For decades, retirement portfolios have largely been constructed using combinations of growth assets and defensive assets. More recently, alternative investments have become an accepted component of portfolio construction.
Yet a fundamental question remains:
If a significant market decline occurs shortly after retirement, is the portfolio designed to withstand the consequences?
For many investors, retirement introduces a challenge that accumulation investing does not. When regular withdrawals coincide with a market decline, the order in which returns occur can have a lasting impact on retirement outcomes. A portfolio that appears appropriate in theory may prove difficult to live with in practice.
This is not simply a return problem.
It is a portfolio resilience problem.
