Retired with a static portfolio

Ray books a 30-minute conversation to ask whether his portfolio still fits his needs. We talk through the income he needs each month, his other sources of income, and how he felt during past market drops.

Ray's risk capacity is lower than when he was working, since he's now withdrawing income. His tolerance is medium, and his composure is low: he sold some stocks during a past downturn and regretted it. Our written proposal shows how an adaptive approach would fit within his baseline, how we'd move his existing investments over without an unnecessary tax bill, and how we're paid. With the trade-offs laid out, the decision is his.

Some of his investments sit in a taxable account with large built-in gains, so we transition them gradually where selling would be costly, rather than all at once. We hold his adaptive strategy in his IRA, where its trades don't create taxable gains, and keep longer-term holdings in the taxable account. That gives his overall portfolio more flexibility, shifting within set ranges as conditions change, which suits someone who finds big swings hard to sit through.