Every year, I sit down with key partners to review performance. Not to celebrate numbers but to answer a more important question. “Did each strategy behave the way it was supposed to?”
Looking back at the past year, the data across our portfolios reinforced something we have believed for a long time, well-designed strategies need discipline, clarity of purpose, and the patience to let time do its work.
Our Capital Preservation and Income models continued to do exactly what they were built for that is deliver steady returns with low volatility and minimal drawdowns. With long track records spanning close to a decade and more, these portfolios are not designed to chase excitement. They are designed to preserve purchasing power and provide stability when markets are anything but stable.
Moving up the risk spectrum, the Hybrid, Multi-Asset, and Multi-Strategy models demonstrated the strength of diversification and adaptability. These portfolios produced solid double-digit annualized returns over roughly ten years, while maintaining moderate volatility and drawdowns.
There was no reliance on a single asset class, theme, or macro call. Instead, returns came from staying flexible, managing risk, and allowing different components of the portfolio to contribute at different times. This is not the most dramatic way to invest but over full market cycles, it has proven to be one of the most durable.
At the higher-risk end, the Technology/AI and High Conviction strategies delivered strong results including outsized gains in the past year. These outcomes did not come without volatility and that was never the expectation.
These portfolios are intentionally concentrated. They are built to accept drawdowns in exchange for asymmetric upside. Success here comes not from leverage or constant trading but from conviction, patience, and the willingness to endure periods of discomfort.
High returns and high volatility tend to travel together. We prefer to be explicit about that, rather than pretend otherwise.
What stood out in this year’s review was not which model performed best but how predictable the behavior of each portfolio was relative to its design. In a macro environment where investors are constantly encouraged to react, adjust, and reinvent, we continue to believe that clarity and consistency are underrated advantages.