A loved one passed away recently, leaving the rest of the family scrambling to deal with all of the things nobody is ever truly prepared for — funerals, estates, and caring for other family members affected by the loss. Everyone gets their turn eventually, but you’re never truly ready. It just happens, and you’re thrown in the deep end to sink or swim.

This particular family member had a lot of pets, and one of the responsibilities that fell on my brother and me was the job of rounding them up and taking them to a local adoption center to help them find new homes. Dealing with cute cuddly animals surely was more joyful than coping with the hard realities of death, so we happily took the job. Arriving at the home with a sense of purpose, we opened the door expecting a gaggle of furry creatures excited to be held and fed.

The dogs were naturally suspicious at first, but once the food came out they softened up and were as sweet as can be. A few belly rubs and a short ride later, and they were well cared for and ready for adoption.

And then there were the cats.

I’m a big fan of asset allocation. Rather than slaving over daily market news to chase fleeting profits and avoid unpredictable losses, smart investors can create an intelligently constructed portfolio that grows and protects their hard-earned money with low stress and minimum effort. Like following a simple recipe to bake a cake from scratch, all you have to do is purchase a handful of low-cost ingredients, combine them in the right proportions, and let chemistry, heat, and time do all the work. Simple but sophisticated portfolio ideas designed by some of the best minds in the business can help you meet your important life goals while freeing you to focus your own energy on the things in life that truly matter. And with just a small amount of coaching, anyone can do it!

What’s not to like?

Well, to be honest there is one thing that has always sorta rubbed me the wrong way. It’s not a problem with the strategy itself, but an inherent communication issue dripping in bias that I believe subtly chases off a lot of people new to the concept. Asset allocation has a marketing problem, and it all comes down to terminology.

In July of this year NASA is planning to launch the next mission in their ongoing series of journeys to Mars. Named Perseverance, the robotic explorer is built on the successful design of the Curiosity rover that has been wandering the Red Planet since 2012. A machine capable of long-term exploration of another planet is a true engineering marvel, but controlling it remotely is not even the hard part. After decades of practice, even the requirements of launching devices out of the pull of Earth’s gravity are pretty well-known. But do you know what is still a real challenge even for the best rocket scientists?

Sticking the landing.

Growth is a wonderful thing. We all start somewhere and do the best we can, and over the years people learn, mature, and evolve into something even better. That applies to lots of things like relationships, careers, asset allocations, and even hobbies like this little Portfolio Charts endeavor. So in honor of the 4-year anniversary of the site I’ve decided to launch a new logo and tagline that I think celebrates its growth as a resource and captures its spirit and mission looking forward.

Find a portfolio to love

You see, the pages here may contain a lot of data and visualizations but the design intent goes so much deeper than that. Strip away the methods and focus on the goal, and there’s really one singular mission I have in mind — I want you to be a happy investor! It’s such a simple concept but it’s amazing how difficult it is for so many people to grasp, so let’s forget everything we think we know about investing and start from scratch.

What does it mean to love your portfolio?