Globally diversified low cost stock portfolio with strong long term growth and balanced risk profile
Report created on Apr 11, 2026Risk profile
4/7
Diversification profile
3/5
Positions
-
VO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
VOO - US9229083632 70.00% -
VE Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Fund ETF Shares
VEU - US9220427754 30.00%
This portfolio is built from just two broad stock ETFs, with about 70% in a US large‑cap index and 30% in a global ex‑US index. That means it’s effectively a simple “total world” stock portfolio, tilted toward the US. Using a small number of broad funds keeps things easy to manage and reduces the chance of accidental overlaps or gaps. A 100% stock mix fits a growth‑oriented approach and lines up with the “balanced” risk label only because there’s no leverage or single‑stock bets. The big takeaway: this structure is clean, easy to understand, and a solid core for a long‑term equity investor.
Growth
Over the last decade, $1,000 grew to about $3,438, which is a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.19%. CAGR is like your average speed on a road trip — it smooths out bumps to show steady annual progress. The portfolio slightly lagged the US market but beat the global market, which is expected given its US tilt. The max drawdown of about -34% in early 2020 shows that big drops do happen, but the recovery took only about five months, which is reassuring. The fact that 90% of returns came from just 32 days highlights how missing a few strong days can hurt long‑term results.
Projection
The Monte Carlo projection uses past returns and volatility to simulate many possible 15‑year paths for a $1,000 investment. Think of it as running 1,000 different futures to see a distribution of outcomes, not a single forecast. The median outcome is around $2,747, with a wide but reasonable range between about $1,754 and $4,011 for the middle half of simulations. There’s roughly a 73% chance of ending positive, with an average annual return of 7.9% across all paths. The big caveat: this is based on historical patterns, and markets don’t repeat perfectly, so these numbers are a guide, not a promise.
Asset classes
- Stocks 100%
All of the portfolio sits in stocks, with no bonds, cash, or alternative assets. That’s great for long‑term growth potential but means full exposure to equity ups and downs. Asset classes behave differently across cycles — bonds and cash typically cushion stock drawdowns, while stocks drive long‑term real returns. Being 100% in equities is usually more suitable for investors with long horizons and the stomach for big swings, not for someone needing stable near‑term withdrawals. The positive here is clarity: this is a pure growth engine, and if more stability is desired, the main lever would be adding some non‑stock exposure outside this core.
Sectors
- Technology 28%
- Financials 15%
- Industrials 11%
- Consumer Discretionary 10%
- Health Care 9%
- Telecommunications 9%
- Consumer Staples 5%
- Energy 4%
- Basic Materials 4%
- Utilities 3%
- Real Estate 2%
Sector exposure is led by technology at 28%, followed by financials, industrials, and consumer‑related areas, with smaller slices in energy, materials, utilities, and real estate. This mix looks very close to broad global benchmarks today, which means it’s capturing how the world’s stock market is actually structured. A tech‑heavy tilt has helped in recent years but can mean sharper moves when interest rates rise or when growth stocks fall out of favor. The good news: the allocation is well‑balanced and aligns closely with global standards, so sector risk isn’t dominated by any one niche beyond the normal tech leadership of modern markets.
Regions
- North America 72%
- Europe Developed 11%
- Japan 5%
- Asia Developed 4%
- Asia Emerging 4%
- Australasia 1%
- Africa/Middle East 1%
- Latin America 1%
Geographically, about 72% is in North America, with the rest spread across Europe, Japan, and various developed and emerging regions. That’s somewhat more US‑tilted than a fully market‑cap‑weighted global index, but still gives meaningful exposure to non‑US economies and currencies. Geographic diversification matters because different regions can lead or lag over decades — relying on one country can work for long stretches, then reverse. Here, the structure keeps the US as the main growth engine while still giving over a quarter of the portfolio to the rest of the world, which is a healthy balance for many US‑based investors.
Market capitalization
- Mega-cap 48%
- Large-cap 34%
- Mid-cap 16%
- Small-cap 1%
The portfolio is dominated by mega‑caps and large‑caps, which together make up over 80% of the exposure, with modest mid‑cap and very small small‑cap allocations. Large global companies tend to be more stable and easier to research, so they naturally carry more weight in market‑cap‑weighted indexes. That usually means lower volatility than a portfolio heavily tilted to smaller, more speculative names, though it can also miss some small‑cap growth spurts. Overall, this market‑cap mix is very much in line with broad index norms, offering a steady, benchmark‑like risk profile rather than an aggressive size factor bet.
True holdings
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NV NVIDIA Corporation 5.12%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AA Apple Inc 4.65%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
MS Microsoft Corporation 3.47%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AM Amazon.com Inc 2.43%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class A 2.16%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AV Broadcom Inc 1.80%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class C 1.72%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
ME Meta Platforms Inc. 1.68%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
TS Tesla Inc 1.34%
Part of fund(s):- LS 1x Tesla Tracker ETP Securities GBP
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
23 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. 1.12%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Fund ETF Shares
- Top 10 total 25.49%
Looking through the ETFs, the biggest underlying exposures are familiar mega‑cap names like NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta. These companies show up in both the US and ex‑US indexes in some cases, so there is some hidden overlap, even though we only see top‑10 holdings. This is totally normal in broad index funds, but it does mean a meaningful slice of performance is tied to a relatively small group of giant tech‑related firms. The key point: even with thousands of holdings overall, the largest global companies still drive a noticeable share of your returns and risk.
Factors
Factor exposure across value, size, momentum, quality, yield, and low volatility sits near neutral — essentially market‑like — on all six metrics. Factors are like underlying “styles” (cheap vs. expensive, stable vs. volatile) that help explain why portfolios behave the way they do. A neutral profile means there are no big tilts toward value, growth, small caps, or high dividend payers; you’re getting a very broad, diversified slice of market behavior. That’s a positive sign for a core allocation: it avoids over‑reliance on any single style and should track overall global equity trends reasonably closely over time.
Risk contribution
-
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
Weight: 70.00% 72.4% -
Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Fund ETF Shares
Weight: 30.00% 27.6%
Risk contribution shows how much each holding drives the portfolio’s overall volatility, not just how big it is in dollars. Here, the US ETF at 70% weight contributes about 72% of the risk, while the ex‑US ETF at 30% weight contributes about 28%. Those numbers are very close to their respective sizes, which means risk is nicely aligned with weights — there’s no hidden “problem child” asset punching far above its allocation. With only two broad funds, this is exactly what you’d hope to see. If you ever change weights, risk will shift mostly in line with those changes, keeping things intuitive.
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 right on or very near the efficient frontier, which is the curve showing the best possible return for each risk level using these two funds. The Sharpe ratio, a measure of return per unit of risk, is 0.57 for the current mix, while the optimal portfolio reaches 0.79 with a slightly higher return and modestly higher risk. The minimum‑variance mix has slightly lower risk and a Sharpe of 0.65. The main point: for a simple two‑ETF structure, this allocation is already very efficient, and there’s no obvious “free lunch” left just from reweighting.
Dividends
- Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Fund ETF Shares 2.80%
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF 1.10%
- Weighted yield (per year) 1.61%
The combined dividend yield is around 1.61%, with the ex‑US ETF yielding about 2.8% and the US ETF about 1.1%. Dividends are the periodic cash payments companies distribute from profits, and they can be a meaningful part of long‑term total return, especially when reinvested. This yield level is consistent with a broad, growth‑oriented global stock portfolio rather than an income‑focused one. The ex‑US slice usefully boosts overall yield, as many non‑US markets pay more than US large caps. For a long‑term investor, reinvesting these dividends can quietly add to compounding without needing to time the market.
Ongoing product costs
- Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Fund ETF Shares 0.07%
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF 0.03%
- Weighted costs total (per year) 0.04%
Costs are impressively low: the blended TER (Total Expense Ratio, basically the annual management fee) is about 0.04%. That’s like paying 4 cents a year for every $100 invested, which is extremely efficient by any standard. Low costs matter because they’re guaranteed — you pay them every year regardless of how markets perform — and shaving even a fraction of a percent can add up over decades. Here, fee drag is almost negligible, which strongly supports better long‑term performance. This is a real strength of the portfolio and a big reason to stick with broad, passive index funds as a core.
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