Asset allocation, framed properly

The decision that matters most

Decades of return attribution studies point to the same conclusion: the split between equities, bonds, property, cash and other assets explains the large majority of a portfolio's behaviour over time. Picking the individual funds inside each bucket is a distant second-order concern.

Yet most private investors spend their energy on the second question and treat the first as an afterthought – usually inherited from whatever default their platform presented. Our guidance starts where the leverage is.

We examine what each asset class is for. Equities are the growth engine; bonds dampen the ride and fund near-term spending; cash buys optionality and sleep; property and alternatives play defined but limited roles. A portfolio is a team, and every position should earn its place.

What you receive

A written framework explaining the trade-offs at different allocations – what a 60/40 portfolio has historically delivered versus 80/20 or 40/60, in both good decades and bad, and why the past is a guide rather than a promise.

A structure mapped to your circumstances: time horizon, need for income, capacity for loss, and the tax wrappers each holding sits in. Two investors with identical portfolios may be wise to hold them very differently.

The questions to ask before implementing anywhere – platform costs, fund charges, tracking error, holdings overlap – so that whatever you buy, you buy it with your eyes open.

A rebalancing discipline: when and how to restore your chosen weights, and why the boring act of selling high and buying low mechanically is one of the few free lunches in investing.

Common questions