Simple low cost global stock portfolio with strong US tilt and balanced risk profile
Report created on Apr 16, 2026Risk profile
- Secure Speculative
The risk profile, derived from past market volatility, reflects the level of risk the portfolio is exposed to. This assessment helps align your investments with your financial goals and comfort with market fluctuations.
Diversification profile
- Focused Diversified
The diversification assessment evaluates the spread of investments across asset classes, regions, and sectors. This ensures a balanced mix, reducing risk and maximizing returns by not concentrating in any single area.
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%
The portfolio is extremely straightforward: two broad stock ETFs, about 80% in a US large‑cap fund and 20% in an international stock fund. That means everything here is in equities, with no explicit bonds or cash buffer. Simple structures like this are easy to understand and maintain, and they avoid the complexity that can creep in with many small positions. The trade‑off is that all the ups and downs will track stock markets pretty closely. For someone wanting some stability, this mix would usually sit inside a bigger plan that might also include cash or bonds elsewhere, even if they’re not in this specific account.
Growth
From 2016 to 2026, $1,000 grew to about $3,556, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.59%. CAGR is like your average speed on a long road trip, smoothing out all the bumps along the way. The portfolio slightly lagged the US market by 0.83% per year but beat the global market by 1.68% per year, which is a solid outcome. The max drawdown of about -34% during early 2020 shows that big temporary drops are very real. The key takeaway is that staying invested through those spikes and crashes has historically been rewarded, but it requires emotional discipline.
Projection
The Monte Carlo projection runs 1,000 simulated futures using past data to estimate a range of possible outcomes. Think of it as replaying history with slightly different dice rolls each time to see what could happen over 15 years. The median outcome takes $1,000 to around $2,677, with a wide “likely” band from about $1,793 to $4,262. An average annual return of 8.02% across simulations is decent, but the spread shows real uncertainty. As always, these are models based on history, not promises; markets can behave differently, so projections should be seen as rough weather forecasts, not timetables.
Asset classes
- Stocks 100%
All of this portfolio is in stocks, with 0% in bonds, cash, or alternatives. Equities historically offer higher long‑term growth but come with sharper drawdowns and more frequent swings. A 100% stock allocation is usually more volatile than a classic balanced mix that includes bonds, but it also has higher expected returns over long horizons. For someone with decades ahead and other safety nets (like stable income or emergency savings), this can be acceptable. For shorter horizons or low risk tolerance, mixing in some lower‑risk assets elsewhere can help smooth the ride without relying on timing the market.
Sectors
- Technology 30%
- Financials 14%
- Industrials 10%
- Consumer Discretionary 10%
- Telecommunications 10%
- Health Care 9%
- Consumer Staples 5%
- Energy 4%
- Basic Materials 3%
- Utilities 3%
- Real Estate 2%
Sector exposure is fairly broad, with technology at 30%, then financials, industrials, consumer discretionary, and telecoms making up much of the rest. This mix is quite similar to popular global benchmarks, which is a good sign for diversification. The tech tilt is noticeable but not extreme; that’s common today because large tech and tech‑adjacent names dominate major indices. In practice, this means the portfolio may be more sensitive to interest rates, innovation cycles, and earnings expectations in growth‑oriented businesses. The positive side is participation in key growth drivers of the modern economy, without an aggressive sector bet.
Regions
- North America 81%
- Europe Developed 8%
- Japan 3%
- Asia Developed 3%
- Asia Emerging 3%
- Australasia 1%
- Africa/Middle East 1%
Geographically, about 81% is in North America, with the remaining 19% spread across developed Europe, Japan, other developed Asia, emerging Asia, Australasia, and Africa/Middle East. This is more US‑heavy than a pure world market, but not wildly so. The advantage is strong exposure to one of the most established and innovative markets. The trade‑off is that returns are heavily tied to one economy and currency, even though there is a meaningful global slice. For many US‑based investors, this pattern is familiar and can be comfortable, but adding more non‑US exposure is one common way to diversify further.
Market capitalization
- Mega-cap 46%
- Large-cap 34%
- Mid-cap 18%
- Small-cap 1%
Market‑cap exposure leans strongly to mega‑ and large‑cap companies, with about 80% in these giants, 18% in mid‑caps, and only 1% in small‑caps. Large companies tend to be more stable and easier to analyze, and they dominate index funds by design. The benefit is that risk is anchored in well‑established businesses with long operating histories. The downside is less exposure to smaller, potentially faster‑growing firms that can behave differently during certain market cycles. Still, this structure is very much in line with standard index investing and helps keep volatility closer to broad‑market norms.
True holdings
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NV NVIDIA Corporation 5.86%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AA Apple Inc 5.31%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
MS Microsoft Corporation 3.97%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AM Amazon.com Inc 2.78%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class A 2.46%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AV Broadcom Inc 2.06%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class C 1.97%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
ME Meta Platforms Inc. 1.92%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
TS Tesla Inc 1.54%
Part of fund(s):- LS 1x Tesla Tracker ETP Securities GBP
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
BR Berkshire Hathaway Inc 1.26%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
- Top 10 total 29.11%
Looking through the ETFs, the top exposures are heavily tilted to a handful of giant US names like NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Broadcom, and Meta. Several of these appear in both ETFs, creating some hidden concentration even though you only hold two funds. Because only top‑10 ETF holdings are visible, the real overlap is probably a bit larger. This kind of “index concentration” is normal today, but it does mean that news around a few mega‑cap companies can move the portfolio more than you might expect from a simple two‑fund setup.
Factors
Factor exposure is essentially market‑like across the board, with value, size, momentum, quality, yield, and low volatility all sitting in the neutral range. Factors are characteristics like “cheap vs. expensive” or “stable vs. volatile” that help explain why some stocks behave differently from others. Here, there’s no strong tilt toward or away from any of them. That means performance is mainly driven by broad market movements rather than specific factor bets. This is actually a positive alignment with mainstream index practice: it reduces the risk of accidentally leaning hard into one style that might underperform for many years in a row.
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 shows how much each holding drives the portfolio’s overall ups and downs, which can differ from simple weights. The S&P 500 ETF is 80% of the capital but contributes about 82% of the risk, while the international fund is 20% of capital and 18% of risk. That’s very proportional, suggesting no position is secretly dominating volatility. This is a strong sign that position sizing is sensible and aligned with your intent. If the risk share of one holding ever drifted far above its weight, trimming or rebalancing could help keep the risk profile consistent with your comfort zone.
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‑return chart shows the portfolio sitting on or very near the efficient frontier. The efficient frontier is the curve of best possible returns for each level of risk using the existing holdings. Your current Sharpe ratio of 0.58 (a measure of return per unit of risk) is below the max‑Sharpe mix at 0.79 but the gap is modest. The minimum‑variance mix has lower risk but also noticeably lower return. Since you’re already close to the frontier, any potential improvement would come from small reweighting tweaks, not structural problems. That’s a strong confirmation that the basic allocation is working well.
Dividends
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF 1.10%
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares 2.80%
- Weighted yield (per year) 1.44%
The overall dividend yield sits around 1.44%, with the US fund at about 1.10% and the international fund closer to 2.80%. Yield is the cash income you’d receive each year as a percentage of what you’ve invested. This level is modest and very typical for a growth‑oriented stock portfolio focused on broad indices. Most of the return here is expected to come from price appreciation rather than high income. For someone who doesn’t need large current payouts and is more focused on compounding over time, this setup works well; income‑seekers might pair it with higher‑yielding assets elsewhere.
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 are impressively low. The US ETF charges 0.03% and the international ETF 0.05%, leading to a blended total expense ratio (TER) of roughly 0.03%. TER is the annual fee the fund takes to operate, and every 0.1% you don’t pay is money that keeps compounding for you. Being this close to the floor on fees is a major structural advantage and firmly in line with best practices. Over decades, the difference between 0.03% and even 0.3% adds up significantly, so this cost discipline is one of the strongest features of the portfolio.
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