The complete collection of investments held by an individual or institution — the total of all positions across all asset classes at a given point in time.
Deeper Explanation
Portfolio construction is as important as individual security selection. The interaction between positions — their correlations, their combined risk, their aggregate allocation — determines actual investment outcomes. A portfolio of 20 wonderful businesses that are all highly correlated to the same economic factor (e.g., tech multiples) is not as well-constructed as a portfolio of 15 businesses across genuinely independent economic drivers. Buffett's view: most investors own too many positions to add value through selection but too few to achieve true diversification. His preference is 5–10 high-conviction positions in businesses he understands deeply.
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Go deeper into the Value school — frameworks, case studies, and decision systems.