A yield-chasing value junkie portfolio hiding inside a surprisingly well behaved equity-only rollercoaster
Report created on May 21, 2026Risk profile
5/7
Diversification profile
4/5
Positions
-
AV Avantis® International Small Cap Value ETF
AVDV - US0250728021 53.47% -
SC Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
SCHD - US8085247976 31.57% -
VO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
VOO - US9229083632 14.96%
This portfolio is three ETFs in a trench coat pretending to be a complex strategy. Over half the money is stuffed into international small-cap value, then a third into U.S. dividend stocks, with a token S&P 500 sleeve as if to say “fine, here’s your market exposure.” For something labeled “broadly diversified,” it leans hard into one very specific style: old-school value and income with a side of smaller, scruffier companies. It’s all stocks, no ballast, and the structure screams “I like factors” more than “I like sleep.” The result is coherent but aggressive: more thought-out than a meme-stock portfolio, but definitely not aiming for boring.
Growth
Historically, this thing has done the job, just not as elegantly as the U.S. market show-off. A $1,000 stake grew to $2,528, with a 15.01% CAGR — strong, but still trailing the U.S. market’s 16.61%. You basically paid in complexity and quirkiness to underperform a plain domestic index, while beating the global market by about 1% a year. Max drawdown hit -37.9%, meaning the portfolio went down harder than both benchmarks in 2020 before clawing back. And of course, 90% of returns came from just 25 days, highlighting the usual problem: miss a handful of good days, and the whole story looks a lot uglier.
Projection
The Monte Carlo projections say this portfolio’s future is somewhere between “nice outcome” and “could be worse.” Monte Carlo is basically a market slot machine run 1,000 times: random but math-driven return paths to see what usually happens. Median outcome of $2,696 over 15 years from $1,000 is fine, but that 8.07% annualized in simulations is a lot more boring than your historical 15%. The range from $979 to $7,664 screams uncertainty. Also, cash quietly ending at $1,839 is a reminder that the bar isn’t zero. Past data and simulations are like driving using the rearview mirror and a weather app — helpful, but no guarantees.
Asset classes
- Stocks 100%
Asset class “diversification” here is easy to summarize: 100% stocks, 0% everything else. That’s not a portfolio; that’s an opinion about risk. There’s no bonds, no cash buffer, no alternatives — just a full send on equity volatility. It lines up with the “growthy” risk tag, but let’s not pretend “broadly diversified” across asset classes is happening. When everything is in one asset class, drawdowns hit like a group project where no one brings slides. The upside is clean exposure and no half-measures; the downside is that when equities suffer, there’s nowhere inside this structure that’s designed to soften the punch.
Sectors
- Industrials 16%
- Technology 14%
- Financials 12%
- Consumer Discretionary 11%
- Energy 11%
- Basic Materials 11%
- Consumer Staples 9%
- Health Care 8%
- Telecommunications 5%
- Utilities 1%
- Real Estate 1%
Sector-wise, this portfolio is weirdly even and yet quietly opinionated. Industrials lead at 16%, with technology only at 14% — for a modern equity portfolio, that’s practically tech-averse. Financials, consumer discretionary, energy, materials all hover around 11–12%, giving the whole thing a very “old economy plus some chips” flavor. Utilities and real estate at 1% each barely exist, so don’t expect much ballast from the traditionally dull-and-steady corners. Compared to typical broad indexes, this is less of a “tech-fueled rocket” and more of a “factory, bank, and oil rig” lineup. If growth leadership flips, this tilt could look clever — or just stuck in the past.
Regions
- North America 53%
- Europe Developed 20%
- Japan 17%
- Australasia 5%
- Africa/Middle East 3%
- Asia Developed 2%
Geographically, it’s actually more global than many U.S. portfolios, which is almost suspiciously sensible. About 53% sits in North America and the rest wanders into developed Europe, Japan, and a bit of Australasia and Africa/Middle East. Asia outside Japan barely registers, so entire economic powerhouses are basically background noise. For something built with a huge international small-cap chunk, the spread isn’t insane, but it’s clearly skewed to developed markets and pretty much ignores emerging regions. It’s like traveling the world but only to countries with good public transport and familiar brands — comfortable, but not exactly exploring the full opportunity set.
Market capitalization
- Mid-cap 40%
- Large-cap 29%
- Small-cap 21%
- Mega-cap 7%
- Micro-cap 3%
The market cap mix is the opposite of a typical mega-cap fanboy portfolio. Mid-caps at 40% and small caps at 21% dominate the vibe, with large caps at 29% and megacaps only 7%. This is more “scrappy middle children and energetic younger siblings” than “giant blue-chip overlords.” Micro-caps at 3% add a tiny dose of chaos. That tilt means more room for growth and more room for drama — smaller companies can move faster in both directions. It’s a deliberate step away from the usual top-heavy index structure, but it also means less comfort from the massive household-name companies that usually stabilize big benchmarks.
True holdings
-
TX Texas Instruments Incorporated 1.92%
Part of fund(s):- Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
-
QC Qualcomm Incorporated 1.73%
Part of fund(s):- Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
-
UN UnitedHealth Group Incorporated 1.72%
Part of fund(s):- Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
-
KO The Coca-Cola Company 1.30%
Part of fund(s):- Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
-
CV Chevron Corp 1.26%
Part of fund(s):- Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
-
MR Merck & Company Inc 1.19%
Part of fund(s):- Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
-
CO ConocoPhillips 1.18%
Part of fund(s):- Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
-
NV NVIDIA Corporation 1.17%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
VZ Verizon Communications Inc 1.16%
Part of fund(s):- Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
-
PE PepsiCo Inc 1.14%
Part of fund(s):- Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
- Top 10 total 13.76%
Look-through holdings show a greatest-hits list of dividend and quality names quietly running the show: Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, UnitedHealth, Coca-Cola, Chevron, Merck, and friends. None of them dominate individually, but collectively they paint a clear picture: income, defensiveness, and a lot of U.S. large-cap comfort hiding under the surface. Overlap is understated because only ETF top-10s are counted, so the real duplication is likely higher. The S&P slice plus the dividend ETF basically team up to shove many of the same big names into the portfolio twice. It’s not extreme concentration, but the “different” funds share more DNA than the lineup suggests.
Factors
Factor-wise, this portfolio is loudly flying the value, yield, and low volatility flags. Value at 70% and yield at 68% say “I like boring cheap cash-flow machines,” while low volatility at 70% hints at trying to smooth the ride a bit. That’s the ironic part: you’ve built a defensive factor profile inside an all-equity, small- and mid-cap-heavy structure — like putting a seatbelt on a motorcycle. Size, momentum, and quality all sit near neutral, so the real story is old-school value and income with a chill-but-not-too-chill risk profile. It’s not accidental: the factor ingredients clearly lean into one specific style, whether or not that style stays in fashion.
Risk contribution
-
Avantis® International Small Cap Value ETF
Weight: 53.47% 55.6% -
Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
Weight: 31.57% 29.4% -
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
Weight: 14.96% 15.0%
Risk contribution is refreshingly simple: each ETF pulls roughly its weight, with Avantis International Small Cap Value doing slightly more heavy lifting than its 53% weight implies. Risk contribution basically asks, “Who’s shaking the portfolio the most?” and the answer is: exactly the funds that are largest, with no hidden wild card punching above its size. Schwab Dividend is slightly under-contributing on risk, which matches its more defensive, yield-y character. Vanguard S&P 500 is almost perfectly proportional. The upside is no nasty surprise driver; the downside is that if the big Avantis bet stumbles, it drags the whole portfolio with it.
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 efficient frontier, this portfolio is annoyingly competent. The current mix sits basically on the curve, with a Sharpe ratio of 0.65 versus 0.85 for the theoretical optimal and 0.78 for the lowest-risk option using the same ingredients. Sharpe ratio is just return per unit of risk — how much pain you endure for each unit of gain. Being near the frontier means the weights, while quirky stylistically, are not mathematically lazy. You’re not leaving a ton of risk/return efficiency on the table; a smarter reshuffle could improve things, but not by an embarrassing margin. For a concentrated, factor-heavy design, that’s surprisingly tidy.
Dividends
- Avantis® International Small Cap Value ETF 2.80%
- Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF 3.30%
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF 1.00%
- Weighted yield (per year) 2.69%
The portfolio-level yield of 2.69% gives off “I like getting paid while I wait” energy. The Schwab dividend ETF at 3.30% is clearly doing most of the income work, with Avantis chipping in decently and the S&P 500 basically just existing at 1%. It’s not some extreme high-yield monster, but there’s definitely an income bias baked in. The trade-off with yield-chasing is often slower growth or value traps, and the overall performance gap versus the U.S. market hints that the income tilt hasn’t been a free lunch. Still, as yield-focused setups go, it’s relatively sane rather than desperate.
Ongoing product costs
- Avantis® International Small Cap Value ETF 0.36%
- Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF 0.06%
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF 0.03%
- Weighted costs total (per year) 0.22%
Costs are almost disappointingly reasonable, with a blended TER of 0.22%. The Avantis fund at 0.36% is the diva of the group, while the Schwab and Vanguard ETFs basically charge couch-cushion money at 0.06% and 0.03%. For a portfolio that’s trying to be clever with factors and international small caps, 0.22% all-in is not outrageous. You’re not lighting money on fire for the privilege of complexity, which is rare. That said, the most expensive fund is also your biggest position, so most of the fee drag comes from that single conviction bet — you’re clearly paying up for that specific style choice, not for the plain vanilla parts.
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