How much could you actually use?
Cash savings · €8,000
Check account access and money already assigned to other bills.
Available portion can fund a payment.
Brokerage · €22,000
Market value can fall.
Sale → settlement → withdrawal before spending.
Pension pot · €40,000
Investments can share risks with brokerage holdings.
Retirement access rules restrict withdrawals.
Home · €250,000
Local property value can fall.
Sale takes time and changes your housing.
Net worth · €170,000
All assets less the mortgage, counted once. This total has no direct route to the payment account.
Estimated values, before sale costs and taxes.
What is included in that total?
| Asset | Estimate | Debt | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash savings | €8,000 | None listed | Available subject to the account's terms. |
| Brokerage investments | €22,000 | None listed | Value can change; selling and settlement take time. |
| Invested pension pot | €40,000 | None listed | Held for retirement, with access restrictions. |
| Home and mortgage | €250,000 | €150,000 | Provides housing; selling takes time. |
Financial assets of €70,000 plus home equity (€250,000 − €150,000 = €100,000) give €170,000. Adding full home value and equity would count the equity twice.
Record mortgage payments and terms: substantial equity need not fund the next bill after income loss.
Include assets and debts without forcing home, pension and cash into one target allocation. Keep the liquid investments you can rebalance distinct from this wider household review.
A pension pot differs from an income promise.
An invested pot holds assets: include their exposures with brokerage holdings. An income entitlement has eligibility and payment rules: record expected income, start date and uncertainty. Neither is freely available cash; restrictions do not remove a pot’s investment risk.
Pension types and double counting
An invested defined contribution pot can rise or fall. Its global share fund may own many of the same companies as your brokerage fund.
A defined benefit pension generally provides income under scheme rules, often related to pay and service. State pensions also have eligibility and payment rules. Protections vary by country and scheme; expected payments can be uncertain.
Count a pot and its possible future withdrawals once: they are the same funding at different stages.
Two brokers can hold the same market risk.
Splitting one fund between brokers leaves its company and market exposure largely unchanged. Another account may help during an outage; it cannot prevent a market fall.
Which provider dependency changes?
Check legal entities, custody and applicable protection rules. Two account names need not mean independent institutions.
US SIPC protection concerns eligible customer assets at a troubled member brokerage, not declining investment values. It is no worldwide guarantee; other jurisdictions have different arrangements.
Additional providers add records, transfers and access details. Identify the specific dependency they would address before adding that work.
Revisit household risks after a new job, move, house purchase or large stock award. Material changes can alter concentration and cash needs; weekly home valuations are unnecessary.
Write a dated exposure note
On 22 October 2026, Fund A is worth €6,000 and holds 5% in Company X. Fund B is worth €3,000 and holds 30% in X. Direct X shares are worth €1,000. All other holdings contain no X. The household also earns its salary from X. These hypothetical figures are nominal euros, with no borrowing or derivatives; ignore costs and taxes.
Trace X through all three holdings, calculate its share of the €10,000 portfolio and the loss if X falls 50% while every other holding stays unchanged. Record income interruption separately, with the budget information needed to quantify it.
Compare the converging exposure and household dependency
X falls 50% → €1,100 loss → 11% of the €10,000 portfolio
Company X → household salary
Possible income interruption → lower contributions / harder spending
Amount and duration unknown; not included in the 11% investment loss.
X exposure is €300 + €900 + €1,000 = €2,200, or 22% of €10,000. Halving X loses €1,100: 11% of the starting portfolio, leaving €8,900 in this isolated scenario.
Lost salary is additional to that 11%, not a second investment weight. Its size is unknown. Obtain monthly take-home income, essential spending, possible replacement income, interruption duration and the reserve’s existing commitments to test contributions and spending. Do not invent the missing salary amount.
Check the dated holdings and denominator, keep the qualitative income branch separate and state what dependency another fund would change. A second broker does not reduce X exposure; overlap alone does not dictate a sale.
This note defines the market exposure you actually have. Next, use that definition when comparing a return with an index or a performance story.