Investments & Portfolio
Portfolio structure, risk, and the handful of decisions that drive long-run returns.
- Asset Allocation
- How a portfolio is divided across stocks, bonds and cash.
- Diversification
- Spreading holdings so that no single failure decides the outcome.
- Equities (Stocks)
- Part ownership of a company, and a claim on whatever it earns.
- Fixed Income (Bonds)
- A loan to a government or company that pays interest on a fixed schedule.
- ETFs & Index Funds
- A single holding that contains hundreds or thousands of underlying positions.
- Dividend
- A cash payment from a company to its shareholders out of profits.
- Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA)
- Investing a fixed amount on a fixed schedule, whatever the price happens to be.
- Capital Gains
- Profit realized on selling an asset for more than it cost, taxed by holding period.
- Cost Basis
- What you paid for a holding, and the figure a taxable gain is measured against.
- Real Rate of Return
- Return after inflation, which is the only version that describes what you can buy.
- Passive Income
- Income produced by assets you own rather than hours you work.
- Cash Drag
- The return given up by cash sitting uninvested inside a portfolio.
- Investment Growth
- Portfolio value over time, separating what you contributed from what the market added.
- Glide Path
- A schedule that shifts a portfolio from equities toward bonds as the spending date approaches.
- Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
- Employer stock granted as compensation, delivered only once it vests.
This content is educational and informational only. It is not financial, investment, or tax advice. Consult a qualified professional before making financial decisions.