Broad global stock mix with strong diversification and low costs across US and international markets
Report created on May 4, 2026Risk profile
4/7
Diversification profile
4/5
Positions
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VX Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
VXUS - US9219097683 80.00% -
VT Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
VTI - US9229087690 20.00%
This portfolio is a simple two‑fund mix holding 80% in a broad international stock ETF and 20% in a broad US stock ETF. Both funds are total‑market style, meaning they hold thousands of companies rather than focusing on specific industries or themes. Structurally, this creates a globally diversified all‑equity portfolio with a slight tilt toward markets outside the US. A 100% stock allocation typically targets long‑term growth but also comes with meaningful ups and downs along the way. The setup is easy to understand and maintain because all the complexity of individual stock selection is handled inside the two index funds, while you see just one straightforward split at the portfolio level.
Growth
From 2016 to 2026, a hypothetical $1,000 in this portfolio grew to about $2,803, implying a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10.90%. CAGR is like the average yearly “speed” over the whole journey, smoothing out bumps. Over the same period, the US market and global market grew faster, at 15.25% and 12.66% respectively, so this mix underperformed both, especially the US. The portfolio’s max drawdown of about -35% during early 2020 was similar in depth to the benchmarks. This shows that while returns were solid in absolute terms, tilting more toward non‑US stocks meant not fully participating in the very strong US run over this particular decade.
Projection
The Monte Carlo projection uses historical data to simulate 1,000 different 15‑year futures for the portfolio. Think of it as replaying history with slightly different dice rolls each time to see a range of outcomes. The median result grows $1,000 to about $2,732, with a broad “likely” band from roughly $1,748 to $4,139. Extreme but possible paths run from about breaking even to more than seven‑times growth. The average simulated annual return is 7.89%, lower than the recent historical figure, reminding that past returns can be hard to repeat. These simulations are not forecasts, just probability‑based scenarios that show how wide the experience with an all‑equity portfolio can be.
Asset classes
- Stocks 100%
Asset‑class exposure is very straightforward: 100% in stocks and 0% in bonds, cash, or alternatives. That means the portfolio is fully focused on growth assets rather than mixing in stabilizers. Compared with many blended portfolios that combine stocks and bonds, this leans more toward capturing equity upside while accepting equity‑style volatility. The diversification here happens within the stock bucket itself, across many countries and companies, but not across fundamentally different asset classes. In practice, that usually means sharper swings during market stress than a portfolio that includes bonds, but also more direct participation when global stock markets rise strongly over time.
Sectors
- Financials 20%
- Technology 19%
- Industrials 15%
- Consumer Discretionary 9%
- Health Care 8%
- Basic Materials 7%
- Telecommunications 6%
- Consumer Staples 5%
- Energy 5%
- Utilities 3%
- Real Estate 3%
Sector exposure is broad and quite balanced: financials around 20%, technology 19%, industrials 15%, then consumer, health care, materials, telecom, energy, staples, utilities, and real estate in smaller slices. No single sector dominates the portfolio, and this spread is broadly similar to diversified global equity indices. That’s helpful because returns don’t hinge on just one industry’s fortunes. For example, if technology cools off or faces regulation, other areas like financials or industrials can still drive results. At the same time, being market‑wide means the portfolio will also reflect any broad economic cycle, since most major sectors tend to be exposed when global growth slows.
Regions
- Europe Developed 29%
- North America 27%
- Japan 12%
- Asia Developed 12%
- Asia Emerging 11%
- Australasia 4%
- Africa/Middle East 3%
- Latin America 2%
- Europe Emerging 1%
Geographically, the portfolio is well‑spread: roughly 29% in developed Europe, 27% in North America, 12% each in Japan and other developed Asia, 11% in emerging Asia, and smaller pieces across Australasia, Africa/Middle East, Latin America, and emerging Europe. This is more internationally tilted than a typical global index, which is usually dominated by North America. That tilt gives more weight to markets that have lagged the US in recent years but may behave differently in future cycles. It also reduces dependence on a single economy or currency, spreading political and economic risk, though it can introduce additional currency swings relative to a purely domestic portfolio.
Market capitalization
- Mega-cap 44%
- Large-cap 30%
- Mid-cap 17%
- Small-cap 4%
- Micro-cap 1%
By market capitalization, the portfolio leans strongly toward larger companies: about 44% in mega‑caps, 30% in large‑caps, 17% in mid‑caps, and a smaller allocation to small and micro‑caps. This pattern closely mirrors total‑market indices, where the biggest firms naturally dominate by size. Large and mega‑cap stocks often have more stable earnings, deeper liquidity, and broader analyst coverage, which can reduce company‑specific risk versus a heavy small‑cap tilt. The mid, small, and micro‑cap exposure still adds diversity and potential for different growth dynamics, but they are not the main drivers. Overall, most of the portfolio’s behavior will track how the world’s biggest companies perform.
True holdings
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23 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. 2.76%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
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NV NVIDIA Corporation 1.28%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
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AA Apple Inc 1.18%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
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SS Samsung Electronics Co Ltd 1.08%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
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AS ASML Holding N.V. 1.02%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
-
MS Microsoft Corporation 0.87%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
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07 Tencent Holdings Ltd 0.77%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
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AM Amazon.com Inc 0.64%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
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00 SK Hynix Inc 0.60%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
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AZ AstraZeneca PLC 0.58%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
- Top 10 total 10.78%
Looking through to the top underlying holdings, a handful of major global companies appear, led by Taiwan Semiconductor, NVIDIA, Apple, Samsung, ASML, Microsoft, Tencent, Amazon, SK Hynix, and AstraZeneca. Individually, these positions are small, with the largest around 2.76% of the portfolio and many below 1%. That suggests limited single‑company concentration at the visible level, even considering possible overlap across both ETFs. Since only ETF top‑10 holdings are captured, some overlap is likely understated, but the weights still imply that no single stock dominates the portfolio’s risk. Instead, broad index exposure spreads influence across thousands of firms, dampening the impact of any one company.
Factors
Factor exposure is fairly balanced overall, with value, size, momentum, and quality all near neutral, meaning similar to broad market averages. The notable tilts show up in yield (62%) and low volatility (68%), both in the “high” range. Factor exposure is basically how much the portfolio leans into certain characteristics research has linked to returns. A higher yield tilt suggests above‑average income from dividends, while a low‑volatility tilt means the stocks held have historically been a bit steadier than the market. Together, those tilts can create a smoother ride and more cash distributions, though they may lag in periods when very speculative, non‑dividend names lead performance.
Risk contribution
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Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
Weight: 80.00% 80.3% -
Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
Weight: 20.00% 19.7%
Risk contribution looks at how much each holding drives the portfolio’s ups and downs, which can differ from simple weight. Here, the international ETF at 80% weight contributes about 80.34% of total risk, while the US ETF at 20% weight contributes 19.66%. That near one‑to‑one relationship suggests both funds have similar volatility and are reasonably correlated. There’s no “hidden” position punching far above its weight in terms of risk, and all portfolio risk comes from just these two diversified funds. This makes the risk structure very transparent: most variability will be tied to how non‑US markets behave, with the US segment adding a smaller share.
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 sits on or very close to the efficient frontier, meaning that given just these two funds, the existing mix is already using them efficiently. The efficient frontier represents the best expected return you could get for each risk level by changing only the weights. The current Sharpe ratio of 0.45 is lower than the maximum Sharpe portfolio (0.8) and the minimum‑variance option (0.65), but those points involve slightly different risk and return combinations. The key takeaway is that, within this two‑ETF toolbox, the chosen 80/20 split is not obviously leaving easy risk‑adjusted performance on the table.
Dividends
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares 1.10%
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares 2.80%
- Weighted yield (per year) 2.46%
The combined dividend yield sits around 2.46%, with the international ETF at 2.80% and the US ETF at 1.10%. Dividend yield is the annual cash payout as a percentage of price, like rent on a property. This level of income is moderate and reflects the portfolio’s tilt toward markets where dividends are somewhat more common, especially outside the US. Over time, reinvested dividends can be a meaningful part of total return, especially when markets are flat. For an all‑equity portfolio, having a yield comfortably above 2% adds a steady cash component to the return stream, complementing whatever price growth global stocks deliver.
Ongoing product costs
- 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) 0.05%
Costs are impressively low, with expense ratios of 0.03% for the US ETF and 0.05% for the international ETF, and a blended total around 0.05%. The expense ratio is the annual fee charged by a fund, taken directly from returns, so lower is generally better. At this level, costs are well below many actively managed funds and even cheaper than a lot of index alternatives. Over long periods, saving a few tenths of a percent per year can compound into a meaningful difference. Here, fees are unlikely to be a drag on performance; instead, they support the portfolio’s ability to closely track the underlying markets it aims to follow.
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