Global stock portfolio mixing strong US focus with simple two fund structure and low ongoing costs
Report created on Jun 3, 2026Risk profile
4/7
Diversification profile
3/5
Positions
-
VO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
VOO - US9229083632 70.00% -
VX Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
VXUS - US9219097683 30.00%
This portfolio is extremely simple: two broad stock ETFs, with about 70% in a US large‑cap index and 30% in a total international stock ETF. That means every dollar is in publicly traded companies, with no bonds or cash in the mix. A structure like this is easy to understand and track because each fund covers a big slice of the market rather than narrow themes. The 70/30 split gives a clear tilt toward the US while still keeping a meaningful chunk overseas. In practice, this layout behaves like a single global equity portfolio where the US drives most of the ride and international markets add some diversification.
Growth
From mid‑2016 to mid‑2026, $1,000 in this mix grew to about $3,744, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.16%. CAGR is basically the “average yearly speed” of growth over the whole period. That’s slightly behind the US market benchmark, which did 15.49%, but ahead of the global market at 12.80%. The max drawdown, or worst peak‑to‑trough fall, was about ‑34%, very similar to both benchmarks. Only 35 days made up 90% of returns, showing that a small number of very strong days drove a lot of the outcome, which underlines how hard timing in or out would have been.
Projection
The forward projection uses Monte Carlo simulation, which is like running the portfolio’s history through a “what if” machine 1,000 times with small variations. It assumes patterns from the past might repeat in different combinations and gives a range of possible 15‑year outcomes. The median result turns $1,000 into about $2,719, with most simulations landing between roughly $1,799 and $4,129. There’s also a wide “tail” from about $971 to $7,497. The average annual return across simulations is 8.01%, lower than the historical 14% because the model builds in uncertainty. These numbers aren’t predictions, just illustrations of the range of paths an all‑equity mix like this could experience.
Asset classes
- Stocks 100%
All of this portfolio is in stocks, with 0% allocated to bonds, real estate funds, or cash. Equities tend to offer higher long‑term growth potential but also larger swings in value, especially during market stress. Because there’s only one asset class, diversification is happening inside equities rather than across different types of assets. Compared with a multi‑asset mix, this structure typically has higher volatility but more upside when markets are strong. The “balanced” label here refers to the internal spread across regions and sectors, not a stock‑bond balance. For someone expecting bond‑like cushioning, it’s helpful to recognize that this portfolio’s risk and return are driven almost entirely by global stock market behavior.
Sectors
- Technology 30%
- Financials 15%
- Industrials 11%
- Consumer Discretionary 10%
- Telecommunications 9%
- Health Care 8%
- Consumer Staples 5%
- Energy 4%
- Basic Materials 4%
- Utilities 3%
- Real Estate 2%
Sector exposure is fairly broad, with technology at about 30% and the rest spread across financials, industrials, consumer areas, telecoms, health care, and more cyclical groups like energy and materials. This looks quite similar to major global equity benchmarks, where tech is also the largest slice. A tech‑heavy share can boost growth when innovation and digital businesses are leading, but it can add volatility when interest rates rise or sentiment turns against growth companies. The presence of financials, industrials, and consumer sectors in meaningful sizes helps balance this, so returns are not tied to any single industry story. Overall, the sector mix is well‑aligned with broad market standards, which supports diversification.
Regions
- North America 72%
- Europe Developed 11%
- Asia Developed 5%
- Japan 5%
- Asia Emerging 4%
- Australasia 1%
- Africa/Middle East 1%
- Latin America 1%
Geographically, about 72% of the portfolio sits in North America, with the rest spread across developed Europe, Japan, other developed Asia, and smaller slices of emerging regions like Asia, Latin America, and Africa/Middle East. That US‑led bias is common in many portfolios and has helped over the last decade as US markets outperformed. At the same time, it means portfolio results remain heavily linked to one economy and currency. International holdings introduce exposure to different economic cycles, political systems, and local trends, which can help when leadership rotates away from the US. Relative to a purely global market‑cap index, this mix is slightly more US‑tilted but still has a meaningful global footprint.
Market capitalization
- Mega-cap 46%
- Large-cap 33%
- Mid-cap 18%
- Small-cap 2%
By market capitalization, nearly half the portfolio is in mega‑cap companies, about a third in large caps, and the rest in mid and small caps. Market cap just measures company size on the stock market. This profile is very close to a typical broad equity index: big global names dominate, but there is still some exposure to the middle and lower end of the size spectrum. Large and mega caps tend to be more stable and widely researched, which can mean less extreme moves than very small companies, though they can still be volatile in downturns. The modest 2% small‑cap share limits the influence of the most volatile size bucket while still including it.
True holdings
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NV NVIDIA Corporation 5.50%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AA Apple Inc 4.52%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
MS Microsoft Corporation 3.43%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AM Amazon.com Inc 2.93%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class A 2.54%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AV Broadcom Inc 2.24%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class C 2.02%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
ME Meta Platforms Inc. 1.52%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
TS Tesla Inc 1.22%
Part of fund(s):- LS 1x Tesla Tracker ETP Securities GBP
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
23 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. 1.15%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
- Top 10 total 27.07%
Looking through to the top holdings, a lot of the visible exposure sits in a handful of very large global companies like NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Broadcom, Meta, Tesla, and Taiwan Semiconductor. NVIDIA alone accounts for about 5.5% of the portfolio, and Apple roughly 4.5%. Many of these appear in multiple ETFs, which creates overlap: owning both funds doesn’t fully diversify away from these giants. Because only the top 10 holdings are captured, true overlap is likely higher. This kind of concentration is normal in cap‑weighted index funds, but it does mean that the day‑to‑day path of the portfolio is heavily shaped by how these top companies perform.
Factors
Factor exposure across value, size, momentum, quality, yield, and low volatility is broadly neutral, with all metrics clustering around the 50% “market‑like” level. Factors are like underlying traits—such as cheap versus expensive (value) or stable versus jumpy (low volatility)—that research links to long‑term returns. Here, there are no strong tilts either toward or away from any of them. That means the portfolio behaves much like the overall global equity market rather than leaning into specific styles like deep value, high dividend, or small caps. This balanced factor profile supports the idea that the main driver is broad market exposure, not an intentional style bet, which keeps behavior relatively predictable versus standard benchmarks.
Risk contribution
-
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
Weight: 70.00% 72.4% -
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
Weight: 30.00% 27.6%
Risk contribution shows how much each holding adds to overall volatility, which can differ from what its weight alone suggests. In this case, the US ETF makes up 70% of the portfolio but contributes about 72% of the total risk, while the international ETF is 30% of the weight and about 28% of the risk. Those numbers are close, so there’s no hidden “risk bomb” where a smaller position dominates the ups and downs. Instead, risk is roughly proportional to size, and the US sleeve is naturally the main driver simply because it’s the majority holding. This pattern is consistent with a straightforward, market‑cap‑led two‑fund structure.
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 risk‑return chart shows this portfolio sitting on or very close to the efficient frontier, which is the curve of best possible returns for each risk level using only the existing holdings. The current mix has a Sharpe ratio of 0.62, while the maximum‑Sharpe combination of the same two funds scores 0.84 with slightly higher risk, and the minimum‑variance mix lands at 0.69 with lower risk and lower return. The Sharpe ratio compares extra return to volatility, so higher is better. Being near the frontier means that, for a two‑ETF structure, the current allocation is already using these building blocks efficiently without obvious “wasted” risk.
Dividends
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF 1.00%
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares 2.60%
- Weighted yield (per year) 1.48%
The blended dividend yield is about 1.48%, with the US ETF yielding roughly 1.0% and the international ETF around 2.6%. Dividend yield is the annual cash payout as a percentage of the current price. In this portfolio, most of the historical return has come from price growth rather than income, which is typical for broad equity indexes over strong market periods. The higher yield on the international slice slightly lifts the overall yield, but this is still a growth‑oriented profile, not an income‑heavy one. Dividends can help soften the impact of flat or choppy markets by providing a modest ongoing cash return on top of whatever happens to prices.
Ongoing product costs
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF 0.03%
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares 0.05%
- Weighted costs total (per year) 0.04%
Costs are impressively low. The total ongoing fee (TER) is about 0.04% per year, with the US ETF at 0.03% and the international ETF at 0.05%. TER is like a small annual subscription fee taken out inside each fund. On $10,000, 0.04% is just $4 a year. Over long periods, low fees matter because they don’t eat into compounding as much as higher‑cost products. Here, the cost level lines up very well with best‑in‑class index funds, which supports better long‑term performance relative to more expensive options tracking similar markets. This is a real strength of the portfolio’s design and a solid foundation for long‑term investing.
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