Balanced income tilted portfolio with strong value focus and room to improve global diversification

Report created on May 23, 2024

Risk profile Info

4/7
Balanced
Less risk More risk

Diversification profile Info

3/5
Moderately Diversified
Less diversification More diversification

Positions

The portfolio is built mainly from broad US stock index funds with a clear tilt toward dividend and defensive themes, plus a modest bond sleeve. Roughly a third is in a total US stock market ETF, about 40% is split across blue-chip and high-dividend US stocks, and around 16% sits in bonds, including inflation-protected securities. A small slice goes to focused sector ETFs in utilities and insurance, with a tiny single-stock position adding a speculative touch. This overall mix lines up well with a “balanced” risk profile: mostly growth-oriented, but not all-in on equities. The key takeaway is that growth, income, and some stability are all represented, but equity risk still clearly dominates outcomes.

Growth Info

From mid-2019 to early 2026, $1,000 in this portfolio grew to about $1,832, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.52%. CAGR is the “average speed” of growth over time, smoothing out the bumps. This trailed both the US market (13.58%) and the global market (11.20%), mainly because the portfolio leans toward value, dividends, and some bonds, all of which lagged large US growth stocks in this period. Max drawdown, or the deepest peak-to-trough loss, was about -32.8%, very similar to the benchmarks. So downside pain was comparable, but upside capture was lower. That’s a useful reminder that historically safer-tilting portfolios can still fall sharply in big shocks.

Asset classes Info

  • Stocks
    84%
  • Bonds
    16%

Asset allocation sits at about 84% stocks and 16% bonds, squarely in “balanced but growth-leaning” territory. Stocks drive long-term growth, while bonds act as a ballast, typically softening the blow during equity selloffs and providing some income. Relative to many classic 60/40 portfolios, this mix is more aggressive, accepting more volatility in pursuit of higher returns. For someone with a multi-decade horizon, that can be sensible, but shorter horizons or upcoming cash needs might call for a higher bond allocation. The encouraging part is that there is at least a meaningful bond cushion; the open question is whether the current 16% level is aligned with future spending plans and emotional comfort during drawdowns.

Sectors Info

  • Financials
    17%
  • Technology
    14%
  • Utilities
    8%
  • Consumer Discretionary
    8%
  • Industrials
    7%
  • Health Care
    7%
  • Consumer Staples
    6%
  • Real Estate
    6%
  • Telecommunications
    5%
  • Energy
    4%
  • Basic Materials
    2%

This breakdown covers the equity portion of your portfolio only.

Sector exposure is nicely diversified, with no single area completely dominating, yet there’s a clear lean toward financials, technology, and utilities. Financials and utilities often support higher income and can be more sensitive to interest-rate moves, while technology tends to be growth-driven and more sensitive to changes in economic expectations and valuation sentiment. The dedicated utilities and insurance ETFs reinforce a defensive, income-oriented bias, which can help in choppy or inflationary environments but may lag in explosive growth rallies. The sector mix roughly echoes broad market weights while modestly boosting “old economy” and defensive areas, which is a strong indicator of sensible diversification without extreme thematic bets.

Regions Info

  • North America
    81%
  • Europe Developed
    2%

This breakdown covers the equity portion of your portfolio only.

Geographically, the portfolio is heavily tilted toward North America at 81%, with only a small allocation to developed Europe and effectively minimal exposure to the rest of the world. Many broad global benchmarks allocate closer to 55–65% to the US, with meaningful weights in Europe and Asia. A strong home bias is common and has been rewarded recently because US markets outperformed many others. However, it also concentrates economic and political risk in one region. Over very long horizons, adding more non-US exposure can help smooth returns when the US goes through weaker periods. Here, the overseas slice is tiny, so global diversification benefits are present but quite limited.

Market capitalization Info

  • Large-cap
    31%
  • Mid-cap
    25%
  • Mega-cap
    19%
  • Small-cap
    7%
  • Micro-cap
    1%

This breakdown covers the equity portion of your portfolio only.

Market cap exposure leans toward larger companies, with substantial allocations to large-cap and mega-cap names, plus a solid spread across mid-cap and smaller companies. This is fairly close to how broad equity markets are structured, which is reassuring. Larger firms tend to be more stable, diversified businesses with better access to capital, while mid- and small-caps can offer higher growth but bumpier rides. Having 7% in small-caps and a bit in micro-caps adds some return potential and diversification without turning the portfolio into a high-volatility small-cap bet. This balance is well-aligned with global standards and supports a smoother overall experience than a portfolio dominated by smaller, more speculative stocks.

True holdings Info

  • Microsoft Corporation
    2.42%
    Part of fund(s):
    • SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust
    • Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond Index Fund ETF Shares
    • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
  • Goldman Sachs Group Inc
    2.25%
    Part of fund(s):
    • SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust
  • NVIDIA Corporation
    1.93%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
  • Caterpillar Inc
    1.90%
    Part of fund(s):
    • SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust
  • Apple Inc
    1.83%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
  • The Travelers Companies Inc
    1.19%
    Part of fund(s):
    • SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust
    • iShares U.S. Insurance ETF
  • Amazon.com Inc
    0.95%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
  • Amgen Inc
    0.95%
    Part of fund(s):
    • SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust
  • The Home Depot Inc
    0.89%
    Part of fund(s):
    • SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust
  • Alphabet Inc Class A
    0.85%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
  • Top 10 total 15.16%

This breakdown covers the equity portion of your portfolio only.

Looking through the top ETF holdings, a handful of big US names appear repeatedly, like Microsoft, Apple, NVIDIA, Caterpillar, Goldman Sachs, and Amazon. None dominates on its own, but together they create a subtle concentration in large, well-known companies, especially in technology and industrials. Because only ETF top-10 holdings are used, overlap is probably understated; many of these names likely appear further down in other funds too. Hidden overlap matters because it means risk is more tied to a relatively small group of giants than the headline ETF list suggests. The positive side is these are financially strong companies, but it’s worth recognizing that diversification is a bit thinner than the number of tickers implies.

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
Neutral
Data availability: 100%
Yield
Preference for dividend-paying stocks
High
Data availability: 100%
Low Volatility
Preference for stable, lower-risk stocks
High
Data availability: 100%

Factor exposure shows notable tilts toward value, yield, and low volatility, with other factors roughly neutral. Factors are like underlying “personality traits” of investments that research links to long-term returns. A value tilt means holding more companies that look cheaper relative to fundamentals, which historically helps when markets rotate away from expensive growth names. High yield exposure reflects a preference for income-generating securities, supporting cash flow but sometimes sacrificing pure growth. The low-volatility tilt suggests a bias toward steadier stocks that historically swing less than the market. Together, these tilts describe a more conservative equity style: prioritizing income and stability over chasing hot momentum trends, which fits well with a balanced risk profile.

Risk contribution Info

  • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
    Weight: 31.15%
    37.1%
  • SPDR® Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF
    Weight: 19.75%
    25.3%
  • SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust
    Weight: 20.33%
    23.3%
  • iShares U.S. Insurance ETF
    Weight: 5.24%
    6.3%
  • Utilities Select Sector SPDR® Fund
    Weight: 5.37%
    5.1%
  • Top 5 risk contribution 97.0%

Risk contribution shows how much each holding drives the portfolio’s ups and downs, which can differ from simple weights. Here, the top three ETFs—total market, high dividend, and Dow—hold about 71% of assets but contribute roughly 86% of total risk. That concentration is not extreme, but it does mean the portfolio’s behavior is heavily shaped by these broad US equity funds. Sector ETFs in utilities and insurance contribute slightly less risk than their weight might suggest, reflecting their defensive nature. If a more even risk distribution is desired, adjusting the weights of those top three positions—rather than adding new tickers—could bring risk contributions closer to intended emphasis.

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 has a Sharpe ratio of 0.53, while the best combination of the existing holdings reaches 0.70. The Sharpe ratio measures return per unit of risk, so higher is better. The portfolio sits about 2 percentage points below the efficient frontier at its current risk level, meaning the same holdings could be reweighted to potentially achieve either higher expected return for the same volatility, or similar return with lower volatility. This is encouraging: nothing “new” needs to be added to improve efficiency. A thoughtful rebalance toward the model’s optimal mix could better align the portfolio with its balanced objective while squeezing more benefit from the current building blocks.

Dividends Info

  • Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond Index Fund ETF Shares 4.10%
  • SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust 1.30%
  • iShares U.S. Insurance ETF 2.80%
  • iShares Core MSCI International Developed Market 3.50%
  • SPDR Portfolio TIPS 4.10%
  • SPDR® Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF 4.40%
  • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares 1.20%
  • Utilities Select Sector SPDR® Fund 2.60%
  • Weighted yield (per year) 2.51%

The overall dividend yield around 2.51% is meaningfully above the broad US market’s yield, thanks to the dedicated high-dividend ETF, utilities exposure, and bond income. Dividends and bond interest provide a steady return component that doesn’t rely on prices going up, which can be psychologically reassuring and useful for funding withdrawals. The trade-off is that high-yielding assets sometimes come from slower-growing or more mature businesses, so total return can lag pure growth strategies in roaring bull markets. Still, for income-oriented investors, this yield level is quite solid and suggests the portfolio is designed to balance cash flow needs with long-term appreciation.

Ongoing product costs Info

  • Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond Index Fund ETF Shares 0.04%
  • SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust 0.16%
  • iShares U.S. Insurance ETF 0.40%
  • iShares Core MSCI International Developed Market 0.04%
  • SPDR Portfolio TIPS 0.12%
  • SPDR® Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF 0.07%
  • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares 0.03%
  • Utilities Select Sector SPDR® Fund 0.09%
  • Weighted costs total (per year) 0.10%

Total ongoing costs are very low at about 0.10% per year, which is a real strength. Expense ratios are like a small leak in a bucket; over decades, even tiny differences compound meaningfully. Most holdings here are cost-efficient index or factor ETFs, with only one slightly higher-cost sector fund, yet the overall blended fee stays impressively low. This aligns closely with best practices and supports better long-term outcomes, since every dollar not spent on fees stays invested and compounding. From a cost perspective, the portfolio is already in an excellent place, and there’s no obvious benefit in chasing marginally cheaper products given the current structure.

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