The good news: picking the right fund matters far less than picking the right mix. Answer six honest questions and we'll draw you a starting split across equity, debt, gold and cash, one built for how long you have and how you actually feel when markets fall.
Markets will drift your mix away from these numbers, and that's normal. Once a year, sell a little of whatever grew too big and top up whatever shrank, back to the split above. It's boring and mechanical, which is exactly why it works: it quietly makes you sell high and buy low, without you having to be clever about it.
How much risk your situation can absorb. A long horizon, a steady income and an emergency fund all mean you can sit through a crash without being forced to sell. Short horizon or shaky income means you cannot, whatever your nerves say.
How much risk you can live with. The best allocation on paper is no good to you if it makes you sell at the bottom, and there's no shame in that, it's human. If a 25% fall would push you to bail, your mix should simply hold less equity, so you never get pushed that far.
The rule we follow: we go with the lower of the two, and that's on purpose. A brave investor with money needed in two years still shouldn't put it in equity. A calm long-term investor who panics in every dip is better off below 80% stocks. The mix that survives a real market is simply the one you can actually stick with, and we'd rather set you up to stay in than look good on paper.
