Earlier this year, I had to leave the UAE and return to Europe much sooner than planned. My wife and I had a newborn baby, and a crisis situation made it clear that our priority was getting the family somewhere safe. In moments like that, you do not think about portfolio returns or market timing. You think about what matters most.
But once the dust settled, I found myself reflecting on something I had been building toward for years: a portfolio and financial setup that could handle exactly this kind of disruption. That is what diversification really means. Not just owning different stocks, but structuring your entire financial life so that no single event can take everything away from you.
Why Diversification Matters More Than Ever
Most people think diversification means owning a few different stocks or maybe mixing in an ETF alongside individual positions. That is a good start, but it barely scratches the surface. True diversification goes much deeper than asset allocation within a single brokerage account.
When I think about diversification now, I think about it across four dimensions: asset classes, currencies, countries, and institutions. Each one protects against a different kind of risk. Owning stocks in multiple sectors does not help if your entire net worth is denominated in a single currency that suddenly weakens. Having money in four different asset classes does not help if they are all held at one bank that freezes your account.
The crisis I went through reinforced all of this. It was not theoretical anymore. Having assets in multiple countries and access to different bank accounts in different jurisdictions gave me options when I needed them most.
How I Spread My Net Worth
My Diversification Breakdown
Here is how I currently think about spreading my net worth across different asset classes. I hold individual stocks, primarily US and UAE listed companies. I have ETFs that give me broad market exposure. I hold some crypto, mainly Bitcoin and Ethereum. I own real estate in two different countries. I have money in P2P lending platforms like Bondora Go & Grow for alternative income. And I keep a meaningful cash reserve across four different bank accounts.
On the currency side, my income and assets are split between US dollars and euros. This is not an accident. If the dollar weakens significantly, my euro-denominated assets hold their value, and vice versa. On the country side, I have financial ties to both the UAE and Lithuania, which means I am not entirely dependent on the economic or political stability of any single jurisdiction.
The bank diversification part might sound excessive, but I use four different banks. If one has an issue, whether that is a technical outage, a compliance freeze, or something worse, I still have access to my money through the others. It costs me nothing extra to maintain these accounts, and the peace of mind is worth it.
Cash as Optionality
One of the most underrated parts of my portfolio is the cash allocation. I know that holding cash feels unproductive, especially when markets are going up and inflation is eating into its value. But cash is not just money sitting idle. It is optionality.
When markets dip, the people who benefit the most are those who actually have money available to deploy. If you are fully invested at all times, you are just along for the ride. You cannot take advantage of fear-driven sell-offs or buy high-quality assets at a discount.
This month, I deployed the most cash I have ever put into the stock market in a single period. That was only possible because I had been building up reserves over the previous months. The market gave me an opportunity, and I had the ammunition to act on it. That would not have happened if I had been 100% invested. If you want to see exactly what happened, I covered the full story in my article about losing $52,000 in one week.
Real Estate Across Borders
Real estate has been my best-performing asset class so far, and I own property in two countries. In the UAE, I have two apartments that generate rental income and have appreciated significantly in value. In Lithuania, I have property that provides a foothold in the European market.
The key benefit of holding real estate in different countries is that the markets move independently. Dubai property values are driven by different forces than Lithuanian property values. They respond to different economic conditions, different interest rate environments, and different supply and demand dynamics. When one market cools, the other might still be performing well.
Real estate also gives you something that stocks and ETFs do not: a physical asset that you can live in or rent out regardless of what financial markets are doing. During times of uncertainty, that tangibility provides genuine comfort.
Why I Am Bullish on AI Long-Term
Despite the short-term market volatility, I remain very bullish on AI and the broader compute theme over the long term. This conviction is largely inspired by a concept from Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, who frames it simply: compute equals GDP. The idea is that as computing power grows, economic output grows with it. AI is the current accelerator of that equation.
This is also why I sold my ETFs and moved into individual stocks that benefit from this trend. What gives me confidence is not just the theory. It is the actual spending. The major hyperscalers, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, are collectively deploying hundreds of billions of dollars into AI infrastructure. These are not speculative startups making promises. These are the most profitable companies in the world making massive capital commitments because they see the demand firsthand.
When companies of that scale are spending at that level, it tells you something about where the world is heading. I want to be positioned on the right side of that trend, which is why I continue to hold and add to positions that benefit from the growth in AI infrastructure and compute demand.
Three UAE Stocks I Bought During the Dip
When the market pulled back, I took the opportunity to add three new positions on the UAE stock exchange. All three are established companies with strong dividend yields, which fits my approach of focusing on growing income rather than chasing percentage returns.
The first is Emaar Properties, the company behind some of Dubai's most iconic developments including the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall. Emaar is one of the largest property developers in the region, and at the price I bought it, the stock offers a dividend yield of around 7%. For a company with that kind of asset base and track record, I found that very attractive.
The second is e&, formerly known as Etisalat, the largest telecommunications company in the UAE. Telecoms tend to be stable, cash-generating businesses with predictable revenue streams. e& offers a dividend yield of approximately 4.5%, and I see it as a dependable income producer in my portfolio.
The third is First Abu Dhabi Bank, commonly referred to as FAB. It is the largest bank in the UAE by assets and one of the most significant financial institutions in the Middle East. FAB also offers a dividend yield in the range of 4.5%. Banking in the UAE benefits from the country's strong economic position and growing role as a global financial hub.
All three of these positions align with my broader strategy: buy quality companies during pullbacks, collect meaningful dividends, and focus on growing total income over time. I care less about whether a stock returns 15% or 20% in a given year and more about whether my overall income from investments keeps increasing. You can see my full holdings and how these fit in my February 2026 portfolio update.
Key Takeaways
- Diversification goes beyond stocks: think asset classes, currencies, countries, and institutions
- Holding cash is not a waste. It gives you optionality when markets dip
- Real estate in multiple countries provides uncorrelated returns and tangible security
- Using multiple bank accounts and brokerages protects against single points of failure
- Buy quality during pullbacks and focus on growing income, not chasing returns
The Bottom Line
A crisis does not give you new ideas. It shows you whether the ideas you already had were good ones. In my case, spreading my assets across multiple countries, currencies, banks, and asset classes was not just a theoretical exercise. It was a structure that actually worked when things got difficult.
If you only take one thing from this, let it be this: diversification is not just about your stock portfolio. Think about your currencies, your geography, your institutions, and your cash reserves. Build a financial life that no single event can break. And when the market gives you a dip, make sure you have the cash to take advantage of it.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. When investing, your capital is at risk. You may get back less than you invested. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
