Building wealth and managing wealth are two very different challenges. While equities can play a powerful role in creating long-term wealth, retirement often requires a shift in focus from accumulation to preservation, income generation, and portfolio simplicity.Many retirees who have spent decades investing in stocks and mutual funds find themselves holding large and complex portfolios. The challenge then becomes how to streamline investments, manage taxes efficiently, and create a sustainable withdrawal strategy without compromising long-term financial security.Also Read |Sensex down over 10K points from Dec peak. Should investors buy the dip, hold positions, or wait on sidelines? One such query came from Hari, a 66-year-old retired investor and viewer of The Money Show on ETNow, who has been investing for nearly 30 years. Equity mutual funds and stock investments helped him meet major financial goals, including his daughter's education and marriage. Now retired, he and his wife are looking to reorganise their portfolio, which includes around 100 stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, and ongoing SIPs of approximately Rs 60,000 a month.According to expert Anand Rathi, Co-Founder, Mira Money, the equities have played a crucial role in Hari's wealth-creation journey and congratulated him for successfully using the asset class to achieve his financial goals. However, retirement requires a different approach.According to the expert, continuing SIPs while simultaneously planning withdrawals from other investments may not be the most efficient strategy."Instead of investing through SIPs and then withdrawing money from other assets, it may be more sensible to redirect those investments towards debt-oriented instruments that can support future withdrawals," he said.The recommendation was to gradually move the amount currently being invested through SIPs into suitable debt investments. These funds can then form part of a structured withdrawal strategy over the coming months and years.For investors in the wealth accumulation phase, SIPs remain one of the most effective tools for long-term investing. But retirement changes the equation. At this stage, the objective shifts from building a corpus to generating sustainable cash flows while managing risk.Given Hari's sizeable corpus and retirement status, the expert suggested reconsidering the continuation of SIPs.His view was that continuing SIPs while planning to draw money from other parts of the portfolio creates an unnecessary cycle of investing and withdrawing simultaneously. Instead, retirees may benefit from aligning investments with future income requirements and maintaining adequate allocations to relatively stable debt instruments.Also Read | Private sector banks are the best contrarian bet for the next 3 years, says S NarenManaging a portfolio of 100 stocksOne of the biggest concerns highlighted by the expert was the size of Hari's direct equity portfolio.Managing nearly 100 stocks can be challenging even for experienced investors, particularly during retirement when monitoring multiple businesses, earnings cycles, and market developments becomes increasingly demanding. The expert believes portfolio simplification should be a key priority. "I think at this age and stage, managing 100 stocks is going to be difficult," he said. Rather than attempting to exit everything immediately, he suggested a gradual transition over a period of about three years.According to the expert, the first step should be identifying the highest-quality companies within the portfolio. These could form the core long-term holdings that the investor retains.The expert suggested an approach like reviewing the entire portfolio of approximately 100 stocks, identifying around 15 high-quality businesses with strong fundamentals, retaining these core holdings for the long term, gradually exiting the remaining stocks over a three-year period and selling roughly 25 stocks each year to avoid making abrupt portfolio changes.By the end of the exercise, the portfolio would ideally contain only 15 to 20 carefully selected stocks that are easier to monitor and manage.Hari's concern about staying within the long-term capital gains (LTCG) exemption threshold is common among retirees with large equity portfolios.The expert suggested using the three-year transition period to gradually reduce holdings while keeping tax implications in mind. A phased approach allows investors to spread gains over multiple financial years rather than triggering significant tax liabilities through large-scale exits in a single year. The expert's final recommendation was clear: focus on quality rather than quantity. Retirement portfolios do not necessarily need dozens of stocks to generate returns. Instead, a concentrated portfolio of strong businesses, complemented by mutual funds and appropriate debt allocations, can make portfolio management significantly easier."High-grade, high-quality stocks are what he should probably continue holding for the longer term," the expert said.Also Read | Four mutual funds restrict large inflows into gold ETFs and FoFs; Rs 25 crore cap imposed For retirees, the goal is no longer to maximise returns at any cost. Instead, it is to ensure financial stability, simplify decision-making, and create a sustainable withdrawal strategy.For investors like Hari, that may mean gradually reducing a large stock portfolio, reassessing the need for ongoing SIPs, increasing allocations to debt for future income needs, and focusing on a smaller basket of high-quality equity holdings.After spending decades building wealth, retirement may be the right time to make investing simpler rather than more complicated.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)If you have any mutual fund queries, message on ET Mutual Funds on Facebook/Twitter. We will get it answered by our panel of experts. Do share your questions on ETMFqueries@timesinternet.in along with your age, risk profile, and Twitter handle.