Retirement Strategies Face Lower-Return and Concentration Risks

Fund and market commentary continues to question concentrated U.S. equity portfolios and optimistic withdrawal assumptions for long retirements. Equal-weight, international, mid-cap, and small-cap-value exposures may reduce concentration risk, but their performance is cyclical and not a dependable short-term signal. Investors should diversify across styles, geographies, and income sources rather than chase recent outperformance.