High dividend focused US equity portfolio with efficient risk balance and modest tech growth tilt

Report created on May 31, 2024

Risk profile Info

4/7
Balanced
Less risk More risk

Diversification profile Info

3/5
Moderately Diversified
Less diversification More diversification

Positions

The portfolio is a tight bundle of five US-focused equity ETFs, all at 100% stock exposure. About half sits in a high-dividend S&P 500 fund, with a further chunk in a broad S&P 500 ETF, and the rest spread across a dividend equity ETF plus two growthier tech / Nasdaq funds. This structure mixes income-oriented holdings with core market exposure and a smaller sleeve targeting higher growth. Having one main anchor fund supported by a few satellites keeps things simple and easy to manage. The main takeaway is that this is an all‑equity, income‑tilted setup that still leaves room for growth, but it does rely heavily on stock market behavior.

Growth Info

From late 2020 to early 2026, $1,000 in this portfolio grew to about $1,990, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.49%. CAGR is like your “average speed” per year over the whole journey, smoothing out bumps. This slightly beat the US market and clearly beat the global market over the same period, while also experiencing a smaller worst drop (max drawdown) than both. A max drawdown of about -20% still means uncomfortable declines, but the lower drawdown versus benchmarks shows the income tilt helped cushion volatility. The key point: historically it has delivered strong, slightly smoother returns than broad markets, though of course past results can’t guarantee repeat performance.

Asset classes Info

  • Stocks
    100%

All of the capital is invested in stocks, with no bonds, cash, or alternatives. That creates a clean, focused exposure to equity growth and dividends, but it also means there’s no built‑in ballast from traditionally steadier assets. Many broad “balanced” portfolios use some mix of stocks and bonds to smooth the ride and provide dry powder in downturns. Here, risk classification as “balanced” is driven by the style of equities, not by mixing asset classes. The implication is that day‑to‑day and year‑to‑year swings will track stock markets closely. Anyone using this approach typically pairs it with cash or fixed income elsewhere, or accepts full‑equity volatility for long‑term growth.

Sectors Info

  • Technology
    21%
  • Real Estate
    13%
  • Consumer Staples
    13%
  • Financials
    10%
  • Consumer Discretionary
    8%
  • Telecommunications
    8%
  • Energy
    8%
  • Health Care
    8%
  • Utilities
    7%
  • Industrials
    4%
  • Basic Materials
    2%

Sector exposure is quite diversified, with meaningful allocations to technology, real estate, consumer staples, financials, telecom, energy, health care, utilities, and some industrials and basic materials. The mix leans more toward traditionally higher‑yielders such as real estate, utilities, and staples than a typical broad market, while still keeping a solid tech footprint. Compared with common benchmarks, this income orientation slightly reduces pure growth tilt while adding defensiveness in more mature, cash‑generative businesses. A setup like this can hold up relatively better during rate‑sensitive or risk‑off periods, but may lag in speculative growth booms. It’s a sensible, balanced sector structure that lines up well with a diversified, dividend‑aware equity strategy.

Regions Info

  • North America
    98%
  • Europe Developed
    1%

Geographically, the portfolio is almost entirely in North America, with about 98% exposure and only a tiny slice to developed Europe. For a US‑based investor, this home bias can feel intuitive and has been rewarded in recent years as US markets outperformed many others. However, it also ties outcomes very closely to the US economy, interest rate policy, and dollar strength. Global benchmarks typically allocate a much larger share outside North America, spreading risk across different economic cycles and policy regimes. The key tradeoff here is simplicity and familiarity versus broader diversification. Sticking with a US‑centric approach can work, but it consciously accepts less exposure to opportunities and stabilizers in other regions.

Market capitalization Info

  • Mid-cap
    38%
  • Large-cap
    31%
  • Mega-cap
    19%
  • Small-cap
    11%

Market capitalization exposure is nicely spread across company sizes: roughly 19% mega‑cap, 31% large‑cap, 38% mid‑cap, and 11% small‑cap. That’s a healthier mid‑ and small‑cap presence than many standard large‑cap indexes, which cluster in mega names. Smaller and mid‑sized companies can add diversification and sometimes higher long‑term growth potential, though their prices can be more volatile. Having a broad size mix helps avoid over‑reliance on a handful of giants while still benefiting from their stability and liquidity. This balance across caps is a positive feature and aligns well with long‑term equity investing principles by spreading risk across different stages of corporate development.

True holdings Info

  • NVIDIA Corporation
    3.44%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    • Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares
    • Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
  • Apple Inc
    3.06%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    • Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares
    • Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
  • Microsoft Corporation
    2.23%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    • Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares
    • Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
  • Chevron Corp
    1.30%
    Part of fund(s):
    • SPDR® Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF
    • Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
  • Verizon Communications Inc
    1.28%
    Part of fund(s):
    • SPDR® Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF
    • Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
  • Amazon.com Inc
    1.25%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    • Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
  • Broadcom Inc
    1.11%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    • Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares
    • Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
  • Alphabet Inc Class A
    1.06%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    • Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
  • APA Corporation
    0.91%
    Part of fund(s):
    • SPDR® Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF
  • Meta Platforms Inc.
    0.91%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    • Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
  • Top 10 total 16.56%

Looking through the ETFs, the biggest underlying names include NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Chevron, Verizon, Amazon, Broadcom, Alphabet, APA, and Meta. Several of these mega‑cap tech and communication names appear in more than one ETF, creating hidden concentration even though everything is held via funds. Overlap is probably higher than reported because only top‑10 ETF holdings are captured. This kind of overlap is normal in US index and dividend strategies, but it does mean the portfolio’s fortunes are partly tied to a relatively small group of large companies. The practical takeaway is to be aware that diversification is lower than the fund count suggests when many products track similar universes.

Factors Info

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

Factor exposure shows a strong tilt toward value (74%) and a high tilt toward yield (66%), with size, quality, and low volatility all fairly neutral. Factors are like underlying “traits” that help explain why investments behave as they do over time. A value and yield tilt means the portfolio leans into cheaper, income‑producing stocks rather than fast‑growing, higher‑priced names. This can be beneficial when markets favor fundamentals and cash flow, and may provide some cushion in choppy periods, but it can lag during momentum‑driven growth surges. The relatively low momentum score reinforces that this setup is more about steady cash generation than chasing recent winners, which fits well with a dividend‑oriented approach.

Risk contribution Info

  • SPDR® Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF
    Weight: 50.00%
    50.7%
  • Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
    Weight: 23.00%
    22.1%
  • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    Weight: 10.00%
    10.7%
  • Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
    Weight: 12.00%
    10.6%
  • Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares
    Weight: 5.00%
    5.9%

Risk contribution measures how much each holding adds to the portfolio’s total ups and downs, which can differ from simple weight. Here, the high‑dividend S&P 500 ETF, at 50% weight, contributes about 51% of risk, and together with the core S&P 500 and Nasdaq funds the top three positions drive over 83% of total risk. This is quite aligned with their sizes, meaning no single ETF is wildly more volatile than its share. The tech‑only ETF has a slightly higher risk share than its 5% weight suggests, reflecting its more focused profile. Overall, this is a clean, intentional risk structure, but any changes to those top three positions will materially shift portfolio behavior.

Redundant positions Info

  • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
    Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares
    High correlation

The Nasdaq 100 ETF and the information technology ETF have an extremely high correlation of 0.98, where 1.0 would mean moving almost identically. Correlation is just a measure of how often assets move together; when it’s this high, holding both adds limited diversification. In practice, these two funds are giving very similar exposure to large US tech and growth companies, even if their labels look slightly different. That doesn’t make them “bad” holdings, but it does mean the effective number of distinct return streams is smaller than five separate tickers might suggest. One way to think about it: this pair acts more like a single, slightly larger tech position than two independent engines.

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 has a Sharpe ratio of 0.78 with expected return of 14.28% and volatility of 15.81%. The Sharpe ratio compares return to risk, so higher numbers mean more reward per unit of volatility. The optimal mix of these same ETFs reaches a Sharpe of 0.84 with very similar risk and return, and the minimum‑variance blend gets 0.83 with lower risk. Because your current setup sits right on or very near the efficient frontier, it’s already using these holdings in an efficient way. That’s a strong validation: without adding new products, there isn’t much room for improvement in risk‑adjusted terms just by shuffling weights.

Dividends Info

  • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF 0.50%
  • Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF 2.60%
  • SPDR® Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF 4.40%
  • Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares 0.10%
  • Vanguard S&P 500 ETF 1.20%
  • Weighted yield (per year) 2.84%

The overall dividend yield of about 2.84% is driven largely by the high‑dividend ETF at 4.40% and the Schwab dividend fund at 2.60%, with the broad S&P 500 ETF contributing a moderate 1.20%. The growth‑oriented Nasdaq and pure tech funds have very low yields, which is common for companies that reinvest earnings. Dividends can be a meaningful part of total return, especially for investors who like seeing regular cash flows or who systematically reinvest them to buy more shares. This level of yield is quite solid for an all‑equity portfolio and pairs well with the value and defensive sector tilts, supporting both income and potential long‑term compounding.

Ongoing product costs Info

  • Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF 0.15%
  • Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF 0.06%
  • SPDR® Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF 0.07%
  • Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares 0.10%
  • Vanguard S&P 500 ETF 0.03%
  • Weighted costs total (per year) 0.07%

The total expense ratio (TER) across the portfolio is impressively low at about 0.07%. TER is the annual fee charged by ETFs, and while tenths of a percent sound tiny, they add up over decades. Here, the broad S&P 500 ETF is especially cheap at 0.03%, and even the most expensive position, the Nasdaq 100 fund, is modest at 0.15%. Low costs mean more of the portfolio’s gross return stays in your pocket, which is one of the few levers investors can control with certainty. This fee structure is a real strength and aligns closely with best practices for long‑term, index‑based investing focused on keeping friction as low as possible.

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