Two fund global stock portfolio with strong US tilt and low cost core equity exposure
Report created on Jun 16, 2026Risk profile
4/7
Diversification profile
3/5
Positions
-
VO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
VOO - US9229083632 80.00% -
VX Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
VXUS - US9219097683 20.00%
This portfolio is a very simple two‑fund setup, fully invested in stocks. Around 80% sits in a broad US large‑cap index, and 20% is in a total international stock ETF. That structure creates a strong home bias toward the US while still including a meaningful slice of overseas markets. Simplicity like this makes it easy to understand what’s driving returns: almost everything comes from global stock markets, with the US as the main engine. The buy‑and‑hold assumption means weights can drift over time as markets move, so the portfolio may slowly become even more US‑heavy if US stocks outperform again, which is something to be aware of conceptually.
Growth
One or more local-currency benchmark funds are unavailable for this report.
Over the period from mid‑2016 to mid‑2026, $1,000 in this portfolio grew to about $3,875. That works out to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.57%, meaning the investment grew as if it gained around 14.57% per year on average. This beat the global equity benchmark by 1.77 percentage points per year, a sizable edge over a decade. The deepest drop, or max drawdown, was about ‑34% during early 2020, very similar to the global market’s fall. This shows that while returns were strong, the ride still included sharp downs. As always, past performance describes history; it doesn’t guarantee anything about future returns or drawdowns.
Projection
The Monte Carlo projection uses the portfolio’s historical ups and downs to simulate many possible 15‑year paths. Think of it as running 1,000 “what if” futures based on how similar portfolios have behaved before. The median result grows $1,000 to about $2,861, with a broad middle range from roughly $1,838 to $4,254. The widest range, from about $995 to $7,913, shows just how spread out long‑term outcomes can be even with the same starting point. The average simulated annual return is 8.27%, lower than the historical 14.57%, which is a reminder that long‑term expectations are often dialed down relative to recent strong decades.
Asset classes
- Stocks 100%
By asset class, this is a 100% equity portfolio with no bonds, cash, or alternatives included. That’s straightforward: returns and risk both come directly from stock markets. Compared with a more mixed stock‑bond blend, this setup generally offers higher long‑term growth potential alongside larger short‑term swings. The risk classification as “Balanced” reflects the model used in the report, but structurally the holdings themselves are all in stocks. Because both funds are very broad indexes, diversification is achieved within equities rather than across different asset classes, which keeps things simple but ties the whole portfolio to equity market behavior.
Sectors
- Technology 32%
- Financials 14%
- Telecommunications 10%
- Industrials 10%
- Consumer Discretionary 10%
- Health Care 8%
- Consumer Staples 5%
- Energy 4%
- Basic Materials 3%
- Utilities 3%
- Real Estate 2%
Sector exposure is nicely spread, with technology at around 32% and the rest broadly distributed across financials, telecoms, industrials, consumer‑related areas, health care, energy, and others. Tech is clearly the largest slice, which is common in modern broad‑market indexes, but other sectors still contribute meaningfully. This composition lines up well with major benchmarks, which is a strong indicator of healthy diversification within equities. Because the portfolio doesn’t lean heavily into any narrow niche, its performance tends to reflect overall sector trends in the global economy rather than being dominated by a single theme or industry.
Regions
- North America 81%
- Europe Developed 7%
- Asia Developed 3%
- Japan 3%
- Asia Emerging 3%
- Australasia 1%
- Africa/Middle East 1%
Geographically, about 81% of the equity exposure is in North America, with the rest spread across developed Europe, Japan, other developed Asia, emerging Asia, Australasia, and Africa/Middle East. This is a clear US‑tilt compared with global market weights, where the US is large but not over 80%. That tilt explains why past performance has been strong: the US has led many other regions in recent years. At the same time, the international sleeve does bring in multiple currencies and economies, which helps reduce the risk of being 100% tied to a single region. Still, this is best viewed as a US‑anchored global portfolio.
Market capitalization
- Mega-cap 46%
- Large-cap 34%
- Mid-cap 18%
- Small-cap 1%
Market cap exposure leans heavily toward the largest companies: about 46% in mega‑caps and 34% in large‑caps, with only a modest allocation to mid‑caps and a very small slice in small‑caps. This is typical of cap‑weighted index funds, where bigger companies naturally take up more space. The benefit is stability and liquidity—large firms tend to be more established and less fragile than tiny ones. The trade‑off is that the portfolio captures less of the sometimes higher‑growth, higher‑volatility behavior seen in smaller companies. Overall, the size mix mirrors mainstream benchmarks, giving market‑like size exposure rather than a deliberate tilt.
True holdings
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NV NVIDIA Corporation 6.28%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AA Apple Inc 5.16%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
MS Microsoft Corporation 3.92%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AM Amazon.com Inc 3.35%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class A 2.90%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AV Broadcom Inc 2.56%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class C 2.31%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
ME Meta Platforms Inc. 1.74%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
TS Tesla Inc 1.39%
Part of fund(s):- LS 1x Tesla Tracker ETP Securities GBP
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
BR Berkshire Hathaway Inc 1.13%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
- Top 10 total 30.74%
Looking through to the top underlying holdings, a handful of very large US companies appear prominently: NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Broadcom, Meta, Tesla, and Berkshire Hathaway together represent a noticeable chunk of the covered portion. Because both ETFs track broad indexes, some of these names can show up in both funds, creating overlap and hidden concentration in these giants. That said, the look‑through coverage is only about one‑third of the total portfolio because it uses ETF top‑10 lists, so overall concentration is likely lower than these figures alone suggest. Still, it’s fair to say mega‑cap US growth names are important drivers here.
Factors
Factor exposures across value, size, momentum, quality, yield, and low volatility are all in the “neutral” band, close to the 50% market average. Factor exposure describes how much a portfolio leans into certain characteristics—like cheaper stocks (value) or more stable stocks (low volatility)—that research links to returns. In this case, there are no pronounced tilts toward or away from any key factor. That means the portfolio’s behavior is largely in line with broad market indexes rather than being shaped by a specific factor strategy. This well‑balanced factor profile is consistent with plain market‑cap index investing using broad funds.
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 looks at how much each holding adds to the portfolio’s total volatility, which can differ from its simple weight. Here, the S&P 500 ETF is 80% of the portfolio but contributes about 82% of the overall risk, while the international ETF is 20% of the weight and about 18% of the risk. Those figures are very close to their weights, so there’s no hidden “risk hot spot” beyond what the allocations already show. The slightly higher risk/weight ratio for the S&P 500 fund just reinforces that US stocks are the main driver of the portfolio’s day‑to‑day moves.
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 shows this portfolio is on or very near the optimal curve for its holdings. The Sharpe ratio—a measure of risk‑adjusted return comparing excess return to volatility—is 0.63 for the current mix, while the maximum Sharpe portfolio using the same two funds is 0.83 at slightly higher risk. A minimum‑variance version has lower risk but also a lower Sharpe than the max‑Sharpe case. Since the current allocation sits close to the frontier, the existing weight split is already an efficient way to combine these two ETFs for the chosen risk level, without obvious signs of wasted risk.
Dividends
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF 1.10%
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares 2.70%
- Weighted yield (per year) 1.42%
The overall dividend yield of about 1.42% comes from a mix of roughly 1.10% on the US ETF and 2.70% on the international ETF. Dividends are the cash payments companies make to shareholders, and they can be an important component of total return over time, especially when reinvested. In this portfolio, dividends are a modest but steady contribution rather than the main focus. The slightly higher yield on international stocks partly reflects differences in payout culture across regions. Because the portfolio is strongly growth‑oriented, much of the return historically has come from price appreciation rather than from income.
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 total expense ratio (TER) works out around 0.03%, thanks to very cheap index ETFs. TER is the ongoing annual fee charged by funds, expressed as a percentage of invested assets, and it quietly reduces returns each year. Here, the drag is minimal: on $10,000, that’s roughly $3 per year in fund fees. Low costs support better long‑term outcomes because they compound in the investor’s favor rather than being paid out to managers. This aligns closely with best practices for broad index investing and is a real strength of this portfolio’s structure.
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