In the realm of investing, a couple of universal principles stand out – understand the interplay between risk and reward, and recognise the need for diversification.

Harry Markowitz, the pioneer of diversification, passed away earlier this year at the age of 95. His modern portfolio theory was grounded in the basic relationship between risk and reward. He showed that the risk in any portfolio is less dependent on the riskiness of its component securities and other assets than how they relate to one another.