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Retirement Planner · Track 2
G3 of 9 — Input guides

Asset allocation and glidepath

How your portfolio is invested determines both its growth potential and its vulnerability to market crashes. The glidepath controls how that investment mix shifts as you approach and enter retirement — and the Investment Profile tab shows you exactly what the engine will do with it.

Equity % 90% 60% 30% Retire Now → high equity, high growth Glidepath → shifting to bonds Late retirement Age 53 60 75 90
How to configure it
1
Choose asset classes and set current values

On the Investments tab, each vehicle has its own allocation table. Select an asset class from the dropdown and enter the current value in pounds. The % Now column updates automatically. You can add multiple asset classes per vehicle across the 32 available classes spanning equities, bonds, property, alternatives and cash.

Investments tab showing all four vehicles with asset classes, current values, and % Target columns filled
For a first plan a simple two-asset allocation works well: a global equity fund and a bond fund. You can refine later.
2
Set target allocation in the % Target column

The % Target column is your end-state allocation — where you want the portfolio to be at the end of the glidepath. Enter a target weight for each asset class in each vehicle. The engine interpolates linearly from % Now toward % Target over the glidepath years configured in Special conditions. Leaving % Target at zero means no glidepath transition for that asset.

The engine rebalances toward whichever weights apply at each point in time — blending smoothly from current to target over the glidepath window, then holding the target allocation through retirement.
Reading the Investment Profile tab
3
Glidepath chart and KPIs

After running the simulation, go to My Results → Investment Profile. The top chart shows your equity/bond split across your full age range — confirming the glidepath is working as configured. The three KPI cards below it show: Total opening portfolio (your current value), Total end of glidepath (deterministic projection including contributions and expected returns), and Weighted SRI PRIIPS (a risk score from 1–7 showing how risk changes from now to retirement as the glidepath takes effect).

Investment Profile tab showing glidepath chart with equity declining over time, KPIs of £600k opening, £820k end of glidepath, and SRI risk score dropping from 5.00 to 4.17, plus allocation breakdown charts by asset class, vehicle, risk category and region
The SRI score dropping from 5.00 to 4.17 confirms the glidepath is reducing risk as intended. If the score is unchanged, check that % Target differs from % Now for at least one asset class.
4
Allocation breakdown charts

Below the KPIs, four charts compare your allocation now versus end of glidepath — sliced four ways: by asset class (equity, bonds, cash, property), by retirement vehicle (Pension, S&S ISA, GIA), by risk category (high/medium/low), and by region/market. Each chart shows both absolute £ values and normalised percentages. Use these to confirm the glidepath produces the risk profile you intended across each dimension.

5
Portfolio reconciliation table

The reconciliation table beneath the charts lists every vehicle and asset class with opening value, end-of-glidepath value, the £ change and the allocation shift in percentage points. The Reconciles tick at the bottom confirms the numbers are internally consistent. Use this to verify that each asset class is shifting in the direction you expect — for example, equities reducing and bonds increasing as the glidepath progresses.

Portfolio reconciliation table showing opening vs end-of-glidepath values per vehicle and asset class, with change in £ and allocation shift in percentage points, reconciling to £820k total
End-of-glidepath vehicle balances are from the P50 simulation path. Per-asset £ values are vehicle total × normalised target weights. The P50 path balance at retirement may differ slightly from the fan chart P50 at the same date because the fan chart uses cross-sectional percentile ranking.
What changing allocation does to outcomes
6
Higher equity — higher expected return, wider fan

A higher equity allocation raises expected portfolio growth but also increases the spread between P10 and P90 outcomes. Your median result improves but your worst scenarios get worse. The portfolio value fan chart makes this visible — a wide band between the outer percentile lines indicates high equity exposure; a narrow band indicates a more defensive allocation.

Portfolio value percentile fan chart showing P10-P90 range widening through the retirement horizon
7
The glidepath protects against sequence risk

Sequence-of-returns risk — a bad market crash early in retirement when the portfolio is at its peak — is the primary reason for a glidepath. Reducing equity exposure around retirement limits the damage. The cumulative success probability chart shows this clearly: a well-configured glidepath produces a stable plateau after the initial drop at retirement age, rather than a continued decline.

Cumulative success probability chart showing probability near 100% during pre-retirement, stepping down at retirement then stabilising through the horizon
A crash 3 years into retirement with 90% equity is far more damaging than the same crash with 50% equity. The glidepath does not eliminate sequence risk — it reduces it.
Track 2 · G3 of 9