BND

ExtremeIndependent99

VT and chill. Add BND when I think we might have a correction, then go into a more concentrated fund like VTI or VOO to capture upside, then diversify back into VT for longterm hold.

omgpuppiesarecute

First, great work breaking the cycle. That's worth celebrating. I also am first generation white collar. I grew up in a poor farming family with people who were literally afraid of math and finance, and it utterly crippled them from being functional adults. Good luck navigating the nuances, it can be challenging for sure. Agreed with avoiding any active management. There is very little an advisor is really needed for, especially at your age. You can pay a pay-per-hour CFP to look at your finances and give guidance occasionally as needed for a spot check, but this stuff really isn't that complex once you are used to it. I personally wouldn't put Fidelity in the same sentence of Robinhood or Webull - its like comparing a full trim Subaru to a tuk-tuk or offbrand moped. RH and WeBull are considered discount brokers for a reason, and over time, the "discount" part is going to sting you. Either they won't be there to support you when you need them, or they will keep incorrect records that will burn you. I would strongly recommend picking a large, well established broker like Vanguard, Schwab, Fidelity, and sticking with them, possibly for life. You WILL need to eventually call them, and the first time that that happens, you will realize exactly why RobinHood is considered a discount brokerage - almost zero support. And even less when you need immediate help. If you have to ask for guidance on what to invest in, I'd point you towards /r/bogleheads and suggest you start with a simple 2 fund (VT/BNDW), 3 fund (VTI/VXUS/BNDW), 4 fund (VTI/VXUS/BND/BNDX) portfolio. All give you extremely well diversified portfolios with coverage of both equities and bonds covering more or less the whole planet. It will make a rock solid core for your portfolio. The vast majority of your portfolio should be boring funds. At your age, mid 30s, I would recommend having some amount of bond exposure. It doesn't have to be a lot, but you need to figure out what rule of thumb you're comfortable with and stick with it. Also, I strongly recommend you check out ["the flowchart"](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/4gdlu9/how_to_prioritize_spending_your_money_a_flowchart/) for best practices on what to fund first. The general best practice would be to contribute to your 401k/403b up to the matching level, max out your IRA, finish maxing out your 401k, and then contributing to taxable accounts. I also recommend reading the following books, in this order. 1. Richest Man in Babylon by Clason 2. The little book of common sense investing by Jack Bogle 3. A Random Walk down Wall Street by Malkiel 4. The Intelligent Investor by Ben Graham If you do, you'll understand why I am suggesting what I am suggesting.

cool_yuwen

If you really want to simplify: sell the individual stocks and all the thematic ETFs, and just put that money into VTI. A simple VTI + BND + Crypto portfolio would be dramatically easier to manage.

LexAltitudeSickness

Puts: $DJT $ERUS $INTL $NMAX $MODG $MCD Calls: $BND $UNH $MRNA $RIVN $CAT

diggida

I’m not really sure. I have a lot of SGOV that I think I need to move into something longer term. I have a pretty good chunk of BND and a smaller chunk of VGIT.

Syndicate_Corp

You've underperformed treasuries by going with BND, by 2-3%. Could have just put it in a HYSA and still done better by 1-2%. Unless you're dripping, that BND position is actually negative...

Brewskwondo

Yup. If you’re 80/20 VOO/BND you’re not beating the market. But it does keep you sane.

False_Comedian_6070

Bonds are just as risky as stocks with low return potential. The ten year return of BND is around 1.5% per year, not even keeping up with inflation. They are okay for diversification and peace of mind but I think 70% bonds is reckless. If you are scared of another lost decade I highly recommend investing 70% into funds negatively correlated with big tech. AVUV, AVDV, AVMV, AVIV, AVES, 0r just AVGV to get all of them. I’d recommend 30% AVUQ, 70% AVGV. But it sounds like you need a financial adviser who can teach you emotional management. Behavioral risk is the biggest risk of investing.

RandolphE6

Then don't put 100% of your portfolio in stocks. Standard 3 fund portfolio consists of US + Intl equities, and an allocation of bonds relative to your risk tolerance/age. Increase that bond allocation. (BND)

Cloakedbug

The brutal answer is NO ONE can just give you a reddit options trading strategy that suddenly makes a career. Or guaranteed income. It doesn’t work that way. The vast majority of traders lose money. The closest thing to that is buying VTI, BND, VXUS and not touching it.  I sympathize with everything in this post, I am literally on paternity leave and we are in exactly the same situation, like exactly the same. But wife has accepted her job IS being mom, and she’s getting real good at it. Cooking great meals. Learning things she can teach the kids. I support her with as much time and attention as possible so she has adult companionship. The answer here might not be something for her to do, but for you. 

Due-Sea4841

I wonder if your 10% in BND and 10% in SCHD caused a performance drag.....??

EmpathyFabrication

If this is taxable your BNDX and BND dividends are being taxed as ordinary income

strangebutohwell

VT Or VTI + VXUS Add BND if you want bonds

Alternative-Set3147

BND breakout signaling the market top is here

Imrahulluthra

Solid start. VOO/QQQ are good, but BND might be too conservative for your age. Consider adding something higher-growth. What's your risk tolerance?

Based_Commgnunism

At 23 all you need is VOO and VXUS. You don't need BND because if there's a crash right now it doesn't matter for you. You barely have any money in and have decades to recover. Bonds are to protect capital once your accounts are large and you are looking towards retirement. If you think you can't personally handle market volatility without having a heart attack and panic selling then a small allocation (10%ish) is ok. SCHD is a trap, dividends don't matter. Google dividend irrelevance theory for the technical explanation of why they don't matter. Even if dividends were real you would want them closer to retirement though. QQQ is recent performance chasing, which doesn't work. If you have to have QQQ because you think tech is going to rule the world forever and exceed even the massively inflated current expectations then fair enough I guess but keep it small. VXUS is a necessity. It reduces risk without reducing expected returns. Diversification the only "free" performance out there.

Due-Sea4841

Consolidate to 70% SPYG or SPLG, 15% VXUS, 7.5% Crypto ETF, 7.5% COYY for huge 180% distributions which are paid weekly. Get rid of SCHD that Youtube'ers pump for GenZ and boomers......GL! BND......bonds?.....lol

kiwimancy

Given that you are investing in vanilla index funds, there doesn't seem to be a benefit to hedging your stock market beta over simply selling some of your equities. Hedging is used when you want to be exposed to some risk factor A without B, but you have access to assets with risk factors (A+B) and B. So you buy (A+B) and sell B to effectively get just A. SCHD is an equity fund. Replacing high grade bonds like BND and VGLT with an equity fund would make you more exposed to stock market risk, not less. Finally, cash rates dropping (beyond initial expectations) would likely (though not necessarily) lead to lower yields for intermediate and long term bonds like BND and VGLT, which increases their present value, not lowers it. Bonds do poorly with rising yields, such as when inflation expectations rise.

xiongchiamiov

Can you be more specific of what it is you're trying to hedge against? _Which_ market? You already have a good ex-US position for US problems. Increasing the portion of BND would be the typical answer for a global stock market decline.

LinoCrypto

Does anyone have advice on ETFs to hedge against the market? My current hedge consists of BND and VGLT which I want to steer away from due to potential drop in rates. Would SCHD be a good replacement? My current portfolio consists of: BND 15% VGLT 5% VXUS 30% VTI 10% VOO 40%

cinnanndet

Extreme beginner in the USA. 38 y/o and I want to do something simple, low cost and low-moderate risk. Not looking to get into the weeds. Just a solid, passive way to grow over time. I have 50k I think I’m willing to play with. I opened a Fidelity brokerage account. I’m thinking of something like the following: 25k FXAIX 10k VTI 10k VXUS 5k BND Not sure about these ratios though? Tbh I have no idea what I’m doing. This stuff is confusing, uninteresting and stressful to me. Any advice?

madfoxmax

Good for you for investing so early. Since you are going to use this money for purchase of property, you probably want some stability. Following the bogglehead approach would Probably be best for you. Consider 60% VTI, 30% VXUS and 10% bonds, like BND. You want to balance growth and risk, so you have the funds when you need them.

mrgoldweb

then: Yes to DCA, but not 100% SPY. With 2 years of cushion you go 80/20 stocks/bonds. Translated on 7k/m: ~4.2k VTI/VOO (or SPY), ~1.4k ex‑US (VXUS/IEFA), ~1.4k Treasury/BND; first max out 401k/HSA/IRA and rebalance 1/year or to ±5%. Simple, diversified and anti-rip: discipline > timing.

rickroepke

I’m completely out of debt now, with all three “[buckets](https://smartasset.com/retirement/retirement-bucket-strategy)” funded. My CPA family member suggests no bonds since I have no debt, but my long term plan bucket includes 10% in BND ETF and intermediate buckets has 7% in money market/CDs

ConcentrateOk523

I wish I had remained 100 percent VTI. I listened to a Vanguard advisor and put 20 percent of my portfolio into BND and BNDX. Actually he recomended 35 percent in bonds which would have lowered my return further. Also bought VXUS on his recommendation. If I stayed 100 percent VTI I would have 3.8 million instead of 2.8 million. I do not believe a 50 percent stock decline is even possible in today's environment with the buy the dip mentality and fed and gov intervention. I made a really big mistake. Stay 100 percent stocks.

spacemate

Hey op. First, sorry for your loss. And congrats on the windfall. Many parents pass away and the children can’t even cover funeral arrangements. Firstly, you need to understand that there’s something called investing and then something called gambling. Choosing individual stocks like you’re doing isn’t so different from playing blackjack. It’s fun, you can do it with little money, you don’t go all in with your money. In the investing side, r/bogleheads preaches the passive investing strategy which maximizes total return for investors and requires minimal effort. Lowest effort yields most gains long term because you’re the one fucking up your own chances. Now as an example, if you buy, say, the SPY (sp 500), VOO (all US stocks), and VT (all world stocks), all you’ve done is reinforce your interest in US equities but really you’ve bought the same things thrice. So having said all of that, here’s the advice. In order. First, you don’t tell a soul about this. Not even a partner unless you’re married or about to be married. If you want to talk about it, talk to ChatGPT just to let off steam and make sure you’re paying for the plus version so at least you’re not hearing the bullshit answers of free inferior models. Secondly, you read on the sidebar of r/Investing and you should find advice on windfalls and the wikis of bogleheads. Thirdly, you hire a good lawyer or CPA, who you’ve never heard before of and who doesn’t already deal with any family or friends, and you get proper tax advice. And finally, you allocate it based on your goals. Goals can be varied and have different timelines. If you invest it in a mixture of VT and BND for example you’re making a conscious decision that this is your retirement money. But you can also decide that you want to generate cash flow monthly. Don’t invest in startups, AI, or promises of rich. Invest in predictable cash flow generating businesses you understand. That can be real estate, laundromats, etc. probably easiest for you to know what you already know from work. The thing about this last option that you need to understand that this lump sum is either a big money you’re putting off to grow a lot for retirement, or you want cash flow. Or a hybrid. But like, you know how you took that mortgage, and you didn’t think of that as a ton of money of the house but rather you focused on how much money you’d need to pay back each month? With a windfall, if your choice is to generate cash flows, you think about it the exact same way. You’re not dealing with $700K. You’re dealing with 700K * 4% / 12 =2,333 K extra per month with treasuries. See what I mean?

DragonOfBosnia

I bought shares of small caps and got burnt, large caps all stocks can be tricky. Buy ETFs like VOO SCHD and 10% BND. Nothing else and sleep like a baby.

alone-in-the-chat

So having XLV SCH and BND was a good idea

trafficjet

How old are you? It kinda assumes life (and markets) are gonna play nice, and you know they never really do. like, what happens if you're in your "aggressive" years and a crash wpes out QQQM’s gains for 3+ years? or you're sliding into "retirement readiness" and suddenly BND’s not even keeping up with infltion while SCHD cuts yield? you're mking a lot of small bets in what feel like tidy buckets, but real life doesn’t rebalance itself that cleanly. have you ever backtested this setup through rough years, or is it more of a “this feels divrsified enough so I hope it works” type of deal?

Atrox_Blue

Yes. If you’re long-term and searching for maximum growth, volatility is less of an issue. However, if volatility IS an issue for you, low correlated investments would be an option, or even the BND you mentioned. But don’t expect growth from that.

Atrox_Blue

If you’re looking to maximize growth don’t invest in BND or SCHD… although if your desires may warrant those investments, so be it.

alone-in-the-chat

Sch and BND?

Bigshrek64

hello Everyone, so i just recently rolled over my 401k from previous employer into a fidelity ira and now im trying to decide how to allocate the funds, i know everywhere online it says the total ratio should be to invent at 60/40% stocks/bonds, and the stocks in a 60/40% US/international stocks. so my thoughts were to invest 60/40 into FXAIX/FTIHX for the stocks, and for the bonds to invest maybe 50/50 into BND/PULS? for info, im 38 and have a new 401K running with my employer on 1.5 years. the roller over was 104K. im not sure how risk averse i want to be, i mean we would all love to retire young lol, but looking at the world today, things my be a little too volatile for a newbie like me. but should investing into any EFTs or things like that? i do have a robinhood accout that has like $600 in it of a few stocks, so maybe it might be worth testing the "riskier" things there? any advise is welcomed and appreciated.

Remarkable-Baker560

Hello I wanted to get advice/opinions on my 3 fund portfolio that I plan to start investing in next paycheck. I’m a 23 year old college student/ full time employee, looking for long term investment plan not looking to make quick cash. I plan on using a brokerage account through the M1 app and want to do 60 percent in VTI, 25 percent in BND, and lastly 15 percent in VOO. Please let me know if this is at all a good plan for a 20+ year investment or if I need to make adjustments, changes, etc. Thank you for all and any help!

AICHEngineer

All bonds lost significant value in 2022-2025 due to inflationary fiscal policy post covid and unprecedented fast monetary tightening from the FED. The last time anything like this happened was the 1970s. Longer duration debt like SPTL (similar to TLT) is a hallmark of classic portfolio theory, as longer duration debt is more sensitive to rate changes and macro conditions. In a classic recession like the GFC or dot com or a shock like the pandemic lockdown, long duration government debt like SPTL spikes in value, because the investment opportunities in the real economy dry up or become extremely uncertain, so balance sheets for all investors seek more stable safe flight to safety assets like bonds. This demand drives down yield and drives up bond price. The robo-advisor added these in as a hedge for drawdowns. Despite the steep drawdown in the recent bond bear market as of now this fund is giving you ~15 yrs effective duration exposure to treasury bonds, yielding ~5% at the moment. Theyre lowly correlated or negatively correlated to the stock market the vast majority of the time, so the robo-advisor will be rebalancing between bonds and stocks, similar to a target date fund, but the rebalancing effect will be larger since the volatility of longer duration debt is much higher than something like BND. There are fair criticisms of long duration debt right now, like donald trumps terrible fiscal policies of spend spend spend, on track to keep increasing the deficit year over year despite tarrif revenue. This is bad for bonds, because it makes us less likely to repay without inflating the currency, which could potentially keep rates high and bond price low.

neonam11

I looked up SWVXX and the expense ratio is 0.34% vs Vanguard’s bond etf BND which is 0.03%. If you have hundreds of thousands then that would make a huge difference in expenses. I like exposure to international, VT has around 40% of its portfolio in international stocks. If you want a different proportion of US vs International, you can buy VXUS (international, not US) and combine it with VOO or VTI. Part of me is a value investor, so I subscribe to Morningstar and get their take on companies that have been beaten down (ASML, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer) and might be a good buy. I buy a few thousand dollars worth of each stock (individual stocks make up less than 5% of my entire portfolio) and let it ride. Good luck.

ConcentrateOk523

Keep it. AMZN has easily beaten my portfolio of VTI, VXUS and BND. In 2000 I had small amount of AMZN which I sold. Should have kept it.

Alternative-Set3147

BND about to break out bigly

Interesting-Foot2880

As you get older your TDF is composed of more and more bonds and money market funds. This is primarily to PROTECT your money for retirement, but the trade of for reduced risk is that your returns are significantly lower. If you wanted to swap out an equivalent would be a variation of the 2/3/4 fund portfolio that you can find in r/Bogleheads , but TLDR that is some ratio of VTI+VXUS+BND+BNDX or VT+BNDW. Less protection for your money, but more money can be made if you just buy and hold.

SirGlass

Too many times people think you have to be 100% invested in equities or 100% cash. There is an in-between, and you can choose how aggressive or conservative you want to be. Tons of people say " don't invest in bonds they have horrible returns" Well cash has horrible returns too. It's fine investing in a more conservative way, and bonds can earn their return by keeping you invested or keeping you from panic selling, or waiting on the side lines for years because you are afraid to pull the trigger. Keep it simple, you can do a boglehead type portfolio maybe even do a 4 fund portfolio by adding something like VBILfor extra safety. Something like 35% VTI 15% VXUs 30% BND 20% VBIL Obviously allocate according to your own risk tolerance, high % of bonds (VBIL and BND) will add safety.

KZ7548

With 30 years to go, you’re very conservative/speculative. I suggest reading a couple books to learn more about investing. “The Simple Path to Wealth” and “The Little Book of Common Sense Investing” are a great start and would give you a solid foundation. VOO is a great pick, but gold and dividends, not so much. Look into the 3 fund portfolio - US stocks + International Stocks + Bonds. Stocks are an inflation hedge and bonds are a deflation hedge. Your stock to bond ratio is determined by your risk tolerance. With 30 years to go, you don’t need to be super conservative. An example of this portfolio would be VTI (or VOO) + VXUS + BND or VT + BND. Gold is a speculative pick. Consider the greater fool theory where you buy it in hopes that someone will at you more for it later down the line. Gold itself doesn’t actually return value like stocks where they appreciate in value due to earnings and dividends. If you want to add a speculative asset like gold, only allocate 5-10% of your portfolio to it. SCHD is popular right now, but with 30 years to go, I wouldn’t focus on dividends, but if you do hold this, consider it part of your US allocation. I prefer simplicity and the 3 fund portfolio makes rebalancing and set it and forget it easier. It just works without having to think about it.

cl0akndagger

There are numerous that have and do. OP is a smug retard parroting some shit they read on bogleheads like it’s some amazing insight because they have their 5 figure ports tied up in VTI and BND. Retail has way less limitations than hedge funds managing billions of dollars, anyone comparing the two doesn’t really know what they’re talking about. It’s two different animals. You can outperform the market if you’re not a greedy moron swinging for the fences on stupid gambles.

manlymatt83

80% VT / 20% BND rebalance quarterly

DepartmentGlad2564

That's a *real* rate of return which includes inflation. BND did exactly what it was supposed to do, have a positive real return i.e. keep up with inflation while having reduced volatility compared to equities.

Affectionate_Run3921

We all start somewhere, man. It’s been a long road and I’ve been blessed. I have a total of $8M invested. A few other individual stock positions not pictured here, along with VTI, BND and some muni bonds.

ClassicStory

Thank you for the response! If I'm reading correctly, dropping both VOO and VO in favor of VTI would be the best bet? I think a very small portion of BND or BNDW would work well, but I don't want it to be too much since I don't want to be conservative. I am going to keep TKO since it's my baby.

thetreece

How about a nice 3-fund portfolio? US stocks, international stocks, and bonds? If you are risk adverse, and want less volatility from stocks, use a higher bond position. Something like 40% VTI, 30% VXUS, and 30% BND. >I just want to know which stocks to pick Don't pick stocks. Most stock pickers underperform the market. Just buy the entire market with index funds. Visit r/bogleheads and learn more. Read a couple books.

Commercial-Week-6558

Okay great Well how I would go with this again this is my view we don’t have to share the same just so you know I’d go 50/30/10/10 50% on us total market 30% international stocks 10% us bonds 10%optional t’ils For your $20K Lump Sum Example • $10,000 → VTI • $6,000 → VXUS • $2,000 → BND • $2,000 → Tilt ETF (QQQM / SCHD / VBR) Then, every month, DCA in the same proportions. You can also check what some of the guys saying in the comments to check the links on the sub

Interesting-Foot2880

Tbh what I'd recommend for long term holding is drop either VOO or VTI as the first half of VTI IS VOO by weight, and if you chose VTI you could drop VO too because VTI has heaps of mid cap. Other than that I'd get a bit more international than just 3%, and maybe start looking at BND or BNDW if you want to be a little more conservative. Some variation of the boglehead 3 fund (US index, International Index, Bond Index; e.g. VTI, VXUS, BNDW in 70:25:5 would make sense for you I think, but assess that yourself) works good for most people.

skilliard7

You are way too overweight on large cap tech(which has lower expected **future** returns due to overvaluation), underweight value stocks and international, and underweight bonds. Overall, your portfolio is very risky. I'd say something more like: 30% VOO 10% VTV 10% AVUV 10% BND 24% VXUS 5% SCHP 5% NVDA 5% GOOGL 1% Bitcoin ETF This limits your exposure to any single stock, while still maintaining exposure to assets you believe in(GOOGL, NVDA, Bitcoin)

Electrical-Taro-4058

This is a well-diversified portfolio for a beginner. Consider adding some bonds (BND) for stability as you gain more experience.

ILoveKombucha

If you are new to investing (or even if you aren't new), you should be really careful about picking individual stocks. The vast majority of your portfolio should be in broad, well diversified index funds - things that track either the entire US stock market (VTI, FSKAX, etc), or that track the S&P 500 (VOO, FXAIX, etc). You would also do well to consider investing in a very broad international stock fund (basically holding all the stocks of the world, something like VXUS, or FTIHX, etc.). And finally, you should consider whether or not holding any bonds in a bond fund (like BND, FXNAX, FUMBX, etc) makes sense for you, based on age and risk level. You should consider buying individual stocks in the same way you would consider gambling. I'd recommend no more than 5-10% of your total portfolio for "gambling" (stock picking). Folks who try to pick winners (as you are trying to do) are (far) more likely to underperform the market than to outperform it. There are people who do outperform the market by picking individual stocks, but these are usually folks who know a lot about what they are doing. It's not easy to do consistently, and a lot of people (similar to gamblers) tend to focus on their winning picks, and downplay their losing picks. Stick to index funds until you have a very solid grasp of what you are doing (judging by your comments in this thread, you don't!), and even then... stick to index funds (IMO).

ShortHabit606

I personally keep 4+ months in cash (actually short term bonds = SGOV) and many more in bonds (VGIT/BND).

Kris_Mettew

VOO (S&P 500) and FZROX are heavily correlated, with FZROX simply adding small- and mid-cap exposure. SPMO tilts toward momentum, but it’s still drawn heavily from large-cap U.S. equities. In other words, you’re concentrated in one geography and asset class, which is fine for growth but not true diversification. With a 15-year horizon, you could put a portion of that additional 70k into global exposure, something like VXUS or a developed/emerging markets ETF, to hedge against U.S.-only risk. You might also consider a small allocation to bonds (BND or similar) to temper volatility, even if equities stay your core. As for cash, if you’re holding more than 6–12 months of expenses, you’re probably being too conservative, deploying more into the market makes sense given your long timeline.

VegetableJunkie

Your portfolio is needlessly complex and overlapping. You could accomplish your goal with a single, target date fund that is far enough out to only have 10% bonds. Alternatively, 90% VT and 10% BND. Reallocate as you near retirement. Keep it simple.

Interesting-Foot2880

Hey guys!! I'm a young kiwi investor looking for some advice for index investing, which will be done through ETFs on a long-term DCA plan. My main focus as of right now is my academics (hence why I'm index investing instead of spending the time on DD for stocks) so I'm looking for some advice critique on my current auto-invest selection. I'm also looking at a super long-term horizon (30+ years) for all this, which I'm well aware could mean holding through massive dives in the dollar value of my portfolio. Currently my contributions are: 30% VTI 30% VEU 15% BND 15% BNDX 10% VAS If you can't tell I'm a big fan of Vanguard (although very much open to other ETF providers) and I like to balance my US and International exposure. My broker also does free currency exchange so that is not an issue. Any contribution is appreciated :)

Timely_Sand_6162

I have quarter of what you have in VGT. One of the best ETFs. For your question - Retaining in VGT is better than moving it to individual stocks. Have you thought about moving to VTI and BND combination or just VTI?

AreWeMillionairesYet

Yes, now is better than tomorrow. Get her set up. The $15k can be used as the “emergency fund” and I highly recommend investing. She is 48, not 65 so, maybe go aggressive for 5-7 years in VOO and/or VTI, and when she gets closer to retirement she can back off a bit and go more bonds like BND for income. Try to get the max she can out of stocks for 5-7 years if not more. 👍 She has a great child on her hands. Good job.

Dry_Phone_3398

Panic sold huh?  But seriously, it’s a shitshow. Pick a balance of US/VXUS/BND/GLD and wait for the party to quiet down. None of us have a crystal ball and the Econ data is untrustworthy or manipulated in the US now so who knows 

iklj3

I'm 40, live in NY and have high w2 income. Portfolio is currently 60% VTI, 20% VXUS, and 20% HYSA. I want to move most of the HYSA into bonds. I'm debating between BND and VGLT (due to the tax advantage). I did some research, but don't fully understand the tradeoff between the two. BND seems more diversified and VGLT is tax free at the state level. What are the downsides to using VGLT and saving the ~10% in state taxes?

xiongchiamiov

The standard advice would be to add in BND or a treasuries fund to reduce expected volatility. The degree to do it is really up to your own needs, although if you want some guidance you can look at [what target date funds do](https://www.callan.com/target-date-index/). I like to look at 2000-2010 in [a backtest](https://www.lazyportfolioetf.com/portfolio-backtest-and-simulation/) as an example of a bad time and see how I might've felt at the time.

MaybeTheDoctor

You could just balance it by buying 70% VOO and 30% BND or something like that.

Based_Commgnunism

VTI VXUS and eventually BND when you're 50

lufisraccoon

The closet I'm aware is VBIAX which is essentially a 60% USA whole market (VTI) + 40% USA bonds (BND) blend. You may not like the allocation of target date funds, which is fine. However, the expense ratio is not a reason to avoid them. Vanguard offers 0.08% ER target date funds, which is so close to 0% as to be indistinguishable from 0%. Reducing ER is important, but when you're at the single digit ER level, there's no reason to worry.

weasler7

I personally think BND didn’t work as promised in 2022 when the fed started raising rates and both bond and equities prices tanked. I read on the bogleheads forums how many people who needed to use funds in bonds felt the pain. And thinking about it, since we are in a historically low interest rate environment, inflation is on this horizon, will BND really function as a ballast? I’m not so sure. So I’m trying to think through what exactly would be better than BND for asset protection and income generation once you are nearing retirement.

Cruian

>Say you're starting completely fresh and want to keep your investing simple, diversified, and long-term focused. You only get to pick three ETFs. Which do you choose, and how would you balance them? >I’m trying to find that sweet spot between growth, income, and risk management. For example, you could go: >VTI (total market), VXUS (international), and BND (bonds) for a broad mix This fits your needs then. >Or maybe a more aggressive trio like QQQ, SCHG, and JEPI How is this more aggressive? You may be mixing up realized recent returns with expected future returns. "Growth" as a style tends to under perform in the long run. Factor investing starting points: * https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/factor-investing.asp * https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/fidelity/fidelity-overview-of-factor-investing.pdf (PDF) * https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-black-hole-of-investing/ * But be aware that factor premiums can take a while to show up: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogleheads/comments/1hmbwuw/what_every_longterm_investor_should_know_about/ * And from GwenRoll: https://www.reddit.com/r/ETFs/comments/1krd3fe/growth_does_no_one_know_what_the_hell_it_means/ >Or something income-heavy like DIVO, VYM, and a REIT like VNQ Why focus on income? It comes at the expense of share price. >What’s your 3-fund recipe? Curious how others think about diversification when forced to stay lean. https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Three-fund_portfolio Each "fund" has a specific role and helps with diversification: they don't overlap, and since uncompensated risks (like single country), give exposure to compensated risks (emerging and possibly smaller caps), and let's you adjust the safety by assisting the amount of bonds/similar.

PutItOnTheRitz

Really appreciate the breakdown, especially the point about VXUS vs IXUS. I’ve struggled with VXUS’s small-cap tilt too. Curious if you think IUSB’s current yield makes it more attractive than BND despite the slightly higher risk? Been debating if it’s worth the extra 0.3–0.4% in yield long-term.

Rich-Contribution-84

VTI+VXUS+BND Increase the BND allocation as you near retirement. Personally I leave it out until I get to the 15 years from retirement mark and then I start adding it heavily.

JahMusicMan

In a brokerage account I'd just go with VTI 70% VXUS 15% and IBIT 5% In a tax sheltered account VTI, XVUS and BND

nickabrickabrock

I believe they advocate a glide path to more fixed income over time. But that still consists of just VTI/ VXUS plus BND all of which should be considered long term investments. I think what OP is asking is whether all of our holdings should consist of that mix, and that whenever we need money we simply sell out of that mix for immediate use. I’ve heard of other strategies like the bucket strategy where you have certain amounts sold already for use within 2 years.

GptInvest

ETF: VTI (30%) + QQQ(20%) + VXUS(20%) + BND(10%). This mix balances growth (70% equities) with stability (30% international plus bonds), all via low-fee, high-liquidity ETFs. Or JPM + MSFT + JNJ + NVDA in equal parts if you prefer single stocks. This balances dividends (JPM, JNJ) with secular growth (MSFT, NVDA). By weighting defensives and income names less than your core growth picks, you smooth returns while still chasing upside.

Im_Still_Here12

BND average rate of return with dividends invested and factoring in inflation is a paltry [https://totalrealreturns.com/s/BND](.46% per year since 2007). That’s worse than terrible. $10k invested in it back in 2007 would have netted you $800 in today’s inflation adjusted dollars. Just terrible investment.

DaemonTargaryen2024

[BND is not down 20% over 5 years](https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profile/bnd), what you’re seeing is the “price only chart” which (confusingly) excludes dividends, which is pretty much all bond funds do. Since inception in 2007 its has an average annual return of 3.05%. Since [1986 its mutual fund equivalent](https://institutional.vanguard.com/investments/product-details/fund/0084) has an AAR of 5.03%

airbud9

BND had one year in 2022 where it experienced a significant loss. The reason for that loss was that it was a perfect storm occurred that caused most types of bonds to experience a significant declines. Based on historical data this is about a 1 in a century event. Basically interest rates were at near zero for a prolonged period of time, followed by really hot inflation, which central bank policy fought with rapid increases of interest rates leading to a significant squeeze for intermediate to long duration bonds. With interest rates now higher this crash of bond prices is unlikely to happen again. BND can possibly be viewed as a better investment now since the yield is much better.

FranklinUriahFrisbee

It's assumed that it is 50 - 75% stock ETF's and the remainder in bonds ETF's and stays invested. Stock would be S&P index funds or ETF (SPT or VOO). The bonds would be thing like BND or AGG

kronco

BND is down 0.78% over five years if you re-invested dividends. When you do that you buy more shares over time (at lower or higher price). Doing that for the duration of the fund should return close to the yield when the fund was purchased. Example: BND currently pays 3.49% and has a six year duration. Hold it for six years re-investing dividends and you will yield close to 3.49% when you include the value of extra shares purchased along the way (this is how Vanguard and many others actually report their returns). [https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profile/bnd#performance-fees](https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profile/bnd#performance-fees) The topic can be 'deep dived" here: [https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Individual\_bonds\_vs\_a\_bond\_fund](https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Individual_bonds_vs_a_bond_fund) where they note: *If interest rates rise after purchasing a bond fund, the NAV of the fund falls, which hurts you. However, the dividends that the bond fund throws off can now be reinvested at a higher rate.* ***The duration is the length of time that an investor needs to hold the fund for the increased yields to compensate for the decrease in NAV. In that sense, duration represents the length of time it would take for the total value of the fund, with dividends reinvested, to be worth exactly what it would have been worth had interest rates not risen.*** *So, you should always hold bond funds with a duration equal to or shorter than the expected need for your money (note that holding the duration shorter than your need for the money leaves you exposed to the risk of lower returns if interest rates fall).* Think more of the bond allocation as a tool to reduce volatility in the portfolio to a level that when the market falls (it will) you are comfortable enough with your portfolio to not exit the market. It's harder to do then you think. Bonds help you manage that volatility. A good video by Ben Felix on just going 100% equities and who that would work for. I think this applies in your case, too: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nPon8Ad\_Ug](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nPon8Ad_Ug)

ExpressionGeneral418

It looks like “BND” is down 20% the last 5 years. That’s worse than money markets/treasuries… what type of bonds do you mean?

SirGlass

You usually just re-balance back to your target Simple example , your target portfolio is VT 80% / BND 20% You just re balance to get back to your target allocation , you also do this is flat markets (if needed) or bull markets , or when ever needed

writenroll

The financial company may try to steer you into a high-fee managed accounts, which you do not need. You can do this yourself. When RSUs vest, they are typically deposited into a brokerage account as shares. Your husband should have an account with a brokerage where the RSUs are held, allowing you to see the shares. When you sell them, you may owe taxes. Under some plans, you may be able to choose how you want your company to withhold your taxes. The proceeds of the sold shares (cash) will be placed in your account's core position, which is like a wallet. You can then transfer the funds to your bank account or another brokerage. If you intend to invest the cash in index funds, you can then open an account at a reputable, low-fee brokerage like Fidelity or Vanguard and invest in index funds--such as VTI/BND or a three-fund portfolio or a target date fund. These are 'set it and leave it' investment vehicles intended for long-term investing, such as retirement. If you need the funds to be more liquid, you could open a high yield savings accounts with one of those two brokerages (or others) that work like a savings account at a bank (esp the Fidelity account, which offers ATM access). The funds in your account will earn \~3.5% interest, or can be allocated to a money market fund that will earn\~4 - 4.5%. Do a search for 'how to sell vested RSU shares' if you need more step by step guidance.

Mirabeau_

I just follow vanguards TDF glide path in terms of my bond allocation, which everyone should have. But I diversify it beyond the standard BND and have an international bond index and a little bit of GLD as well. When a recession comes, which it will, I’ll recover much faster that people who are all in on equities.

thewarrior71

If you want to do it one time and forget about it for 20 years: A low cost total stock market index fund (e.g. VT or VTI + VXUS). Bogleheads 3 fund portfolio (e.g. VTI + VXUS + BND), same as above but with bonds if you want to reduce risk. Target date fund, same as above, but the bond percentage adjusts automatically by age.

Omynt

Nothing wrong with a conservative investor to buy BND or BND and SGOV.

Overall_Cry_4883

Question about the breakup of my accounts. I (24M) currently work a corporate job and have 22k in my 401k (6% match, about $170 per paycheck). I also have a brokerage account and just opened a roth ira on the side as well. I currently am contributing $25 to each account bi weekly. So $170 to match contributions in 401k, $25 to brokerage, and $25 to my roth. How would you recommend i divide all of these contributions? My brokerage is ~90% ETFs and long term investments with ~10% stocks i mess around with and swing trade. My roth is 100% ETFs (VOO, VXUS, BND for reference). Should i add more to my Roth over my brokerage? Or vice versa? Any recommendations help!

Inevitable_Pride1925

Depending on how onerous your side hustle is and how much your main gig makes I’d reinvest into a job that makes the side hustle unnecessary. If that’s not something you want to do fully fund an emergency fund and pay off any credit card/other high interest debt. Once you’ve done all that your best bet is to invest more pay roll deductions into your 401k or Roth 401k. Or you can max your personal ROTH IRA. Because you have a side hustle I’m assuming you are at a point where you can’t max your 401k and IRA. If you can then open a brokerage account. But don’t open a brokerage until your 401k and ROTH IRA have been maxed out. As for how to invest if you need to ask this question I think target date funds are the right choice. If you want something slightly more advanced then invest 70-100% in the S&P 500 or a total US market index fund like VTI. 0-10 should be in bonds or something else equally stable. 0-20% should be invested in foreign total market index’s. Personally I’d just 90-100% in VTI, and 0-10% into BND. Then I’d setup automatic deposits and auto-payroll deductions and forget I was ever making the extra for at least 20 years. This investment mix works for pretax, post tax, & taxable accounts. I would not buy individual stocks or bitcoin

xiongchiamiov

>I think 60% VTI 30% VXUS 10% BND makes sense if you're 100 years old and literally cannot afford a market downturn It would not be appropriate then, because it's still a high risk portfolio that is likely to see a 40ish percent drop every decade or two.

k0unitX

[here is my portfolio versus yours](https://testfol.io/?s=iOrFwBEXLrc) twice as volatile, yes, but 400% more profitable you do you but being scared of volatility means you will always underperform your more risk taking peers, again, assuming we don't have another great depression. I picked an arbitrary start date of 2020 but your portfolio is honestly barely beating inflation in one of the longest, most sustained bull runs ever. You can go back even further but that will just make your allocation look even more embarrassing I think 60% VTI 30% VXUS 10% BND makes sense if you're 100 years old and literally cannot afford a market downturn, or you'll be dead before the money runs dry anyway, but in your 30s or younger? Sorry I would never

Agreeable_Dog_7793

Don’t buy VXUS, it’s up 18% YTD but in its lifetime it’s done 30%. Adjusted for inflation a HYSA would’ve outpaced it in 50 years and you’re too young for BND. If you want to keep it simple just full port into VTI until you hit 50 or so.

IWantToPlayGame

Good to see BND being recommended. I’ve been building up my BND position.

AnalyticalAlpaca

That's a good split. If you wanted something even easier and more diverse, dump your money into something like [https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/mutual-funds/profile/vffvx#portfolio-composition](https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/mutual-funds/profile/vffvx#portfolio-composition) which will basically do what you're doing but allocated to according to global market caps. Currently, the split is roughly: * 54% VTI * 37% VXUS * 6% BND * 3% BNDX (international bond, as BND is only US)

AreWeMillionairesYet

I think I’m pushing to 60% VTI, 30% VXUS and 10% BND.

AreWeMillionairesYet

Probably going to do 10% into BND for the bonds, 60% into VTI and 30% into VXUS 😎 thanks for the help

SirGlass

VT and VTI have overlap , VT is a world market it holds the entire world market including the USA Usually the classic 3 fund portfolio is VTI /VXUS / BND Or simply VT/BND SGOV is basically cash like a HYSA , its not really comparable to SCHD or JEPI

DaemonTargaryen2024

I wouldn’t necessarily sell in your brokerage account. But overall, VXUS is 35% of the global market, with VTI being 65%. Check the math in my link above but I think VOO ends up being about 80% of VTI so 52% on your total percentage. VXF then gets 20% of VTI so 13%. What I’m giving is your standard bogleheads type portfolio, which if you need bonds you can add BND to create the [3 fund portfolio](https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Three-fund_portfolio) (I wouldn’t have BND in a taxable account)

Rich-Contribution-84

Yeah I think OP was implying equities. That’s what I read it as, but for sure. I’m 99% equities in my retirement account still but in about 10 years I will be aggressively buying BND and T bills to start transitioning out of accumulation and into preservation mode. I also own physical real estate to further diversify. But obviously you can go even further than that if you’re able to buy into PE funds or own art or if you want REITs or even goofy shit like crypto and Pokemon cards if that’s your jam.

enchantedprosperity

not true. i’m genuinely curious what others think. i was debating between buying BND and VGSH when near retirement if needed. if i wanted easy info i would’ve just asked chatgpt and been done. also hate and negativity is not good.

Just_Candle_315

I like to spread out risk I lost almost fucking everything in the dot com crash so being in BND, VNQ, VYM in addition to growth to smart. Between 2000 and 2015 QQQ was fucking worthless as a growth asset. It's only been since 2016 it's gone nuts. People forget this.

enchantedprosperity

not true. i’m genuinely curious what others think. i was debating between BND and VGSH. if i wanted easy info i would’ve just asked chatgpt and been done. also hate and negativity is not good.

FoggyFoggyFoggy

What should I change in terms of asset location for taxes in a high tax state? || || |**Roth IRA**| |VTI x 76| |XLF x 20| |VEA x 50| |FLCA x 50| |SOFI x 2000| |RY x 20| |BND x 28.5| || |**401(k)**| |VFORX| || || |**Taxable Brokerage**| |SGOV| |LDRT|

FoggyFoggyFoggy

What should I change in terms of asset location for taxes in a high tax state? || || |**Roth IRA**| |VTI x 76| |XLF x 20| |VEA x 50| |FLCA x 50| |SOFI x 2000| |RY x 20| |BND x 28.5| || |**401(k)**| |VFORX| || || |**Taxable Brokerage**| |SGOV| |LDRT|

FoggyFoggyFoggy

What should I change in terms of asset location for taxes in a high tax state? || || |**Roth IRA**|**Taxable Brokerage**| |VTI x 76|SGOV| |XLF x 20|LDRT| |VEA x 50|| |FLCA x 50|| |SOFI x 2000|| |RY x 20|| |BND x 28.5|| ||| |**401(k)**|| |VFORX||