Find your real risk profile.

Risk tolerance blends several factors: time horizon (longer is better for equities), income stability (stable income can ride out drawdowns), investment experience (familiarity reduces panic), drawdown comfort (subjective tolerance for losses), and emergency fund size (a buffer lets the portfolio ride out temporary crashes).

This calculator scores each factor on a 0-10 scale, combines them into an overall tolerance score out of 100, and suggests an equity allocation. An aggressive profile (75+) supports 85-95% equities; a balanced profile (40-60) typically pairs with 50-65% equities; conservative profiles (under 25) stay 20-40% equity.

The scores are heuristics, not hard rules. Many investors find their tolerance scores don't match their real behaviour during actual downturns. The most important test is watching how you feel when the portfolio drops 30-50% - which has happened every 8-15 years historically. If a mock drawdown at your suggested allocation feels uncomfortable, dial back regardless of the score.

A worked example

Try the defaults: time horizon of 20, income stability of 7, investment experience of 5, drawdown comfort of 6. The tool returns 61/100. You can adjust any input and the result updates as you type — no submit button, no reload. That's the real power here: seeing how sensitive the output is to one or two assumptions.

What moves the number most

The result responds to Time Horizon, Income Stability (0-10), Investment Experience (0-10), Drawdown Comfort (0-10), and Emergency Fund. Not every input has equal weight. Flip one at a time toward extreme values to feel which ones move the needle most for your situation.

The formula behind this

Horizon score caps at 10 (30 years). Emergency fund caps at 10 (10 months). Total = sum × 2. Equity suggestion: 75+ = 90%, 60-74 = 75%, 40-59 = 60%, 25-39 = 45%, <25 = 30%. Everything the calculator does is shown in the formula box below, so you can check the math against your own spreadsheet if you want.

Using this well

Treat the output as one point on a wider map. Run it three times — a pessimistic case, a central case, and a stretch case — and plan against the pessimistic one. That habit alone separates people who stick with an investment plan from those who bail at the first wobble.

What this doesn't capture

Steady-rate math ignores real-world volatility. Actual returns are lumpy; sequence-of-returns risk matters most in drawdown; fees and taxes drag on compound growth; and behaviour changes in drawdowns can reduce outcomes below the projection. Treat the number as one scenario, not a forecast.