Broad low cost global stock portfolio with a strong US tilt and modest dividend overlay
Report created on May 12, 2026Risk profile
4/7
Diversification profile
3/5
Positions
-
VT Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
VTI - US9229087690 85.00% -
VX Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
VXUS - US9219097683 10.00% -
SC Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
SCHD - US8085247976 3.00% -
SC Schwab International Dividend Equity ETF
SCHY - US8085246721 2.00%
This portfolio is a straightforward four‑ETF stock mix dominated by one broad US fund. About 85% sits in a total US equity ETF, 10% in a total international stock ETF, and the final 5% in US and international dividend ETFs. So almost everything is in diversified stock index funds, with the dividend funds acting as a small overlay. This kind of structure is easy to understand: one main “engine” with a few side components. The concentration in one core ETF keeps things simple but also means that ETF largely sets the portfolio’s behavior, especially in terms of returns, volatility, and exposure to market trends.
Growth
Over the period shown, a hypothetical $1,000 grew to $1,739, which translates to a 11.69% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). CAGR is just the smooth yearly rate that would take you from start to finish, like average speed on a road trip. The portfolio lagged the US market benchmark but slightly beat the global market benchmark. The maximum drawdown was about -25%, similar to both benchmarks, meaning the worst peak‑to‑trough drop felt like a typical equity downturn. Only 17 days made up 90% of returns, underlining how a handful of strong days drove most of the gains.
Projection
The Monte Carlo projection uses past return and risk patterns to randomly simulate many possible 15‑year paths for a $1,000 investment. Think of it as running the same movie 1,000 times with slightly different twists. The median outcome of about $2,719 suggests moderate long‑term growth, with a wide “likely” band from roughly $1,796 to $4,178. There’s also a meaningful chance of flat or negative results, reflected in the low end near $955. The average annualized return across simulations is 7.98%, but this is not a promise; it just shows what could happen if markets behave somewhat like they did before, which is never guaranteed.
Asset classes
- Stocks 100%
All of the portfolio is in stocks, with 0% in bonds, cash, or alternatives. That 100% equity allocation explains why both growth potential and drawdowns are fairly pronounced: stocks historically offer higher long‑term returns but can swing around more in the short term. Compared with many “balanced” blends that mix in bonds, this setup is more growth‑oriented and relies entirely on equities for both return and risk. The benefit is simplicity and full participation in stock market gains. The trade‑off is that when markets fall, there’s no built‑in cushion from less volatile asset classes to soften the impact.
Sectors
- Technology 29%
- Financials 13%
- Industrials 10%
- Health Care 10%
- Consumer Discretionary 10%
- Telecommunications 9%
- Consumer Staples 6%
- Energy 5%
- Basic Materials 3%
- Utilities 3%
- Real Estate 2%
Sector exposure is broadly diversified, with technology the largest slice at 29%, followed by notable weights in financials, industrials, health care, and consumer areas. This pattern is similar to common broad equity benchmarks, meaning the portfolio isn’t making big sector “bets” outside the overall market structure. A tech‑tilt is normal today since many of the world’s biggest companies are in that space. Tech‑heavy allocations can see larger moves during periods of changing interest rates or sentiment about growth companies, but having meaningful exposure to more defensive sectors like consumer staples, health care, and utilities helps balance that out.
Regions
- North America 88%
- Europe Developed 5%
- Asia Emerging 2%
- Japan 2%
- Asia Developed 2%
- Australasia 1%
Geographically, about 88% of the equity exposure is in North America, with relatively small slices in Europe, Japan, and other developed and emerging regions. That’s a clear US and North‑America tilt compared with global indices, where the US is large but not this dominant. The upside of this alignment is that it has loosely matched the strong performance of US stocks in recent years, which helps explain the portfolio’s better result versus the global benchmark. The downside is that economic, political, or market shocks in North America will heavily influence the entire portfolio, since most holdings are tied to that region.
Market capitalization
- Mega-cap 40%
- Large-cap 32%
- Mid-cap 19%
- Small-cap 6%
- Micro-cap 2%
By market capitalization, the portfolio leans toward bigger companies, with 40% in mega‑caps and 32% in large‑caps. Mid‑caps, small‑caps, and micro‑caps together make up under 30%. This pattern mirrors broad market indices, which are naturally top‑heavy because they weight by company size. Larger firms can add stability and liquidity, while smaller ones often move more sharply, both up and down. The presence of mid and small companies adds some extra growth potential and diversification without dominating the overall risk profile. Overall, the market‑cap mix looks aligned with global stock markets, which is a solid, benchmark‑like structure.
True holdings
-
NV NVIDIA Corporation 5.44%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
AA Apple Inc 5.03%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
MS Microsoft Corporation 3.71%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
AM Amazon.com Inc 2.72%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class A 2.26%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
AV Broadcom Inc 1.98%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class C 1.79%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
ME Meta Platforms Inc. 1.69%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
TS Tesla Inc 1.41%
Part of fund(s):- LS 1x Tesla Tracker ETP Securities GBP
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
BR Berkshire Hathaway Inc 1.16%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
- Top 10 total 27.20%
Looking through the ETFs reveals that a handful of giant companies show up across multiple holdings. NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet together already account for a meaningful slice of the portfolio’s visible exposures. Because only ETF top‑10 holdings are captured, actual overlap is likely a bit higher than shown. This kind of hidden concentration is common in index‑based portfolios, since the same large names appear everywhere. It means portfolio performance is meaningfully tied to how these mega‑cap leaders do. When they’re strong, returns can look impressive; when they stumble, the impact can ripple through several funds at once.
Factors
Factor exposures are estimated using statistical models based on historical data and measure systematic (market-relative) tilts, not absolute portfolio characteristics. Results may vary depending on the analysis period, data availability, and currency of the underlying assets.
Factor exposure across value, size, momentum, quality, yield, and low volatility is broadly neutral, sitting close to the market average in each case. Factors are like investing “ingredients” that describe why stocks behave the way they do — for example, value focuses on cheaper stocks, momentum on recent winners. Here, there aren’t strong tilts toward or away from any single style. That means the portfolio behaves much like a broad market index rather than leaning heavily into a specific strategy. This balance can be comforting: returns are less likely to sharply diverge from major benchmarks because of hidden style bets.
Risk contribution
-
Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
Weight: 85.00% 88.6% -
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
Weight: 10.00% 8.2% -
Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
Weight: 3.00% 2.1% -
Schwab International Dividend Equity ETF
Weight: 2.00% 1.1%
Risk contribution shows how much each holding drives overall ups and downs, which can differ from simple weights. The core US total market ETF is 85% of the portfolio but contributes about 89% of its total risk, so it slightly “punches above its weight.” The international total market ETF adds 10% of the weight but only around 8% of the risk, and the two dividend funds together contribute a small slice. The top three holdings account for nearly all portfolio risk, which fits the concentrated structure. In practice, this means the portfolio’s volatility is almost entirely dictated by that main US position.
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 the current portfolio sitting on or very close to the efficient frontier. The efficient frontier is the curve of the best possible return for each risk level using just these holdings in different mixes. With a Sharpe ratio of 0.51, the current mix has lower risk‑adjusted returns than the “optimal” version of these same ETFs, which has a Sharpe of 0.73 at slightly lower risk. However, being on the frontier means that, for this particular risk level, the allocation is already efficient. The trade‑off between volatility and expected return is being used reasonably well.
Dividends
- Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF 3.30%
- Schwab International Dividend Equity ETF 3.40%
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares 1.00%
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares 2.70%
- Weighted yield (per year) 1.29%
The overall dividend yield is 1.29%, with the core US fund yielding about 1% and the international fund somewhat higher at 2.7%. The two dividend‑focused ETFs throw off yields above 3%, but because they’re only 5% of the portfolio, they don’t move the total yield much. Dividends represent regular cash payments from companies and can be a meaningful part of long‑term stock returns, especially when reinvested. In this portfolio, they play a supporting role rather than being the main focus. Most of the expected return comes from potential price growth rather than from income paid out along the way.
Ongoing product costs
- Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF 0.06%
- Schwab International Dividend Equity ETF 0.14%
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares 0.03%
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares 0.05%
- Weighted costs total (per year) 0.04%
The portfolio’s costs are impressively low. The total expense ratio (TER) is about 0.04%, thanks to all four ETFs being very low‑fee index products. TER is the annual fee charged by funds, expressed as a percentage of your investment — a kind of ongoing “membership fee.” Keeping this small means more of the portfolio’s returns stay in your pocket instead of going to fund providers. Over many years, even small fee differences compound into noticeable amounts. Here, the cost structure closely matches best‑in‑class index pricing, which is a strong foundation for long‑term compound growth.
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