A written portfolio-construction document with risk budget, bands, stress-test results and a monitoring dashboard
Assemble the course into a one-document portfolio plan: risk-budget targets, rebalancing bands, concentration caps, stress-test limits and a quarterly dashboard with traffic lights, filled in for a hypothetical portfolio.
What you will learn
- The seven sections of a portfolio-construction document.
- How to turn the course's rules into a quarterly dashboard with green, amber and red thresholds.
- How to run one dashboard update and decide which actions it triggers.
- How to change the document in a controlled way.
Explanation
A portfolio-construction document is the technical annex to the one-page investment policy from the course "ETFs, Funds & Long-Term Investing". The policy states goals; this document records how the allocation was derived and which numbers trigger action. Write it calm; read it when you are not. Seven sections:
- Capital-market assumptions (lesson 3): expected real returns, volatilities and correlations, with date and method.
- Risk budget (lesson 1): target weights and target risk contributions per sleeve, plus the correlation regime (lesson 2) the budget assumes.
- Drawdown budget and glide path (lessons 5 and 7): maximum acceptable loss in euros and percent, the equity share it implies, and the equity share by age.
- Structure (lessons 6, 8, 9): core and satellites with the tracking-error budget, diversifier sleeves with their break-even correlation, and concentration caps including employer stock and sector limits.
- Rebalancing rules (lesson 4): band type and width per sleeve, review frequency, order of operations (new savings first, then sales).
- Stress-test results (lesson 10): the three scenarios with assumptions and euro results next to their limits, and the leverage rule (lesson 11), normally "none".
- Dashboard and change rules: the metrics below, update timing (quarterly plus after any 10 percent market move), and the rule that changes to sections 1–6 need a written reason and a 30-day cooling-off period.
The monitoring dashboard is a short table with three states. Green: inside tolerance, no action. Amber: outside tolerance, act at the next scheduled review or with new savings. Red: outside a hard limit, act within a defined number of trading days. Metrics: weight deviation per sleeve versus band; drawdown versus budget; worst stress-test result versus limit; effective number of holdings; largest position and employer stock versus caps; satellite tracking error; leverage; costs.
Red should be rare. If the dashboard turns red every quarter, the bands or the risk budget are wrong; that is a design change with a cooling-off period, not a reason to trade.
Worked example
Hypothetical example: targets 60 percent global equities, 25 percent euro government bonds, 5 percent gold, 10 percent cash; absolute bands ±5 points for equities and bonds, ±2 for gold and cash; drawdown budget 25 percent (amber at −15); stress limit 25 percent (amber at −22); no single stocks or leverage. Peak value €345,000. Fees and taxes excluded.
Quarter-end: equities €212,000, bonds €72,000, gold €17,000, cash €29,000; total €330,000.
| Metric | Value | Target / limit | State | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equity weight | 212,000 / 330,000 = 64.2 % | 60 % ± 5 | Green (+4.2) | New savings to bonds |
| Bond weight | 21.8 % | 25 % ± 5 | Green (−3.2) | Buy with new savings |
| Gold weight | 5.2 % | 5 % ± 2 | Green | None |
| Cash weight | 8.8 % | 10 % ± 2 | Green (−1.2) | None |
| Drawdown | (330,000 − 345,000) / 345,000 = −4.3 % | −25 % | Green | None |
| Worst stress test (equity −35 %, bonds +5 %) | −0.642 × 35 + 0.218 × 5 = −21.4 % | −25 % | Green, near amber | Watch |
Decision: nothing is amber or red, so no trades; new contributions go to bonds until the equity deviation is under 2 points. The stress line is "watch": if equities reach 66 percent with bonds near 20 percent, the worst case is about −22.1 percent, the line turns amber and the investor rebalances at the next review although the ±5 band would still permit 65 percent.
Cooling-off example: after a strong year the investor wants an equity target of 70 percent. The document requires a written reason, a recomputed stress test (−0.70 × 35 + 0.15 × 5 = −23.8 percent, inside 25) and 30 days; often the reason no longer reads well by then.
Common mistake
Practice activity
On paper: targets 50 percent equities, 30 percent bonds, 10 percent gold, 10 percent cash; bands ±5, ±5, ±3, ±3 points; drawdown budget 20 percent (amber at −12); stress limit 20 percent (equity −35 percent, bonds +5, gold +5). Peak €260,000. Quarter-end: equities €128,000, bonds €62,000, gold €26,000, cash €14,000. Fill in weights, drawdown and worst stress test, and state the actions.
Show solution
Total €230,000. Equities 55.7 percent (+5.7, outside ±5: rebalance), bonds 27.0 percent (−3.0, green), gold 11.3 percent (+1.3, green), cash 6.1 percent (−3.9, outside ±3: rebalance).
Drawdown = (230,000 − 260,000) / 260,000 = −11.5 percent: green, 0.5 points from amber.
Worst stress test = −0.557 × 35 + 0.270 × 5 + 0.113 × 5 = −19.5 + 1.35 + 0.57 = −17.6 percent: inside the 20 percent limit.
Actions: sell €13,000 of equities (to €115,000 = 50 percent) and move the proceeds to cash (€27,000 ≈ 11.7 percent, inside band); record the trade and the reason (band breach, not a market view).
Limitations: ignores taxes and costs of the sale.
Key takeaways
- The construction document records how the allocation was derived and which numbers trigger action.
- A dashboard of risk metrics with green, amber and red thresholds replaces performance-watching with rule-following.
- When two rules differ, the stricter threshold applies.
- Target changes need a written reason, a recomputed stress test and a cooling-off period; red every quarter means the design needs fixing.
Next step
This completes the course; continue with "Reading Economic Data Releases" to learn how inflation, labour and growth data are produced and how markets react.
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