See inside every stock. Pro
WatchlistPro
S&P 5007,663▼ 1.21%Nasdaq26,009▼ 2.60%Dow Jones52,868▲ 0.02%Nasdaq 10028,959▼ 2.90%VIX19.03▲ 14.09%US Dollar101.62▼ 0.16%Gold spot4,093▼ 0.80%WTI100.62▲ 1.16%

Portfolio, risk and behaviour

Plain-English guides with worked examples: how to read financial statements, value a business, use technical indicators and manage risk. See the complete Financial knowledge series →

All 154Market basics 15Trading and market structure 16Reading financial statements 15Ratios and business quality 15Valuation 15Advanced valuation and methods 15Technical analysis 15Portfolio, risk and behaviour 15Economy, sectors and the calendar 22Commodities 2Forex 5Hedge funds 3Rates and macro 1
Portfolio, risk and behaviour4 min read Diversification explained: what it does and does not protect against See how spreading money across different holdings reduces company-specific risk, why it cannot remove market risk, and where hidden concentr... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour4 min read Asset allocation: the decision that drives most of your result Learn how splitting money among stocks, bonds and cash sets a portfolio's overall risk, how to think about choosing a mix, and the mistakes... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour4 min read Rebalancing a portfolio Learn why portfolio weights drift, the main ways to rebalance, what it costs in trading and taxes, and what it can and cannot do for risk an... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour4 min read Dollar-cost averaging vs lump sum investing Compare investing a fixed amount on a schedule with investing everything at once, see how average cost works, and learn what history says ab... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour4 min read Risk tolerance and time horizon Learn the difference between willingness, ability and need to take risk, how time horizon changes the picture, and how to test your own tole... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour4 min read Drawdown, standard deviation and other risk measures Understand maximum drawdown, standard deviation, downside deviation, beta and value at risk, how each is calculated, and what each one misse... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour4 min read The Sharpe ratio and risk-adjusted returns Learn how the Sharpe ratio measures return earned per unit of volatility, how to calculate and compare it, and why a high figure can still m... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour4 min read Correlation between stocks and why it moves Learn what a correlation coefficient measures, how it relates to beta and diversification, and why correlations between stocks change, espec... Read the article →
Portfolio, risk and behaviour4 min read Position sizing: how much to put in one stock Learn how position size decides what one mistake costs, three common ways to size a holding, and why correlation and uncertainty argue for r... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour5 min read Stop-loss orders: pros, cons and gaps Learn how stop, stop-limit and trailing stop orders work, why overnight gaps and whipsaws can defeat them, and what a stop can and cannot gu... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour5 min read Behavioral biases: loss aversion, anchoring, confirmation bias Learn how loss aversion, anchoring and confirmation bias distort investing decisions, with simple examples and practical habits that reduce... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour5 min read FOMO, herd behavior and bubbles Understand why fear of missing out and herd behavior push investors toward buying after big runs, how bubbles form and burst, and how to bui... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour5 min read A practical checklist before you buy a stock Build a reusable pre-purchase checklist covering the business, earnings quality, balance sheet, valuation, risks and portfolio fit, with lim... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour5 min read How to research a stock in an afternoon Follow a time-boxed, three-hour routine for researching a stock: the business, the filings, the numbers, valuation, risks and a one-page the... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour4 min read Common investing mistakes and how to avoid them Review the most common investing mistakes, from market timing and concentration to costs, leverage and overtrading, with practical ways to r... Read the article →

Educational only, not financial advice.