When was the last time you looked at your portfolio allocation not just your balance, but whether the mix of stocks and bonds still matches the plan you started with?

As a financial advisor in Lexington, Kentucky, one of the first things I look at with a new client is drift. Markets move, and over time a well-intentioned 60/40 portfolio can quietly become a 70/30 one  carrying more risk than the investor ever agreed to take on. Rebalancing is how you fix that. And Vanguard found it adds approximately 0.26% in net annual returns when practiced consistently.

This episode is week two of our five-week series on Vanguard's Advisor's Alpha  five disciplines that, together, can add approximately 3% in net returns over time.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

•      What rebalancing is: bringing your portfolio back to its original target allocation after the market has shifted things

•      A real-life example: a 60/40 portfolio that drifts to 70/30 and why that drift means more risk than you intended

•      The Vanguard finding: the purpose of rebalancing is to control risk, not maximize return

•      Why rebalancing is not the same as market timing

•      The emotional challenge: why diamond hands feels right and rebalancing feels wrong — and why the hardest moments are usually the most important ones

•      The most common mistake: letting the market decide your allocation over time

•      How an advisor adds value: setting a threshold, applying it systematically, holding you to the plan, and managing the tax side

Haven't rebalanced in the last 12 months? That's worth a conversation.

If you're a family in Lexington, Central Kentucky, or anywhere across the Bluegrass — and you'd like to take a look at whether your portfolio is still positioned where you want it, or better yet where it needs to be — I'd be glad and honored to do that with you.