Strategy — MVP Money Moves
Strategy

Most portfolios are built for one future. You only get the one that shows up.

Ask yourself one question
If the next five years look nothing like the last ten — which part of your portfolio is supposed to work?

Most people cannot answer that. Not because they have done anything wrong, but because their portfolio was assembled to grow, at a time when growing was the only job it had. That job has changed.

We do not predict the market. We prepare for it.

There are only four ways this can go.

Growth rises or falls. Inflation rises or falls. That is the whole board. We do not guess which square is next — we make sure something you already own is built to work in each one.

Inflation falling Inflation rising
Growth rising Growth falling
Growth ↑  ·  Inflation ↓

Expansion

Equities lead. Cash-generative companies bought at sensible prices compound fastest here.

What carries it

Global equities — broadlyFree-cash-flow leaders

Growth ↑  ·  Inflation ↑

Reflation

Pricing power leads. Cheaper cash-generative companies carry it, and gold begins to contribute.

What carries it

The value end of the equity sleeveSmaller companiesGold

Growth ↓  ·  Inflation ↓

Slowdown

Defense leads. The dollar tends to strengthen when investors reach for safety, and short-term Treasuries preserve capital — though no single holding is now built purely to rally in a deflationary slump.

What carries it

The U.S. dollarShort-term TreasuriesProfitable, durable companies

Growth ↓  ·  Inflation ↑

Stagflation

Gold carries the load. Cash and a firmer dollar cushion rising rates, beside companies that can raise prices.

What carries it

GoldShort-term TreasuriesThe U.S. dollarPricing power, strong balance sheets

The holdings do not change. Only which of them is carrying the portfolio does.
Something here is always working, something here is always disappointing — that is not a flaw in the design, it is the design.

The holdings

What you actually own

An engine that compounds
Profitable companies at sensible prices
Cash-generative businesses bought without overpaying — held globally, not concentrated in whatever led last cycle.
A layer that protects
Short-term Treasuries, the dollar, gold, and a systematic-alternatives allocation
Short-term Treasuries, the U.S. dollar, and gold each protect against a different economic environment — cash holds steady when rates rise, the dollar tends to strengthen when investors reach for safety, and gold has held real value when inflation runs hot. A systematic-alternatives allocation is different in kind — it aims to earn from the gap between winners and losers rather than from market direction, which is why it can help in conditions the other three can't anticipate. It is not designed to protect against a crash; it's designed to work when no single environment is clearly in charge.

That is it. A handful of transparent holdings. If you cannot explain what you own and why, you will not hold it when it matters — and holding it when it matters is most of the return.

This page is Rule 4. Our worksheet works the other four rules for you, free — this is the one it deliberately leaves open, because no calculator settles it. The characteristics we tilt toward are drawn from decades of published research across dozens of countries, not from a forecast. The evidence behind it →
Calibration

Same principles. Calibrated to your moment.

The framework does not change from client to client. How much of the portfolio sits in each part does.

Retiring
So a bad first decade does not define the next three.
Newly widowed
So you can understand what you own before you decide anything about it.
Inheriting
So a lump sum is not deployed on the strength of a single date.
Divorcing
So a settlement becomes an income structure, not just a balance.
Leaving a playing career
So a short earning window survives an early ending.
Passing wealth on
So your heirs inherit something they can hold, not something they have to dismantle.

Six different moments. One thing in common: capital is being committed under conditions no one can see, at a point where mistakes are expensive to undo.

That is when structure beats prediction.

Next step
See which future your portfolio is built for.

A 20-minute conversation. No preparation required. You will leave knowing where your portfolio is strong, where it is exposed, and what — if anything — needs to change before the decision becomes permanent.

Book 20 minutes Run the Five Rules first
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Important disclosures. For educational and informational purposes only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice, and not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security or to adopt any investment strategy. Nothing here is individualized to any person's financial situation, objectives, or risk tolerance. The four-environment framework is a conceptual tool for describing the intended role of each holding — economic environments can only be identified in hindsight, transitions are not observable in advance, and no asset performs consistently within any environment. Descriptions of what may "carry" a given environment are illustrative expectations, not predictions or guarantees. Strategies emphasizing characteristics such as value, profitability, or company size may underperform a broad market index for extended periods, in some cases for more than a decade. Academic research describes long-term historical tendencies observed in past data; it does not predict future returns. Bond prices generally fall when interest rates rise. A dollar strategy seeks to gain when the U.S. dollar rises against a basket of foreign currencies and will lose value when the dollar weakens; currency positions can move sharply and remain adverse for extended periods. A systematic-alternatives allocation is actively managed, uses derivatives and leverage, has a limited live track record, and may not provide diversification or positive returns in any given environment, including periods of market stress. Gold produces no earnings or income, can be highly volatile, and has not protected against inflation or market declines in all environments. Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against loss. All investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.