What is the 100-age rule of asset allocation? MintGenie explains (2024)

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What is the 100-age rule of asset allocation? MintGenie explains? ›

This principle recommends investing the result of subtracting your age from 100 in equities, with the remaining portion allocated to debt instruments. For example, a 35-year-old would allocate 65 per cent to equities and 35 per cent to debt based on this rule.

For years, a commonly cited rule of thumb has helped simplify asset allocation. According to this principle, individuals should hold a percentage of stocks equal to 100 minus their age. So, for a typical 60-year-old, 40% of the portfolio should be equities.

100% Asset Allocation

Another option for the best asset allocation is to use the 100% rule and build a portfolio that's either all stocks or all bonds. This rule gives you two extremes to choose from: High risk/high returns or low risk/low returns.

The Rule of 100 determines the percentage of stocks you should hold by subtracting your age from 100. If you are 60, for example, the Rule of 100 advises holding 40% of your portfolio in stocks. The Rule of 110 evolved from the Rule of 100 because people are generally living longer.

You may use the rule of 100 to determine the asset allocation for your investment portfolio. The rule requires you to subtract your age from 100 to arrive at the percentage of your portfolio investment in equity. For example, if you are 40 years old, you can invest (100 – 40) = 60% of your money in equity.

The rule works this way: Take the number 100, subtract your age, and that determines the percentage of your money that can be at risk. For example, if you're 60 years old, then 100–60 = 40. Therefore, 40% of your investments can be at risk and 60% can be invested in safe and guaranteed instruments.

The rule states that you should subtract your age from 100, and the resulting number is the percentage of your portfolio that should be allocated to equities. The logic behind this rule is to gradually reduce your exposure to riskier assets like stocks as you grow older and approach retirement.

Stock allocations by age

Investors in their 20s, 30s and 40s all maintain about a 41% allocation of U.S. stocks and 9% allocation of international stocks in their financial portfolios. Investors in their 50s and 60s keep between 35% and 39% of their portfolio assets in U.S. stocks and about 8% in international stocks.

The 100-minus-your-age long-term savings rule is designed to guard against investment risk in retirement. If you're 60, you should only have 40% of your retirement portfolio in stocks, with the rest in bonds, money market accounts and cash.

Your ideal asset allocation is the mix of investments, from most aggressive to safest, that will earn the total return over time that you need. The mix includes stocks, bonds, and cash or money market securities. The percentage of your portfolio you devote to each depends on your time frame and your tolerance for risk.

What is the 100 age rule? ›

This principle recommends investing the result of subtracting your age from 100 in equities, with the remaining portion allocated to debt instruments. For example, a 35-year-old would allocate 65 per cent to equities and 35 per cent to debt based on this rule.

The 120-age investment rule states that a healthy investing approach means subtracting your age from 120 and using the result as the percentage of your investment dollars in stocks and other equity investments.

There are several types of asset allocation strategies based on investment goals, risk tolerance, time frames and diversification. The most common forms of asset allocation are: strategic, dynamic, tactical, and core-satellite.

A common asset allocation rule of thumb is the rule of 110. It is a simple way to figure out what percentage of your portfolio should be kept in stocks. To determine this number, you simply take 110 minus your age. So, if you are 40, then the rule states that 70% of your portfolio should be kept in stocks.

1 At 10%, you could double your initial investment every seven years (72 divided by 10). In a less-risky investment such as bonds, which have averaged a return of about 5% to 6% over the same period, you could expect to double your money in about 12 years (72 divided by 6).

The Buffett Rule is the basic principle that no household making over $1 million annually should pay a smaller share of their income in taxes than middle-class families pay. Warren Buffett has famously stated that he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary, but as this report documents this situation is not uncommon.

In investing, the 80-20 rule generally holds that 20% of the holdings in a portfolio are responsible for 80% of the portfolio's growth. On the flip side, 20% of a portfolio's holdings could be responsible for 80% of its losses.