Most investing stories are told through outcomes — returns, CAGR, milestones. But portfolios are not built in outcomes. They are built in phases . This is not a story of extraordinary returns. It’s a story of surviving the most dangerous parts of investing: boredom, delayed feedback, and restraint. And why the phase that looks like “nothing is happening” is often where everything is decided. Phase 1: The Silent Years In the early years, the portfolio followed a disciplined ac