How much of my net worth should be in one stock?
By Adam Kasick | Wealth Advisor | Updated September 2026
There is no percentage that automatically makes a concentrated position right or wrong. I care more about what happens to your life if that position falls significantly and whether the concentration is intentional.
Here's how I'd think about it.
Concentration is not automatically a mistake. It becomes a planning problem when we cannot explain why the position is still the right size, what risk it creates or what would happen to your goals if the asset fell substantially.
Make the risk concrete
If one stock is $4 million of a $5 million net worth, I want to model what changes if that $4 million becomes $3 million, $2 million or $1 million. Then we can decide whether that risk is acceptable.
The goal
The goal is not diversification for its own sake. It is making sure one asset does not accidentally control every other financial decision you want to make.
Here's what I'd want to know about you.
- What percentage of your financial life depends on this asset?
- What is your cost basis and where is the asset held?
- When will you need money from the portfolio?
- What would a major decline change for you?
- What taxes or other constraints would selling create?
I don't want a pie chart to make the decision. I want you to see the tradeoffs clearly enough to make the concentration intentional.
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