--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The most important thing you can have is…" description: "\"The most important thing you can have is a good strategic asset allocation mix. So, what the investor needs to do is have a balanced, structured portfo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/868/ray-dalio-299_allocation_the-most-important-thing-you-can-have-is_2598357.jpg" --- # The most important thing you can have is a good strategic… ![“The most important thing you can have is a good strategic asset allocation mix. So, what the investor needs to do is have a balanced, structured portfolio – a portfolio that does well in different environments…. we don't know that we're going to win. We have to have diversified bets.” quote by Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/868/ray-dalio-299_allocation_the-most-important-thing-you-can-have-is_2598357.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/868/ray-dalio-299_allocation_the-most-important-thing-you-can-have-is_2598357.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/868/ray-dalio-299_allocation_the-most-important-thing-you-can-have-is_2598357.jpg) > “The most important thing you can have is a good strategic asset allocation mix. So, what the investor needs to do is have a balanced, structured portfolio – a portfolio that does well in different environments…. we don't know that we're going to win. We have to have diversified bets.” [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A diversified, balanced portfolio reduces risk across market conditions. **In simple terms:** Diversify to protect against uncertainty. Key Takeaway Build a balanced, structured portfolio. Themes finance risk management diversification Mood cautious analytical Type advisory financial When to use this quote - retirement planning - wealth building - market volatility - investment strategy Key Concepts asset allocation portfolio theory Questions to Reflect On - How can you assess your risk tolerance? - What assets complement each other? A Different Perspective Diversification cannot eliminate all losses. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asset allocation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asset-allocation/) [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Different environments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-environments/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Important things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-things/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Investors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investors/) [Portfolios](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portfolios/) [Strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [I think that the first thing is you should have a strategic asset allocation mix that assumes that you don't know what the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/i-think-that-the-first-thing-is-you-should-have-a-strategic-asset/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [You should have a strategic asset allocation mix that assumes that you don't know what the future is going to hold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/you-should-have-a-strategic-asset-allocation-mix-that-assumes-that/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [An investor needs to do very few things right as long as he or she avoids big mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/an-investor-needs-to-do-very-few-things-right-as-long-as-he-or-she/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [One of the most important things a real investor needs to say is this; “I want my money back and I also want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/one-of-the-most-important-things-a-real-investor-needs-to-say-is-this/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Graham's wonderful sentence as, an investor needs only two things: cash and courage. Having only one of them is not enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/graham-s-wonderful-sentence-as-an-investor-needs-only-two-things-cash/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [What an investor needs is the ability to correctly evaluate selected businesses. Note that word “selected”: You don't have to be an expert on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/what-an-investor-needs-is-the-ability-to-correctly-evaluate-selected/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [The most important key to successful investing can be summed up in just two words-asset allocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leboeuf/the-most-important-key-to-successful-investing-can-be-summed-up-in/) [Michael LeBoeuf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leboeuf/) > [An asset allocation plan is based on your personal circumstances, goals, time-horizon, and need and willingness to take risk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leboeuf/an-asset-allocation-plan-is-based-on-your-personal-circumstances/) [Michael LeBoeuf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leboeuf/) > [We live in a very risky world and investors should not get "carried away" with excessive allocations to equities, or for that matter, real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-bogle/we-live-in-a-very-risky-world-and-investors-should-not-get-carried/) [John C. Bogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-bogle/) > [Never underrate the importance of asset allocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-bogle/never-underrate-the-importance-of-asset-allocation/) [John C. Bogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-bogle/) > [I don't often know where my ideas come from. Maybe it's the fact that I'm obsessively regimented in my analysis, borderline autistic. But whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-gundlach/i-don-t-often-know-where-my-ideas-come-from-maybe-it-s-the-fact-that/) Jeffrey Gundlach > [Throughout the universe of public and private funds, managers are measured quarterly against one index or another, defined by statistics, and corralled into this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-burry/throughout-the-universe-of-public-and-private-funds-managers-are/) [Michael Burry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-burry/) > [The conventional asset-allocation method is like sheet music. It is prescribed, it has right answers and wrong answers and it sounds about the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kao/the-conventional-asset-allocation-method-is-like-sheet-music-it-is/) [John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) > [We can extrapolate from the study that for the long term individual investor who maintains a consistent asset allocation and leans toward index funds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-g-ibbotson/we-can-extrapolate-from-the-study-that-for-the-long-term-individual/) Roger G. Ibbotson > [On average, 90 percent of the variability of returns and 100 percent of the absolute level of return is explained by asset allocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-g-ibbotson/on-average-90-percent-of-the-variability-of-returns-and-100-percent/) Roger G. Ibbotson ## More by Ray Dalio > [“Slow down your thinking so you can note the criteria you are using to make your decision. 2. Write the criteria down as a principle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/slow-down-your-thinking-so-you-can-note-the-criteria-you-are-using-to/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“Having a process that ensures problems are brought to the surface, and their root causes diagnosed, assures that continual improvements occur.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/having-a-process-that-ensures-problems-are-brought-to-the-surface-and/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“If you can’t successfully do something, don’t think you can tell others how it should be done”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/if-you-can-t-successfully-do-something-don-t-think-you-can-tell/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“Remember that a good plan should resemble a movie script.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/remember-that-a-good-plan-should-resemble-a-movie-script/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“I believe that the key to success lies in knowing how to both strive for a lot and fail well. By failing well, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/i-believe-that-the-key-to-success-lies-in-knowing-how-to-both-strive/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [I'm scared of one man, one vote because it suggests that everybody has an equal ability at making decisions, and I think that's dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/i-m-scared-of-one-man-one-vote-because-it-suggests-that-everybody-has/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“A manager’s ability to recognize when outcomes are inconsistent with goals and then modify designs and assemble people to rectify them makes all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/a-manager-s-ability-to-recognize-when-outcomes-are-inconsistent-with/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“So I learned to be radically open-minded to allow others to point out what I might be missing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/so-i-learned-to-be-radically-open-minded-to-allow-others-to-point-out/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“During those terrible days after 9/11, when the whole country was being whipsawed by emotion, or the weeks between September 19 and October 10,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/during-those-terrible-days-after-9-11-when-the-whole-country-was/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“is more effective to train that subconscious, emotional you the same way you would teach a child to behave”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/is-more-effective-to-train-that-subconscious-emotional-you-the-same/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [I think that the first thing is you should have a strategic asset allocation mix that assumes that you don't know what the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/i-think-that-the-first-thing-is-you-should-have-a-strategic-asset/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [Life is like a game where you seek to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of achieving your goals. You get better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/life-is-like-a-game-where-you-seek-to-overcome-the-obstacles-that/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“when we look down on ourselves through the eyes of nature we are of absolutely no significance. It is a reality that each one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/when-we-look-down-on-ourselves-through-the-eyes-of-nature-we-are-of/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“Great questions are a much better indicator of future success than great answers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/great-questions-are-a-much-better-indicator-of-future-success-than/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“Georgi Plekhanov’s classic On the Role of the Individual in History.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/georgi-plekhanov-s-classic-on-the-role-of-the-individual-in-history/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) [Explore all 716 Ray Dalio quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) ## More Allocation quotes > [I think that the first thing is you should have a strategic asset allocation mix that assumes that you don't know what the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/i-think-that-the-first-thing-is-you-should-have-a-strategic-asset/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [It is a mark of how far we have gone on the road to serfdom that government allocation and rationing of oil is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/it-is-a-mark-of-how-far-we-have-gone-on-the-road-to-serfdom-that/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [Accounting consequences do not influence our operating or capital-allocation decisions. When acquisition costs are similar, we much prefer to purchase $2 of earnings that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/accounting-consequences-do-not-influence-our-operating-or-capital/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Education is the most important thing you can have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-smith/education-is-the-most-important-thing-you-can-have/) [Torrey Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-smith/) > [Let me make it clear: The Disbursement Allocation Program is not pork barrel. Of the DAP releases in 2011 and 2012, only nine percent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benigno-aquino-iii/let-me-make-it-clear-the-disbursement-allocation-program-is-not-pork/) [Benigno Aquino III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benigno-aquino-iii/) > [I assume, gladly, that in the allocation to America of remarkable leaders like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln, the Lord was just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/i-assume-gladly-that-in-the-allocation-to-america-of-remarkable/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [Mere allocation of huge sums of money for quality will not bring quality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-edwards-deming/mere-allocation-of-huge-sums-of-money-for-quality-will-not-bring/) [W. Edwards Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-edwards-deming/) > [If everybody is rewarded just for being alive, you get the same sort of effect as you do when you reward every student just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/if-everybody-is-rewarded-just-for-being-alive-you-get-the-same-sort/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [The goal of socialism is a fairer allocation of economic resources, which its advocates often claim will also be a less wasteful one. Socialism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/the-goal-of-socialism-is-a-fairer-allocation-of-economic-resources/) [Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/) > [We can extrapolate from the study that for the long term individual investor who maintains a consistent asset allocation and leans toward index funds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-g-ibbotson/we-can-extrapolate-from-the-study-that-for-the-long-term-individual/) Roger G. Ibbotson > [The water trading mechanism where there are transparent trades of water allocations is one that is good for us to learn from because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-levine/the-water-trading-mechanism-where-there-are-transparent-trades-of/) Marc Levine > [“Allocate your resources wisely for all men have been endowed with abilities that are more than sufficient to accomplish even the greatest of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-payton/allocate-your-resources-wisely-for-all-men-have-been-endowed-with/) [Stella Payton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-payton/) > [The necessity for power is obvious, because life cannot be lived without order; but the allocation of power is arbitrary because all men are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/the-necessity-for-power-is-obvious-because-life-cannot-be-lived/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [What is the manager's job? It is to direct the resources and the efforts of the business toward opportunities for economically significant results. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/what-is-the-manager-s-job-it-is-to-direct-the-resources-and-the/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [There are many challenges in the global education ecosystem: from top-down systemic issues in how educational services are organized and delivered, to bottom-up issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-braun/there-are-many-challenges-in-the-global-education-ecosystem-from-top/) [Adam Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-braun/) Browse all 63 Allocation quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The most important thing you can have is a good strategic asset allocation mix. 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