Field notes
Field notes
Short pieces on drawdowns, concentration, and the practical questions that arise when reading a private portfolio under stress.
When monitoring is enough — and when it is not
A quarterly drawdown note helps after a baseline exists. It cannot replace a full reconstruction when the book itself has changed shape.
Preparing statements for a risk review
Incomplete years produce incomplete drawdowns. A short checklist for gathering custodian papers before your briefing call.
Concentration that statements do not show
Two holdings in different sectors can still lean on the same rate story. We look for thematic overlap that line-item lists miss.
What a drawdown figure actually measures
Peak-to-trough is simple to quote and easy to misuse. Here is how we define it on client books, and where people usually talk past each other.