The market’s way of whispering, “Sorry… your averages matter less.”
You spend years building a retirement portfolio.
You watch the averages.
You think you’re ready.
And then—𝘽𝘼𝙈—a crash hits right as you enter retirement.
Now you’re staring at a portfolio that just got punched in the face.
You’re not withdrawing gains—you’re selling losses.
Not because you want to. Because you have to.
For cash. For life.
That’s Sequence of Returns Risk (SORR) at its worst.
It’s not just about how much you earn—
It’s about when you earn it.
The average return you planned for?
Irrelevant.
What happened when matters more than what happened.
So what do you do?
You build buffers.
You build flexibility.
You build systems that don’t break when the market throws a tantrum.
Because retirement isn’t linear.
It’s not a straight path—it’s a winding road.
With shocks. With turns. With potholes.
Whether your version of freedom comes at 35, 55, or 70—
You need a glide path.
A portfolio that doesn’t crumble during the handoff from saving to spending.
Because the real question isn’t:
“What do I earn?”
It’s:
“Can I buy time when the market takes it away?”
Plan for SORR.
Because your peace doesn’t come from average returns—
It comes from resilient systems that bend without breaking.
Anu Rames, Founder & Managing Principal of SIP, is an investment professional trusted by both institutions and individuals navigating the question “What’s enough – and what’s next?”
With nearly two decades of investing experience at global firms like BNP Paribas Asset Management, Liberty Mutual Investments, Boston Trust Walden etc., Anu brings institutional rigor to human-centered outcomes. At Liberty Mutual, she served on the 401(k) Investment Committee, stewarding retirement assets for 72,000+ participants.
Anu holds an MBA from Babson College and an engineering degree from Calicut University.
Whether you’re building a platform, a portfolio, or a second act – Anu can help you launch with clarity and conviction.