Investing term

What is Portfolio?

The combined collection of investments you own across one or more accounts.

A portfolio is the full collection of investments you hold across all your accounts, considered as one whole. What matters is how the pieces work together, not how any single holding does — diversification, allocation, and risk are properties of the portfolio, not the parts. Thinking at the portfolio level is what keeps one exciting stock from quietly dominating your fate.

For example

Your portfolio of an index fund, a bond fund, and a few individual stocks behaves as a single unit — its overall mix is what determines your ride.

Portfolio is taught hands-on in Stage 10 — Building Your First Portfolio.

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Related terms

AllocationHow your portfolio is split across asset classes (stocks, bonds, cash, alternatives).Balanced fundA single fund that holds both stocks and bonds at a fixed ratio, automatically rebalanced.Core-and-satelliteA portfolio structure where most of your money sits in a 'core' diversified base, with smaller 'satellite' bets around the edges.DriftThe gradual shift in your portfolio's mix as some assets grow faster than others.
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