The founder's portfolio.

Asset allocation is the investor's most important question — and this portfolio shows it isn't answered by optimization alone. It's largely shaped by the complexity of life and the world around it. Personal circumstances deserve at least as much weight as any rule from a favorite financial mentor, author, or model portfolio.

Look at the numbers without any context — background, goals, circumstances — and it's easy to land on something like this:

"What is a 40-year-old finance 'expert' doing with so much money in bonds and cash? 100% stocks would beat this all day!"

Not a hypothetical scenario, by the way. I hear it all the time.

Add some context, though, and things look different.

1. Competing with other portfolios was never the goal.

   There's a personal plan here, and the aim is simply to reach or beat it, with a very high probability of doing so — and, most importantly, a zero percent chance of failing outright.

   To put it plainly: what matters is the plan, not comparing notes on net worth. There's plenty to gain from exchanging ideas on investing — just not on each other's wallets.

2. A past career meant high contributions to pension accounts — meaning bonds.

   Bonds were the only option at the time, and that's the real reason fixed income makes up so much of the mix today. Once a source of frustration, this slice of the portfolio has become one to appreciate more with time — and a few battle scars along the way.

   Trading some of the upside for more security, for calmer storms, is something beautiful. Many nights in the past would have been far less restful, were it not for this part of the portfolio.

3. The purpose of this allocation may be shifting.

   Contributions will likely continue, but upcoming plans may call on the portfolio to help cover living expenses. Fortunately, the timing works out: bills and simple money market funds are yielding around 4%, while stock valuations are elevated enough that many expect equities to underperform their long-term average over the next decade.

   That leaves cash earning a solid, if unspectacular, return with full liquidity for withdrawals — and if valuations turn and stocks drop, there's room to add on top of the usual contributions and do what every preacher preaches: buy low.

4. 2025 brought a currency and timing tailwind.

   It's fair to wonder how a 68% stock portfolio beat the S&P 500 in 2025 (20.7% vs. 17.8%, dividends included).

   The answer lies in where the money sits: much of the pension fixed income is CHF-denominated, tied to time spent working in Switzerland, and the franc had a strong run against the dollar in 2025. On top of that, April's tariff-driven sell-off offered a chance to act on the buy-low logic from point 3.

   So what explains it overall? Some will call it luck. Others, diversification and discipline. Both are right, of course.

There's more that could be said, but the point holds: finance is deeply personal. invio was built to help you shape your plan, own it, and see it through.

Wishing you all the best in that pursuit — bend the odds your way.