Cautious globally diversified mix with strong cash ballast and efficient but conservative risk profile
Report created on Mar 25, 2026Risk profile
- Secure Speculative
The risk profile, derived from past market volatility, reflects the level of risk the portfolio is exposed to. This assessment helps align your investments with your financial goals and comfort with market fluctuations.
Diversification profile
- Focused Diversified
The diversification assessment evaluates the spread of investments across asset classes, regions, and sectors. This ensures a balanced mix, reducing risk and maximizing returns by not concentrating in any single area.
What type of investor this portfolio is suitable for
Cautious Investors
This kind of setup would suit someone with a modest to low risk tolerance who still wants real growth above inflation. The ideal user is comfortable with market ups and downs in a portion of their money but likes the psychological and practical comfort of a large cash cushion. Goals might include building wealth steadily over the medium to long term, preserving capital for near‑future needs, or managing a “sleep‑well‑at‑night” core holding. The time horizon is likely at least five years, but not necessarily decades away, and the person values simplicity, diversification, and low costs more than chasing aggressive, benchmark‑beating performance.
Positions
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VT Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
VTI - US9229087690 35.00% -
VX Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
VXUS - US9219097683 35.00% -
SG iShares Trust
SGOV - US46436E7186 30.00%
The portfolio is built from just three broad ETFs, which keeps things clean and simple. About 69% sits in global stocks via total US and total international funds, while roughly 30% is in a very low‑risk cash ETF and 1% in bonds. That heavy cash slice is what makes the profile “cautious,” because it dampens day‑to‑day swings. Simple structures like this are powerful: you get broad diversification without juggling many holdings. The main tradeoff is lower long‑term growth potential than a fully invested stock portfolio. Anyone using a setup like this is implicitly prioritizing capital stability and smoother rides over squeezing out every last bit of return.
Growth
Historically, a $1,000 example investment grew to $1,847, giving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.3%. CAGR is the “per‑year” growth pace as if returns were smooth, like averaging speed on a road trip. This is lower than both the US market (15.9%) and global market (14.0%), which is exactly what you’d expect with 30% in cash. The max drawdown of about –20.8% was also smaller than the US and global markets, showing the downside cushion worked. Only 29 days made up 90% of returns, underlining how a handful of big days drive performance and why staying invested consistently matters.
Projection
The Monte Carlo projection uses historical return and volatility patterns to simulate many possible 10‑year paths. Think of it as running 1,000 alternate futures where good and bad years arrive in different orders, then seeing the range of outcomes. Here, the median simulation shows about 329% cumulative growth over 10 years, while even the 5th percentile is still positive at roughly 73%. That’s encouraging for a cautious profile, but it’s still just a statistical model built from past data. Real‑world returns can differ meaningfully, especially if future market conditions don’t resemble the recent period that fed the simulation.
Asset classes
- Stocks 69%
- Cash 30%
- Bonds 1%
Asset‑class‑wise, roughly 69% is in equities, 30% in cash, and 1% in bonds. Compared with a typical global “balanced” mix, this is unusually cash‑heavy and bond‑light. Cash has near‑zero volatility and low correlation with stocks, so it’s excellent for dampening swings and funding near‑term spending. The flip side is opportunity cost: if markets rise strongly, the cash portion lags significantly behind, pulling down overall returns. For someone genuinely cautious or with shorter‑term needs, this kind of ballast is very aligned with capital‑preservation priorities. For a longer‑term, growth‑oriented profile, many would prefer more bonds or stocks instead of such a large cash position.
Sectors
- Technology 17%
- Financials 12%
- Industrials 9%
- Consumer Discretionary 7%
- Health Care 6%
- Telecommunications 5%
- Consumer Staples 4%
- Basic Materials 4%
- Energy 3%
- Utilities 2%
- Real Estate 2%
Sector exposure across the stock sleeve is broad and nicely spread: technology, financials, industrials, consumer cyclicals, healthcare, communication services, consumer defensive, materials, energy, utilities, and real estate all appear with moderate weights. Technology is the largest at 17%, but that’s quite close to broad market norms, suggesting no extreme sector bet. This sector mix is well‑balanced and aligns closely with global standards, which is a strong indicator of diversification. Tech and growth‑heavy segments can still inject some volatility, especially when interest rates move, but the overall sector spread should help different parts of the portfolio respond differently to economic cycles.
Regions
- North America 38%
- Europe Developed 13%
- Japan 5%
- Asia Developed 5%
- Asia Emerging 5%
- Australasia 2%
- Africa/Middle East 1%
- Latin America 1%
Geographically, about 38% is in North America, 13% Europe developed, and smaller slices in Japan, other developed Asia, emerging Asia, Australasia, Latin America, and Africa/Middle East. Compared to many global portfolios that often lean more than half into North America, this is relatively more internationally balanced. That broader spread is helpful because different regions lead at different times; a decade dominated by US stocks isn’t guaranteed to repeat. A benefit of this alignment with global allocation patterns is reduced reliance on any single country’s political or economic path. The tradeoff is that if one market (like the US) strongly outperforms, returns may trail that region‑specific benchmark.
Market capitalization
- Mega-cap 31%
- Large-cap 21%
- Mid-cap 12%
- Small-cap 4%
- Micro-cap 1%
By market capitalization, the portfolio favors larger companies: 31% mega cap, 21% big, with only modest exposure to medium (12%), small (4%), and micro (1%) stocks. Large and mega caps tend to be more stable and established, which often means smoother earnings and slightly lower volatility. Smaller companies can offer higher growth potential but usually swing more sharply both up and down. This tilt toward big names aligns with a cautious risk profile and with broad market indexes, which naturally weight by size. The result is behavior that should be close to “the market,” without a pronounced bet on riskier small‑cap segments.
True holdings
-
XT BlackRock Cash Funds Treasury SL Agency 2.21%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
- iShares Asia 50 ETF
- iShares Mortgage Real Estate Capped ETF
- iShares Trust
-
NV NVIDIA Corporation 2.16%
Part of fund(s):- Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
AA Apple Inc 2.06%
Part of fund(s):- Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF
- Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF Shares
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
MS Microsoft Corporation 1.54%
Part of fund(s):- Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF
- Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF Shares
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
23 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. 1.20%
Part of fund(s):- Vanguard International Equity Index Funds - Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
- iShares Asia 50 ETF
-
AM Amazon.com Inc 1.07%
Part of fund(s):- Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class A 0.96%
Part of fund(s):- Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
AV Broadcom Inc 0.80%
Part of fund(s):- Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF
- Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF Shares
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class C 0.76%
Part of fund(s):- Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
ME Meta Platforms Inc. 0.75%
Part of fund(s):- Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
- Top 10 total 13.51%
Looking through the ETFs, the largest underlying exposures are big, familiar names like NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta, each around 0.7–2.2% of the overall portfolio. There’s also a modest allocation to a BlackRock Treasury cash vehicle, consistent with the 30% cash classification. Several of these big tech names appear in multiple ETFs, which quietly increases concentration in them even if no single position looks huge. Because this overlap is measured only from ETF top‑10 holdings, real overlap is likely a bit higher. The upside is market‑like exposure to leading companies; the tradeoff is that portfolio behavior will still be sensitive to the fortunes of those giants.
Factors
Factor exposure shows strong tilts to size, low volatility, and momentum. Factors are like underlying “drivers” of returns, such as favoring stable stocks (low volatility) or recent winners (momentum). A size exposure of 85% suggests a meaningful bias away from the very largest stocks toward somewhat smaller ones within the stock universe. The low‑volatility tilt means holdings tend to be steadier names, which fits the cautious profile and should help in rough markets. Momentum exposure above 50% can help in trending bull markets but can suffer in sudden reversals. Signal coverage is only about a third overall, so these readings are informative but not complete.
Risk contribution
-
Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
Weight: 35.00% 52.5% -
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
Weight: 35.00% 47.5% -
iShares Trust
Weight: 30.00% 0.0%
Risk contribution looks at how much each holding drives total portfolio ups and downs, which can differ from simple weights. Here, the two stock ETFs each weigh 35% but together contribute essentially all of the portfolio’s risk (about 52.5% and 47.5% respectively). The 30% cash ETF shows 0% risk contribution because its volatility is negligible. This is exactly what a cautious design intends: almost all fluctuation comes from globally diversified stocks, while cash just sits quietly in the background. If someone ever wanted to dial risk up or down, the main lever would be adjusting the stock versus cash split, not shuffling between the two stock funds.
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 the efficient frontier, meaning that for its mix of holdings and its risk level, it’s already using those ingredients in an efficient way. However, it’s not at the “optimal” point with the highest Sharpe ratio. The mathematically optimal and minimum‑variance portfolios here are essentially nearly all cash, with very low risk (~0.24%) and modest returns (~2.9%), which explains their sky‑high Sharpe numbers. A same‑risk optimized mix could target around 15.9% return with more volatility, but would require shifting away from the cautious stock‑cash balance. So, the existing setup is efficiently cautious rather than return‑maximizing.
Dividends
- iShares Trust 4.00%
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares 1.20%
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares 3.00%
- Weighted yield (per year) 2.67%
The overall dividend yield of about 2.67% reflects a blend of the three ETFs: roughly 1.2% from US stocks, 3.0% from international stocks, and 4.0% from the cash ETF. Dividends are the regular income companies (or funds) pay out, which can be taken as cash or reinvested to buy more shares. For a cautious investor, this moderate yield is a nice middle ground: some income arriving steadily, but still plenty of exposure to growth‑oriented companies that reinvest profits instead of paying big dividends. Over long periods, reinvesting these payouts can meaningfully boost total returns, especially when markets are choppy but trending upward.
Ongoing product costs
- iShares Trust 0.07%
- 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%
Total ongoing costs are very low, with the three ETFs charging 0.03%, 0.05%, and 0.07%, for a blended expense ratio around 0.05%. An expense ratio is the annual fee the fund manager takes, shaved off returns in the background. Keeping this number tiny is one of the most reliable ways to improve long‑term outcomes, because it compounds in your favor every year. These costs are impressively low, supporting better long‑term performance and aligning well with best practices for broad index investing. There’s little room to save more here; this area already looks very optimized and efficient.
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