How to Build a Portfolio

Allocation, diversification, and rebalancing the architecture that holds everything else up.

Strategy · 8 min read

Start from goals, not products

Each goal has a date and a required amount. The date sets the risk you can take; the amount sets the contribution you need.

Separate portfolios per goal are easier to manage than one blended pot with conflicting horizons.

Owning thirty technology stocks is not diversification. Spread across geography, sector, size, and asset class.

Correlations rise in crises, which is exactly why bonds and cash earn their place.

Rebalance annually, or whenever a sleeve drifts more than five percentage points from target. A rule removes the judgement call.

Do rebalancing inside tax-advantaged accounts first to avoid triggering gains.