What I Learned from 3 Years of Rebalancing My Stock Account

I'm an office worker in my mid-30s, and since 2021 I've been running my portfolio by sticking to a monthly rebalancing rule. This isn't a post to brag about returns—I'm just writing it down as a record.

My rules are simple. Korean stocks 30 / US S&P 40 / bonds 20 / gold 10. Once a quarter, rebalance if it drifts outside a ±5% band.

After three years, here's what I've learned:

1. Rebalancing itself doesn't generate returns. It only cuts volatility. But that is damn important for your mental game.

2. The 20% bond allocation got wrecked in 2022, but looking back now, it did its job as a support beam.

3. The 10% gold is just insurance. Its contribution to returns is negligible.

4. In the end, the biggest gains come from the "habit of automatic monthly transfers."

Compared with a coworker who went all-in on semiconductors at the start of this year, my cumulative return is higher. That's just luck. But that friend bailed out during a -30% stretch last year. When you have rules, you can't just walk out.

What I regret is taxes. I held Korean equity ETFs in a dividend version, got hit with dividend income tax, and had a reality check. Starting this year, I'm moving everything to an ISA.

Conclusion: You don't need a flashy strategy. The answer seems to be just building a structure you won't shake out of.