Rick Ferri Core Four Portfolio
The Rick Ferri Core Four is a permanent portfolio proposed by Rick Ferri, a Bogleheads author, and investment adviser. As the name implies, it consists of four low-cost funds. Rick suggests that investors first determine their bond allocation (e.g. 20% or 40%). With the remaining funds allocate 50% to US stock, 40% to international, and 10% to REIT.
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 | 24% |
VNQ Vanguard Real Estate ETF | REIT | 8% |
VTI Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | Large Cap Growth Equities | 48% |
Performance
Performance Chart
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The earliest data available for this chart is Jul 26, 2007, corresponding to the inception date of VEA
Returns By Period
As of May 31, 2025, the Rick Ferri Core Four Portfolio returned 4.81% Year-To-Date and 8.29% of annualized return in the last 10 years.
| YTD | 1M | 6M | 1Y | 5Y* | 10Y* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
^GSPC S&P 500 | 0.51% | 6.15% | -2.00% | 12.92% | 14.19% | 10.85% |
| Rick Ferri Core Four Portfolio | 4.81% | 4.19% | 1.36% | 12.62% | 10.54% | 8.29% |
| Portfolio components: | ||||||
VTI Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | 0.38% | 6.25% | -2.68% | 13.67% | 15.23% | 12.13% |
VEA Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF | 16.76% | 5.13% | 12.67% | 14.08% | 11.40% | 6.14% |
BND Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | 2.49% | -0.67% | 0.77% | 5.82% | -1.00% | 1.54% |
VNQ Vanguard Real Estate ETF | 1.30% | 1.12% | -7.18% | 13.84% | 6.90% | 5.35% |
Monthly Returns
The table below presents the monthly returns of Rick Ferri Core Four 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 | 2.77% | 0.36% | -2.94% | 0.48% | 4.19% | 4.81% | |||||||
| 2024 | -0.16% | 3.11% | 2.80% | -4.02% | 4.10% | 1.41% | 2.74% | 2.45% | 1.76% | -2.35% | 3.92% | -3.30% | 12.70% |
| 2023 | 6.98% | -3.00% | 2.30% | 1.29% | -1.24% | 4.73% | 2.66% | -2.29% | -4.29% | -2.68% | 8.49% | 5.37% | 18.79% |
| 2022 | -4.92% | -2.32% | 1.61% | -7.12% | 0.07% | -7.04% | 6.91% | -4.23% | -8.66% | 5.38% | 6.75% | -3.92% | -17.58% |
| 2021 | -0.50% | 2.06% | 2.61% | 3.95% | 1.17% | 1.37% | 1.54% | 1.83% | -3.63% | 4.56% | -1.95% | 3.56% | 17.51% |
| 2020 | -0.26% | -5.87% | -11.89% | 9.25% | 4.26% | 2.28% | 3.98% | 4.56% | -2.44% | -2.14% | 10.08% | 3.89% | 14.40% |
| 2019 | 7.07% | 2.34% | 1.54% | 2.55% | -4.03% | 5.14% | 0.36% | -0.60% | 1.63% | 1.94% | 2.04% | 2.28% | 24.15% |
| 2018 | 3.06% | -3.86% | -0.64% | 0.42% | 1.39% | 0.29% | 2.18% | 1.58% | -0.05% | -6.02% | 1.60% | -5.94% | -6.35% |
| 2017 | 1.79% | 2.43% | 0.57% | 1.22% | 1.39% | 0.79% | 1.77% | 0.23% | 1.68% | 1.38% | 1.86% | 1.06% | 17.40% |
| 2016 | -4.10% | -0.58% | 6.04% | 0.76% | 0.93% | 0.59% | 3.37% | -0.17% | 0.37% | -2.27% | 1.16% | 2.00% | 8.03% |
| 2015 | -0.11% | 3.59% | -0.61% | 0.68% | 0.49% | -2.09% | 1.81% | -5.22% | -1.89% | 5.90% | -0.01% | -1.44% | 0.66% |
| 2014 | -2.13% | 4.22% | 0.17% | 0.83% | 1.84% | 1.62% | -1.58% | 2.53% | -2.59% | 2.17% | 1.53% | -0.70% | 7.96% |
Expense Ratio
Rick Ferri Core Four 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 Rick Ferri Core Four Portfolio is 62, 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 | 0.68 | 0.98 | 1.14 | 0.63 | 2.36 |
VEA Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF | 0.83 | 1.18 | 1.16 | 0.98 | 2.96 |
BND Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | 1.10 | 1.60 | 1.19 | 0.47 | 2.79 |
VNQ Vanguard Real Estate ETF | 0.77 | 1.17 | 1.15 | 0.60 | 2.46 |
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Dividends
Dividend yield
Rick Ferri Core Four Portfolio provided a 2.37% dividend yield over the last twelve months.
| TTM | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio | 2.37% | 2.46% | 2.38% | 2.33% | 1.94% | 1.93% | 2.40% | 2.73% | 2.33% | 2.54% | 2.48% | 2.57% |
| Portfolio components: | ||||||||||||
VTI Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | 1.29% | 1.27% | 1.44% | 1.67% | 1.21% | 1.42% | 1.78% | 2.04% | 1.71% | 1.92% | 1.98% | 1.76% |
VEA Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF | 2.81% | 3.36% | 3.16% | 2.91% | 3.16% | 2.04% | 3.04% | 3.35% | 2.77% | 3.05% | 2.92% | 3.68% |
BND Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | 3.74% | 3.67% | 3.09% | 2.60% | 1.97% | 2.22% | 2.72% | 2.81% | 2.54% | 2.51% | 2.57% | 2.79% |
VNQ Vanguard Real Estate ETF | 4.07% | 3.85% | 3.95% | 3.91% | 2.56% | 3.93% | 3.39% | 4.74% | 4.23% | 4.82% | 3.92% | 3.60% |
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.
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Worst Drawdowns
The table below displays the maximum drawdowns of the Rick Ferri Core Four 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 Rick Ferri Core Four Portfolio was 48.48%, occurring on Mar 9, 2009. Recovery took 493 trading sessions.
The current Rick Ferri Core Four Portfolio drawdown is 0.21%.
Depth | Start | To Bottom | Bottom | To Recover | End | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -48.48% | Oct 10, 2007 | 355 | Mar 9, 2009 | 493 | Feb 18, 2011 | 848 |
| -28.73% | Feb 18, 2020 | 25 | Mar 23, 2020 | 107 | Aug 24, 2020 | 132 |
| -24.52% | Dec 28, 2021 | 202 | Oct 14, 2022 | 339 | Feb 22, 2024 | 541 |
| -16.89% | May 2, 2011 | 108 | Oct 3, 2011 | 101 | Feb 28, 2012 | 209 |
| -14.37% | Aug 30, 2018 | 80 | Dec 24, 2018 | 66 | Apr 1, 2019 | 146 |
Volatility
Volatility Chart
The chart below shows the rolling one-month volatility.
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Diversification
Diversification Metrics
Number of Effective Assets
The portfolio contains 4 assets, with an effective number of assets of 2.99, 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 | VNQ | VEA | VTI | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ^GSPC | 1.00 | -0.16 | 0.68 | 0.83 | 0.99 | 0.96 |
| BND | -0.16 | 1.00 | 0.03 | -0.10 | -0.15 | -0.06 |
| VNQ | 0.68 | 0.03 | 1.00 | 0.59 | 0.69 | 0.75 |
| VEA | 0.83 | -0.10 | 0.59 | 1.00 | 0.83 | 0.91 |
| VTI | 0.99 | -0.15 | 0.69 | 0.83 | 1.00 | 0.97 |
| Portfolio | 0.96 | -0.06 | 0.75 | 0.91 | 0.97 | 1.00 |
AI Insight on Diversification
The portfolio is moderately diversified with a mix of asset classes that exhibit varying degrees of correlation. The correlation matrix reveals that VTI (Total U.S. Stock Market) and VEA (Developed Markets ex-U.S.) are highly correlated at 0.83, indicating these two equity positions move closely together, which slightly reduces diversification benefits within the equity portion. Additionally, VTI and VNQ (U.S. Real Estate) show a strong positive correlation of 0.69, and VEA and VNQ correlate at 0.59, suggesting that the equity and real estate components share some common market drivers.
On the other hand, BND (U.S. Aggregate Bond) has very low or even slightly negative correlations with the equity and real estate positions (ranging from -0.15 with VTI to 0.03 with VNQ), which helps to enhance diversification by providing a non-correlated asset class that can reduce overall portfolio volatility.
Looking at the portfolio's correlation with individual positions, it is most strongly correlated with VTI at 0.97, followed by VEA at 0.91 and VNQ at 0.75, while BND has the lowest correlation with the portfolio at -0.06. This pattern suggests that the portfolio is heavily influenced by the equity market, particularly the U.S. stock market represented by VTI, indicating that VTI is the dominant position driving portfolio returns and risk.
Overall, while the inclusion of bonds (BND) adds valuable diversification, the high correlations among the equity and real estate components imply that the portfolio is somewhat concentrated in equity risk factors. The portfolio is not fully diversified across independent risk sources, as the equity-heavy positions tend to move in tandem, which could amplify volatility during market downturns.