Bill Bernstein No Brainer Portfolio
No Brainer Portfolio is perhaps the simplest portfolio presented by William Bernstein in his book The Intelligent Asset Allocator. It is a lazy portfolio consisting of four equally-weighted asset classes: US large-cap stocks, US small-cap stocks, international stocks, and bonds.
Asset Allocation
| Position | Category/Sector | Weight |
|---|---|---|
BND Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | Total Bond Market | 25% |
VEA Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF | Foreign Large Cap Equities | 25% |
VB Vanguard Small-Cap ETF | Small Cap Growth Equities | 25% |
VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | Large Cap Growth Equities | 25% |
Performance
The chart shows the growth of $10,000 invested in Bill Bernstein No Brainer Portfolio in Oct 2022 and compares it to the S&P 500 index or another benchmark. It would be worth nearly $27,445 for a total return of roughly 174.45%. All prices are adjusted for splits and dividends. The portfolio is rebalanced Quarterly
Returns
As of Apr 1, 2023, the Bill Bernstein No Brainer Portfolio returned 5.67% Year-To-Date and 7.38% of annualized return in the last 10 years.
| 1 month | Year-To-Date | 6 months | 1 year | 5 years (annualized) | 10 years (annualized) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benchmark | 3.51% | 7.03% | 12.88% | -10.71% | 9.25% | 10.16% |
| Bill Bernstein No Brainer Portfolio | 1.35% | 5.67% | 13.82% | -6.87% | 6.09% | 7.38% |
| Portfolio components: | ||||||
VEA Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF | 2.65% | 8.03% | 25.54% | -4.44% | 3.42% | 5.39% |
VB Vanguard Small-Cap ETF | -3.63% | 3.71% | 11.31% | -10.53% | 6.78% | 9.31% |
BND Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | 2.68% | 3.25% | 4.69% | -4.65% | 0.87% | 1.29% |
VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | 3.71% | 7.48% | 13.81% | -9.25% | 11.14% | 12.26% |
| Returns over 1 year are annualized | ||||||
Dividends
Bill Bernstein No Brainer Portfolio granted a 2.49% dividend yield in the last twelve months.
| Period | TTM | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dividend yield | 2.49% | 2.21% | 1.96% | 1.82% | 2.42% | 2.72% | 2.38% | 2.62% | 2.68% | 2.96% | 2.65% | 3.25% |
Drawdowns Chart
The Drawdowns chart displays portfolio losses from any high point along the way.
Worst Drawdowns
The table below shows the maximum drawdowns of the Bill Bernstein No Brainer 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 No Brainer Portfolio is 27.91%, recorded on Mar 23, 2020. It took 99 trading sessions for the portfolio to recover.
Depth | Start | To Bottom | Bottom | To Recover | End | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -27.91% | Feb 13, 2020 | 27 | Mar 23, 2020 | 99 | Aug 12, 2020 | 126 |
| -23.68% | Nov 9, 2021 | 235 | Oct 14, 2022 | — | — | — |
| -17.46% | May 2, 2011 | 108 | Oct 3, 2011 | 114 | Mar 16, 2012 | 222 |
| -14.96% | Aug 30, 2018 | 80 | Dec 24, 2018 | 75 | Apr 12, 2019 | 155 |
| -13.97% | May 22, 2015 | 183 | Feb 11, 2016 | 117 | Jul 29, 2016 | 300 |
| -8.85% | Mar 27, 2012 | 47 | Jun 1, 2012 | 67 | Sep 6, 2012 | 114 |
| -7.61% | Jan 29, 2018 | 9 | Feb 8, 2018 | 138 | Aug 27, 2018 | 147 |
| -6.92% | Jul 7, 2014 | 70 | Oct 13, 2014 | 32 | Nov 26, 2014 | 102 |
| -6.45% | May 22, 2013 | 23 | Jun 24, 2013 | 17 | Jul 18, 2013 | 40 |
| -5.82% | Sep 3, 2020 | 15 | Sep 24, 2020 | 12 | Oct 12, 2020 | 27 |
Volatility Chart
Current Bill Bernstein No Brainer Portfolio volatility is 8.57%. 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.