Strategies
Five components, one mandate
Portfolios at Ledger are assembled rather than picked. Each component below has a job, a set of beliefs behind it, and a risk it is expected to carry. All figures are fictional demo content.
Illustrative weights
Global Equities
The growth engine — listed companies held across developed and emerging markets.
Purpose
To provide the long-term real growth that the rest of the portfolio protects. Over a full cycle this component is expected to do the heaviest lifting toward the mandate's objectives, and to be the most uncomfortable to hold while doing it.
Philosophy
We buy broad market exposure at low cost as the default, and depart from it only where we can write down a specific, testable reason. Concentration is a decision that must be argued for; diversification is what we do in the absence of an argument. Currency exposure is treated as a deliberate choice rather than an accident of listing.
Example allocation characteristics
| Illustrative weight | 35–55% of a balanced mandate |
|---|---|
| Geographic spread | Developed 80% · Emerging 20% |
| Implementation | Predominantly index-tracking funds |
| Typical holdings | 8–14 funds |
| Rebalancing band | ±4% from target |
Equity markets can and do fall sharply, and recoveries have historically taken years rather than months. This component should only be sized to what the mandate can hold through a severe decline without being forced to sell.
Fixed Income
Ballast and income — government and investment-grade credit with defined duration.
Purpose
To reduce the amplitude of the portfolio and to fund near-term commitments without selling growth assets at the wrong moment. Income is welcome; stability of outcome is the actual job.
Philosophy
Duration is an active decision and we take it explicitly rather than inheriting it from a benchmark. Credit risk is only accepted where the spread compensates for it on the evidence, and we prefer to take risk in the equity sleeve where it is better rewarded and better understood.
Example allocation characteristics
| Illustrative weight | 15–35% of a balanced mandate |
|---|---|
| Credit quality | Investment grade and above |
| Duration range | 3–8 years, set per mandate |
| Implementation | Index funds and direct gilts |
| Rebalancing band | ±3% from target |
Bonds are not risk-free. Rising interest rates reduce the capital value of existing holdings, and periods of high inflation erode real returns even when nominal payments are met in full.
Private Markets
Long-horizon capital where illiquidity is genuinely compensated.
Purpose
To access return drivers unavailable in listed markets, and to convert a mandate's genuine tolerance for illiquidity into an advantage rather than leaving it unused.
Philosophy
We only accept illiquidity when we can identify who is paying us for it and why. Commitments are paced across vintage years rather than concentrated in a single fundraising environment, and we hold a liquidity reserve sized to meet capital calls in a poor market without disturbing the rest of the portfolio.
Example allocation characteristics
| Illustrative weight | 0–20% of a balanced mandate |
|---|---|
| Commitment horizon | 8–12 years |
| Vintage pacing | Spread across 3–4 years |
| Liquidity reserve | Held against undrawn commitments |
| Suitability | Long-horizon mandates only |
Capital is locked up for long periods, valuations are infrequent and estimated, and there is no reliable secondary market. Losses can be total. This component is unsuitable for capital that may be needed at a known date.
Real Assets
Property, infrastructure and commodities held against inflation.
Purpose
To defend purchasing power. This component exists for the scenario in which both equities and bonds struggle at once, which is generally an inflationary one.
Philosophy
We favour assets with contractual, inflation-linked cash flows over those that merely correlate with inflation in theory. Listed implementation is preferred where it offers the same exposure with daily liquidity and transparent pricing, and we size the sleeve for its diversifying role rather than for its standalone return.
Example allocation characteristics
| Illustrative weight | 5–15% of a balanced mandate |
|---|---|
| Composition | Infrastructure · property · commodities |
| Inflation linkage | Contractual where available |
| Implementation | Listed vehicles and index funds |
| Rebalancing band | ±2% from target |
Property and infrastructure values fall in recessions and are sensitive to interest rates. Commodities carry no yield and can decline for extended periods. Inflation protection is imperfect and may not arrive when it is most needed.
Sustainable Allocation
The same architecture, built to an explicit written exclusion and engagement policy.
Purpose
To let a mandate express its values without abandoning the discipline that makes a portfolio work. This is a construction overlay, not a separate philosophy.
Philosophy
We start from your written policy — what is excluded, what is preferred, and what evidence would change either — and then build the most diversified portfolio available inside it. We are candid about the trade-off: constraints narrow the opportunity set, and we would rather say so than claim there is no cost.
Example allocation characteristics
| Illustrative weight | Applied across the whole mandate |
|---|---|
| Policy | Client-authored exclusions |
| Screening | Fund-level, reviewed annually |
| Tracking difference | Measured against the unconstrained mix |
| Reporting | Annual policy adherence summary |
Exclusions reduce diversification and can cause returns to diverge meaningfully from a broad market portfolio in either direction. Sustainability data across the industry is inconsistent, and definitions vary between providers.
Which components belong in your mandate?
That depends entirely on the horizon, the commitments and the risk budget. It is the first thing we work out together.
The characteristics on this page are illustrative and describe the template only. They are not an offer, a recommendation, or a description of any real fund, account or performance record. Nothing here is personalised financial advice.