Portfolio Literacy is dedicated to transparency and promoting free financial literacy for everyone. Here are Portfolio Literacy’s latest blog posts. If you are looking for specific topics, the categories are at the bottom of this page.
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Do I Bonds Fit Into Your Portfolio in 2026?
Assessing the role of I Bonds in your investment portfolio in 2026 is a significant consideration, particularly in an uncertain future when it comes to inflation. These bonds are specifically designed to protect against inflation, which may be a critical factor given the fluctuating rates experienced in recent years. As low-risk investments backed by the…
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What to Do With $100K: The Complete Guide for US Investors in 2026
How to invest your first $100,000 — with tax-advantaged account sequencing, asset location strategy, and a realistic allocation framework from a licensed CPA. Quick Answer If you are planning to invest $100K this year and are wondering where to put it, here’s the short version: max out tax-advantaged accounts first in this order — 401(k)…
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How to Reduce your Tax-Drag as a California Investor
As a California investor, I have been spending more time thinking about portfolio durability than pure upside. I still want growth, but I increasingly want that growth to come from a portfolio that I can actually hold through volatility without feeling like every outcome depends on equity multiples staying elevated. That is a big part…
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My First 5 Years of Financial Data Out of College
I track my finances the same way I track my career: with detailed numbers and trailing metrics. I try to grow from both years where I saw visible growth (professionally and financially) and years that taught me plenty of lessons. The data below covers my 5 years of financial data after college and captures things…
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The Private Credit Market in 2026
Private credit has scaled into a core allocation across institutional portfolios, exceeding $1.7 trillion in global AUM. The asset class, once defined by structural inefficiencies and lender discipline, is now characterized by capital saturation, competitive deal dynamics, and increasingly asymmetric risk profiles. Observations from large-scale credit managers suggest that the market is no longer in…
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The 2026 SCHD Reconstitution Explained and Portfolio Implications
The annual reconstitution of Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) is one of the most important structural events for investors focused on dividend growth and quality factor exposure. While many investors treat SCHD as a “set-and-forget” income vehicle, the underlying mechanics of its index—Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index—are highly systematic, rules-based, and materially impactful…
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How to Handle Student Debt as a New Graduate
Graduating from college is a monumental step in your life, signifying the transition from student to professional. However, it comes with the reality of student debt—a burden carried by many new graduates. Understanding the magnitude of your debt and planning to manage it effectively are crucial steps to ensure financial stability moving forward. Crafting a…
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Student Loan Repayment Calculator
This student loan repayment calculator is designed to answer one core question: Should you invest your extra cash or use it to pay off your student loan (or loans) early? Instead of guessing, the tool calculates the exact return your investments need to generate to outperform paying down your debt. It also incorporates the student…
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Where are Your Uncorrelated Assets?
Modern portfolio construction often assumes that owning both stocks and bonds creates sufficient diversification. For decades, the traditional 60/40 portfolio relied on a simple assumption: when equities decline, bonds rise. That relationship helped investors reduce volatility and stabilize portfolio returns. However, over the past several years, stocks and bonds have increasingly moved in sync, weakening…
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Robinhood RVI vs. Fundrise VCX: The New Private Market ETFs
Retail investors have not had many credible ways to buy diversified exposure to private technology companies. That is what makes Robinhood Ventures Fund I (RVI) and Fundrise VCX notable. Both vehicles are designed to give everyday investors access to companies that historically stayed inside venture capital and late-stage growth funds. But once you get past…
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One Year Investing in Fundrise: My 2025 Results and Takeaways
From January 10, 2025 through December 31, 2025, I ran a simple experiment: keep a small allocation to Fundrise as a way to add private real estate and private credit exposure alongside my public-market portfolio. The goal wasn’t to “beat the market” in a single calendar year, it was to begin to build something that…
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Fundrise iPO at $15.90: What It Is and How It Works
Fundrise has periodically offered investors on its platform the chance to buy equity in Fundrise itself through what it calls an “internet public offering” (iPO). For the Fundrise iPO, instead of buying shares on a stock exchange, eligible Fundrise customers can buy shares directly through Fundrise in Rise Companies Corp., the parent company of Fundrise.…
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Portfolio Beta Optimizer
This portfolio beta optimizer helps you estimate your portfolio’s beta and then adjust allocations to reach a target beta using only your own inputs. If you already track beta estimates for your holdings, or you want to model “what-if” allocation changes, this calculator can help you quantify how much market sensitivity (beta) you are taking…
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Portfolio Allocation Calculator
This Portfolio Allocation Calculator is a simple tool designed to generate portfolio allocation guidance based on three inputs: age, risk tolerance, and income. Instead of giving a single “perfect” target, the calculator provides allocation ranges across four broad groups—Equities, Credit, Cash, and Alternative Assets—so you have flexibility to build a portfolio that matches your preferences…
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My 2025 Investment Portfolio Performance: +25.52% vs. the S&P 500’s +17.88%
In 2025, my investment portfolio returned +25.52%, exceeding the S&P 500’s +17.88% total return for the year. This was not a smooth ride: my portfolio experienced a 26.8% drawdown after “Liberation Day”, the early-April tariff shock that drove a sharp, event-driven risk-off move in markets, before recovering as I deployed cash into positions I wanted…