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Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio

Last updated Mar 18, 2023

The Coward’s Portfolio, also known as the Smart Money Portfolio, is a popular lazy portfolio proposed by William Bernstein in 1996 at his Efficient Frontier website. It is designed for investors looking to extend simpler alternatives like his No-Brainer Portfolio.

Expense Ratio

Rank 40 of 55

0.15%
0.00%0.94%
Dividend Yield

Rank 35 of 55

2.02%
0.00%4.23%
10Y Annualized Return

Rank 37 of 55

5.64%
2.54%52.85%
Sharpe Ratio

Rank 22 of 55

-0.45
-0.920.64
Maximum Drawdown

Rank 28 of 55

-37.25%
-82.98%-16.15%

Asset Allocation


Performance

The chart shows the growth of $10,000 invested in Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio in Oct 2022 and compares it to the S&P 500 index or another benchmark. It would be worth nearly $26,858 for a total return of roughly 168.58%. All prices are adjusted for splits and dividends. The portfolio is rebalanced Quarterly


0.00%5.00%10.00%NovemberDecember2023FebruaryMarch
5.72%
6.48%
Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio
Benchmark (^GSPC)
Portfolio components

Returns

As of Mar 18, 2023, the Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio returned 0.47% Year-To-Date and 5.64% of annualized return in the last 10 years.


1 monthYear-To-Date6 months1 year5 years (annualized)10 years (annualized)
Benchmark-5.31%2.01%0.39%-10.12%7.32%9.71%
Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio-4.30%0.47%1.83%-5.82%4.22%5.64%
VNQ
Vanguard Real Estate ETF
-10.54%-2.34%-8.54%-20.26%4.86%5.52%
VV
Vanguard Large-Cap ETF
-5.08%2.65%0.95%-9.25%9.01%11.66%
SHY
iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF
1.66%1.75%1.92%-0.34%1.04%0.69%
VPL
Vanguard FTSE Pacific ETF
-5.59%0.73%6.54%-8.68%0.17%3.95%
IJR
iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF
-11.12%-1.73%-0.79%-12.46%4.67%9.41%
VGK
Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF
-6.76%2.96%13.22%-4.60%2.52%4.72%
IJS
iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Value ETF
-12.59%-1.48%0.68%-10.89%4.45%8.79%
VTV
Vanguard Value ETF
-8.04%-5.43%0.15%-6.20%7.15%10.13%
EEM
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF
-7.02%-0.77%0.11%-14.33%-3.15%0.97%

Sharpe Ratio Chart

The Sharpe ratio shows whether the portfolio's excess returns are due to smart investment decisions or a result of taking a higher risk. The higher a portfolio's Sharpe ratio, the better its risk-adjusted performance.

The current Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio Sharpe ratio is -0.45. A negative Sharpe ratio means that the risk-free rate is higher than the portfolio's return. This value does not convey any meaningful information.

The chart below displays rolling 12-month Sharpe Ratio.


-1.20-1.00-0.80-0.60-0.40-0.20NovemberDecember2023FebruaryMarch
-0.45
-0.43
Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio
Benchmark (^GSPC)
Portfolio components

Dividends

Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio granted a 2.02% dividend yield in the last twelve months.


PeriodTTM20222021202020192018201720162015201420132012

Dividend yield

2.02%1.86%1.30%1.53%2.34%2.42%1.85%1.90%1.89%1.81%1.67%2.00%

Drawdowns Chart

The Drawdowns chart displays portfolio losses from any high point along the way.


-25.00%-20.00%-15.00%-10.00%-5.00%NovemberDecember2023FebruaryMarch
-10.55%
-18.34%
Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio
Benchmark (^GSPC)
Portfolio components

Worst Drawdowns

The table below shows the maximum drawdowns of the Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio. A maximum drawdown is an indicator of risk. It shows a reduction in portfolio value from its maximum due to a series of losing trades.

The maximum drawdown since January 2010 for the Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio is 37.25%, recorded on Mar 9, 2009. It took 450 trading sessions for the portfolio to recover.


Depth

Start

To Bottom

Bottom

To Recover

End

Total

-37.25%Oct 10, 2007355Mar 9, 2009450Dec 17, 2010805
-21.52%Jan 21, 202044Mar 23, 2020114Sep 2, 2020158
-16.64%Nov 9, 2021225Sep 30, 2022
-14.01%May 2, 2011108Oct 3, 201195Feb 17, 2012203
-11.06%Aug 30, 201880Dec 24, 201870Apr 5, 2019150
-10.2%Apr 29, 2015200Feb 11, 2016103Jul 11, 2016303
-7.02%May 10, 200624Jun 13, 200679Oct 4, 2006103
-6.86%Apr 3, 201243Jun 4, 201266Sep 6, 2012109
-6.3%Jul 16, 200723Aug 15, 200730Sep 27, 200753
-5.99%Jan 29, 20189Feb 8, 2018134Aug 21, 2018143

Volatility Chart

Current Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio volatility is 19.11%. The chart below shows the rolling 10-day volatility. Volatility is a statistical measure showing how big price swings are in either direction. The higher asset volatility, the riskier it is, because the price movements are less predictable.


5.00%10.00%15.00%20.00%25.00%30.00%35.00%40.00%NovemberDecember2023FebruaryMarch
10.55%
21.17%
Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio
Benchmark (^GSPC)
Portfolio components