Growth-chasing US beast with a tiny value conscience pretending to be a balanced portfolio
Report created on May 21, 2026Risk profile
4/7
Diversification profile
3/5
Positions
-
VO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
VOO - US9229083632 50.00% -
QQ Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
QQQM - US46138G6492 20.00% -
AV Avantis® International Small Cap Value ETF
AVDV - US0250728021 15.00% -
AV Avantis® U.S. Small Cap Value ETF
AVUV - US0250728773 15.00%
This “balanced” portfolio is basically a US megacap rocket with some small-cap value duct-taped to the wings. Half in an S&P 500 fund, another 20% in a NASDAQ 100 tracker, then 30% thrown at small-cap value like a guilt offering to diversification. The structure screams growth-chaser who once read about factor tilts on the internet. Calling this balanced is generous; it’s more like 70% mainstream US giants plus 30% spicy side bet. The mix works if the big US growth engine keeps humming, but there’s very little Plan B here beyond “hope small-cap value eventually has its decade.”
Growth
The historical performance looks fantastic: $1,000 turned into $2,450 with a 17.45% CAGR, beating both US and global markets. But that came with a nearly 25% drawdown and a long wait to crawl back out of the hole. Also, 90% of returns came from just 30 days — classic “miss a few good days and you’re toast” behavior. This is the kind of backtest that makes people overconfident: strong recent years, big US tech tailwind, and no major stress outside 2022. Past data here is like a highlight reel, not the full game tape.
Projection
The Monte Carlo projection is the sobering version of the hype chart. A median outcome of $2,798 over 15 years is way less exciting than the backward-looking 17%+ annual party. Simulations basically roll the dice on many future paths and average them out; they don’t care about your favorite backtest. The “likely” band of $1,737 to $4,136 says the future could be fine or just meh, while the downside case barely beats cash. It’s a reminder that markets don’t care how well something performed between 2020 and 2024 when they decide what happens next.
Asset classes
- Stocks 100%
Asset classes: 100% stocks, zero anything else. For a portfolio labeled “balanced,” this is more all-gas-no-brakes than middle-of-the-road. There’s no bonds, no cash buffer, no diversifiers — just pure equity beta. In plain English, this thing lives and dies with the stock market, full stop. That’s great when everything’s going up and less fun when volatility decides to reintroduce itself. A true balanced mix usually has at least one asset that doesn’t panic at the same time as stocks. Here, every single holding is fully invited to the same meltdown.
Sectors
- Technology 31%
- Consumer Discretionary 12%
- Financials 12%
- Industrials 10%
- Telecommunications 9%
- Energy 6%
- Health Care 6%
- Consumer Staples 5%
- Basic Materials 5%
- Utilities 2%
- Real Estate 1%
Sector-wise, tech is the main character at 31%, and consumer discretionary plus communication-style growth names hidden in there make it even more growthy than it looks. Utilities and real estate are basically rounding errors, so there’s almost no ballast from the boring stuff. This is a classic “own the winners” setup where innovation and cyclicality rule the show. When growth sectors party, returns look genius; when they re-rate down, everything suddenly feels expensive and fragile. The sector mix is less diversified portfolio and more fan club for whatever has led US indices over the last decade.
Regions
- North America 86%
- Europe Developed 6%
- Japan 5%
- Australasia 1%
- Africa/Middle East 1%
Geographically, this is “USA or bust” with 86% in North America and just a sprinkling elsewhere. Europe, Japan, and the rest of the world are tiny side characters, not real diversifiers. The international small-cap sleeve tries to look adventurous but is too small to meaningfully shift the overall footprint. This kind of home bias works great when the US outperforms and looks embarrassingly narrow when another region leads. The world is big, but this portfolio behaves like the global stock market ends at the US coastline, with a few tourist positions overseas for show.
Market capitalization
- Mega-cap 34%
- Large-cap 24%
- Mid-cap 20%
- Small-cap 14%
- Micro-cap 7%
Market cap exposure is oddly split between mega-cap dominance and a noticeable tail into micro caps. You’ve got 34% mega, 24% large, then a long slide down to 7% micro. That’s like pairing blue-chip behemoths with a pocketful of lottery tickets. The mid and small allocations give some genuine diversification of company size, but the overall impression is still: “giants in charge, small caps as optional chaos.” When markets get choppy, the big names can drag the whole thing, while the tiny companies add extra noise without necessarily saving the day.
True holdings
-
NV NVIDIA Corporation 5.72%
Part of fund(s):- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AA Apple Inc 4.68%
Part of fund(s):- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
MS Microsoft Corporation 3.49%
Part of fund(s):- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AM Amazon.com Inc 3.04%
Part of fund(s):- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class A 2.58%
Part of fund(s):- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AV Broadcom Inc 2.26%
Part of fund(s):- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class C 2.15%
Part of fund(s):- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
TS Tesla Inc 1.55%
Part of fund(s):- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
- LS 1x Tesla Tracker ETP Securities GBP
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
ME Meta Platforms Inc. 1.09%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
BR Berkshire Hathaway Inc 0.71%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
- Top 10 total 27.27%
The look-through holdings reveal the usual suspects running the show. NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Broadcom, Tesla, Meta — all the greatest hits stuffed into both S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 wrappers. There’s hidden overlap here: owning broad US and a concentrated growth index means the same mega-tech names keep showing up wearing different ETF costumes. That gives a sense of diversification on the surface while secretly funneling a lot of risk into a handful of giant companies. The small-cap value funds help, but the top exposures are still pure mega-cap royalty.
Factors
Factor-wise, this thing is shockingly neutral across the board. Value, size, momentum, quality, yield, low volatility — everything hovers around 50%, meaning it behaves a lot like the market’s average personality. For a portfolio that looks edgy with small-cap value sleeves plus growth indexes, the actual factor profile is pretty vanilla. Factor exposure is like the secret recipe behind returns; here, the recipe is “generic market blend with light seasoning.” That’s not bad, just less intentional than it appears. The portfolio talks like a factor nerd but walks like a broad beta fund.
Risk contribution
-
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
Weight: 50.00% 47.3% -
Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
Weight: 20.00% 23.7% -
Avantis® U.S. Small Cap Value ETF
Weight: 15.00% 16.7% -
Avantis® International Small Cap Value ETF
Weight: 15.00% 12.2%
Risk contribution shows who’s really driving the drama, and it’s basically the top three funds doing all the shouting. The S&P 500 ETF is half the portfolio and adds 47% of the risk — fine, at least that’s proportional. The NASDAQ 100 at 20% weight contributes nearly 24% of risk, so it’s punching above its size, as expected from a growth-heavy index. The US small-cap value fund also adds more risk than its weight suggests. The international small-cap value piece is the only one under-contributing, quietly tagging along while the US crowd hogs the volatility spotlight.
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 chart, this portfolio is leaving free money on the table. Same holdings, just different weights could get you either higher return at the same risk or lower risk at roughly the same return. The current Sharpe ratio of 0.8 versus 1.06 for the optimal mix is a polite way of saying the setup is kind of lazy. Sharpe is just “return per unit of stress,” and right now, the stress isn’t being used efficiently. The curve basically says: these ingredients are fine, but the recipe could be mixed a lot smarter.
Dividends
- Avantis® International Small Cap Value ETF 2.80%
- Avantis® U.S. Small Cap Value ETF 1.30%
- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF 0.40%
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF 1.00%
- Weighted yield (per year) 1.20%
The total yield around 1.2% confirms this is not a dividend lover’s paradise. The small-cap value ETFs at least try to pay something, but the S&P 500 and especially NASDAQ 100 are more about price growth than cash in hand. This is a classic total-return portfolio dressed in a thin income layer, not a steady paycheck generator. If someone looked at those value labels and expected chunky distributions, the yield numbers are a quick reality check. The income stream exists, but it’s more a side effect of owning stocks than a core design feature.
Ongoing product costs
- Avantis® International Small Cap Value ETF 0.36%
- Avantis® U.S. Small Cap Value ETF 0.25%
- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF 0.15%
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF 0.03%
- Weighted costs total (per year) 0.14%
Costs are the one area where this portfolio behaves like a responsible adult. A total TER of 0.14% for a four-ETF lineup is solidly low, especially given the factor-flavored Avantis funds. The S&P 500 piece at 0.03% is basically free, and even the priciest slice at 0.36% is reasonable for what it does. It’s not rock-bottom across the board, but there’s no obvious fee gouging or shiny active fund tax. Think of it as flying economy with an occasional extra legroom seat — nothing luxurious, but at least you’re not paying champagne prices for tap water.
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