mechanical cost on performance. Too many lines mechanically dilute the impact of your best positions: if an SME doubles in two years, its weight in a portfolio of 40 securities will be too marginal for the total performance to really benefit. Andrea Tueni summarizes: “ 10 to 15 is already a good starting point. »
PEA and PEA-PME: two complementary envelopes
The right way to approach PEA-PME is perhaps to think about it in addition to the classic PEA. The latter remains the natural envelope for World, S&P 500 or sector ETFs, which offer broad diversification at reduced fees, without the need for management. The PEA-PME requires strong convictions: values on which you have carried out an analysis, which you are ready to follow over time, and whose higher volatility you accept.
This complementarity also makes fiscal sense. The two envelopes share the same income tax exemption after five years. But the PEA is capped at 150,000 euros in payments, and the PEA-PME at 225,000 euros reduced by the amount of payments already made on the classic PEA. For an investor who has already completed PEA, it remains possible to open a PEA-PME with up to €75,000 in payments.
