2024 Portfolio Review: A Year of Strategic Growth
Reflecting on a standout year of portfolio growth driven by the AI boom, disciplined investing, and strategic rebalancing.
As another year draws to a close, it is worth reflecting on what has been an extraordinary journey for my investment portfolio. The standout achievement of 2024 has been a remarkable 18.69% growth, significantly exceeding expectations while maintaining a carefully balanced approach to risk and reward — largely fuelled by the AI boom.
📈 The Growth Story
What makes this year’s performance particularly satisfying is how closely it aligned with projections. The actual portfolio value came within 1% of targeted projections, demonstrating the value of careful planning and consistent execution. This was not just luck — it was the result of disciplined monthly investing, strategic rebalancing, and staying true to the long-term plan even during market volatility.
🛡️ Risk Management and Portfolio Health
One of the most interesting aspects of this year’s journey has been watching various portfolio health indicators evolve:
- 📊 Loan-to-value ratio: 64.36%
- 📊 Debt-to-asset ratio: 36.46%
- 📊 Investment-to-total-assets ratio: 41.75%
- 💰 Savings rate: approximately 25% of income
💡 These numbers tell an important story about maintaining a healthy balance between leverage and security. A consistent savings rate of around 25% proves that disciplined saving remains the foundation of long-term wealth building.
💰 Income and Efficiency
The emergency fund now covers 2.89 months of expenses — not yet at the ideal six-month target, but moving in the right direction.
🔮 Looking Forward to 2025
As we look toward 2025, the focus shifts to fine-tuning rather than major changes. The key targets include:
- 🎯 Reducing the loan-to-value ratio below 60%
- 🎯 Maintaining the debt-to-asset ratio below 35%
- 🎯 Increasing the cash-to-total-assets ratio to 3%
- 🎯 Building the emergency fund to cover six full months of expenses
The portfolio balance targets remain similar, though with a slight increase in cash allocation:
| Category | Target Range |
|---|---|
| Growth assets | 75–78% |
| Conservative assets | 17–19% |
| Cash and liquid assets | 5% |
These targets reflect a commitment to maintaining growth while building additional security buffers.
📝 Lessons Learned
This year has reinforced several crucial lessons:
- ✅ Consistency truly matters — the power of regular investing, even in modest amounts, cannot be overstated.
- ⚖️ Balance is key — the mix of growth and conservative assets provided both stability and opportunity.
- 💵 Cash reserves are essential — maintaining adequate liquidity, while not always exciting, remains crucial for long-term success.
🚀 The Path Forward
As we move into 2025, the strategy evolves but does not fundamentally change. The focus remains on strengthening liquid positions, maintaining investment momentum, and expanding income streams.
🏁 The journey toward financial independence is not always smooth, but 2024 has shown that a boring strategy, consistently executed, can yield impressive results. The key is not just in the numbers — it is in maintaining discipline while remaining flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances.