Balanced core index portfolio with added growth tilt gold hedge and small speculative sleeve

Report created on Jun 4, 2024

Risk profile Info

4/7
Balanced
Less risk More risk

Diversification profile Info

3/5
Moderately Diversified
Less diversification More diversification

Positions

This portfolio is built around a simple core-and-satellite structure. About 60% sits in broad low-cost index funds covering domestic and international stocks, forming a strong diversified foundation. Around 30% goes to “satellites”: a growth-heavy index, a dividend fund, and a targeted cannabis ETF. The remaining 7% is split between gold and bitcoin, adding a hedge and a high-volatility kicker. This structure matters because the core drives stability and market-like behavior, while the satellites shape upside potential and risk spikes. Overall, the mix looks thoughtfully layered: a solid base doing most of the heavy lifting, plus a few sharper tools that can either boost returns or amplify swings depending on market conditions.

Growth Info

Over the recent period, a $1,000 starting value grew to about $1,372, giving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) near 15.5%. CAGR is like average speed on a long road trip, smoothing out bumps to show typical yearly growth. This result is very close to both the US and global market indexes, with tiny over- and under-performance that are practically negligible. The maximum drop from a prior peak was about -17%, slightly shallower than the US market and similar to the global market. That shows the portfolio behaved much like broad markets, which is consistent with the strong indexing core. Past performance is short and cannot predict the future, but the ride so far has been competitive and controlled.

Asset classes Info

  • Stocks
    93%
  • Other
    4%
  • Crypto
    3%

The asset allocation is overwhelmingly in stocks at 93%, with 4% in gold and 3% in bitcoin. That stock-heavy stance is consistent with a growth-oriented approach and will closely track equity market cycles. Stocks historically offer higher long-term returns, but they also drive most of the big ups and downs. Gold plays a small role as a diversifier that often behaves differently during stress, while bitcoin sits firmly in the speculative bucket and can swing dramatically. Compared with typical “balanced” mixes that include bonds, this layout is more aggressive and more dependent on equities doing well. The key implication is that short-term turbulence is part of the deal in exchange for higher long-run growth potential.

Sectors Info

  • Technology
    26%
  • Financials
    11%
  • Health Care
    9%
  • Industrials
    9%
  • Consumer Discretionary
    9%
  • Telecommunications
    8%
  • Consumer Staples
    7%
  • Energy
    5%
  • Basic Materials
    3%
  • Utilities
    2%
  • Real Estate
    2%

This breakdown covers the equity portion of your portfolio only.

Sector exposure is led by technology at 26%, with the rest spread reasonably across financials, health care, industrials, consumer areas, and smaller slices in energy, materials, utilities, and real estate. This tech tilt is higher than broad global benchmarks but not extreme, especially given the presence of a NASDAQ 100 ETF. This matters because tech and related growth industries can be more volatile, especially when interest rates move or investor sentiment shifts quickly. On the plus side, the remaining sectors are well represented, which helps avoid a single-industry portfolio. A good takeaway is that the mix captures modern growth themes while keeping decent balance across the economic cycle, though investors should be comfortable with tech-driven swings.

Regions Info

  • North America
    71%
  • Europe Developed
    8%
  • Japan
    3%
  • Asia Developed
    3%
  • Asia Emerging
    3%
  • Australasia
    1%
  • Africa/Middle East
    1%
  • Latin America
    1%

This breakdown covers the equity portion of your portfolio only.

Geographically, the portfolio is anchored in North America at about 71%, with smaller allocations to Europe, Japan, other developed Asia, and emerging regions. That home-region tilt is very common for US-based investors and has been rewarded in recent years as US markets outperformed. However, it also means results are heavily tied to one region’s economy, political environment, and currency. The smaller slices in other areas add some global diversification that can help if leadership rotates away from North America. Relative to global benchmarks, the non-US exposure is modest but not trivial. This allocation is well-balanced for someone who prefers a US anchor while still wanting a meaningful, if secondary, global growth engine.

Market capitalization Info

  • Large-cap
    34%
  • Mega-cap
    34%
  • Mid-cap
    16%
  • Small-cap
    4%
  • Micro-cap
    1%

This breakdown covers the equity portion of your portfolio only.

The portfolio leans strongly toward mega- and large-cap companies, which together make up around two-thirds of the exposure. Mid-caps are present at 16%, while small- and micro-caps are only a small fraction. Bigger companies tend to be more stable, profitable, and liquid, which can make performance smoother than a small-cap-heavy mix during turbulence. The trade-off is potentially less explosive upside that very small companies sometimes deliver during strong economic expansions. This composition is well-aligned with broad index norms and supports a more predictable pattern of returns. For most long-term investors, having the bulk in established large and mega caps is a solid backbone, with modest smaller-cap exposure adding some extra growth spice.

True holdings Info

  • NVIDIA Corporation
    3.75%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
  • Apple Inc
    3.47%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
  • Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC)
    3.00%
    Part of fund(s):
    • iShares Bitcoin Trust
  • Microsoft Corporation
    2.62%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
  • Amazon.com Inc
    1.90%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
  • Alphabet Inc Class A
    1.62%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
  • Meta Platforms Inc.
    1.39%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
  • Broadcom Inc
    1.37%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
  • Alphabet Inc Class C
    1.35%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
  • Tesla Inc
    1.26%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    • LS 1x Tesla Tracker ETP Securities GBP
    • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
  • Top 10 total 21.73%

This breakdown covers the equity portion of your portfolio only.

Looking through the ETFs, the largest effective exposures are familiar mega-cap names like Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, and Tesla, plus bitcoin via a trust. Several of these appear across multiple funds, particularly the total market and NASDAQ 100 ETFs, which creates hidden concentration even though each position looks diversified on its own. This matters because if those big names stumble together, the impact can be felt across several holdings at once. Coverage is limited to ETF top-10s, so overlap is likely understated. The takeaway: the portfolio is more tied to a small cluster of mega-cap growth leaders than it may appear from the ticker list alone, which helps in tech-led rallies but adds single-theme risk.

Factors Info

Value
Preference for undervalued stocks
Neutral
Data availability: 100%
Size
Exposure to smaller companies
Neutral
Data availability: 100%
Momentum
Exposure to recently outperforming stocks
Neutral
Data availability: 100%
Quality
Preference for financially healthy companies
Neutral
Data availability: 100%
Yield
Preference for dividend-paying stocks
Neutral
Data availability: 100%
Low Volatility
Preference for stable, lower-risk stocks
High
Data availability: 100%

Factor exposure is mostly market-like (neutral) across value, size, momentum, quality, and yield, which means the portfolio generally behaves like a broad index with no strong tilt toward any one style. The standout is a higher exposure to the low volatility factor, which reflects a tilt toward stocks that historically bounce around less than the market. Factor exposure is like seeing which ingredients drive returns; a low-vol tilt often helps during market stress, but can lag when speculative, high-beta names are soaring. Overall, this is a well-balanced factor profile with a slight focus on smoother rides. That lines up nicely with someone wanting equity growth but not the wildest possible swings from high-risk themes.

Risk contribution Info

  • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
    Weight: 40.00%
    41.8%
  • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    Weight: 15.00%
    18.6%
  • Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
    Weight: 20.00%
    17.1%
  • Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
    Weight: 15.00%
    9.9%
  • AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF
    Weight: 3.00%
    6.2%
  • Top 5 risk contribution 93.5%

Risk contribution shows how much each holding drives the portfolio’s overall ups and downs, which can differ from simple weights. The total US market ETF, NASDAQ 100 ETF, and international fund together account for over three quarters of total risk, which is reasonable since they are the biggest slices. However, the cannabis ETF is a standout: at just 3% of capital, it contributes more than 6% of risk, meaning each dollar there is pulling double its weight in volatility. In contrast, the dividend ETF adds less risk than its weight suggests. Rebalancing away from especially high risk/weight positions can help align actual risk exposure with intended conviction levels without necessarily changing the overall strategy.

Redundant positions Info

  • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
    High correlation

Correlation measures how closely two assets move together, on a scale from -1 (opposites) to +1 (identical). The NASDAQ 100 ETF and the total US market fund have a very high correlation around 0.95, meaning they usually rise and fall almost in lockstep. Holding both still adds some nuance—NASDAQ is more growth- and tech-oriented—but diversification benefits between them are limited. This is important because adding more highly correlated positions can feel like diversification but often just layers similar risks on top of each other. When looking for better balance, combining assets that zig when others zag, or at least don’t move in near-unison, tends to create a smoother overall portfolio ride.

Risk vs. return

This chart shows the Efficient Frontier, calculated using your current assets with different allocation combinations. It highlights the best balance between risk and return based on historical data. "Efficient" portfolios maximize returns for a given risk or minimize risk for a given return. Portfolios below the curve are less efficient. This is informational and not a recommendation to buy or sell any assets.

Click on the colored dots to explore allocations.

On the risk–return chart, the current portfolio sits well below the efficient frontier, meaning it is not using its holdings as effectively as possible for the level of risk taken. The Sharpe ratio, which measures return per unit of volatility, is 0.97, while a reweighted version of the same holdings could deliver a Sharpe near 1.93 at similar risk. That’s a big gap. The minimum-variance mix also offers higher expected return with lower risk. In plain terms, simply adjusting the weights—without adding new funds—could significantly improve the trade-off between growth and volatility. This is actually encouraging: the ingredients are strong, and fine-tuning the recipe could unlock more efficient performance.

Dividends Info

  • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF 0.50%
  • Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF 2.60%
  • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares 1.20%
  • Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares 3.00%
  • Weighted yield (per year) 1.54%

The blended dividend yield sits around 1.5%, with the international and dividend-focused ETFs being the main contributors. Yield is simply the cash income from holdings as a percentage of their price, like rent from a property. This level of income is modest but fits well with a growth-tilted, equity-heavy approach. The dividend ETF at roughly 2.6% adds a bit of an income anchor, which may help during flat or choppy markets when price gains are scarce. However, this portfolio is clearly designed more for long-term capital growth than for immediate cash flow. For investors not relying on current income, reinvesting dividends can quietly accelerate compounding over many years.

Ongoing product costs Info

  • SPDR Gold Mini Shares 0.10%
  • iShares Bitcoin Trust 0.12%
  • AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF 0.83%
  • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF 0.15%
  • Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF 0.06%
  • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares 0.03%
  • Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares 0.05%
  • Weighted costs total (per year) 0.09%

The overall cost, measured by total expense ratio (TER), is impressively low at about 0.09%. TER is like an annual service fee taken as a small percentage of assets. Most of the allocation sits in ultra-low-cost index ETFs, especially the core US and international funds, which keeps the fee drag very small. The cannabis ETF carries a higher fee, but it’s a tiny slice of the mix, so it doesn’t move the needle much. Low costs matter a lot because every fraction of a percent saved compounds over time, leaving more growth in your pocket. This cost structure is a real strength and supports better long-term performance relative to higher-fee alternatives.

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