Your First Portfolio: Start With the Allocation, Not the Stock Picks
For someone who just started earning a paycheck, the harder question isn't "what should I buy" — it's "how should I split it up." Settling on an asset allocation first makes it far easier to stick with investing long term. One long-standing rule of thumb: hold a stock percentage equal to 100 minus your age. The younger you are, the more time to recover from a downturn, so you can lean into riskier assets; an older investor shifts toward stability.
This calculator takes your age, monthly investment amount, and risk tolerance to recommend a split across stocks, bonds, and cash, with a dollar amount for each. Treat this as a starting point, not a fixed answer — income stability, an emergency fund, and goals like a home purchase can justify shifting away from this baseline.
Frequently Asked Questions
It starts from the "100 minus your age" rule, adjusted by your selected risk tolerance.
Pick aggressive if a 20-30% drop wouldn't rattle you, conservative if even 10% would worry you.
No, it's a general guideline — adjust it based on your own income, savings, and goals.