Ahead of England’s much-anticipated semi-final against Argentina tomorrow, Kate Rainbow, Head of Key Accounts at Hymans Robertson Investment Services (HRIS), shares her insights on portfolio construction, linking it to the ongoing FIFA World Cup.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is well underway and, while football and portfolio construction may not seem like natural companions, there are some useful parallels. A successful World Cup squad is not simply a collection of the most talented individual players.
It is built carefully, bringing together different strengths, roles and characteristics to create a team with balance, resilience and the ability to adapt as conditions change. Portfolio construction works in much the same way. Each asset class has a clear role to play and, when combined thoughtfully, these different components can create a more robust portfolio designed to perform across a range of market environments.
Using that football lens, asset classes can broadly be thought of in three areas of the pitch: defence, midfield and attack.
Defenders: low-risk assets
In a tournament, a strong defence provides the foundation for success. It offers stability under pressure, protects against setbacks and gives the rest of the team the confidence to play. In a portfolio, low-risk assets fulfil a similar role. Their primary purpose is capital preservation and diversification, helping to steady performance when markets become more volatile. These assets are typically more resilient during periods of stress and play an important role in managing overall risk. Examples include cash, government bonds and investment grade bonds, both in the UK and globally.
Midfielders: diversifiers
The midfield connects defence with attack, bringing balance, flexibility and control to the game. Diversifying assets play a similar role within portfolios. They are designed to help manage risk while also contributing to returns, often behaving differently to traditional equities and bonds. This lack of correlation can help smooth overall performance, particularly when market conditions are uncertain or uneven. High yield bonds, emerging market debt and real assets such as infrastructure equities are a few examples.
Forwards: return-seeking assets
Every team relies on its forwards to create opportunities and deliver goals. In this World Cup, some of the obvious names spring to mind: Mbappé, Haaland, Messi and Kane. These are the players who can change the course of a game and naturally attract a lot of attention. In investment terms, return-seeking assets fulfil this role, acting as the primary drivers of long-term growth. They tend to perform best during periods of stronger economic expansion and are key to generating the returns investors need over time. Developed and emerging market equities are the most common examples, offering higher growth potential, but with greater variability in outcomes.
A team-based approach for changing conditions
While star players may capture the headlines, tournaments are rarely won by individuals alone. Greece’s remarkable victory at Euro 2004 is a perfect example. In a tournament featuring some of the world’s most talented footballers, Greece triumphed not through individual brilliance, but through teamwork, discipline and a shared sense of purpose. Every player understood their role, trusted those around them and committed to the collective goal. The result was a team that achieved far more than the sum of its parts.
That is an important lesson for investors. Star players can bring moments of brilliance, but success still depends on the quality of the wider team around them: the defensive structure, the midfield control, the strength of the bench, the manager’s plan and the ability to adapt as the tournament unfolds.
Individual players can move in and out of form, just as asset classes, sectors or regions can move in and out of favour. This is why the overall allocation matters so much. The blend of defensive, diversifying and return-seeking assets is one of the key drivers of long-term investment outcomes, helping to create a more robust portfolio that is not overly reliant on any single source of return.
A long-term, team-based approach brings together a range of asset classes in varying proportions to suit different risk profiles. Sticking to that approach helps build a resilient portfolio that can adapt to changing market environments while maintaining a clear focus on long-term outcomes.
Much like a football team, constantly chasing short-term performance or making frequent tactical changes can reduce efficiency and ultimately weaken results. Strategic asset allocation remains one of the most important drivers of investment success. By staying invested in a well-diversified “team” and trusting in its collective strengths, investors are better positioned to navigate uncertainty and achieve their goals over time.
By Kate Rainbow, Head of Key Accounts at Hymans Robertson Investment Services (HRIS)
