Moving from theory to sensible ranges

A practical way to think about global exposure is to step back and ask four planning‑led questions.

First: where will you ultimately spend your money?

If most of your future spending will be in South Africa, a meaningful portion of your assets should remain aligned with local conditions. If you expect to fund overseas travel, education, emigration, or leave a global legacy, greater global exposure may be appropriate. Global investing works best when it reflects future spending, not fear or headlines.

Second: when will you need the money?

Time horizon plays a critical role. Over short periods, currency volatility can overwhelm returns. Over longer periods, global assets have historically provided diversification and growth. Simply put, global investing tends to work better when time, not timing, is on your side.

Third: how do you behave when markets are under pressure?

Investors don’t experience portfolios as long‑term averages. They experience them through drawdowns and stress. Global exposure introduces different patterns of volatility, and allocations need to reflect what you can realistically tolerate without making poor decisions at the wrong time.

Finally: in what type of investment vehicle is the money held?

Retirement funds, living annuities and discretionary investments all place different constraints on global exposure and carry different risks. It is entirely reasonable for the same investor to have different global allocations across different investment vehicles.

Moving from theory to sensible ranges

There is no universal global exposure percentage that suits everyone. However, experience suggests that sensible ranges, aligned to purpose and time horizon, tend to work better than extreme positions.

Long‑term investors who are still accumulating capital can generally accommodate higher global exposure than those drawing an income. Capital with no fixed spending date, such as legacy or discretionary investments, often allows for the greatest flexibility.

What matters most is not finding a perfect number, but choosing an allocation that is reasonable, defensible and aligned with your personal circumstances. When that is done well, you don’t need to be exactly right - you simply need to avoid being badly wrong.

A closing thought

Global investing works best when it is treated as a long‑term design choice, not a short‑term trade. When global exposure is aligned to purpose, time horizon and behaviour, it becomes a source of resilience rather than anxiety.