In an era marked by rapid technological change, shifting geopolitics and evolving market forces, it is time to rethink the rules of investing. Many of today’s portfolio decisions rest on assumptions that no longer hold true.

Why It’s Time to Question Long-Held Beliefs

For decades, investors have been guided by principles like timing the market, chasing top performers and maintaining an unwavering equity bias. Yet the world of finance has transformed. From AI dispersion altering corporate earnings to structural rate shifts constraining bond returns, relying on past conventions can lead to disappointment.

Embracing new evidence and preparing for 2026’s unique landscape requires both courage and practical insight. By examining the failings of common dogmas, we can build resilient portfolios designed to thrive amid uncertainty.

The Dogmas Holding Investors Back

Many investors cling to strategies based on tradition rather than data. This can generate hidden risks, missed opportunities and emotional fatigue when expectations go unmet.

• Market timing and reacting to headlines
• Active stock-picking over passive approaches
• Performance chasing based on past returns
• Unquestioned equity bias for long-term returns
• Indiscriminate diversification without regime awareness
• Glide paths that ignore capacity versus tolerance

Trying to predict events like U.S.-China tensions or inflation surprises is impossible to validate market timing beliefs. Yet many portfolios still suffer from headline-driven trades that erode returns.

Embracing Evidence-Based Alternatives

Rather than succumbing to conventional wisdom, investors can adopt proven strategies that harness academic research and empirical data. Evidence-based investing centers on disciplined decision-making and transparent cost management.

• Strategic asset allocation across stocks, bonds and alternatives
• Value bias via value bias via Fundamental Index™ dynamic rebalancing
• Megatrend focus on AI, energy transition, healthcare and infrastructure
• Adaptive diversification tuned to regime shifts and factor cycles

By anchoring portfolios in robust principles and steering clear of impulsive trades, you gain confidence that decisions are grounded in data, not emotion.

Supporting Evidence at a Glance

Building Resilient Portfolios for 2026

Looking ahead, several structural shifts will define the investment landscape. Inflation pressures are fading, policy rates have settled at higher norms and AI-driven dispersion is broadening winners beyond a small group of large-cap names.

Successful portfolios will blend defense and growth, incorporating sectors and themes poised to benefit from long-term trends.

• Energy transition and clean technologies
• Healthcare innovation and demographic-driven assets
• Digital infrastructure and cybersecurity networks
• Reshoring and modernized supply chains
• Selective real assets like ESG-compliant real estate

By blending defense with emerging structural themes, investors can capture upside when dispersion locates new growth leaders while protecting capital in turbulent environments.

Practical Steps to Apply These Insights

Transforming your portfolio starts with a clear process. Here are four actionable steps to challenge dogma and adopt a forward-looking framework.

• Assess beliefs: Write down ingrained assumptions and test them against empirical data.
• Review allocation: Align your mix with risk objectives and include alternative strategies.
• Embed megatrends: Allocate thematic sleeves to AI, sustainability and healthcare.
• Rebalance systematically: Capture value premiums and maintain discipline.

Implementing a systematic evidence-based investing four-step process ensures that choices are driven by logic and measurement rather than sentiment.

Conclusion

As 2026 unfolds, the playbook that delivered outsized returns in the past may no longer suffice. By challenging convention, prioritizing data and embracing adaptive approaches, investors can navigate uncertainty with confidence.

Let these insights empower you to build a resilient portfolio rooted in innovation, diversification and discipline. Remember, true success often comes from resilience over precision in investing—not trying to predict every twist of the market, but positioning for its broadest possibilities.