The Tiny Family Office Portfolio
As an investor I always assume I will most likely be wrong all the time. This portfolio is not designed to be exciting. It is designed to survive, and compound, across cycles, regimes, narratives, and mistakes. It is not designed to achieve a performance of 15% p.a.. I do not optimize for quarterly outperformance.
Most retail portfolios are fragile. They are dependent on a single bull market in stocks. I have built this portfolio to be an “All-Weather” engine, inspired by the endowment models of Yale and Harvard, but adapted for individual implementation.
Structure
The portfolio is built around two functional sleeves, as visualized in the charts below.
1. Equity Allocation (≈70–75%)
This is my engine for long-term participation in global growth. The equity portfolio is intentionally conservative, favoring resilience over excitement. The core consists of global equity exposure through an index fund. I also add individual companies based on my research. Rather than trying to predict the next technological wave, I focus on businesses that benefit from structural demand, high capital returns, and limited risk of disruption.
Global Equity Exposure: Broad diversification via a global equity ETF—the “boring” but essential foundation.
Capital Allocators & Holdings: Investments in structures managed by world-class allocators who have the mandate to reinvest capital intelligently across cycles.
Thematic Quality Pillars:
Basic Human Needs: Consumer staples with immense pricing power and global distribution.
Beauty & Luxury: Scarcity, branding, and aspirational demand that transcends economic shifts.
Healthcare: Cash-generative businesses serving essential, non-cyclical needs.
Infrastructure / Toll Booths: Companies with irreplaceable assets that earn a fee on every unit of (economic) activity.
2. Uncorrelated Strategies (≈25–30%)
The purpose of this part is not return maximization, but the reduction of dependence on an equity bull market. It is designed to perform when equity narratives fail, and markets get shaken. The inspiration to invest in alternatives initially came from David Swensen. It then developed through a savvy (finance) community, and was possible due to generous decision by banks (thank you). I have allocated to specialized vehicles typically reserved for professional investors.
Multi-Strategy: A diversified fund that captures multiple return streams such as stock selection, arbitrage, and global macro within a single risk-managed framework.
Global Macro: Discretionary strategies designed to profit from large-scale shifts in global interest rates, currencies, and sovereign debt. This is where the portfolio finds (or should find) alpha during periods of geopolitical or economic chaos.
Market Neutral & Quant: Sophisticated, model-driven approaches neutralizing general market direction.
Insurance Risk (Cat Bonds): Exposure driven by physical events (natural disasters) rather than economic cycles, providing a rare source of very pure diversification.
Flexible Credit: Managed by credit specialists this sub-sleeve navigates liquid debt markets with a focus on security selection and capital preservation.
Real Assets (Gold): A hedge against monetary error and geopolitical shocks. It may also include other commodity exposures.
No single strategy works all the time, but together, they provide the resilience necessary to withstand environments where traditional equities struggle.
Principles & Constraints
I assume equity returns over the next decade will be lower than the last one.
I assume macro shocks will be more frequent, not less (Maduro just got extracted from Venezuela last night, while I was writing this post)
I assume I will change my mind slowly and publicly.
What I Avoid
No Private Equity: I avoid the illiquidity and the extreme performance gap between top-tier managers and the rest. I prefer the transparency of the liquid alternatives listed above.
No Long-Duration Bonds: I avoid locking in capital for decades at low yields.
No Crypto Speculation: I prefer assets with productive cash flows or a multi-century history.
Most importantly this portfolio is not static. Over time I will make changes to individual holdings and asset class weightings.
Monthly Portfolio Letters
Alongside my deep dives into individual investment cases and thematic research, which can be accessed through the main menu, these letters serve as the heartbeat of the project. Here, I document portfolio changes, reflect on the state of diversification, and candidly assess what is working and more importantly what is not.
These monthly updates provide a window into the ongoing management of the portfolio. This includes commentary on specific companies, cross-asset insights, and updates to my watchlist.
You will likely notice that I do not sell often. In a world obsessed with activity, I believe there is a high premium on the discipline of doing nothing when no action is required. However, the thinking required to remain patient is often more intensive than the decision to buy or sell. These letters capture that process.
A Final Note
This portfolio reflects how I think, not what you should copy. It is explicitly not financial advice.
If reading these updates leaves you with fewer blind spots, better questions, and a deeper respect for market uncertainty, then this project has done its job.
If you find this approach helpful, you may also enjoy my weekly update, “From The Desk.” Each week, I share a curated selection of what caught my eye in markets, what I read, which podcasts I listened to. Typically I share insights from fund manager letters, industry research, and other sources currently influencing my decision-making.
You can join the conversation by subscribing below.
Full allocations, changes, and commentary are shared in the Monthly Portfolio Letters.