What an investor profile is
The investor profile is the starting point of any decision about your money: it defines how much risk it's reasonable for you to take and, as a result, how to split your portfolio between assets that grow more but fluctuate (equities) and more stable ones (bonds and cash). It's not a label for life: it changes with your age, your situation and your goals.
Capacity and tolerance are not the same
Most tests measure only one thing — how much risk you fancy — and forget the most important one: how much risk you can afford. They are two distinct dimensions:
- Capacity: your objective situation. How long until you need the money, how stable your income is, the cushion you have, and what share you could lose without your life changing.
- Tolerance: your temperament. How you react emotionally to a drop, your experience, and what you want from the money.
The prudent rule — and what makes this selector "smart" — is simple: your profile should match the lower of the two. Strong emotional resilience is useless if you'll need the money in a year; and conversely, having spare capacity doesn't force you to take risk if it'll cost you your sleep. Taking more risk than your real capacity allows is the number-one cause of selling at the worst moment.
How to read the result
The indicative split you'll see (equities / bonds / cash) is an educational starting point to understand the logic of each profile, not a recommendation of specific products. Your real situation depends on more factors — taxes, other assets, debts, goals on different timelines — than any six-question tool can capture.
This tool is educational and indicative. It does not constitute financial advice or an investment recommendation. Before making decisions, consult a professional who knows your full situation.