How Aswath Damodaran Manages His Own Portfolio | Show Us Your Portfolio

In this episode of our Show Us Your Portfolio series, we go inside the personal investing approach of Aswath Damodaran — the “Dean of Valuation.” Known for his expertise in corporate valuation, Aswath rarely discusses how he manages his own money. We cover his philosophy, asset allocation, position sizing rules, lifecycle diversification, and the lessons he’s learned from decades of investing his own wealth.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• The core mission that drives Aswath’s investing decisions

• How he thinks about risk, concentration, and position sizing

• Why he avoids bonds and focuses on equity appreciation

• His approach to strategic vs. tactical investing

• The role of lifecycle diversification in portfolio construction

• How he decides when to buy and sell individual stocks

• Why luck plays such a big role in investing results

• His views on international exposure, dividends, gold, crypto, and alternative assets

• Personal spending habits and what he values most outside of investing

Timestamps:
00:00 – Investing’s end game: preserve and grow wealth
03:25 – How life stage changes investment approach
07:41 – Thoughts on the 60/40 portfolio
08:47 – Why he holds no bonds
10:12 – The power of compounding
12:25 – Separating portfolio from income needs
15:02 – Strategic vs. tactical investing
18:00 – Managing concentration risk and trimming winners
20:30 – Market concentration & the Mag 7
25:31 – How he buys and sells stocks
32:46 – Hit rate and lessons from decades of investing
37:26 – Lifecycle diversification
41:00 – U.S. vs. international investing
43:22 – Dividend investing
45:35 – Gold, crypto, and alternative assets
53:15 – What he drives and his ESG take
54:39 – Spending for joy
56:00 – Key investing advice for individuals
57:37 – Life outside markets & creative thinking time