Warren Buffett's 90/10 Portfolio
This portfolio follows the guidelines that Warren Buffett has written in his will for his wife's trust in the 2013 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. They state that the trustee should invest 90% in a low-cost S&P 500 index fund, with the remaining 10% invested in a short-term government bonds fund. The basic strategy is to own a major slice of all American businesses that are bound to grow in total. Buffett believes this portfolio is "superior to those attained by most investors - whether pension funds, institutions or individuals."
Asset Allocation
| Position | Category/Sector | Target Weight |
|---|---|---|
BSV Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF | Total Bond Market | 10% |
VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | Large Cap Growth Equities | 90% |
Performance
Performance Chart
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The earliest data available for this chart is Sep 9, 2010, corresponding to the inception date of VOO
Returns By Period
As of May 31, 2025, the Warren Buffett's 90/10 Portfolio returned 1.11% Year-To-Date and 11.79% 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% |
| Warren Buffett's 90/10 Portfolio | 1.11% | 5.62% | -1.03% | 13.53% | 14.43% | 11.79% |
| Portfolio components: | ||||||
BSV Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF | 2.66% | -0.23% | 2.61% | 6.51% | 1.06% | 1.79% |
VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | 0.90% | 6.28% | -1.46% | 14.27% | 15.89% | 12.81% |
Monthly Returns
The table below presents the monthly returns of Warren Buffett's 90/10 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 | 2.47% | -1.04% | -4.99% | -0.64% | 5.62% | 1.11% | |||||||
| 2024 | 1.48% | 4.62% | 3.01% | -3.68% | 4.60% | 3.28% | 1.19% | 2.26% | 2.05% | -0.96% | 5.35% | -2.12% | 22.74% |
| 2023 | 5.78% | -2.37% | 3.53% | 1.47% | 0.39% | 5.81% | 3.00% | -1.45% | -4.32% | -1.95% | 8.41% | 4.30% | 24.09% |
| 2022 | -4.82% | -2.73% | 3.18% | -7.99% | 0.31% | -7.47% | 8.37% | -3.87% | -8.49% | 7.27% | 5.12% | -5.21% | -16.86% |
| 2021 | -0.93% | 2.45% | 4.11% | 4.79% | 0.62% | 2.03% | 2.24% | 2.66% | -4.24% | 6.27% | -0.67% | 4.11% | 25.55% |
| 2020 | 0.06% | -7.19% | -11.07% | 11.57% | 4.35% | 1.69% | 5.34% | 6.31% | -3.43% | -2.31% | 9.86% | 3.41% | 17.36% |
| 2019 | 7.20% | 2.96% | 1.83% | 3.65% | -5.65% | 6.34% | 1.32% | -1.37% | 1.75% | 2.01% | 3.26% | 2.71% | 28.57% |
| 2018 | 4.98% | -3.40% | -2.20% | 0.29% | 2.21% | 0.69% | 3.21% | 2.95% | 0.51% | -6.15% | 1.72% | -7.80% | -3.77% |
| 2017 | 1.63% | 3.51% | 0.13% | 0.98% | 1.29% | 0.56% | 1.89% | 0.30% | 1.81% | 2.09% | 2.73% | 1.16% | 19.60% |
| 2016 | -4.34% | -0.15% | 6.19% | 0.32% | 1.56% | 0.39% | 3.34% | 0.08% | 0.04% | -1.64% | 3.25% | 1.88% | 11.06% |
| 2015 | -2.49% | 4.95% | -1.37% | 0.90% | 1.14% | -1.77% | 1.97% | -5.54% | -2.14% | 7.61% | 0.36% | -1.58% | 1.37% |
| 2014 | -3.13% | 4.11% | 0.76% | 0.68% | 2.11% | 1.88% | -1.26% | 3.61% | -1.26% | 2.20% | 2.51% | -0.29% | 12.32% |
Expense Ratio
Warren Buffett's 90/10 Portfolio has an expense ratio of 0.03%, 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 Warren Buffett's 90/10 Portfolio is 45, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BSV Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF | 2.82 | 4.47 | 1.57 | 2.95 | 10.46 |
VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | 0.74 | 1.04 | 1.15 | 0.68 | 2.58 |
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Dividends
Dividend yield
Warren Buffett's 90/10 Portfolio provided a 1.51% dividend yield over the last twelve months.
| TTM | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio | 1.51% | 1.46% | 1.56% | 1.67% | 1.26% | 1.57% | 1.92% | 2.05% | 1.77% | 1.96% | 2.03% | 1.81% |
| Portfolio components: | ||||||||||||
BSV Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF | 3.55% | 3.38% | 2.46% | 1.50% | 1.36% | 1.79% | 2.29% | 1.99% | 1.65% | 1.49% | 1.40% | 1.45% |
VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | 1.29% | 1.24% | 1.46% | 1.69% | 1.25% | 1.54% | 1.88% | 2.06% | 1.78% | 2.02% | 2.10% | 1.85% |
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 Warren Buffett's 90/10 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 Warren Buffett's 90/10 Portfolio was 30.73%, occurring on Mar 23, 2020. Recovery took 95 trading sessions.
The current Warren Buffett's 90/10 Portfolio drawdown is 2.98%.
Depth | Start | To Bottom | Bottom | To Recover | End | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -30.73% | Feb 20, 2020 | 23 | Mar 23, 2020 | 95 | Aug 6, 2020 | 118 |
| -22.78% | Jan 4, 2022 | 195 | Oct 12, 2022 | 294 | Dec 13, 2023 | 489 |
| -17.42% | Sep 21, 2018 | 65 | Dec 24, 2018 | 70 | Apr 5, 2019 | 135 |
| -16.84% | May 2, 2011 | 108 | Oct 3, 2011 | 85 | Feb 3, 2012 | 193 |
| -16.81% | Feb 20, 2025 | 34 | Apr 8, 2025 | — | — | — |
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 2 assets, with an effective number of assets of 1.22, 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 | BSV | VOO | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ^GSPC | 1.00 | -0.10 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| BSV | -0.10 | 1.00 | -0.10 | -0.09 |
| VOO | 1.00 | -0.10 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Portfolio | 1.00 | -0.09 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
AI Insight on Diversification
The portfolio is moderately diversified with a clear indication of low correlation between its key components, which supports effective risk management. The correlation matrix shows that BSV has a slightly negative correlation with both the overall portfolio (-0.09) and VOO (-0.1), suggesting that BSV behaves somewhat independently relative to the other holdings. This low correlation is beneficial for diversification, as it can help reduce overall portfolio volatility.
VOO and the portfolio itself are perfectly correlated (1.0), indicating that VOO likely constitutes the dominant position within the portfolio. This dominance means that the portfolio’s performance closely tracks VOO, which is typically an S&P 500 index fund. The near-perfect correlation implies limited diversification benefits from VOO relative to the portfolio, as it essentially drives the portfolio’s returns.
In summary, while the portfolio benefits from the inclusion of BSV due to its low correlation and diversification advantages, the heavy weighting or influence of VOO suggests a concentrated exposure to the broader equity market. This structure aligns with a 90/10 approach, where a large portion is invested in equities (VOO) and a smaller portion in bonds or short-term securities (BSV), balancing growth potential with some downside protection.