John - Turning inheritance into retirement income

In 12 months, John's €400,000 grew to €516,000, a gain of €116,000 (+29%). His portfolio is now structured for long-term stability, positioned to sustain him through retirement and generate continuous income.

John, a UK expat in Germany, inherited €400,000. Retirement wasn't far off, and his priority was clear: make this capital sustain him for the long run and generate passive income. Tax optimization on the inheritance itself wasn't the main concern. The question was: how do you deploy a large lump sum smartly when you can't afford to get it wrong?

The market was down, so we invested the full €400k into stocks, taking advantage of the low entry point. Once the market recovered, we rebalanced into a more conservative 50:50 portfolio (stocks/bonds) to lock in gains and reduce volatility for his retirement timeline. This gives him growth potential while protecting against large drawdowns.