Two fund global equity portfolio with strong US tilt and low cost broad market exposure
Report created on Jun 12, 2026Risk profile
4/7
Diversification profile
3/5
Positions
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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, with 80% in a US large‑cap index ETF and 20% in a broad international equity ETF. In practice, that means almost everything is in global stock markets, with the US as the clear anchor. This kind of “core plus” structure is easy to understand because both holdings are broad, rules‑based index funds rather than concentrated or thematic bets. The insight here is that most of the risk and return comes from one main driver: global equities, especially US companies. The simplicity reduces moving parts, but also means there is no built‑in stabilizer like bonds or cash inside the portfolio itself.
Growth
One or more local-currency benchmark funds are unavailable for this report.
From mid‑2016 to mid‑2026, $1,000 in this portfolio grew to about $3,889, which works out to a 14.59% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). CAGR is like average speed on a long road trip, smoothing out the ups and downs along the way. Over this period, the portfolio outpaced the global market benchmark by about 1.58 percentage points per year. The worst drop, or max drawdown, was around –33.9% during early 2020, similar to the benchmark’s decline. This shows the portfolio captured strong equity returns but also fully participated in major equity sell‑offs. As always, this is backward‑looking: past performance doesn’t guarantee anything about future returns.
Projection
The Monte Carlo projection uses the historical pattern of returns and volatility to simulate many possible 15‑year futures. Think of it as rolling the dice 1,000 times based on past behavior, then looking at the range of outcomes. The median path ends with $1,000 growing to about $2,699, implying an annualized return across all simulations of 8.13%. The middle half of outcomes (p25–p75) runs from roughly $1,850 to $4,244, and the wider 5%–95% range stretches from about $1,066 to $8,128. These numbers illustrate uncertainty: even with the same starting point and strategy, results can vary a lot. Simulations are only models, not predictions.
Asset classes
- Stocks 100%
All of the portfolio is in stocks, with 0% in bonds, cash, or other asset classes. That creates a very “pure” equity profile: returns are driven almost entirely by how global stock markets behave, without the dampening effect that fixed income often provides. In calm or rising markets, this can be rewarding, as seen in the historical performance. In sharp downturns, however, the absence of defensive assets means drawdowns are likely to be similar to broad equity markets. This 100% stock allocation aligns closely with an equity benchmark and makes risk easier to understand: it is largely equity market risk, not a mix of many different asset types.
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 tilted toward technology at 32%, followed by financials at 14% and then a mix of telecommunications, industrials, and consumer discretionary around 10% each. Smaller allocations go to health care, consumer staples, energy, materials, utilities, and real estate. This distribution is broadly in line with major global equity indices, where tech and related areas have grown as a share of market value. Tech‑heavy allocations can benefit from innovation cycles and growth trends but are generally more sensitive to changes in interest rates and sentiment toward high‑growth companies. The broad spread across many sectors still offers meaningful diversification within equities themselves.
Regions
- North America 81%
- Europe Developed 7%
- Asia Developed 3%
- Japan 3%
- Asia Emerging 3%
- Australasia 1%
- Africa/Middle East 1%
Geographically, the portfolio is heavily tilted toward North America at 81%, with relatively modest exposure to Europe developed (7%), Japan and other developed Asia (6% combined), and small slices of emerging Asia, Australasia, and Africa/Middle East. Compared with a typical global equity index, this is clearly US‑heavy but not exclusively so. A strong US tilt has historically helped during periods when US markets outperformed, as in the last decade. The flip side is that economic, currency, or policy shocks specific to the US will be strongly felt in the portfolio. The international slice helps add some global balance without diluting the core US exposure too much.
Market capitalization
- Mega-cap 46%
- Large-cap 34%
- Mid-cap 18%
- Small-cap 1%
By market capitalization, the portfolio leans firmly toward the largest companies: 46% in mega‑caps, 34% in large‑caps, 18% in mid‑caps, and only about 1% in small‑caps. This is typical of capitalization‑weighted index funds, where bigger companies naturally take up more space. The benefit is exposure to established, often more liquid firms that tend to dominate global benchmarks. The trade‑off is that smaller companies, which can behave differently and sometimes offer higher growth, play only a tiny role. This structure helps keep volatility closer to broad market norms and reduces company‑specific risk, while still including a long tail of mid‑cap names for additional diversification.
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 ETF top‑10 holdings, about a third of the portfolio’s value is covered, and within that slice, the largest exposures are familiar mega‑cap names like NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet (both share classes), Broadcom, Meta, Tesla, and Berkshire Hathaway. Several of these appear across multiple ETFs, creating overlap where the same company is owned through more than one fund. This overlap is normal in broad indexes but means concentration in these giants is higher than it might appear from just two ETFs. Because only top‑10 positions are captured, the true overlap is likely somewhat understated, though the main message is already clear: mega‑cap leaders drive a big share of portfolio behavior.
Factors
Factor exposures across value, size, momentum, quality, yield, and low volatility are all in the “neutral” band around 50%, which indicates a market‑like stance rather than deliberate tilts. Factors are like investment “personalities” — for example, value focuses on cheaper companies, momentum on recent winners, and low volatility on steadier stocks. Here, none of those characteristics stand out strongly. This is typical for broad, capitalization‑weighted index funds that aim to track the overall market rather than lean into specific styles. The implication is that performance will generally resemble broad equity markets across different environments, without large swings driven by a single factor bet.
Risk contribution
-
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
Weight: 80.00% 82.3% -
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
Weight: 20.00% 17.8%
Risk contribution shows how much each holding adds to the portfolio’s overall ups and downs, which can differ from its weight. The US index ETF makes up 80% of the allocation but contributes about 82.25% of the total risk, while the international ETF at 20% weight contributes 17.75% of risk. That near‑proportional pattern reflects the similarity in volatility between the two funds and their broad diversification. There is no single small but extremely volatile position dominating overall risk. Instead, the main driver is the large US core, which is exactly what the weights suggest. This alignment makes it easier to understand where portfolio risk is coming from.
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 the current mix sits on or very near the frontier, with a Sharpe ratio of 0.63 versus 0.83 for the mathematically “optimal” combination using the same two funds. The Sharpe ratio compares excess return to volatility, like grading how much “bang for your risk buck” you get. Being on the frontier means that, for this set of holdings, the portfolio is already using risk efficiently; there is no clearly superior risk/return combo without changing weights. The optimal and minimum‑variance points are fairly close by in risk terms, which suggests the current balance is reasonable and not far from the best that can be done with these two building blocks.
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 blended dividend yield of the portfolio is about 1.42%, with the US ETF at around 1.10% and the international ETF higher at 2.70%. Dividend yield measures the annual cash payout relative to price, like rent from owning a property. Here, most of the expected total return historically came from price growth rather than income, which is consistent with a growth‑oriented equity mix dominated by large US companies. The international slice adds a bit more yield, modestly lifting the overall income component. Dividends still contribute to long‑term compounding, especially when reinvested, but this portfolio’s main story is capital appreciation rather than high cash distributions.
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%
Total ongoing costs are impressively low, with expense ratios of 0.03% for the US ETF and 0.05% for the international ETF, leading to a blended TER of about 0.03%. The TER (Total Expense Ratio) is the annual fee charged by the funds, taken out of returns behind the scenes. Keeping this number small matters because fees compound over time just like returns do, but in the opposite direction. Here, costs are well below many actively managed alternatives and in line with some of the cheapest index products available. That low‑fee foundation supports better long‑term performance by letting more of the underlying market return flow through to the portfolio.
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