Two fund global stock portfolio with strong US tilt and low cost core market exposure
Report created on Jun 10, 2026Risk profile
4/7
Diversification profile
3/5
Positions
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VO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
VOO - US9229083632 80.00% -
VX Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
VXUS - US9219097683 20.00%
This portfolio is built from just two broad stock ETFs: a large US index fund at 80% and a global ex‑US fund at 20%. That means the structure is extremely simple but still covers companies from around the world. A setup like this is often called a “core index” portfolio because it tracks wide market baskets rather than narrow themes. With 100% in stocks, it sits clearly on the growth side of the spectrum, even though the external “balanced” label is shown. The heavy weight in the US fund means the overall behaviour will be driven mainly by US large companies, with the international fund adding diversification but not dominating outcomes.
Growth
One or more local-currency benchmark funds are unavailable for this report.
From mid‑2016 to mid‑2026, a hypothetical $1,000 in this portfolio grew to about $3,873. That’s a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.56%, which means the investment grew on average 14.56% per year, similar to averaging a car’s speed over a long trip. Over the same period, the global market benchmark returned 13.19% annually, so this mix outpaced it by 1.37 percentage points a year. The worst decline, or max drawdown, was about ‑34%, broadly in line with the global market’s drop. Notably, 90% of the gains came from just 36 strong days, showing how missing a few big up days can dramatically change long‑term results.
Projection
The forward projection uses a Monte Carlo simulation, which is like running the next 15 years thousands of times using patterns from past returns and volatility. In these 1,000 runs, $1,000 ended up with a median outcome around $2,693, with a broad “likely” range from roughly $1,832 to $4,133. The model’s average annual return across all simulations is 8.07%, significantly lower than the past 10‑year CAGR, which reflects a more cautious, diversified set of possible futures. It’s important to remember Monte Carlo results aren’t predictions; they just map out many potential paths. Real markets can deliver better or worse outcomes than any model expects.
Asset classes
- Stocks 100%
All of this portfolio is in stocks, with no bonds, cash, or alternatives like real estate funds or commodities. That makes the asset mix straightforward to understand: it fully participates in equity market ups and downs. Compared with a classic stock‑bond blend, a 100% equity allocation typically offers higher long‑term growth potential but also larger and more frequent swings in value. Historically, stock‑only portfolios can experience deep but usually temporary drawdowns, like the roughly one‑third drop seen here in early 2020. The upside is long‑term growth has a clear link to global corporate earnings and economic progress, which stocks aim to capture over time.
Sectors
- Technology 32%
- Financials 14%
- Telecommunications 10%
- Industrials 10%
- Consumer Discretionary 10%
- Health Care 8%
- Consumer Staples 5%
- Energy 4%
- Basic Materials 3%
- Utilities 3%
- Real Estate 2%
Sector exposure is broad, with technology the largest at 32%, then financials, telecommunications, industrials, and consumer discretionary each around 10–14%. This profile is reasonably similar to many global equity benchmarks, where tech and related industries have grown in weight as large firms expanded. Tech‑heavy exposure often means higher sensitivity to interest rates and innovation cycles, which can amplify both strong rallies and sharp pullbacks. Smaller allocations to areas like utilities, real estate, and basic materials help balance things but won’t dominate performance. Overall, the sector mix looks well diversified and aligned with global market composition, which supports a solid foundation against sector‑specific shocks.
Regions
- North America 81%
- Europe Developed 7%
- Asia Developed 3%
- Japan 3%
- Asia Emerging 3%
- Australasia 1%
- Africa/Middle East 1%
Geographically, about 81% of the portfolio sits in North America, with the rest spread across Europe, Japan, developed Asia, emerging Asia, Australasia, and Africa/Middle East. This is a clear US‑heavy tilt compared with global indices where North America is large but not typically this dominant. A strong home‑region tilt can be comforting because it tracks familiar markets and currency, but it also concentrates economic and policy exposure in one area. The non‑US slice still provides meaningful diversification: companies from Europe, Asia, and emerging regions can behave differently across economic cycles, potentially smoothing returns when US markets diverge from the rest of the world.
Market capitalization
- Mega-cap 46%
- Large-cap 34%
- Mid-cap 18%
- Small-cap 1%
By market capitalization, the portfolio leans strongly toward mega‑cap and large‑cap companies, which together make up about 80% of exposure. Mid‑caps contribute another 18%, and small‑caps are only around 1%. Bigger companies tend to be more stable and widely researched, which can lower volatility compared with more small‑cap heavy portfolios. At the same time, smaller companies sometimes offer higher growth potential during certain periods but with bumpier rides. This cap structure essentially tracks the mainstream equity universe, with risk and return characteristics close to a broad market average rather than a pronounced tilt toward either tiny speculative names or a handful of giants only.
True holdings
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NV NVIDIA Corporation 6.28%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AA Apple Inc 5.16%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
MS Microsoft Corporation 3.92%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AM Amazon.com Inc 3.35%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class A 2.90%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AV Broadcom Inc 2.56%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class C 2.31%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
ME Meta Platforms Inc. 1.74%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
TS Tesla Inc 1.39%
Part of fund(s):- LS 1x Tesla Tracker ETP Securities GBP
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
BR Berkshire Hathaway Inc 1.13%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
- Top 10 total 30.74%
Looking through the ETFs’ top holdings, familiar large companies like NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet appear prominently. NVIDIA alone is about 6.3% of the portfolio, while Apple is about 5.2%, and the rest of the top names add up quickly. Some companies appear through multiple share classes or across both funds, which can create hidden concentration even without any single‑stock positions. Because only ETF top‑10 data is used, actual overlap is likely somewhat higher than shown. This pattern is normal for cap‑weighted index funds, where the biggest global firms dominate. It simply means portfolio behaviour will closely follow how these leading companies perform.
Factors
Factor exposures here are broadly neutral across value, size, momentum, quality, yield, and low volatility, all hovering around the 50% “market‑like” mark. Factor exposure describes how much a portfolio leans into characteristics that research has linked to long‑term returns, like cheapness (value) or steady earnings (quality). A neutral profile suggests this portfolio behaves similarly to a broad global market index, without big tilts that could help or hurt in specific environments. For example, there isn’t a strong bet on cheap stocks outperforming expensive ones, or on low‑volatility names being unusually stable. This keeps behaviour relatively predictable and benchmark‑like across market regimes.
Risk contribution
-
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
Weight: 80.00% 82.3% -
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
Weight: 20.00% 17.7%
Risk contribution measures how much each holding adds to the portfolio’s overall ups and downs, which can differ from its simple weight. Here, the S&P 500 ETF is 80% of assets but accounts for about 82% of total risk, roughly proportional. The international ETF is 20% of assets and contributes about 18% of risk, actually a bit less volatile relative to its size. This balance indicates no single holding is punching far above its weight in driving fluctuations. Instead, risk is concentrated where the money is: in the US fund. That’s typical in a two‑fund setup and makes it clear that most day‑to‑day movement comes from US equity performance.
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 vs. return chart shows this portfolio sitting on or very near the efficient frontier, which is the curve of best possible returns for each risk level using the existing holdings. The current mix has a Sharpe ratio of 0.63, while the optimal mix reaches 0.83 with slightly higher risk and return. The minimum‑variance version has lower risk but also lower return, with a Sharpe of 0.69. Since the current allocation lies close to this frontier, it’s considered efficient: given these two funds, the risk/return trade‑off is already strong, and there’s no glaring sign of wasted risk compared with other combinations of the same holdings.
Dividends
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF 1.10%
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares 2.70%
- Weighted yield (per year) 1.42%
The overall dividend yield is about 1.42%, coming from a 1.10% yield on the S&P 500 ETF and a higher 2.70% yield on the international ETF. Dividend yield is the annual cash payout as a percentage of price, like earning rent from owning shares. In a portfolio like this, income is modest and the main engine of return is capital growth rather than distributions. Over time, reinvested dividends can still be meaningful, adding to compounding as they buy more shares when paid. The slightly higher yield on the international side reflects how some non‑US markets typically distribute a larger share of profits as cash to shareholders.
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) 0.03%
Costs in this portfolio are extremely low. The S&P 500 ETF charges an annual TER (Total Expense Ratio) of 0.03%, and the international ETF charges 0.05%, leading to a blended cost of about 0.03%. TER is the yearly fee deducted inside a fund, similar to a small management charge built into the price. These levels are well below the average for actively managed funds and even competitive among index products. Low ongoing costs matter because they leave more of the gross market return in the investor’s pocket every year. Over long periods, even small fee differences can compound into sizable gaps in ending wealth, so this is a real strength.
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