![\"Man](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/7a586141e2724c6d973a4ba5e01ef317.jpeg\")
Image source: Getty Images <\/p>\n Image source: Getty Images <\/p>\n
Like many people in the UK, I own shares within an ISA and SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension). Historically, investing in equities via these accounts has been an effective way to build wealth.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, I still like shares as an asset class, but I do see a few risks to the market. With that in mind, here\u2019s how I\u2019m positioning my portfolio.<\/p>\n
There are two main risks I see right now. The first is a near-term economic slowdown due to elevated oil prices. The second is a significant drop in consumer spending due to AI-related layoffs. Of the two, this one concerns me the most.<\/p>\n
Now, neither of these scenarios may come to fruition. But I want to be prepared just in case. After all, this is my retirement money we\u2019re talking about. I don\u2019t want to see it disappear (bear in mind I\u2019m in my mid-40s).<\/p>\n
Given these risks, I\u2019ve made a few recent changes to my asset allocation. Firstly, I\u2019ve dialed down my equity exposure a bit \u2013 overall my portfolio is now about 70% shares.<\/p>\n
Second, I\u2019ve increased my bond holdings so that they\u2019re now about 10% of my portfolio. These are lower risk investments and they could do well if interest rates fall as I expect them to (bond prices rise when rates fall).<\/p>\n
Third, I\u2019ve boosted my money market\/cash holdings to 20% of my portfolio. This lowers my overall risk and gives me options if stock market opportunities emerge.<\/p>\n
Zooming in on my shares allocation, this encompasses index funds, active funds, thematic funds, and individual stocks. In terms of individual stocks, I\u2019m still heavy in five of the Mag 7 companies \u2013 Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Nvidia. These are all long-term holds for me.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been trimming\/selling a few other tech names though. I\u2019ve done this mainly to reduce risk. One area of the market I\u2019m trying to minimise exposure to is discretionary consumer spending (given the AI risk). There are some good names in this space, but I want to keep my exposure to a minimum.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, I plan to refine my stock portfolio further. I\u2019m thinking of focusing it on two main areas:<\/p>\n
The AI\/tech buildout: chips, data centres, power.<\/p>\n
Defensive businesses: Food, healthcare, defence.<\/p>\n
This would basically be a play on further digitalisation. In theory, the AI stocks should do well as the world becomes more digital while the defensive shares should provide protection from a consumer slowdown.<\/p>\n
One company I\u2019m considering adding to my portfolio as a defensive play is Tesco (LSE: TSCO). No matter what happens in the economy people are always going to need food.<\/p>\n
If the economy or consumer spending takes a turn for the worse, Tesco shares should hold up better than a lot of other stocks. The company could even see a higher valuation in the years ahead due to the fact that it looks immune to AI \u2013 this is very much a \u2018HALO\u2019 stock \u2013 heavy assets, low (chance of) obsolescence.<\/p>\n
Of course, if the economy tanks, consumers may ditch Tesco and flock to Aldi and Lidl. This is a risk. Overall though, I see it as a safer pick, despite the fact it\u2019s trading at an above-average valuation. A dividend yield of 3% adds weight to the investment case.<\/p>\n
The post Amid geopolitical and AI risks, here\u2019s how I\u2019m positioning my ISA and SIPP in 2026<\/a> appeared first on The Motley Fool UK<\/a>.<\/p>\n More reading<\/p>\n Edward Sheldon has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesco Plc. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.<\/a><\/p>\n Motley Fool UK 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Image source: Getty Images Like many people in the UK, I own shares within an ISA and SIPP…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3444,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[24,25,3414,3413,3416,3417,3415],"class_list":{"0":"post-3443","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ai","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-asset-allocation","11":"tag-consumer-spending","12":"tag-my-portfolio","13":"tag-risks","14":"tag-sipp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3443\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}