Concentrated stock portfolio with strong US focus and very low costs delivering solid long term growth
Report created on Jun 5, 2026Risk profile
4/7
Diversification profile
3/5
Positions
-
VO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
VOO - US9229083632 74.50% -
BR Berkshire Hathaway Inc
BRK-B - US0846707026 13.90% -
VX Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
VXUS - US9219097683 11.60%
This portfolio is simple and very equity heavy, holding just three positions that are all stock-based. The largest is a US large-cap index ETF, which makes up roughly three-quarters of the portfolio. A single individual company, Berkshire Hathaway, is the second-biggest position, and an international stock ETF rounds out the mix. This structure means the portfolio’s behavior is dominated by broad US stocks, with a noticeable but smaller role for one active stock picker and a modest slice of non-US companies. A focused lineup like this is easy to understand and track, but it also means each holding has a clear and visible impact on overall performance.
Growth
Over the last decade, a hypothetical $1,000 invested in this mix grew to about $3,917, which works out to a 14.67% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). CAGR is like an average yearly “speed” over the whole journey, smoothing out bumps. This slightly trailed the US broad market benchmark but beat the global market by a comfortable margin. The worst drop, or max drawdown, was about -33% during early 2020, very similar to the benchmarks. That shows the portfolio behaved a lot like mainstream equity markets: strong growth over time but with sharp, temporary setbacks that required several months to recover.
Projection
The forward projection uses a Monte Carlo simulation, which basically means the computer runs the portfolio through 1,000 alternate “what if” histories based on past volatility and returns. After 15 years, the median outcome for $1,000 is about $2,697, with most simulated paths landing between roughly $1,752 and $3,975. A smaller slice of simulations produces much lower or much higher results, showing how wide long-term outcomes can be. The average annualized return across all paths is 7.79%, but that’s not a promise, just a statistical estimate. As always, these simulations rely on historical patterns that may not repeat, especially over long horizons.
Asset classes
- Stocks 100%
All of the portfolio is in stocks, with 0% in bonds, cash, or alternative assets. From an asset-class perspective, this is a “pure equity” approach, which tends to offer higher long-term return potential but also larger swings in value along the way. Compared with a more mixed stock-and-bond allocation, this profile will generally move more in sync with equity markets, both up and down. The “balanced” risk label of 4/7 reflects that the portfolio is not using bonds to dampen volatility. For investors, understanding that 100% stock exposure can mean deep temporary drawdowns is key, even if the long-run growth potential has historically been attractive.
Sectors
- Technology 29%
- Financials 25%
- Telecommunications 9%
- Consumer Discretionary 9%
- Industrials 8%
- Health Care 7%
- Consumer Staples 4%
- Energy 3%
- Basic Materials 2%
- Utilities 2%
- Real Estate 2%
Sector-wise, the portfolio tilts heavily toward technology and financials, which together make up over half of the equity exposure. Other areas like telecommunications, consumer discretionary, industrials, and healthcare are all present in single-digit slices, while sectors such as energy, materials, utilities, and real estate are relatively small. This looks broadly similar to many modern equity benchmarks, where tech-related and financial companies play a big role, though the financials share is boosted by the Berkshire position. Heavy tech exposure often means higher sensitivity to interest rates and growth expectations, while significant financial exposure can react strongly to credit conditions and economic cycles.
Regions
- North America 89%
- Europe Developed 4%
- Asia Developed 2%
- Japan 2%
- Asia Emerging 2%
- Australasia 1%
Geographically, this portfolio is very concentrated in North America at about 89%, with only modest allocations to Europe, Japan, developed Asia, and emerging Asia. Compared with a truly global stock benchmark, which spreads more evenly across regions, this is a clear US-heavy tilt. That has worked well over the past decade, as US markets have generally outperformed many other regions. The trade-off is that results are tightly tied to the performance of a single economy and currency. Smaller exposures to other regions do add some diversification, but they are not large enough to dominate behavior when US markets move sharply up or down.
Market capitalization
- Mega-cap 53%
- Large-cap 29%
- Mid-cap 15%
- Small-cap 1%
By market capitalization, the portfolio leans strongly into mega-cap and large-cap stocks, which together account for more than 80% of exposure. Mid-caps make up a modest slice, and small-caps are barely represented at around 1%. Large and mega-cap companies tend to be more established, with thicker trading and deeper analyst coverage, so their price moves can be somewhat smoother than very small companies, though still volatile. The limited small-cap exposure means less sensitivity to the more extreme boom-and-bust cycles often found in tiny firms. Overall, this cap profile is broadly consistent with mainstream index funds that track major global or US equity benchmarks.
True holdings
-
Part of fund(s):
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
NV NVIDIA Corporation 5.85%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AA Apple Inc 4.81%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
MS Microsoft Corporation 3.65%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AM Amazon.com Inc 3.12%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class A 2.70%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AV Broadcom Inc 2.38%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class C 2.15%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
ME Meta Platforms Inc. 1.62%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
TS Tesla Inc 1.30%
Part of fund(s):- LS 1x Tesla Tracker ETP Securities GBP
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
- Top 10 total 42.53%
Looking through the ETFs, Berkshire Hathaway ends up being almost 15% of the total portfolio once you combine the direct holding with the small portions held via the funds. That’s a meaningful single-company concentration. Several mega-cap growth names like NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, and Tesla also appear prominently through the ETFs, though none individually match Berkshire’s weight. Since only ETF top-10 holdings are captured, overlap in smaller positions is likely understated. Hidden overlap matters because if the same companies sit in multiple funds, the portfolio is more exposed to their fortunes than a simple “number of funds” count might suggest.
Factors
Factor exposures in this portfolio sit close to market-like levels across all measured dimensions: value, size, momentum, quality, yield, and low volatility. Factor exposure is basically how much the portfolio leans toward certain traits that research has shown can drive returns, like favoring cheap stocks (value) or stable ones (low volatility). With readings mostly in the neutral range, this portfolio behaves broadly like a standard market-cap-weighted equity index, without a strong tilt toward deep value, high momentum, high dividend, or defensive low-volatility strategies. That neutrality can be useful if the goal is simply to mirror the general risk-return profile of global large-cap equities.
Risk contribution
-
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
Weight: 74.50% 77.2% -
Berkshire Hathaway Inc
Weight: 13.90% 12.6% -
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
Weight: 11.60% 10.1%
Risk contribution shows how much each holding drives the portfolio’s overall ups and downs, which can be very different from its weight. Here, the S&P 500 ETF is 74.5% of the portfolio but contributes about 77% of total risk, so it slightly amplifies overall volatility. Berkshire Hathaway, at 13.9% weight, adds roughly 12.6% of risk, and the international ETF contributes about 10% of risk from an 11.6% weight. These ratios are all fairly close to 1, meaning no single holding is wildly more volatile than its size suggests. Still, because there are only three positions, all of the portfolio’s risk comes from this small core.
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 efficient frontier analysis suggests this portfolio already sits on or very near the frontier for its set of holdings. The current mix has a Sharpe ratio of 0.65, while the best possible combination of these same three positions, the “optimal portfolio,” reaches around 0.84 with slightly higher risk and return. The minimum-variance mix comes in with a bit less risk but also lower expected return and a modestly higher Sharpe than the current portfolio. The Sharpe ratio is a way of judging return per unit of risk, after accounting for a risk-free rate. Being near the frontier indicates the existing allocation is broadly efficient.
Dividends
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF 1.00%
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares 2.70%
- Weighted yield (per year) 1.06%
The portfolio’s overall dividend yield is about 1.06%, which is relatively modest. Most of this comes from the ETFs, with the international fund offering a higher yield than the US S&P 500 exposure. A low yield doesn’t mean poor performance; it just means more of the return has historically come from price increases rather than cash payouts. For investors who like reinvesting dividends, even small yields can compound over time. At the same time, lower-yielding portfolios may rely more on selling shares for cash needs instead of living off dividends alone, especially during periods when price growth is slower.
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 a clear strength here. The total expense ratio (TER) of the portfolio is around 0.03%, thanks to using very low-cost index ETFs. TER is the annual fee charged by funds as a percentage of the amount invested, and it quietly reduces returns each year. Over long periods, even small differences add up, so keeping this number low supports better compounding. Compared with many actively managed funds that might charge 0.5%–1% or more, these costs are impressively low and align with best practices for cost-efficient investing. The Berkshire stock itself carries no fund-level expense, which also helps keep the blended cost down.
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