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Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio

Last updated Dec 9, 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.

Asset Allocation


SHY 40%VV 15%IJS 10%VTV 10%VPL 5%IJR 5%VGK 5%EEM 5%VNQ 5%BondBondEquityEquityReal EstateReal Estate
PositionCategory/SectorWeight
SHY
iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF
Government Bonds40%
VV
Vanguard Large-Cap ETF
Large Cap Growth Equities15%
IJS
iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Value ETF
Small Cap Value Equities10%
VTV
Vanguard Value ETF
Large Cap Value Equities10%
VPL
Vanguard FTSE Pacific ETF
Asia Pacific Equities5%
IJR
iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF
Small Cap Growth Equities5%
VGK
Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF
Europe Equities5%
EEM
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF
Asia Pacific Equities5%
VNQ
Vanguard Real Estate ETF
REIT5%

Performance

The chart shows the growth of an initial investment of $10,000 in Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio, comparing it to the performance of the S&P 500 index or another benchmark. All prices have been adjusted for splits and dividends. The portfolio is rebalanced Quarterly


160.00%180.00%200.00%220.00%240.00%260.00%280.00%JulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
187.96%
280.76%
Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio
Benchmark (^GSPC)
Portfolio components

The earliest data available for this chart is Mar 10, 2005, corresponding to the inception date of VPL

Returns

As of Dec 9, 2023, the Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio returned 7.72% Year-To-Date and 5.51% of annualized return in the last 10 years.


Year-To-Date1 month6 months1 year5 years (annualized)10 years (annualized)
^GSPC
N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A
Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio7.72%4.20%3.07%6.59%6.35%5.63%
VNQ
Vanguard Real Estate ETF
4.59%9.92%3.30%1.73%4.14%6.59%
VV
Vanguard Large-Cap ETF
22.65%5.40%8.21%18.84%13.67%11.81%
SHY
iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF
3.13%0.77%1.88%3.11%1.06%0.80%
VPL
Vanguard FTSE Pacific ETF
9.60%4.43%-0.50%8.86%4.64%4.10%
IJR
iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF
7.31%9.41%2.52%3.67%7.79%8.17%
VGK
Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF
15.50%7.42%3.71%13.77%8.04%4.37%
IJS
iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Value ETF
5.99%9.94%2.28%2.57%7.82%7.54%
VTV
Vanguard Value ETF
4.67%4.99%4.44%3.50%9.68%9.52%
EEM
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF
3.74%1.48%-2.13%1.62%1.78%1.36%

Monthly Returns Heatmap


JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2023-1.54%3.56%2.59%-1.98%-2.90%-2.03%5.58%

Sharpe Ratio

The current Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio Sharpe ratio is 0.77. A Sharpe ratio between 0 and 1.0 is considered sub-optimal.

-1.000.001.002.003.000.77

The Sharpe ratio of Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio is in the bottom 25%, suggesting that this portfolio isn't performing as well in terms of risk-adjusted returns compared to many others. This could be due to lower returns, higher volatility, or both. It might be an indication that the portfolio needs fine-tuning.


Rolling 12-month Sharpe Ratio0.000.501.00JulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
0.77
1.25
Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio
Benchmark (^GSPC)
Portfolio components

Dividend yield

Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio granted a 2.50% dividend yield in the last twelve months.


TTM20222021202020192018201720162015201420132012
Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio2.50%1.86%1.27%1.47%2.22%2.23%1.65%1.65%1.61%1.49%1.34%1.58%
VNQ
Vanguard Real Estate ETF
4.29%3.91%2.56%3.93%3.39%4.74%4.23%4.82%3.92%3.60%4.32%3.56%
VV
Vanguard Large-Cap ETF
1.42%1.66%1.19%1.46%1.81%2.09%1.75%1.98%1.96%1.77%1.75%2.12%
SHY
iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF
2.91%1.30%0.26%0.94%2.12%1.72%0.98%0.71%0.54%0.36%0.26%0.37%
VPL
Vanguard FTSE Pacific ETF
2.83%2.75%3.19%1.81%2.84%3.06%2.57%2.65%2.43%2.69%2.49%3.23%
IJR
iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF
1.55%1.41%1.53%1.11%1.44%1.58%1.20%1.21%1.48%1.23%1.00%1.66%
VGK
Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF
3.16%3.25%3.05%2.11%3.27%3.95%2.70%3.52%3.25%4.62%2.77%3.01%
IJS
iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Value ETF
1.58%1.46%1.52%1.00%1.66%1.75%1.41%1.22%1.59%1.41%1.18%1.87%
VTV
Vanguard Value ETF
2.55%2.52%2.15%2.56%2.50%2.73%2.29%2.44%2.60%2.22%2.21%2.73%
EEM
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF
2.29%2.50%1.99%1.45%2.76%2.22%1.87%1.88%2.48%2.22%2.04%1.67%

Expense Ratio

The Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio features an expense ratio of 0.15%, falling within the medium range. Below you can find the expense ratios of portfolio funds side-by-side and effortlessly compare their relative costs.


0.68%
0.00%2.15%
0.25%
0.00%2.15%
0.15%
0.00%2.15%
0.12%
0.00%2.15%
0.08%
0.00%2.15%
0.08%
0.00%2.15%
0.07%
0.00%2.15%
0.04%
0.00%2.15%
0.04%
0.00%2.15%

Risk-Adjusted Performance

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 ratioSortino ratioOmega ratioCalmar ratioUlcer Index
VNQ
Vanguard Real Estate ETF
0.12
VV
Vanguard Large-Cap ETF
1.43
SHY
iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF
1.11
VPL
Vanguard FTSE Pacific ETF
0.69
IJR
iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF
0.21
VGK
Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF
0.94
IJS
iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Value ETF
0.15
VTV
Vanguard Value ETF
0.34
EEM
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF
0.18

Asset Correlations Table

The table below displays the correlation coefficients between the individual components of the portfolio, the entire portfolio, and the chosen benchmark.

SHYVNQEEMVPLVGKIJSIJRVTVVV
SHY1.00-0.08-0.17-0.14-0.15-0.22-0.21-0.24-0.22
VNQ-0.081.000.530.530.560.680.680.690.68
EEM-0.170.531.000.800.770.670.680.720.76
VPL-0.140.530.801.000.790.670.690.730.76
VGK-0.150.560.770.791.000.700.710.790.80
IJS-0.220.680.670.670.701.000.980.850.83
IJR-0.210.680.680.690.710.981.000.850.85
VTV-0.240.690.720.730.790.850.851.000.93
VV-0.220.680.760.760.800.830.850.931.00

Drawdowns Chart

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


-14.00%-12.00%-10.00%-8.00%-6.00%-4.00%JulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
-4.10%
-4.01%
Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio
Benchmark (^GSPC)
Portfolio components

Worst Drawdowns

The table below displays the maximum drawdowns of the Bill Bernstein Coward's 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 Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio was 37.25%, occurring on Mar 9, 2009. Recovery took 450 trading sessions.


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

Volatility Chart

The current Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio volatility is 2.52%, representing the average percentage change in the investments's value, either up or down over the past month. The chart below shows the rolling one-month volatility.


1.50%2.00%2.50%3.00%3.50%4.00%4.50%5.00%JulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
2.52%
2.77%
Bill Bernstein Coward's Portfolio
Benchmark (^GSPC)
Portfolio components
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