Two index funds one decent plan and an almost total lack of anything interesting
Report created on May 12, 2026Risk profile
4/7
Diversification profile
4/5
Positions
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VT Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
VTI - US9229087690 50.00% -
VX Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
VXUS - US9219097683 50.00%
This portfolio is the investing equivalent of jeans and a plain T‑shirt: 50% total US stock market and 50% total international, all in ETFs. No satellites, no “spice,” just two giant index blobs glued together and left on buy‑and‑hold autopilot. It’s so simple that calling it a “strategy” feels generous; it’s more like refusing to make decisions. The upside is there’s nothing weird hiding here: no secret leverage, no meme bets, no mystery products. The downside is the portfolio is basically indistinguishable from “own the world and go home,” which is fine, but also about as customized as a fast‑food burger.
Growth
Historically, the portfolio turned $1,000 into $3,313, which is very respectable… until it stands next to the US market’s $1,000 turning into way more with a 15.39% CAGR. Here you’re at 12.77%, barely matching the global market and clearly lagging the US. CAGR (compound annual growth rate) is just the “average speed” of the trip, and this portfolio cruised in the middle lane instead of using the fast lane it had access to. Max drawdown was about ‑34%, basically as painful as the benchmarks, so you took the gut‑punch of crashes without getting paid extra for the bruises. Past data helps, but like yesterday’s weather, it’s not a script for tomorrow.
Projection
The Monte Carlo projection says the future is… shrug emoji. Monte Carlo is just a fancy way of running thousands of “what if” return paths to see a range of possible outcomes. Median result: $1,000 grows to about $2,699 in 15 years, with a wide band from “barely above water” to “high‑five worthy.” The average simulated return lands around 7.95% per year, toning down the historical sugar high to something more sober. Translation: the model expects positive outcomes more often than not, but nothing magical. The good news is the simulations don’t scream “disaster”; the bad news is they don’t scream “genius” either. It’s a very ok future.
Asset classes
- Stocks 100%
Asset class breakdown? That part’s easy: 100% stocks, 0% everything else. This portfolio saw the concept of bonds and cash and decided, “Nah, vibes only.” For something labeled “Balanced,” it’s about as balanced as a one‑legged barstool. Being all‑equity means full exposure to market tantrums with no built‑in shock absorbers; when stocks fall, everything here falls together. All‑stock portfolios can work over long stretches, but the ride can be violent. This is not a mix; it’s a bet that the global stock market will eventually bail out all volatility sins, and that nothing else deserves a seat at the table.
Sectors
- Technology 24%
- Financials 17%
- Industrials 13%
- Consumer Discretionary 9%
- Health Care 9%
- Telecommunications 7%
- Consumer Staples 5%
- Basic Materials 5%
- Energy 5%
- Utilities 3%
- Real Estate 3%
Under the hood, the sector split is “index‑normal with a side of tech worship.” Technology at 24% leads the pack, with financials, industrials, and a scattering of everything else behind it. You’re not in some insane single‑sector cult, but tech is definitely the loudest voice in the room. That’s the catch with broad indexes: they quietly overweight whatever’s currently fashionable, so you get trendy exposure without consciously choosing it. If tech ever goes from golden child to problem child, a quarter of this portfolio will feel it. This sector mix is vanilla by design, but vanilla still melts when the heat turns up in the dominant sector.
Regions
- North America 54%
- Europe Developed 18%
- Japan 8%
- Asia Developed 7%
- Asia Emerging 7%
- Australasia 2%
- Africa/Middle East 2%
- Latin America 1%
Geographically, this thing is actually weirdly grown‑up. About 54% sits in North America, with the rest spread across Europe, Japan, other developed Asia, and a smattering of emerging regions. For a US‑based portfolio, that’s almost shockingly reasonable global exposure; someone either read a book or tripped into the right ETFs. It’s not “America or bust,” it’s more “America plus everyone else who has a stock exchange.” The flip side: you’re tied to the fate of the entire world economy, good and bad, instead of doubling down on the recent US dominance. When the world ex‑US lags (as it has), that global virtue shows up as performance drag.
Market capitalization
- Mega-cap 43%
- Large-cap 31%
- Mid-cap 18%
- Small-cap 5%
- Micro-cap 1%
Market cap exposure is exactly what you’d expect from cap‑weighted indexes: 43% mega‑cap, 31% large‑cap, and a slow fade into mid, small, and a token 1% micro. It’s like claiming to love “all music” but only going to stadium tours; the little bands are technically invited but mostly ignored. This tilt means the portfolio’s personality is driven by giant, established companies while the tiny high‑variance names barely move the needle. The benefit is fewer “exploded small‑cap” horror stories dominating returns. The downside is that any dream of meaningful small‑cap spice is more marketing brochure than reality. Big, boring giants run this show.
True holdings
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NV NVIDIA Corporation 3.20%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
AA Apple Inc 2.96%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
MS Microsoft Corporation 2.19%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
23 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. 1.73%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
-
AM Amazon.com Inc 1.60%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class A 1.33%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
AV Broadcom Inc 1.17%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class C 1.06%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
ME Meta Platforms Inc. 1.00%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
TS Tesla Inc 0.83%
Part of fund(s):- LS 1x Tesla Tracker ETP Securities GBP
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
- Top 10 total 17.05%
The look‑through holdings scream “Mega‑Cap Tech Fan Club,” even though you never picked those stocks directly. NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, TSMC, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Tesla — it’s a who’s who of market darlings hiding inside both funds. Overlap is understated because we only see ETF top‑10s, but it’s already clear the same names are repeating like a playlist on loop. This is the catch with “total market” funds: they sound diversified, but the top of the pyramid is the same crowd over and over. So while you own thousands of stocks on paper, your fate is heavily tied to this handful of giants doing the heavy lifting.
Factors
Factor profile is surprisingly chill. Most factors sit near neutral: value, size, momentum, quality, yield — nothing extreme, nothing screaming “secret tilt.” The only mild standout is higher low‑volatility exposure at 62%, which means you lean a bit toward the “less dramatic” stocks. Factor exposure is basically the ingredient label telling you why the portfolio behaves the way it does. Here, the label says “pretty much like the market, just slightly smoothed.” It’s almost suspiciously reasonable: no wild momentum chase, no desperate value grab, just broad market behavior with a small nod toward not getting tossed around quite as violently when markets freak out.
Risk contribution
-
Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
Weight: 50.00% 51.8% -
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
Weight: 50.00% 48.2%
Risk contribution is almost comically symmetrical: each ETF is 50% weight and roughly 50% of the risk. No surprise villains here — no 3% holding secretly driving 20% of volatility. Risk contribution just shows which positions are actually responsible for the portfolio’s ups and downs, and in this case, both funds are taking equal blame. It’s as if the portfolio designer refused to pick a side in the “US vs. rest of world” debate and just shrugged their way to a perfect 50/50. Stable? Yes. Inspired? Not really. But credit where it’s due: at least nothing tiny is punching above its weight in a stupid way.
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.
The efficient frontier result is almost annoyingly flattering: your current mix sits right on or very near the frontier, with a Sharpe ratio of 0.55. The math says that, given these two funds, you’re extracting roughly as much return as you can for the risk you’re taking. The optimal portfolio on the chart nudges Sharpe to 0.81 with slightly higher risk, and the minimum‑variance version trims volatility with a still‑decent Sharpe of 0.66. But the key point: this portfolio isn’t leaving big, obvious risk‑return gains on the table just from bad weighting. It may be boring, but it’s efficiently boring, which is the least roastable part of the whole thing.
Dividends
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares 1.00%
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares 2.70%
- Weighted yield (per year) 1.85%
Dividend yield at 1.85% is very “I exist, but please don’t rely on me.” The US chunk drips out about 1%, while the international side is more generous at 2.7%, pulling the average up. This is not a cash‑flow machine; it’s more of a “total return first, income second” setup. Dividends here are like the free peanuts on a flight — nice to have, not the reason you booked the ticket. If someone expected this portfolio to pay the bills, that expectation is doing a lot more work than the yield is. The real engine is price movement, not payouts.
Ongoing product costs
- 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) 0.04%
Total cost of 0.04% per year is basically theft in your favor. These fees are so low it’s hard to complain, but let’s try: you’ve managed to pick two of the cheapest broad funds on earth and then done absolutely nothing creative with them. Expense ratio (TER) is just the annual cut the fund takes, and here it’s pocket lint. You’re getting institutional‑level pricing on a “basic index 101” setup. Fees aren’t what will hold this portfolio back; any underperformance will be 100% a design choice, not a cost problem. You clicked the right ETFs, even if you stopped thinking immediately afterward.
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