Your Perfect Portfolio: The ultimate guide to using the world's most powerful investing strategies

by Cullen Roche

'I can count on one hand the number of people whose views on the economy and portfolio construction I pay attention to. Cullen Roche is one of them.'
—Morgan Housel, Best-selling author, The Psychology of Money


Finding the right investment portfolio is a lot like finding true love – what works for someone else might not work for you. And that’s okay.

It’s not about the 'best' portfolio; it’s about the one that’s best for you.

In Your Perfect Portfolio, renowned financial strategist Cullen Roche draws on two decades of experience building investment firms and advising clients to help you discover the strategy that fits your goals, temperament, and life.

Blending timeless investing wisdom with modern research, Roche outlines ten essential principles of portfolio construction and dissects more than twenty of the world’s most influential investment strategies – from Warren Buffett’s classic approach to the momentum-driven tactics of trend followers, and even innovative frameworks you’ve likely never seen before.

You will learn how

Identify the key principles needed to construct a secure portfolioAssess the strengths of different portfolio-building strategiesImplement these different techniques into your own investing portfolio
Whether you’re a hands-on investor or prefer to keep things simple and automated, Your Perfect Portfolio gives you the tools to build a portfolio that fits you – and achieve financial independence.

Genres: Finance

371 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 6, 2026

About the author

Hi. I'm Cullen. Thanks for your interest in my work. I've written three books, Pragmatic Capitalism, Your Perfect Portfolio and Sleepy Bear's Sleepy Time. The first two are wonky diatribes related to my day job as a financial analyst and the last one is a short children's book that I wrote for my baby daughters.

I hope you enjoy them and don't hesitate to send me a note if you want to get in touch. Thanks and take care!

Reviews

[Braford Manley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good book. Roche is better known for his macroeconomic work, but I enjoyed how he took a "big picture" look at the world of portfolio construction from many different angles.

The book is really two different books. Part 1 is a general overview of essential principles. There's nothing earth shattering in here, but it's a good foundational understanding of why part 2 is constructed the way it is.

Part 2 is a ton of different strategies and styles. Some of them are really basic. Some of them are pretty confusing. But there's something for everyone in here.

What you won't find is some sort of holy grail strategy in here, which I think will disappoint some readers. But if you're looking for very practical and actionable ideas this is a great read. Solid 5/5.

[Tess Buckley]

Good guest on Odd Lots, want to read

[Steve Brock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have selected this book as Stevo's Business Book of the Week for the week of 1/11, as it stands heads above other recently published books on this topic.

[Geof · Rating 5 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed Roche's look at different asset allocations and learned a lot. I especially liked his chapters on the Global Financial Asset Portfolio, Forward Cap, Retirement Bond Tent Strategy, and Defined Duration Strategy.

Unfortunately, Roche's highest performing portfolio yields 11.41% so this is not a get rich quick book. It is a "It is unlikely that you can beat the market. It is unlikely that you can time the market. You can only hedge risk and rebalance" book.

"Cullen Roche on the Art of Building a Perfect Portfolio | Odd Lots"
https://youtu.be/CqKzW75-vio?si=zW8oU...

[Dan Costigan, · Rating 5 out of 5]

An informative and accessible glimpse into the art & science of building portfolios. Cullen does a masterful job of giving you options, explaining the risks and opportunities of each, and offering his own portfolio strategy without force feeding it down your throat (try reading a book on private credit written by a private credit asset manager).

Cullen's defined duration approach has been hiding in plain sight. Institutions have been using it for years to effectively match assets with present and future spending needs. Instead, many focus on access to sexy alternative investments rather than the practical strategies used by large banks and pension funds.

Building portfolios to attempt to outperform benchmarks like the S&P 500 is like eating stuffed crust pizza with extra cheese and four toppings. It feels good in the moment but 9 times out of 10 you'll be on the toilet the next day. Defined Duration investing is like eating a farm-to-table dinner. It tastes good and feels good after.

My only critique: For those uninformed on some of the more technical terms, Sharpe & Sortino ratios for example, a short, playful glossary could have helped.

[Philip J. Statz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Should be called playing with portfolios!

This is just a guy pontificating on the latest and greatest model/approaches. I think it overlaps greatly, if not creates confusion - 2 things that don’t help investor. I didn’t care for his personal investment approach at all. Also, his views/attempts at financial planning are classic investment salesperson stuff. Let alone shows his youth.

[MarkS · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fantastic. It's loaded with data and educational material. I loved that it was actionable unlike most investing books.