Bogleheads Three-fund Portfolio
The three-fund portfolio is a portfolio popularized by Jack Bogle fans (boggleheads). It uses only three fundamental asset classes: a U.S total stock market fund, a total international stock market fund, and a total bond market fund. The portfolio could be replicated using three low-cost ETFs.
Asset Allocation
| Position | Category/Sector | Target Weight |
|---|---|---|
BND Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | Total Bond Market | 20% |
VEA Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF | Foreign Large Cap Equities | 30% |
VTI Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | Large Cap Growth Equities | 50% |
Performance
Performance Chart
Loading data...
The earliest data available for this chart is Jul 26, 2007, corresponding to the inception date of VEA
Returns By Period
As of May 15, 2025, the Bogleheads Three-fund Portfolio returned 4.38% Year-To-Date and 8.21% of annualized return in the last 10 years.
| YTD | 1M | 6M | 1Y | 5Y* | 10Y* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
^GSPC S&P 500 | 0.19% | 9.00% | -1.55% | 12.31% | 15.59% | 10.78% |
| Bogleheads Three-fund Portfolio | 4.38% | 7.00% | 2.98% | 10.62% | 12.02% | 8.21% |
| Portfolio components: | ||||||
VTI Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | 0.21% | 9.56% | -1.64% | 13.05% | 16.81% | 12.09% |
BND Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | 1.46% | -0.22% | 1.30% | 4.36% | -1.08% | 1.38% |
VEA Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF | 13.05% | 7.66% | 11.68% | 9.53% | 12.46% | 5.54% |
Monthly Returns
The table below presents the monthly returns of Bogleheads Three-fund Portfolio, with color gradation from worst to best to easily spot seasonal factors. Returns are adjusted for dividends.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.97% | 0.17% | -2.83% | 0.90% | 3.22% | 4.38% | |||||||
| 2024 | 0.20% | 3.21% | 2.92% | -3.68% | 4.11% | 1.22% | 2.32% | 2.23% | 1.60% | -2.40% | 3.75% | -2.90% | 12.89% |
| 2023 | 6.83% | -2.78% | 2.68% | 1.44% | -1.14% | 4.68% | 2.75% | -2.29% | -4.04% | -2.64% | 8.25% | 5.04% | 19.40% |
| 2022 | -4.60% | -2.26% | 1.23% | -7.39% | 0.55% | -7.16% | 6.73% | -4.17% | -8.41% | 5.63% | 7.12% | -3.75% | -16.74% |
| 2021 | -0.55% | 1.99% | 2.43% | 3.61% | 1.32% | 1.14% | 1.26% | 1.79% | -3.46% | 4.31% | -2.09% | 3.11% | 15.60% |
| 2020 | -0.54% | -5.92% | -11.50% | 9.21% | 4.56% | 2.34% | 3.96% | 4.98% | -2.41% | -2.15% | 10.39% | 4.10% | 15.91% |
| 2019 | 6.74% | 2.50% | 1.26% | 2.81% | -4.48% | 5.51% | 0.13% | -1.06% | 1.69% | 2.08% | 2.30% | 2.48% | 23.76% |
| 2018 | 3.79% | -3.65% | -0.97% | 0.44% | 1.07% | -0.13% | 2.34% | 1.34% | 0.20% | -6.45% | 1.28% | -5.82% | -6.91% |
| 2017 | 2.07% | 2.28% | 0.95% | 1.35% | 1.68% | 0.67% | 1.89% | 0.25% | 1.88% | 1.61% | 1.76% | 1.19% | 19.05% |
| 2016 | -4.27% | -0.73% | 5.77% | 1.10% | 0.77% | -0.07% | 3.36% | 0.17% | 0.61% | -2.01% | 1.28% | 1.81% | 7.72% |
| 2015 | -0.67% | 4.41% | -0.84% | 1.40% | 0.53% | -1.94% | 1.47% | -5.27% | -2.45% | 6.00% | 0.00% | -1.75% | 0.38% |
| 2014 | -2.84% | 4.27% | 0.12% | 0.66% | 1.79% | 1.64% | -1.76% | 2.38% | -2.39% | 1.41% | 1.42% | -1.10% | 5.48% |
Expense Ratio
Bogleheads Three-fund Portfolio has an expense ratio of 0.04%, which is considered low. Below, you can find the expense ratios of the portfolio's funds side by side and easily compare their relative costs.
Risk-Adjusted Performance
Risk-Adjusted Performance Rank
The current rank of Bogleheads Three-fund Portfolio is 53, indicating average performance compared to other portfolios on our website. Here’s a breakdown of how it compares using common performance measures.
Risk-Adjusted Performance Indicators
This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for positions. Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.
| Sharpe ratio | Sortino ratio | Omega ratio | Calmar ratio | Martin ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
VTI Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | 0.65 | 1.08 | 1.16 | 0.71 | 2.68 |
BND Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | 0.83 | 1.31 | 1.15 | 0.38 | 2.29 |
VEA Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF | 0.56 | 0.96 | 1.13 | 0.76 | 2.31 |
Loading data...
Dividends
Dividend yield
Bogleheads Three-fund Portfolio provided a 2.27% dividend yield over the last twelve months.
| TTM | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio | 2.27% | 2.37% | 2.28% | 2.23% | 1.95% | 1.77% | 2.34% | 2.59% | 2.19% | 2.38% | 2.38% | 2.54% |
| Portfolio components: | ||||||||||||
VTI Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | 1.30% | 1.27% | 1.44% | 1.67% | 1.21% | 1.42% | 1.78% | 2.04% | 1.71% | 1.92% | 1.98% | 1.76% |
BND Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | 3.78% | 3.67% | 3.09% | 2.60% | 1.97% | 2.22% | 2.72% | 2.81% | 2.54% | 2.51% | 2.57% | 2.79% |
VEA Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF | 2.90% | 3.35% | 3.15% | 2.91% | 3.16% | 2.04% | 3.04% | 3.35% | 2.77% | 3.05% | 2.92% | 3.68% |
Drawdowns
Drawdowns Chart
The Drawdowns chart displays portfolio losses from any high point along the way. Drawdowns are calculated considering price movements and all distributions paid, if any.
Loading data...
Worst Drawdowns
The table below displays the maximum drawdowns of the Bogleheads Three-fund Portfolio. A maximum drawdown is a measure of risk, indicating the largest reduction in portfolio value due to a series of losing trades.
The maximum drawdown for the Bogleheads Three-fund Portfolio was 47.74%, occurring on Mar 9, 2009. Recovery took 539 trading sessions.
The current Bogleheads Three-fund Portfolio drawdown is 0.52%.
Depth | Start | To Bottom | Bottom | To Recover | End | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -47.74% | Nov 1, 2007 | 339 | Mar 9, 2009 | 539 | Apr 27, 2011 | 878 |
| -28.12% | Feb 13, 2020 | 27 | Mar 23, 2020 | 95 | Aug 6, 2020 | 122 |
| -24.47% | Nov 9, 2021 | 235 | Oct 14, 2022 | 329 | Feb 7, 2024 | 564 |
| -17.25% | May 2, 2011 | 108 | Oct 3, 2011 | 111 | Mar 13, 2012 | 219 |
| -15.25% | Jan 29, 2018 | 229 | Dec 24, 2018 | 81 | Apr 23, 2019 | 310 |
Volatility
Volatility Chart
The chart below shows the rolling one-month volatility.
Loading data...
Diversification
Diversification Metrics
Number of Effective Assets
The portfolio contains 3 assets, with an effective number of assets of 2.63, reflecting the diversification based on asset allocation. This number of effective assets suggests a highly concentrated portfolio, where a few assets dominate the allocation, potentially increasing the portfolio's risk due to lack of diversification.
Asset Correlations Table
| ^GSPC | BND | VEA | VTI | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ^GSPC | 1.00 | -0.16 | 0.83 | 0.99 | 0.96 |
| BND | -0.16 | 1.00 | -0.10 | -0.16 | -0.08 |
| VEA | 0.83 | -0.10 | 1.00 | 0.83 | 0.94 |
| VTI | 0.99 | -0.16 | 0.83 | 1.00 | 0.97 |
| Portfolio | 0.96 | -0.08 | 0.94 | 0.97 | 1.00 |
AI Insight on Diversification
The portfolio is moderately diversified, with a mix of bond and equity positions that exhibit varying degrees of correlation. The correlation matrix reveals that VEA (an international equity fund) and VTI (a total U.S. equity fund) are highly correlated at 0.83, indicating that these two equity positions tend to move in a similar direction. This high correlation between VEA and VTI somewhat limits diversification within the equity portion of the portfolio.
On the other hand, BND (a bond fund) shows low and even slightly negative correlations with both VEA (-0.1) and VTI (-0.16). These low correlations are beneficial for diversification, as bonds typically behave differently from equities, providing a buffer during equity market downturns.
Looking at the correlation of the portfolio as a whole with individual positions, the portfolio correlates very strongly with VTI (0.97) and VEA (0.94), but only weakly with BND (-0.08). This suggests that the portfolio’s overall performance is heavily influenced by the equity components, particularly VTI, which likely represents the largest allocation or the most dominant driver of returns.
In summary, while the portfolio benefits from the inclusion of bonds to reduce overall correlation and risk, the strong correlation and dominance of the equity funds, especially VTI, indicate a concentration in equities. The portfolio is not highly concentrated, but the equity portion is less diversified internally due to the high correlation between VEA and VTI. This structure is typical for a three-fund portfolio aiming for broad market exposure but could be enhanced by adding assets with lower correlations to equities for improved diversification.