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Portfolio Revision 🏗️🔄

Collecting returns and evaluating performance is not enough. If your evaluation shows that the portfolio is no longer efficient, or no longer fits your goals, you must perform Portfolio Revision.


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Price Drift
Trigger 1
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Goal Change
Trigger 2
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New Insight
Trigger 3

1. Why Revise?

A portfolio that was "Optimal" two years ago is likely not optimal today because:

  • Price Changes: Some stocks grew huge, others stayed flat, changing your risk exposure.
  • Goal Changes: You might be getting closer to retirement or needing money for a house.
  • Market Insight: New information makes some previously "Good" stocks look "Bad."
  • Risk Profile: Your personal tolerance for risk might have changed.

2. The Cycle of Management

Portfolio management is a continuous cycle:

  1. Selection -> Build the portfolio.
  2. Monitoring -> Watch the markets.
  3. Evaluation -> Check the performance.
  4. Revision -> Change the mix (Go back to Step 1).

3. Active vs. Passive Revision

  • Active Revision: Constantly looking for "superior" stocks to replace existing ones. This results in high turnover (lots of buying and selling).
  • Passive Revision: Only making changes when the portfolio drifts significantly from its target weights (Rebalancing).
Important

The biggest enemy of portfolio revision is Transaction Costs. Every time you sell a stock and buy a new one, you pay brokerage fees and taxes. You should only revise if the expected benefit is greater than these costs.


Summary

  • Portfolio Revision is the practice of updating your investments.
  • It is triggered by changes in the investor or the market.
  • It is a continuous, repetitive process.
  • The goal is to keep the portfolio on the Efficient Frontier.

Quiz Time! 🎯

Test Your Knowledge

Question 1 of 4

1. Portfolio Revision is the process of:

Selling everything and going to cash
Changing the mix of assets in a portfolio
Writing a review of the stock market
Opening a new bank account