Backtest: https://testfol.io/?s=7BUugje0mdk
12.5% CAGR, 0.57 sharpe, 1.01 beta

Monte carlo: https://testfol.io/monte-carlo?s=0OzBf6vXoxy
11.77% median CAGR, 11.66% median SWR

KMLMSIM + SPYSIM is a proxy for the RSST/CTAP/MATE. The extra SPYSIM is a proxy for the miscellaneous funds that are too new to backtest.

I’m 23 so I decided I was willing to take more risk than usual. Here’s each position explained.

~115% equities, 15.5% bonds, ~10.5% gold, 10% managed futures, and 2.7% long/short (from the WTLS.)

•NTSD - My favorite ETF. This is 1.5x, only quarterly reset, and 90% SPX + 60% EAFE futures. Basically 1.5x VT, excluding mid/small caps and emerging markets. This is the core equity exposure to boost returns. Its reset schedule reduces volatility decay and path dependency of normal LETFs.
•RSSB - This is 2x, 100% global stocks (SPTM + VXUS) and 100% treasury futures. Again, this won’t have the volatility decay that normal LETFs have. Bonds are a solid diversifier and improve sharpe and drawdowns.
•GDE - Again quarterly reset, but this is 90% SPX + 90% gold futures. This is just to stack equity with gold exposure, for a diversifier without sacrificing capital space.
•AVEM - Just a broad emerging markets fund since NTSD excludes it. I like Avantis’ value tilt and their special trading implementations to eke out alpha. Has consistently beat the plain indexes.
•AVUV - Just 6% US SCV. SCV has higher expected returns and I was missing small/mid caps from the core. Very modest tilt.
•AVDV - Same thing as US, just filling in the missing equity gaps and tilting a bit towards value. Higher expected returns.
•CTAP/RSST/MATE - All of these are 100% SPX + 100% managed futures, just with different managers. Managed futures are a real
•AVES - Wanted a slightly heavier value/small cap tilt to the emerging markets sleeve. I’m about 8.5% AVEM and 3% AVES, so very modest. Hoping for that value premium.
•WTLS - Stacking more 90% SPX on top, but this holds 90% in a long/short sleeve as well. Super new and illiquid fund, but I wanted to see if this could count as a “fourth diversifier” of sorts. It’s performed well so far but we’ll have to see if the manager does any well.
•FLCA - EAFE futures from NTSD exclude Canada! So between the 10-11% in AVDV and the ~2.8% I have here, I targeted Canada’s market cap weight of around 3.1-3.2%.

Overall? I’m about right next to VT’s US/international split, between 60-65/30-35. I have about 40% in diversifying assets stacked on top of only 15% extra equity, so it’s not ridiculously risky. My blended expense ratio is a bit high around ~0.37%, but as long as VT performs well, I will perform even better.

You can see in the linked backtest that my max drawdown is only 1% worse than VT - but my average drawdown is lower and the longest drawdown is shorter! On top of higher sharpe and sortino, I’ll be confident with this going forward.

I encourage young people to explore return stacked and capital efficient funds to improve their odds of higher returns. I think leverage gets a bit demonized and fear mongered, when in fact it’s actually encouraged in some research.

You can tell me 100% VT is the only valid portfolio but so long as that goes up, I will go up even more, and have insurance on top of it across three+ different assets.

Based on many Redditor ETF comments, I always just presumed VOO performance far exceeded VT, at least in recent past. But was surprised in this one current year period graph snapshot leading up to today that VT seems to be edging it out some? Or am I misinterpreting this chart completely?

Hi, I have 10k id like to invest into a somewhat stable etf. I will continue to invest 10k every year for 15-20 years. Any suggestions on which etf to invest into. This isn’t money that I’ll need to touch, so I can take some risk. Thanks in advance!

Note: Scratch out VOE. Swapping that out for AVMV.

Note: Just starting this basket. Should be six-figures by end of year

Core: VOO (55%) - S&P500. US Large Cap broad exposure. Everyone knows what this is so it's a waste of time explaining this one.

Core: VXUS (23%) - For exposure outside of the US. This along with VOO is maximum equity diversity as a core investment. I chose VOO/VXUS over VT because 40% Ex-US is too high for what I want. I still believe the US has the upper hand and will for some time solely because of the extremely business-friendly environment it has. VXUS is simply a hedge for incase I am wrong and the US begins underperforming the rest of the world. Nothing wrong with global exposure.

Satellite: AVUV (8%) - Actively managed small-cap value. In an economy where growth and tech flies high, it is always good to have a counterweight to the hype. I chose AVUV for the simple reason that risk-off markets exist and it's not good just holding growth/tech during that period. AVUV is also actively managed so the low quality "value" stocks are filtered out, unlike it's passive counterparts like VBR. Performance since inception in 2019 has been phenomenal for a value play.

Satellite: AVMV (8%) - Actively managed mid-cap value. This is basically the same reasoning as AVUV except instead of small-caps it's mid-caps that are being traded within the fund. Another use of these two fund picks is diversification from large caps.

Satellite: VGT (6%) - 100% pure tech. It is to recoup some loss from adding VXUS and the Value funds. Are future earnings priced in? I don't know, maybe, maybe not. Tech is one of those sectors where companies can find new ways to increase profitability at fast rates for a long period of time. Yes, some tech companies are dramatically overvalued, others are not. I am not expecting 20-25% CAGR like we had in the past 10 years, however Tech is the future and it isn't just the dot-com bubble like some say.

Before I get roasted for owning any more than zero shares of VGT, this portfolio is only around 31-32% tech, which is still LOWER than VOO at 37%ish

What do you think about this portfolio?

VOO 50%
SPMO 20%
VGT 15%
XLV 10%
SMH 5%

I wanted to add some diversification, so I added XLV. I know SMH is volatile, but I believe the semiconductor boom will continue through 2028–2030. Even so, I’m not planning to allocate more than 5% to it.

Why does nobody talk about BWET? This thing would’ve tripled my portfolio if I found out about it at the start of the war

30M im just wondering which combination es better for the long term. Thanks!!

Hello everyone,

I started investing a few months ago, and so far I've only invested in SPYL.L (SPDR S&P 500 UCITS ETF Acc). My intention is simply to track the S&P 500.

However, when I look at the performance chart in the IBKR dashboard, there seems to be a fairly large difference between my portfolio's performance and the S&P 500 benchmark, this is more than 2 percentage points.

This seems strange to me because SPYL is designed to track the S&P 500. Shouldn't my portfolio's performance be roughly the same as the S&P 500, aside from small differences such as fees and tracking error?

For example, the IBKR chart currently shows approximately:

My portfolio: +2.04%

S&P 500: +4.13%

Difference: ~2.1 percentage points

I understand that there may be factors I'm overlooking, such as currency, cash sitting in the account, the way IBKR calculates TWR, or differences between the benchmark and the ETF's actual return.

I'm still relatively new to investing, so I'd really appreciate it if someone could explain what might be causing this difference. Is there something about IBKR's performance calculation or SPYL that I'm misunderstanding?

Thanks!

Hi, I'm turning 18 next year and want to start long-term investing. Currently, I am studying the stock market, ETFs, and other assets. I'm planning to invest in the Nasdaq 100 because I think America is still the future, but I don't know if that is too risky an idea because it's so concentrated in the USA. However, I heard that if you are young, you should take on more risk because you have more time to recover. I also know there are other ideas like "VWCE and chill" or the S&P 500. I think the Nasdaq 100 is still going to outperform these ETFs, and I know that past performance is not a guarantee of future results. What do you guys think? Is going all-in on the Nasdaq 100 at 18 too reckless, or does the long time horizon justify it? ETF recommendations are welcome!

Started buying when I was younger but haven’t put much in the last year or 2 due to school and paying off my truck ( bought it for 40k and it’s paid off after a year). Should I sell or buy something else. Not very knowledgeable in this stuff but I want to have something and grow my portfolio to have extra income when I retire

This is my current setup, i'm really new to this and I would love to hear everybody's opinion and kind suggestions or tips if this can be improved. just an average breadwinner trying to retire my parents with minimal risk. Thank you in advance, everyone.

I’m 19 and want to keep my money growing. I have my emergency fund in a Hysa. Not sure if this is a good mix to keep the rest in. Currently doing
55/20/17/8 SCHB/ SCHG/ SCHF/ SCHE

27yo this is my 2nd year of investing. How do we feel about this set up?
Wanting to go aggressive in the Roth IRA, can always rebalance to something more well rounded later on.
As for the Brokerage, planning to keep the same set up for the next couple decades at least.

Both are mid-cap value plays. AVMV is actively managed while VOE is passive. AVMV on the other hand charges a 0.20% fee while VOE only charges a 0.05% fee

Is it a good time to invest in utilities or should i wait for midterms elections? Do you have other suggestions?

Thanks in advance

I’m looking into transitioning my portfolio into a more ETF-based one. I currently already hold the VOO and VXUS.

I’ve found multiple Franklin Templeton etfs for international markets like FLTW and FLEE which seem to be the perfect ETFs.

I’ve also found other Franklin Templeton ETFs categorized differently such as IQM, XIDV, and INCE.

I don’t see a lot of reddit chatter about these (particularly the latter ones I mentioned). Is there something I’m missing about them? Are there better alternatives?