Globally diversified two fund stock portfolio with strong US tilt and low ongoing costs
Report created on May 29, 2026Risk profile
4/7
Diversification profile
3/5
Positions
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VO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
VOO - US9229083632 75.00% -
VX Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
VXUS - US9219097683 25.00%
This portfolio is a straightforward two‑fund mix holding only broad stock market ETFs. About three quarters sits in a US large‑cap index and the remaining quarter tracks international stocks outside the US. That means every dollar is invested in equities, with no bonds or cash in the strategic mix. Structurally, this is a classic “core global equity” setup: one fund for the US, one for the rest of the world. This kind of simplicity makes it easy to understand what drives returns and how moves in global stock markets feed through. It also means day‑to‑day behaviour will be dominated by stock market ups and downs rather than interest‑bearing assets.
Growth
From mid‑2016 to late‑May 2026, $1,000 invested in this portfolio grew to about $3,836. That works out to a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.43%, which is like the average speed of a car over a long trip. Over the same period, it slightly lagged the broad US market but beat the global market index. The worst peak‑to‑trough fall, or max drawdown, was about ‑34% during early 2020, similar to the benchmarks. Returns were also concentrated: just 36 days delivered 90% of gains, underlining how missing a handful of strong days can materially change long‑term outcomes.
Projection
The Monte Carlo simulation projects many possible future paths by remixing historical return and volatility patterns. Here, 1,000 scenarios over 15 years suggest a median outcome of about $2,763 from a $1,000 starting point, with a “middle” range of roughly $1,826–$4,101. Monte Carlo doesn’t predict a single future; it shows a spread of plausible results if markets behave somewhat like the past. Around 75% of simulations end positive, and the average annualized return across all paths is 7.89%. As always, this relies on historical behaviour and assumptions, so real outcomes can fall outside even the wide 5–95% range shown.
Asset classes
- Stocks 100%
All of the portfolio sits in stocks, with 0% in bonds, cash, or alternatives. That creates a very “pure” exposure to global equity markets, without the dampening effect that bonds or similar assets can provide. In many blended benchmarks labelled “balanced,” stock weights might sit closer to 40–70%, so this portfolio runs a higher equity share than those mixed‑asset references. The benefit is full participation when stock markets rise; the trade‑off is sharper swings when they fall. Because every holding is equity, diversification comes from spreading across many companies and regions rather than mixing fundamentally different asset types.
Sectors
- Technology 31%
- Financials 14%
- Industrials 10%
- Consumer Discretionary 10%
- Telecommunications 10%
- Health Care 8%
- Consumer Staples 5%
- Energy 4%
- Basic Materials 3%
- Utilities 3%
- Real Estate 2%
Sector exposure is broadly diversified, with technology the largest slice at about 31%, followed by financials, industrials, and consumer‑related sectors. This tech‑heavy profile reflects the current composition of global equity markets, especially in large developed markets, so it is reasonably aligned with common benchmarks. A higher technology weight often means more sensitivity to innovation cycles and interest‑rate expectations, since growth companies can react strongly to changes in discount rates. At the same time, exposure to areas like health care, consumer staples, and utilities adds some ballast from more defensive business models, which can behave differently across economic environments.
Regions
- North America 77%
- Europe Developed 9%
- Asia Developed 4%
- Japan 4%
- Asia Emerging 3%
- Australasia 1%
- Africa/Middle East 1%
- Latin America 1%
Geographically, the portfolio is heavily tilted toward North America at around 77%, with the rest spread across developed Europe, Japan, other developed Asia, and a modest allocation to emerging regions. This is more US‑centric than a pure world market index, which typically gives the US closer to 60% of weight. Being overweight one region ties results more closely to that region’s economy, currency, and policy environment. The upside is strong participation when that market leads; the downside is less diversification if leadership rotates elsewhere. Smaller slices in emerging and less represented regions still add some global breadth, but they are secondary drivers.
Market capitalization
- Mega-cap 46%
- Large-cap 33%
- Mid-cap 18%
- Small-cap 2%
Most holdings are very large companies: roughly 46% in mega‑caps, 33% in large‑caps, and a relatively small 20% or so in mid and small caps combined. This lines up closely with standard broad‑market indices, which are usually weighted by company size. Large and mega‑cap stocks tend to be more established businesses with deep trading liquidity, which can make pricing efficient and transaction costs low. However, this structure naturally gives less influence to smaller companies, which historically have sometimes behaved differently from giants. As a result, portfolio performance will largely mirror how the world’s biggest publicly traded firms are doing.
True holdings
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NV NVIDIA Corporation 5.89%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AA Apple Inc 4.84%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
MS Microsoft Corporation 3.68%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AM Amazon.com Inc 3.14%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class A 2.72%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
AV Broadcom Inc 2.40%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class C 2.17%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
ME Meta Platforms Inc. 1.63%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
TS Tesla Inc 1.31%
Part of fund(s):- LS 1x Tesla Tracker ETP Securities GBP
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
-
BR Berkshire Hathaway Inc 1.06%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
- Top 10 total 28.82%
Looking through the ETFs’ top holdings, the largest underlying positions include well‑known global giants like NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Broadcom, Meta, Tesla, and Berkshire Hathaway. These names appear via index membership, not direct single‑stock picks, but they still drive a meaningful chunk of returns: the top ten look‑through positions already make up over 25% of the portfolio. Because only ETF top‑10 lists are used, overlap across funds is probably understated, yet it’s clear there is concentrated exposure to a small group of mega‑cap companies. That’s typical for cap‑weighted indices, where the biggest firms naturally dominate the portfolio’s behaviour.
Factors
Across the six main style factors—value, size, momentum, quality, low volatility, and yield—the portfolio sits in a neutral, market‑like range for all. Factor exposure is basically how much the portfolio leans into certain characteristics that research has linked to returns, such as cheapness (value) or steady price moves (low volatility). Here, the readings cluster around 50%, which is designed to represent the broad market average. That means the portfolio isn’t strongly tilted toward or away from any of these styles. In practice, its behaviour should broadly track overall equity markets rather than exhibiting pronounced factor‑driven outperformance or underperformance.
Risk contribution
-
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
Weight: 75.00% 77.4% -
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
Weight: 25.00% 22.6%
Risk contribution looks at how much each holding adds to overall volatility, not just how big it is. In this case, the S&P 500 ETF is 75% of the weight but contributes about 77% of total risk, slightly more than its size alone would suggest. The international ETF is 25% of the weight and contributes about 23% of risk, slightly less. This pattern indicates that portfolio risk is dominated by the US exposure, which behaves a touch more turbulently than the international slice. The relationship between weight and risk is still reasonably proportional, suggesting no single position is wildly outsized relative to its 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.
The efficient frontier analysis shows this portfolio sitting on or very close to the curve that represents the best trade‑off between risk and return using these two ETFs. The Sharpe ratio—a measure of risk‑adjusted return, like miles of progress per unit of bumpiness—is 0.63 for the current mix, compared with 0.84 for the mathematically “optimal” blend and 0.70 for the minimum‑risk blend. Because the current point lies near the frontier, the existing weights are already making efficient use of the available building blocks. That means any further fine‑tuning with only these two funds would likely yield only modest improvements.
Dividends
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF 1.00%
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares 2.70%
- Weighted yield (per year) 1.42%
The portfolio’s overall dividend yield is about 1.42%, reflecting the relatively low payout culture of many large US companies blended with higher yields abroad. Dividends are the cash distributions companies pay out of profits, and they can be an important part of total return over time, especially when reinvested. Here, the US ETF yields around 1.00%, while the international ETF is closer to 2.70%, so the non‑US slice provides a bigger share of income. Given the 100% equity focus, the main return driver is still capital growth, with dividends offering a modest but steady additional contribution.
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) 0.04%
The portfolio’s costs are impressively low. The weighted ongoing fee, or Total Expense Ratio (TER), is about 0.04% per year, with the US ETF at 0.03% and the international ETF at 0.05%. TER is like a small annual service charge baked into the fund price—it doesn’t show up as a separate bill but quietly reduces returns. At these levels, the drag is minimal and compares very favourably with typical active funds and even many index products. Low costs help more of the portfolio’s gross returns compound over time, supporting better long‑term outcomes without requiring any extra risk.
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