I think there's a lot to be said for the invest and forget simplicity of trackers, especially as we mature and more important considerations than managing money come to the fore. I am aiming to be an invest and hold (rather than forget) not a tinkerer so I generally go with larger funds with proven track records - not without risk of course. I avoid any fund sub £500 million and prefer £1 billion+ on the basis that such funds have earned a market 'vote of confidence', not a fool proof approach (Wasn't Woodfords Fund around £10 billion?)
Asset allocation is art not science. 60% of my portfolio is actively managed, so 40% is in passive trackers. The approach I took, set out below, is personal to my circumstances and my own views/prejudices and risk appetite. The active funds reflect the interest I take in investing. I don't want an entirely formula approach and prefer to take some 'measured' risks for the fun and hoped for higher return.
Most of my portfolio is in a taxable investment account
which is where I hold my trackers (along with Fundsmith and Jupiter India Fund), all are Acc class shares equally allocated to the S&P500, Japan, the FTSE100, Jupiter India and Fundsmith. It was my choice to be underweight to the USA as my portfolio is only 1 year old (created at retirement) and I accepted the view that the USA is expensive and overly concentrated on the magnificent 7 (debatable if either of these are issues or not). I wanted to be overweight in Japan ( the tide is turning big time?) and India (now larger than the UK economy and will soon overtake Germany and Japan and has massive potential to grow over the next decade but comes with political and currency risk). Perhaps, when I made these choices I swallowed all the guff and received wisdom of press commentators.
My ISA holds actively managed funds, mainly with an income focus (which I plan to reinvest for the next 5 years or so). My largest holding is Greencoat UK Wind (I love its business model and high yield), with the rest equally allocated to Alliance Trust, Merchants Trust and a Royal London Sterling Extra Yield Fund. I plan to add one more high yielding fund to these in the next ISA subscription round and then leave the ISA at 5 funds.
On Fundsmith - I have held this since 2011 as my single quite modest ISA (it enabled me to buy a Mercedes C Class many years ago so I divested much of it as I am a spender not a saver!), its performed amazingly but gone off the boil over the last 3 years. But Terry Smiths approach is sound as a pound - invest in good companies based on fundamentals. The rise of the magnificent seven have put it in the shade, but will this last? (witness Tesla and the irrational exuberance of who will be the AI winners and losers in the long run?). As I gradually mitigate from my trackers to my ISA, Fundsmith will be my 'last man standing' in the investment account. That's my plan.
I am not anticipating much portfolio change, other than taking advantage of tax-driven bed and ISA subscriptions to move between accounts.