Article
Jan 21, 2026
Why You Are Over-Exposed to One Geography (And Probably Don’t Realise It)
If you are an NRI, there’s a very high chance that most of your wealth is tied to just one country — usually the country you live and work in.
And no, this is not because you made an active decision to concentrate your risk.
It happened quietly, by default.
Let’s break this down honestly.
This Is What Your Financial Life Probably Looks Like
If you step back and look at your entire financial picture, not just your investments, here’s what you’ll likely see:
Your salary is earned in one country
Your career risk depends on that country’s economy
Your retirement accounts are invested in that country’s markets
Your tax system exposure is linked to that country
Your primary investments are also in that country
In other words:
Your income, your assets, and your future are all tied to the same geography.
That’s not diversification.
That’s concentration risk.
Why This Happens to Most NRIs
This over-exposure is rarely intentional. It usually happens because of three very human reasons.
Convenience Feels Like Strategy
You invest where:
Your salary lands
Your employer nudges you
The apps are easiest to use
The tax deferral looks attractive
Over time, convenience becomes your “strategy” — even though it was never designed that way.
You Confuse Familiarity With Safety
Living in a country makes it feel stable.
You understand:
The news
The policies
The companies
The currency
So investing there feels safer than investing elsewhere.
But familiarity is not the same as diversification.
3. Your Portfolio Grew Accidentally, Not Intentionally
Most NRI portfolios are not designed.
They are accumulated.
A bit of retirement money here.
Some index funds there.
Maybe real estate.
Some India exposure “for later”.
The result is not a portfolio — it’s a collection of assets pointing in the same direction.
Why Single-Geography Exposure Is Riskier Than You Think
Over-exposure doesn’t mean the country will “collapse”.
It means you have no backup plan if it underperforms.
Here’s what that risk actually looks like.
Economic Cycles Are Country-Specific
No country outperforms forever.
Decades rotate:
Growth slows
Valuations compress
Policy regimes change
Demographics shift
If your entire wealth is tied to one cycle, you ride it up and down — with no offset.
Currency Risk Cuts Both Ways
Many NRIs assume:
“I earn and invest in the same currency, so I’m safe.”
But ask yourself:
Where will you spend this money?
Where will you retire?
Where will your big expenses be?
If future expenses are in a different currency, your portfolio is silently mismatched.
3. Career Risk + Portfolio Risk Become One Risk
This is the most dangerous overlap.
If:
Your job slows down and
Your local markets underperform and
Your currency weakens
Everything gets hit at once.
True diversification separates:
Income risk
Market risk
Currency risk
Most NRI portfolios accidentally combine them.
This Is Not About Leaving Your Resident Country
Let’s be clear.
This is not an argument against investing where you live.
It is an argument against:
Putting almost everything there
Assuming “global index” means “globally diversified”
Ignoring where your future liabilities actually sit
What Thoughtful Diversification Actually Looks Like
Good geographic diversification answers three questions:
1. Where Do I Earn?
That’s already concentrated. You don’t need to add more risk there blindly.
2. Where Will I Spend?
That’s where a meaningful portion of assets should be linked.
3. What If This Country Has a Bad Decade?
Your portfolio should still function if the answer is “yes”.
This usually means:
Multiple geographies
Multiple currencies
Different growth drivers
Different policy regimes
Not more products — better design.
The Hard Truth Most NRIs Miss
You don’t feel over-exposed during good years.
You feel it when something breaks.
By then:
Rebalancing feels scary
Currency moves feel painful
Decisions become emotional
Diversification works best before you think you need it.
Final Takeaway
You are probably not under-invested.
You are over-concentrated.
And concentration risk is invisible until it matters most.
The goal isn’t to predict which country will win next.The goal is to not need to be right.