Episode 8: How Should Your Portfolio Change Before Retirement?

Five to ten years before retirement is when your investment strategy should start shifting, but most people either make the change too aggressively, too gradually, or not at all. There's no single right answer, but there is a right framework.

In this episode, I walk through how your portfolio should evolve as retirement approaches: what to de-risk, what to protect, and how to position yourself so you're not forced to sell at the wrong time.

In this episode:

▸ Why your pre-retirement allocation matters more than your growth-phase allocation

▸ The glide path concept: how to reduce risk without abandoning growth

▸ How to build a cash buffer that protects you in the early years

▸ The asset allocation conversation most people skip

The 5 to 10 years before retirement is when your portfolio is most vulnerable to a poorly timed market drop, and most exposed to the temptation to either panic-reduce risk or do nothing at all. A thoughtful glide path gradually shifts your allocation toward income and stability without abandoning growth entirely, and a cash buffer in the early retirement years means you're not forced to sell equities at a loss to cover living expenses. The goal isn't to de-risk aggressively. It's to position your portfolio so that a bad market year in your first year of retirement doesn't become a permanent problem.

Episode 8 of the Retirement Transition Series: 12 short episodes for people who are 5–10 years from retirement.

▶ Next: Episode 9: The 5 Biggest Financial Mistakes People Make in Their 50s

▶ Watch Episode 7 → The Biggest Financial Risk in Early Retirement

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