Asymmetric Growth (AG)
AG is the portfolio’s asymmetric upside sleeve: a controlled allocation to high-growth leaders and next-generation disruptors. The objective is meaningful upside participation without compromising the core through sizing, rebalancing, and thesis discipline.
AG is built to pursue nonlinear winners while keeping sleeve risk contained within the total portfolio.
Volatility, dispersion, and tracking error are expected. The advantage comes from staying systematic through them.
The sleeve only works when the broader portfolio can absorb a severe AG drawdown without losing structural integrity.
What it is
AG is the portfolio’s asymmetric upside sleeve, designed to pursue nonlinear winners while keeping speculative exposure contained.
High-volatility sleeve by design
Selective conviction within defined limits
Complements the core rather than replacing it
Core design+
Built for secular winners and emerging growth platforms
Seeks nonlinear upside without exposing the full portfolio to speculative concentration
Uses structure and limits rather than unconstrained discretion
Why it exists
Broad diversified markets compound effectively, but a meaningful share of long-term outperformance often comes from a small number of extreme winners.
Targets a winner-driven payoff profile
Protects the core from speculative role drift
Creates a defined home for high-upside exposure
What problem it solves+
Where AG fits in the Total Portfolio
AG is a sleeve, not the portfolio’s primary mandate. Its purpose is to add optionality while the core remains the main compounding engine.
Typical allocation range: 1–15% of total portfolio
Trim back when sleeve growth exceeds intended role
Role discipline matters as much as security selection
Sizing discipline+
Expected behavior
AG is not intended to feel smooth. Volatility, tracking error, and extended periods of underperformance are normal features of a convex sleeve.
Can lag during risk-off or defensive rotations
May derive a large share of returns from a few holdings
Drawdowns and tracking error are expected features
Behavioral reality+
What AG is not
AG is not a mandate for narrative chasing, unconstrained concentration, or replacing the need for a diversified core.
Not narrative chasing
Not blind averaging down
Not unlimited single-name or theme concentration
Not a substitute for a diversified core
Common failure modes+
Operating system
AG is managed through a repeatable review and rebalance process so decisions remain consistent when market conditions become behaviorally difficult.
Monthly: review weights, thesis status, material news, and concentration
Quarterly: rebalance toward targets and reassess theme mix
Event-driven: respond to thesis breaks, dilution risk, or material fundamental change
Use process to govern both trimming and adding
Cadence+
Guardrails
AG is allowed to be volatile, but it is not allowed to become large enough that a severe drawdown compromises the investability of the total portfolio.
Hard limits on sleeve weight and position size
Trim concentration before it becomes mandate drift
Thesis invalidation overrides price-based narratives
The total portfolio must survive AG stress
Constraints that matter+
Implementation rules & backtest methodology
AG backtests are designed to reflect implementation discipline rather than discretionary timing, so results remain attributable to the structure itself.
Frequency: monthly
Trades: restore target weights
Hold: until next month-end rebalance
Missing-history names: excluded; remaining weights re-scaled or missing weight parked
Two lenses: rules-based model since 2016 plus live implementation since inception
Protocol summary+
If a constituent lacks price history for a given period, it is excluded from that month’s rebalance set. The strategy either re-scales the remaining holdings to 100% or parks the missing weight in cash/proxies, depending on backtest configuration.