Do Guyton-Klinger guardrails allow us to take 7% from our portfolio from the first decade of retirement? Does a cash buffer help?

We take a deep dive into all things factor-related. Performance over the last decade hasn't been great. So why do we stick with it?

We examine recent investment trends over the last few years and use the Scoville scale to compare their relative "hotness"

In a perfect world, retirees would hold diversified portfolios, pay low fees and not misbehave. How might things look in an imperfect world?

People are living longer. How might you have to alter your retirement lifestyle if you are worried that you might live longer than planned?

There are many retirement planning concepts that claim to offer beneficial retirement outcomes. This post aggregates our research

Smoothed funds are often claimed to reduce portfolio volatility during turbulent markets. We investigate whether these claims stack up.

The natural income strategy involves a retiree living off the income from their portfolio. We examine the downsides.

Sequence of Returns Risk is seen by some as a tiger waiting to pounce at the first sign of market volatility. Do they have valid concerns?

Guyton-Klinger guardrails aim to improve upon Bill Bengen's research. Should retirees use this framework? What are the downsides?

Annuity rates have improved in recent times. Can they now help to create a more sustainable retirement income?

The S&P 500 has generated strong returns in recent years. But should you invest all of your retirement savings in this index?

Cash buffers are often suggested as a way of mitigating Sequence of Returns Risk. Do they work, or are they more of a chocolate teapot?

Retirement researcher Bill Bengen found the optimal retirement portfolio to contain 50-75% equities. Would 100% equties be a better option?

How much does a retiree need to save for a moderate retirement? And why a larger retirement pot doesn't always provide the best outcomes.

A comfortable retirement for a couple is believed to now cost around £59,000 a year. What size retirement pot do you need to fund this?

The returns of globally diversified portfolios have been subdued in the last few years. How does this impact our clients' retirement plans?

Auric Goldfinger loved gold. But should you include it in your retirement portfolio, and how does it compare to other assets?

We've looked at Bengen and the Guyton-Klinger approaches. We now look at risk-based guardrails and how these are implemented.

In part three of this series on the "4% rule", we look at how investor behaviour might impact sustainable portfolio withdrawals.