Method · 2026-07-08 · 7 min
What an investment policy statement is for
An IPS is not a compliance artefact. It is the document that makes a wealth system explainable — to a principal, a board, a spouse, a successor, and a future self who will not remember why a decision was made.
Without a policy, every market move becomes a personality test. With a policy that is too rigid, the world is not allowed to change. The useful IPS is a decision frame: objectives, constraints, ranges, liquidity rules, what would cause a review, and who decides.
It should be short enough to be read. It should name what is known, what is assumed, and what is out of scope. It should be dated.
Not investment advice. Illustrative structures are not performance.