Globally diversified equity portfolio with emerging markets tilt and a punchy crypto satellite position

Report created on Jun 6, 2024

Risk profile Info

4/7
Balanced
Less risk More risk

Diversification profile Info

4/5
Broadly Diversified
Less diversification More diversification

Positions

The portfolio is almost entirely growth-focused, with about 90% in global and regional equity ETFs and roughly 10% in a crypto and blockchain ETF. The core is a broad global ETF, complemented by dedicated US, emerging markets, China, and healthcare allocations. This kind of “core and satellite” structure is common: a diversified base, plus smaller, higher-octane positions around it. It matters because the satellites can drive large swings, both upside and downside, on top of the steady core. A key takeaway is that the overall shape is sensible and broadly diversified, but the crypto sleeve makes the ride bumpier than a typical balanced profile might suggest.

Growth Info

Over the last few years, £1,000 grew to about £1,242, giving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.54%. CAGR is like your average yearly speed on a long road trip. In the same period, a US market tracker returned 11.37% a year and the global market about 9.35%, so this portfolio lagged both. The max drawdown of -32.21% shows the worst peak‑to‑trough fall, which was steeper than the benchmarks. That gap is largely linked to weaker emerging markets and the volatile crypto sleeve. The history shows this mix has been riskier and less rewarding recently, so it’s worth asking whether the extra volatility is truly desired.

Asset classes Info

  • Stocks
    90%
  • Crypto
    10%

Asset class exposure is straightforward: about 90% in equities and 10% in crypto, with no bonds or cash in the mix. Compared with typical balanced allocations, which often combine shares and bonds, this structure is clearly growth-heavy. That’s important because equities and crypto both rely on risk appetite; when sentiment sours, they can fall together, offering limited cushion. The upside is strong long-term growth potential if markets cooperate and the holding period is long. The trade-off is sharper drawdowns and a higher chance of emotionally challenging periods. Anyone using this setup as a full portfolio might consider whether they have other safer assets elsewhere to balance the overall picture.

Sectors Info

  • Technology
    22%
  • Health Care
    16%
  • Financials
    14%
  • Consumer Discretionary
    9%
  • Telecommunications
    8%
  • Industrials
    8%
  • Basic Materials
    4%
  • Consumer Staples
    4%
  • Energy
    3%
  • Utilities
    2%
  • Real Estate
    1%

This breakdown covers the equity portion of your portfolio only.

Sector exposure is moderately diversified, with technology the largest slice, followed by a strong health care allocation and meaningful financials, consumer, and industrial holdings. A dedicated healthcare ETF pushes that segment well above what many broad benchmarks hold, which can stabilise returns somewhat because health care often behaves more defensively than pure growth sectors. However, the presence of a crypto and blockchain ETF reintroduces a tech‑like volatility spike, as that area tends to be highly sensitive to sentiment and regulation. The good news is that no single traditional sector completely dominates, supporting diversification. The key question is whether the combination of tech, healthcare, and crypto concentration matches the desired risk profile.

Regions Info

  • North America
    46%
  • Asia Emerging
    20%
  • Asia Developed
    11%
  • Europe Developed
    6%
  • Japan
    2%
  • Africa/Middle East
    2%
  • Latin America
    2%
  • Australasia
    1%
  • Europe Emerging
    1%

This breakdown covers the equity portion of your portfolio only.

Geographically, the portfolio leans heavily toward North America at around 46%, but also carries a strong emerging Asia tilt and a notable standalone China allocation. Compared with global market norms, the emerging markets and China slice is larger than average, while Europe and Japan are relatively modest. This emerging focus can be attractive for long-term growth, as these regions may catch up economically over time. The trade-off is higher political, regulatory, and currency risk, which can create long stretches of underperformance, as seen recently. The geographic mix is far from home-biased for a UK-based investor, which is positive for diversification, but it does increase exposure to markets that can be more volatile and policy-driven.

Market capitalization Info

  • Mega-cap
    45%
  • Large-cap
    32%
  • Mid-cap
    13%
  • Small-cap
    1%

This breakdown covers the equity portion of your portfolio only.

The market cap breakdown shows a strong tilt to mega- and large-cap companies, which together dominate the equity sleeve, with only modest mid-cap and minimal small-cap exposure. Larger firms tend to be more established, profitable, and liquid, so they usually provide a smoother ride than smaller, more speculative names. This is a positive alignment with global benchmarks and helps offset some of the risk coming from the crypto allocation and emerging markets exposure. On the other hand, limited small-cap exposure may reduce the portfolio’s potential to benefit from periods when smaller companies outperform. Overall, the size mix is sensibly anchored in big, globally significant companies.

True holdings Info

  • Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
    3.19%
    Part of fund(s):
    • HSBC MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF
    • Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF USD Accumulation
    • iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets IMI UCITS
  • NVIDIA Corporation
    2.48%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF USD Accumulation
    • Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF USD Accumulation
  • Apple Inc
    2.28%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF USD Accumulation
    • Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF USD Accumulation
  • Tencent Holdings Ltd
    2.08%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Franklin FTSE China UCITS ETF
    • HSBC MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF
    • iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets IMI UCITS
  • Microsoft Corporation
    1.72%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF USD Accumulation
    • Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF USD Accumulation
  • Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
    1.41%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Franklin FTSE China UCITS ETF
    • HSBC MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF
    • iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets IMI UCITS
  • Eli Lilly and Company
    1.33%
    Part of fund(s):
    • iShares S&P 500 USD Health Care Sector UCITS
  • Amazon.com Inc
    1.19%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF USD Accumulation
    • Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF USD Accumulation
  • Alphabet Inc Class A
    1.07%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF USD Accumulation
    • Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF USD Accumulation
  • Johnson & Johnson
    1.05%
    Part of fund(s):
    • iShares S&P 500 USD Health Care Sector UCITS
  • Top 10 total 17.79%

This breakdown covers the equity portion of your portfolio only.

Looking through the ETFs, there’s meaningful exposure to a handful of big global names like Taiwan Semiconductor, NVIDIA, Apple, Tencent, Microsoft, and Alibaba. Some appear in several funds, creating hidden concentration even though each ETF looks diversified on its own. Because only top‑10 holdings are used, true overlap is probably higher than reported. This matters because those shared giants can dominate portfolio behaviour in major market moves. The positive side is that these are liquid, widely followed companies, which helps with transparency. The flip side is that returns may be more tied to the fate of a relatively small group of global leaders than the headline fund count suggests.

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
Neutral
Data availability: 100%
Quality
Preference for financially healthy companies
Low
Data availability: 100%
Yield
Preference for dividend-paying stocks
Very low
Data availability: 100%
Low Volatility
Preference for stable, lower-risk stocks
High
Data availability: 100%

Factor exposure shows a strong tilt toward low volatility and high value, with very low yield and low quality. Factors are like underlying characteristics that drive returns, such as cheapness (value) or stability (low volatility). The low-volatility tilt usually helps smooth ups and downs in normal markets, which is a nice counterbalance to the crypto sleeve. The value tilt can help in periods when investors rotate away from expensive growth stocks. However, low quality and very low yield mean less emphasis on strong balance sheets and regular income payers. That can increase vulnerability in stress periods when investors flee to higher-quality, dividend‑paying companies, so results may be more cyclical and sentiment‑driven.

Risk contribution Info

  • VanEck Crypto& Blockchain Innovators ETF A USD Acc
    Weight: 9.65%
    31.4%
  • Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF USD Accumulation
    Weight: 38.61%
    28.6%
  • Franklin FTSE China UCITS ETF
    Weight: 9.65%
    10.6%
  • HSBC MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF
    Weight: 11.20%
    9.2%
  • Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF USD Accumulation
    Weight: 11.58%
    8.5%
  • Top 5 risk contribution 88.2%

Risk contribution highlights how much each holding drives the portfolio’s overall volatility, which can differ a lot from simple weight. Despite being less than 10% of assets, the crypto and blockchain ETF contributes over 30% of total risk, more than the much larger global equity ETF. This is a classic example where a small, volatile position behaves like the loudest instrument in the orchestra. The top three holdings together generate over 70% of risk, showing meaningful concentration. Aligning risk with intent usually means sizing the most volatile positions smaller and letting broad, diversified funds carry more of the weight, so the experience matches the stated balanced risk profile more closely.

Redundant positions Info

  • iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets IMI UCITS
    HSBC MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF
    High correlation
  • Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF USD Accumulation
    Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF USD Accumulation
    High correlation

Correlation measures how similarly assets move, from -1 (opposites) to 1 (perfectly in step). Here, the two emerging markets ETFs are almost perfectly correlated, and the S&P 500 ETF moves very closely with the global all‑world ETF. When correlations are this high, holding both funds adds limited diversification; they behave like slightly different flavours of the same thing. That’s not inherently bad, but it can mean unnecessary complexity and overlapping exposure. Simplifying highly correlated positions can help make the portfolio easier to manage and rebalance, and may allow more deliberate tilts elsewhere, without materially changing the underlying risk and return characteristics.

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 below the efficient frontier, with a Sharpe ratio of 0.31 versus 0.62 for the best mix using the same holdings. The Sharpe ratio is like “return per unit of risk,” so higher is better. Being 3.52 percentage points below the frontier at this risk level suggests the same ingredients could be combined more effectively to improve expected return or reduce volatility. In practice, that likely means trimming the highest-volatility pieces, such as the crypto ETF and overlapping regional funds, and leaning more on the broad global core. No new products are needed; it’s about reweighting to make the existing lineup work harder.

Ongoing product costs Info

  • VanEck Crypto& Blockchain Innovators ETF A USD Acc 0.65%
  • iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets IMI UCITS 0.18%
  • Franklin FTSE China UCITS ETF 0.19%
  • HSBC MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF 0.15%
  • iShares S&P 500 USD Health Care Sector UCITS 0.18%
  • Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF USD Accumulation 0.07%
  • Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF USD Accumulation 0.19%
  • Weighted costs total (per year) 0.21%

The overall cost picture is impressively low, with a blended ongoing charge around 0.21%. That’s firmly in the low-cost camp and a real strength of the portfolio. Fees compound in the same way returns do, so saving even a fraction of a percent each year can translate into a significant difference over decades. The only standout is the crypto ETF with a 0.65% TER, which is understandable given the niche area but still higher than the broad equity funds. Keeping the core invested in ultra‑low‑cost ETFs is a solid foundation and supports better long-term performance versus more expensive, actively managed alternatives.

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