Asset Allocation
The case for keeping it simple
Complexity adds cost and decisions, and the evidence that it adds returns is weak.
Asset Allocation
Stocks, bonds, cash and rebalancing across a lifetime.
Asset Allocation
Allocating across several accounts
Treating each account separately duplicates effort and misses the tax benefit of holding different assets in different wrappers.
Asset Allocation
Drawing an income from a portfolio
The accumulation problem and the decumulation problem are different, and the second is considerably harder.
Asset Allocation
Cash as an asset class
It has a role, a cost and a limit, and both holding too much and too little are common errors.
Asset Allocation
Changing your allocation as you age
Reducing risk approaching a goal has clear logic, and the standard glide paths make assumptions that may not apply to you.
Asset Allocation
Building a simple portfolio
Two or three funds cover what most investors need, and additional complexity generally adds cost rather than value.
Asset Allocation
Gold, commodities and alternatives
They produce no cash flow, their diversification benefit is inconsistent, and the case for holding them is narrower than the marketing.
Asset Allocation
Property in a portfolio
A home is already a large undiversified holding, and adding more property concentrates rather than diversifies.
Asset Allocation
Rebalancing: why and how often
It maintains the intended risk level rather than improving returns, and the frequency matters less than doing it at all.
Asset Allocation
How much to hold in your own country
Home bias is universal, has some justifications, and is generally larger than any of them support.
Asset Allocation
What bonds do in a portfolio
They are frequently misunderstood as safe, and their behaviour depends on duration, credit quality and the reason for holding them.
Asset Allocation
Asset allocation: the decision that matters most
The split between asset classes explains most of the variation in outcomes, and it is decided by your circumstances rather than by forecasts.