Simple global stock mix with broad diversification and low costs focused on total market exposure
Report created on Apr 19, 2026Risk profile
4/7
Diversification profile
3/5
Positions
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VT Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
VTI - US9229087690 70.00% -
VX Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
VXUS - US9219097683 30.00%
This portfolio is extremely simple: two broad stock index ETFs, with 70% in a total US market fund and 30% in a total international fund. Together, they create a “own almost everything” global equity basket in a fixed 70/30 split. This kind of structure is easy to understand because each ETF holds thousands of companies and aims to track a wide market index rather than picking winners. The buy‑and‑hold assumption means the weights are allowed to drift with market movements. Overall, the composition is clean and transparent, with equity risk fully driving returns and no complexity from bonds, alternatives, or tactical satellite positions.
Growth
From 2016 to 2026, $1,000 in this mix grew to about $3,395, implying a 13.05% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). CAGR is like your average speed on a long road trip, smoothing out all the bumps along the way. The maximum drawdown was about -34.6% during early 2020, recovering in roughly five months, which shows significant but not unusual equity volatility. Compared with benchmarks, it lagged the pure US market but slightly beat the global market index. That pattern fits a portfolio that is US‑tilted but not purely domestic. As always, past performance describes what happened; it does not guarantee similar results ahead.
Projection
The Monte Carlo projection takes the portfolio’s historical risk and return patterns and simulates many possible 15‑year paths for a $1,000 investment. Think of it as running 1,000 alternate futures, each with different sequences of good and bad years based on past behavior. The median outcome is about $2,702, with a wide “likely range” from roughly $1,771 to $4,129 and an even wider 5–95% band. The average simulated annual return is 7.93%, and about 72% of simulations end positive. These numbers illustrate the spread of potential outcomes, not promises. Real future returns can land outside these bands if markets behave differently from history.
Asset classes
- Stocks 100%
All of the portfolio is in stocks, with no allocation to bonds, cash, or alternative assets. That makes the asset‑class picture very straightforward: 100% equity exposure. Asset classes behave differently in various market conditions; for example, stocks tend to offer higher long‑term growth potential but also larger short‑term swings than bonds. A pure‑equity mix like this relies entirely on stock market risk and return, without the dampening effect of fixed income. This simplicity can be appealing from a tracking and maintenance perspective, but it also means the experience will be strongly tied to global stock cycles, both positive and negative.
Sectors
- Technology 27%
- Financials 15%
- Industrials 12%
- Consumer Discretionary 10%
- Health Care 10%
- Telecommunications 8%
- Consumer Staples 5%
- Basic Materials 4%
- Energy 4%
- Utilities 3%
- Real Estate 3%
Sector exposure is broadly diversified, with notable but not extreme emphasis on technology at 27%, followed by financials (15%), industrials (12%), and consumer‑related areas. Health care and telecom also have meaningful weights, while utilities, real estate, and energy sit at lower single‑digit levels. This pattern looks similar to many global market‑cap indices, which currently lean toward tech and communication services because large technology‑driven companies have grown so much. Tech‑heavy exposures often see stronger performance in growth phases but can be more sensitive during rate hikes or when investor sentiment shifts away from growth themes. Overall, the sector mix is well‑spread and aligned with broad benchmarks.
Regions
- North America 72%
- Europe Developed 11%
- Japan 5%
- Asia Developed 4%
- Asia Emerging 4%
- Australasia 1%
- Africa/Middle East 1%
- Latin America 1%
Geographically, about 72% is in North America, with the rest spread across developed Europe, Japan, other developed Asia, and smaller slices in emerging regions like Asia, Latin America, and Africa/Middle East. This creates a clear US and North America tilt, which mirrors global market‑cap weights where the US dominates. Compared to a pure world index, this looks broadly aligned, with only modest differences. The upside is strong representation in one of the world’s largest and most liquid markets, while still having meaningful exposure to other economies. The trade‑off is that portfolio behavior will be heavily influenced by US economic and policy conditions.
Market capitalization
- Mega-cap 42%
- Large-cap 31%
- Mid-cap 18%
- Small-cap 6%
- Micro-cap 2%
By market capitalization, the portfolio leans toward the largest companies: 42% mega‑cap and 31% large‑cap, with the rest in mid‑, small‑, and micro‑cap stocks. This is characteristic of market‑cap‑weighted index funds, where bigger companies automatically take up more space. Large firms often have more stable business models and easier access to capital, which can translate into somewhat lower volatility than a portfolio skewed heavily toward small caps. Including mid and smaller companies adds breadth and some extra growth potential, but they are not dominating the mix. Overall, this cap structure looks consistent with a broad, diversified index approach.
True holdings
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NV NVIDIA Corporation 4.48%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
AA Apple Inc 4.14%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
MS Microsoft Corporation 3.06%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
AM Amazon.com Inc 2.24%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class A 1.86%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
AV Broadcom Inc 1.63%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class C 1.48%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
ME Meta Platforms Inc. 1.39%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
TS Tesla Inc 1.16%
Part of fund(s):- LS 1x Tesla Tracker ETP Securities GBP
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
23 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. 1.04%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
- Top 10 total 22.48%
Looking through the ETFs’ top holdings, a meaningful chunk of the portfolio sits in a handful of global giants such as NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Broadcom, Meta, Tesla, and TSMC. Each of these names individually is in roughly the 1–4.5% range of total portfolio exposure based on available top‑10 data. Several appear across both funds, creating some overlap that increases concentration in these specific firms. Because only ETF top‑10 holdings are captured, overlap is likely understated, but it already shows that the biggest global companies quietly drive a significant slice of performance, especially in terms of day‑to‑day portfolio movements.
Factors
Factor exposures are very close to neutral across the board: value, size, momentum, quality, yield, and low volatility all cluster around the 50% mark. Factor exposure is about how much the portfolio leans into characteristics that research has tied to returns, like cheaper valuations (value) or smaller companies (size). A neutral reading indicates that the mix behaves much like the broad market, without strong bets on any single style. This is exactly what you’d expect from total‑market index funds. The practical takeaway is that performance should generally track overall equity markets rather than being heavily driven by specific factor cycles.
Risk contribution
-
Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
Weight: 70.00% 72.8% -
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
Weight: 30.00% 27.3%
Risk contribution shows how much each holding adds to the portfolio’s overall ups and downs, which can differ from its weight. Here, the US total market fund is 70% of the weight but contributes about 72.8% of total risk, while the international fund at 30% weight contributes around 27.3% of risk. That means risk is broadly in line with position size, with no single holding contributing wildly more volatility than its share of assets. For a two‑fund portfolio, this is a straightforward and balanced structure. The US portion still dominates risk, but only slightly more than its already large weight would suggest.
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 analysis suggests the current mix sits on or very near the efficient frontier, meaning it’s making good use of the two holdings for its chosen risk level. The Sharpe ratio, which compares excess return to volatility, is 0.56 for the current portfolio, with a higher 0.77 for the mathematically optimal combination and 0.62 for the minimum‑variance mix. All three points are fairly close, indicating that risk‑adjusted performance is already sensible. Since the frontier is built only from these existing ETFs, this result highlights that the simple 70/30 structure is not leaving large, obvious efficiency gains on the table.
Dividends
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares 1.10%
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares 2.80%
- Weighted yield (per year) 1.61%
The combined dividend yield is about 1.61%, reflecting a blend of the lower‑yielding US market (~1.10%) and the higher‑yielding international slice (~2.80%). Dividends are the cash payments companies make to shareholders, and they can be an important component of total return over time, especially when reinvested. In a portfolio like this, dividends are modest but steady, with most of the total growth historically coming from price appreciation rather than income. That pattern is common for broad equity indices in recent years, particularly in markets where companies favor buybacks or reinvestment over very high payout ratios.
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%
Costs are impressively low, with a total expense ratio (TER) of around 0.04% across the two Vanguard ETFs. TER is the annual fee charged by funds to cover management and operations, and it quietly reduces returns over time. Here, the drag is minimal, especially compared with many actively managed products. Over long horizons, keeping fees low helps more of the portfolio’s gross returns stay in the investor’s pocket, which supports better compounding. This cost profile is a notable strength: it aligns closely with best practices for broad index investing and provides a strong foundation for long‑term performance potential.
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