VXUS

Cush_Maine

How should I invest 20k? Hello, I have some money sitting in savings that I won’t need anytime in the near future and I decided I’d like to do something with it to make more money. I’m open to suggestions here’s what I can up with Chat GPT: 20k to invest -5k in High Yield Savings Account -15k in Index Fund VTI 100% OR VTI/VXUS 80/20 split Let me know your thoughts / advice please, thank you.

FRNAP13

Mid-40s, I would not play trying to structure or make strategy with only $100K. The rule is: Just keep it simple. Invest in ETF like VOO to capture the market performance, maybe VONG if you want to add a bit of growth and finally minimum international with VXUS if you want to diversify. Maybe 50%, 30%, 20%. When you reach $1M, do the same and add tax loss harvesting, and a bit of private equity, and get an advisor for few years.

crazybutthole

i have a 401k that is 50% sp500 and 50% life cycle funds. then me and wife each have fidelity accounts with a little over $100k which includes (our emergency funds in taxable accounts which are like 30% SPAXX / 30% treasury funds like sgov and usfr / 30% BOXX and 10% sp500) then we each have a traditional and a roth - hers are both ~ 30% each of ETFs ( VOO / VTI / QQQ ) and 10% in international ETF (similar to VXUS) mine is 1 account (Trad.IRA) has all kinds of ETFs and the other (Roth) is my gamble up individual stocks account - it made ~20% more than SP500 this year - so i will do it again next year - we agreed that if i cant beat the market - then i will switch to the all ETF approach. (i am only buying shares. no options and no shorting.)

zestypov2

Absolutely might work out that way. It also might work out that small caps and mid caps rear their head and jump forward. I mean, look at international equities this year. VOO is up 15.85% YTD. VXUS is up 28%. BTW - VTI is up 15.37% YTD, so it has captured almost all of the upside of VOO, but it has 5% less exposure to the Top 10 holdings, which makes me rest a wee bit easier (maybe 5% easier).

FRNAP13

I think we will have 2 crashes or similar. 1 early year crash due to inflation or stagnation, and another one during the year to pop the AI Bubble narrative with fast recovery until year end. We might see major IPO restarting like SpaceX, Databricks… The real estate market and auto market are going to have a reality check with no one buying and less yield cuts by the fed. I’m positioned with direct indexing accounts to capture volatility, 40% S&P500, 30% Russell 1000 growth, 10% private equity, 10% VXUS.

Inevitable_Pin7755

Overall this is way more thought out than most portfolios posted here. You’ve clearly tried to cover growth, value, international, and some conviction bets, which is good. The main weakness for me is concentration. VOOG plus AMZN plus NVDA plus NFLX is still very growth heavy and very US tech tilted, even if some of it is intentional. Nothing wrong with conviction, but with 50k that’s a lot riding on one style continuing to outperform. VXUS at 10% feels light if your goal is real diversification. Either accept you’re basically making a US growth bet or bump international a bit so it actually matters during different cycles. The individual picks make sense but I’d question whether you need all of them at those sizes. If VOOG is your core, the single stocks should either be higher conviction or fewer names. Right now it’s a bit of a middle ground. BTC at 10% is reasonable if you truly believe in it long term and can sit through drawdowns without touching it. Just be honest with yourself on that. Speculative nuclear at 5% is fine, just treat it as money you’re mentally prepared to lose and don’t average down emotionally. Nothing here is “messing up”, it’s more about clarity. Either lean into being a growth heavy conviction portfolio and own that risk, or rebalance a bit more defensively. The worst mistake would be constantly tweaking it every few months based on comments. If you stick to this for years and keep adding consistently, you’ll probably do better than most people second guessing themselves.

Competitive-Teach675

Because FZILX is a Fidelity-only mutual, it has a 0% expense ratio. So, say you wanted to leave Fidelity for whatever reason and held the FZILX in a taxable account, you would have to sell it before moving it to another brokerage. That would be a taxable event, so say you had $50k in gains, you'd have to pay the tax to move. VXUS is portable and is at most brokerages, so you don't have that issue. You can transfer in-kind to a different brokerage via ACATS. In a tax-deferred (IRA/Roth), you can sell with no tax consequences. So if you wanted to leave Fidelity, you could sell FZILX on Monday night, buy VXUS Tuesday morning (so you don't miss any market time), then do an ACATS transfer to a new brokerage. There's not much difference between the two, except for the expense ratio, so FZILX is slightly better. Think of FZILX and FZROX as the "loss leader" or "door buster" to get you in with the zero fees.

Dirkredblade

Fair point, now compare the past 15 years lol. Not sure one year is enough to change my whole thesis. Like I said, I personally perform better when I don't change much, it's why i didn't allocate more of my VTI to QQQ, even though QQQ has crushed VTI for the last 5 ish years. Because I saw how long it took for tech to recover after the crash in 2000. Again, I fully admit that I should have more VXUS, not sure I'd agree that it should be 40% like in VT, but I should probably have 25-30%. Personally, my biased brain just expects USA equities to outperform the rest of the world as a whole most years. Yes, single countries will outperform the USA often, but for every Korea or Brazil outperforming, there will be another country way underperforming, dragging down the ex-us average. I just trust USA resources and greed to outperform most of the time.

Dirkredblade

Sorry for the most boring answer, but in 21 years of investing, I've learned that my portfolio earns most when I just don't touch it, or try to pick sectors or stocks. I would have significantly more money if I had just stuck to my current allocation of 65% VTI/ 20% VXUS / 5% VB (vanguard small cap)/ 5% GLD/ 5% IBIT. The only thing I've changed in the last 5 years is I had 10% GLD before IBIT started. I liked to have the gold for inflation/stagflation/US underperformance like 1969-1979 and 2000-2010. I rolled 5% of the GLD to Ibit, seeing it as "digital gold". I should probably roll some of my VTI into more VXUS, because of the US over performance recently, but it's really hard mentally for me to add more VXUS- I've read all the theory and intellectually I understand I should have more VXUS, it's just hard for me to pull the trigger on re-allocation when foreign has VASTLY underperformed for basically my entire investing career. Having said all that, I do expect worse US performance in the next 10 years, and I expect the US to keep printing- which is why i have the the GLD and Ibit.

Fearless-Edge714

The US is part of the world and it is currently 2/3 of the world’s stock value. If exus outperforms then it will shrink from 66. If US continues to outperform, it will grow past 66. That’s diversity. Nothing is stopping you from going VTI/VXUS and weighting VXUS more heavily like 60/40 or 50/50. You’re just trying to time the market if you do that though.

ParTeeAnimal3

Hey everyone! I started up a brokerage account recently (21M). Along with a Roth IRA and HYSA. I’m still very new to investing, and specifically what to invest in. My goal is to use these investments for the long term, to just build wealth to my name for years to come. Some people I know invest in higher risk holdings to hit some home runs, but I want to shoot for singles and doubles. I have kind of a rough draft allocation setup based on my ideas. I really like the zero fee Fidelity funds. I’m going to use that as my core. I know overlapping isn’t necessarily bad? But I don’t know too much about it, or the specifics on how it could hurt/harm a portfolio. I know SPYG and FNILX, but I think it should be okay? Any advice or tips on my allocation or holdings would be greatly appreciated, thanks everyone! I’m thinking 55% FNILX 20% VXUS 15% SPYG 10% FSSNX

Metni_erni

Hi everyone. First of all when i say sp500, i mean all USA. (And around 60% of VT ofcourse) I’m going to be honest: I have zero hope for the SP 500 and its future. The US has lived through a "Golden Age" for the last 10 15 years. I wasn't in a financial position to invest during those times, so just like the Bitcoin craze, I missed this wave too. It wasn't that I chose to miss it, I just wasn't even at the investment era. I am going to start investing in the coming years, but the classic "Buy VOO and chill" advice gives me absolutely no confidence. We all know the current situation of the US market. AI bubble or not, I look at the big picture. And in this big picture, I don't see a good outcome for US investors. Maybe there are a few good scenarios out of millions, but the odds are low. To keep it short: A lot of research and statistics show that the market will slow down or even stall. Of course, this won't happen over a century, but maybe we will see a recession or stagnation for 5 or 10 years. During this time, everyone will say, "This is an opportunity, buy the dip, we will be rich later." But I don't believe that "rich future" is coming anymore. You will just be left with the "cheap" stocks you bought. OR (and this is a big OR), the rally and party will start only after we retire and cash out. In that case, our investment timeline simply wasn't enough. We will become a "buffer generation." I know there has never been a 30 year period in financial history with zero real returns. HOWEVER, for the years that you and I are investing, returns might stay at funny numbers like 4% or 5%. Recent reports from Goldman Sachs, Vanguard, and JP Morgan are saying exactly this. In the past (the Golden Age we left behind), everyone could double their money in 4-5 years. Those who bought Nasdaq-100 funds (QQQ) basically went to the moon. But guys, I am saying that era is gone. We missed a huge train. Just like BTC. You might say, "Then invest in non-US markets like VXUS." You are partly right. But we will never reach the old "SP 500 comfort." I am not talking about performance; I am talking about peace of mind. Investing in China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Europe, Brazil, etc., will never replace the place of the SP 500. These markets are in bull for a couple of years. And then 5 or 10 year silence. In my opinion, emerging markets are unreliable. They are "developing" for a reason, not just their economies, but everything. You don't know what will happen tomorrow. At least with the SP 500, things are clear. And Europe? It’s like an old grandpa. That is exactly where the US is heading now. Don't be surprised if the long-term average is around 5%. In short, I have no faith left. I used to be a person with dreams, but forget about being rich, I am not even sure if I will be comfortable in retirement. In the past, people who dumped money into index funds became wealthy with large amounts or had a comfortable retirement with small amounts. But for the coming period, getting rich is a fantasy. You will invest big money just to have a retirement supported by social security. And if you have no one like me, you have no escape door.

Competitive-Teach675

VXUS for taxable FZILX for tax differed (IRA/Roth)

Mediocre_Wolf_3226

I have a bit in VXUS now. Dividend stocks are also less volatile.  This is not financial advice so please don't take my word for it. I'd check out some of the investing subs for alternative perspectives as well since it sounds like you're thinking long term, and not trading.

michal939

>There is simply NO other COUNTRY or MARKET that even HOLDS a candle to what we have in USA. I say this as an immigrant. Thats why VOO trades at 28.4 PE and VXUS trades at 16.8. For the US to continue outperforming it needs more than just growing faster than other markets, that's already priced in. It would need to grow faster by a huge margin, bigger than the market expects.

Pendulumswingsfreely

Going to have to go more VXUS? I got into VT, but now understand that there are better tax implications.

jacobf33

What about 70% VTI, 30% VXUS? I know it is wildly different than what you suggest in your title /s. In all seriousness, this would give you full coverage of the global stock market. You mentioned VTI having 15% international, this is not true, VTI is Total US Stock Market, so you would need to VXUS to gain international exposure. If you are looking for the “one and done”, you are thinking of VT, it has total world stock market exposure. IMO, VT is only better if you want to be completely passive and hands off, due to the auto rebalancing. If you plan on being involved at all, VTI & VXUS will give you a tiny bit more control.

Successful-Post-4023

I mean how much were you planning on investing in each company? I don't see the point in investing tiny amounts in a bunch of companies/random ETFs. I would do something like $30k in VOO, $15k in VXUS or VEA and $5k in BTC.

Successful-Post-4023

You’re trying to get too cute. $50k isn’t that much money to spread out among 28 different investments. Just put it all in VOO, VXUS and maybe one other high conviction pick (I would choose GOOGL or BTC) and call it a day.

drummer820

This is such an American perspective (and I’m American). That “random” stock index that is home to large successful automotive, aeronautics, pharmaceutical and biotech companies like Airbus, Deutsche Bank, Merck, Porsche, SAP, Mercedes-Benz, Qiagen, and others? But yes, the international market has been kicking the US’s ass this year, my VXUS is outclassing my domestic holdings

Sagelllini

>So your reasoning for waiting until 1/01/26 is much less about possible tax loss harvesting and more about just holding onto the money and making whatever interest I can on it while it is still in my possession - which makes total sense. I guess with the tax loss harvesting being a *potential side* bonus if the market allows for it. Yes and yes. >Personally I'm really just wanting to hold VTI and VXUS long term for simplicity. Agree 1000%. I own a ton of each (and some other legacy holdings) in roughly a US/International 80/20 ratio, more or less. >Side note - the taxes are of course a concern and I want to be as strategic as possible with them, but they are secondary to my real reason for wanting out from under professional management which is a 1.3% portfolio fee I pay annually + an average of 0.3% annual fees from the high-cost ETF's they have me in. Altogether I currently have a roughly 1.6% YOY drag on my investments. The tax concern is currently a backseat issue compared to this whopper. Makes perfect sense and the tax is an annoyance, but you are not letting the tail wag the dog by prioritizing the tax issue, which I also agree with. And you're welcome.

chuckroastvalue

VXUS is beating by VOO by over 10% YTD

markprice211

This is a great reply and I really appreciate you taking the time to provide your input. Yes to #2 - mine and my wife's joint HHI exceeds $150k. Liquidating in 2025 vs. 2026 (assuming no unforeseen life changes) won't push us into a higher tax bracket either which was another consideration. So your reasoning for waiting until 1/01/26 is much less about possible tax loss harvesting and more about just holding onto the money and making whatever interest I can on it while it is still in my possession - which makes total sense. I guess with the tax loss harvesting being a *potential side* bonus if the market allows for it. I really don't care much for the tax-loss harvesting, considering my long term goals. Uncle Sam is going to come for those taxes sooner or later, whether I pay them now or kick the can 20 years down the road. I don't love the idea of selling my positions just to buy back into them and lower my cost-basis. In my (layman) mind, it makes sense if you were in speculative investments which dropped significantly and which you don't believe will come back up. Sell them, reinvest elsewhere, and use the losses to cover gains elsewhere if you have any. Makes sense. Personally I'm really just wanting to hold VTI and VXUS long term for simplicity. Side note - the taxes are of course a concern and I want to be as strategic as possible with them, but they are secondary to my real reason for wanting out from under professional management which is a 1.3% portfolio fee I pay annually + an average of 0.3% annual fees from the high-cost ETF's they have me in. Altogether I currently have a roughly 1.6% YOY drag on my investments. The tax concern is currently a backseat issue compared to this whopper.

ATUGA

VXUS is outperforming my VTI holdings by a lot this year, but also I don't think this LLM mania actually provides real economic value. It's currently just predictive slop that looks impressive to senior level executives that don't understand whether what they're looking at is even correct.

WKUTopper

First off congrats for starting at such a young age. I also started investing when I was 18. Personally, I think you should just stick to $VOO (80-60% of your allocation) and $VXUS (20-40% of your allocation) for now until you get it built up before adding other ETFs or mutual funds to it.

alanwazoo

67% US 37% Int'l. Or in other words VTI+VXUS. So if you already have US based ETFs focus on VXUS. That's my strategy to get the balance.

Inevitable_Pin7755

Fair point if this is in a taxable account. With VT you still get some foreign tax credit, but it’s smaller because only the international portion generates it, so splitting VTI plus VXUS can be a bit more tax efficient and lets you set your US to international ratio. That said, the difference is usually pretty small on a 3000 balance, and VT is hard to beat for simplicity and staying invested. If it’s in a tax advantaged account, the tax credit angle matters even less, so I’d pick whichever helps you stick with it long term.

Historical_Low4458

Personally, I avoid specific sector funds. Instead I would probably put that money into VXUS to balance out the U.S. large cap you have. Overall though, this allocation looks fine.

JealousFuel8195

If I was starting again at 18. I wouldn't invest in VXUS. Until this year VOO has outperformed VXUS. Even the last 6 months VOO has outperformed VSUX. I would suggest investing that $100 monthly in Tech funds like SMH or SOXX. Tech has been dominating since the 1990s. I don't see that changing over the next 20 years.

CanYouPleaseChill

Equal-weight S&P 500 (RSP) and international equity (VXUS)

BigWater7673

This is why just keeping a diverse portfolio if you're a long term investor is the best advice. 50% VTI 15% VXUS 10% AVUV 15% BND 10% Cash for dry powder

Low_Education_9973

I’m inclined that healthcare would thrive in 2026, hence the addition of VHT, but I’ve considered replacing VHT with just an individual stock, say Pfizer, on top of my VOO, QQQM, and VXUS. Thoughts?

GabFromMars

À 18 ans avec **30+ ans d’horizon**, tu joues le jeu le plus facile à gagner : **le temps**. **VOO** = pari concentré sur les États-Unis (excellent historiquement, plus volatil, plus dépendant d’un pays). **VT** = le monde entier en un ETF (moins de biais, plus robuste sur très long terme). **Choix rationnel** * Si tu veux **simplicité maximale et diversification automatique** → **VT seul**. * Si tu assumes le biais US → **VOO + un ETF international** plus tard. **Options solides** * **VT (100 %)** → solution “set & forget”. * **VOO + VXUS** (ex. 70/30) → plus flexible, même logique. * Évite de multiplier les ETF au début : la discipline bat l’optimisation. **Règle clé** DCA mensuel, aucune tentative de timing, réinvestissement automatique. À ton âge, **la constance compte infiniment plus que le choix exact entre VOO et VT**.

zbern

You're right in saying the outperformance of that VHT to IXJ. I was more focused on the international exposure as well to go along with VXUS since you pointed out diversification from a US allocation. There will be overlap between the funds of course, but I wasn't suggesting holding both. IXJ does include the US companies but also this would give you exposure to Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Roche, and more to combine your healthcare tilt with your international allocation. Personally I think a healthcare tilt regardless is a smart choice given that sectors unique defensive position against the broad market like utilities and consumer staples, but has a better chance of outperformance.

NetZeroSun

Dumb question. How do they (Vanguard/VT division) determine the market cap of 60/40? Will they adjust it over time (politics aside, such as trump admin policies that can lead to further international growth)? Any information that can provide that insight? Such as how some etf's can readjust their holdings based on a variety of factors. So far for me, the US growth is for the moment good (dollar inflation, etc.), but I expect international to grow significantly (such as how VXUS and other broad world etfs have generally had a strong 2025 so far).

BurlyJohnBrown

Rebalancing into VXUS paid off so much during that time.

Cruian

>but because it is one of the most business friendly countries This should be something that is able to either be fully or largely priced in, if true. Not a cause for indefinite over performance. >So mathematically, of course most years it will outperform the rest of the world. What makes these factors not able to ever be probably priced in? >but VXUS isn't single countries, it's the rest of the world, so the countries that perform terribly will drag down the overall average. There's many times where the US has ended up on the lower side of the global weighted average. Even after multiple decade periods. >I'm not putting 40% of my portfolio in a fund that will likely underperform, except for 10 year stretches hear and there. Fidelity expects ex-US to beat the US for the next 20 (see Morningstar link). We've seen a roughly 60 year period where the end winner was international, not the US (roughly 1950-1960). Every full decade (as in xxx0-xxx9) between 1950 and 1989 (that's 4 in a row) ended up favoring international over the US (see PWL link). >Look at any 30 year period as far back as the late 1800s and the American market outperformed the Ex-US market. Not true. As pointed out, 1950-1979 or 1960-1989 would be 2 30 year periods where international ended up on top of the US. Any earlier than that and we get major influence from the World Wars that largely spared the US, Canada, and a few others, but not Europe or, in the case of WWII, Japan. >I'll trust american greed over European regulation and aging The US may also be facing an aging problem, though more slowly. Without better acceptance of immigration, the problem in the US will likely worsen. >I've been investing since 2004, and besides a few years pre 2010, my 20% foreign allocation has been a drag on my portfolio. We've been in an unusually kind to the US period since around 2010. Citations: * https://twitter.com/mebfaber/status/1090662885573853184?lang=en with this reply: https://twitter.com/MorningstarES/status/1091081407504498688. Extended version: https://mebfaber.com/2019/02/06/episode-141-radio-show-34-of-40-countries-have-negative-52-week-momentumbig-tax-bills-for-mutual-fund-investorsand-listener-qa/ or here’s compared to EAFE 1970-2015, note that the black US line only jumps above the green ex-US line for the "final time" around 2010: https://donsnotes.com/financial/images/sp-msci-42yr.png (courtesy of https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogleheads/comments/143018v/comment/jn9yiub/) or here’s another back to 1970 view: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogleheads/comments/199zs0s/us_exus_equity_and_bonds_dating_back_to_1970_not/ * https://www.morningstar.com/portfolios/experts-forecast-stock-bond-returns-2025-edition * PWL using Morningstar Data for decades back to 1950: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GGJxJPsWsAAxy9c?format=png * https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2018/03/graying-america.html

clreatradeapp

If you're nervous about jumping straight to high ex-US, start with 80/20—it's what a ton of experienced investors here run. You get meaningful diversification without feeling like you're "betting against America." Rebalance once a year, add new money to whichever is lagging, and sleep easy. Run it yourself on Portfolio Visualizer: Search "VTI VXUS backtest" and play with ratios from 1970s onward. You'll see no ratio wins forever, but anything 70/30 to 90/10 has been solid long-term.

QuarrelsomeCreek

You want some sort of diversified total US stock market ETF, then you want some international exposure. VT has both combined. If you prefer to control the ratio yourself or optimize for small amount of taxes, then VTI+VXUS. Both of those options have merits and I wouldn't agonize about either path. Just pick and get that money in the market. Some people are recommending VOO but its less diversified than VTI/VT so it's not my personal first choice but its fine. Keep in mind that every brokerage has versions of these funds and there are schwab and fidelity equivalent versions that you could also use. Since you only have 3k, I wouldn't worry about adding bonds yet. I'm not sure your age, but my 2c is to start worrying about that when you have at least 100k invested.

TortugaTurtle47

When I started investing, I put like $25 from each paycheck into VOO and then slowly increased that until I found the amount I was comfortable with. VOO is simple and you can't go wrong with it. A lot of people use it as their core, long-term investment. I still have my VOO but I buy VTI and VXUS now. You'll learn as you go which funds work with your plans.

MiserableAd2878

I significantly outperformed the SP500 this year by buying VXUS but that isnt as sexy

ucbcawt

lol that’s absolutely not true. For the US, VTI and VXUS have different tax benefits just like different dividend stocks. Important for any level of investing especially for those investing long term

Nosemyfart

Very good start. Keep putting more if you can. Try to diversify to global as well. Consider adding VXUS or just going with VT

ucbcawt

Nope just buy and hold until retirement. Look at the bogleheads strategy. They do only 3 funds-VTI, VXUS and a bond-like component

ucbcawt

No because you just do 60% VTI, 40% VXUS

Dirkredblade

I'll agree with /u/dard12. Not because I'm saying USA is the best country to ever exist, but because it is one of the most business friendly countries. So mathematically, of course most years it will outperform the rest of the world. Yes, single countries beat US performance all the time, but VXUS isn't single countries, it's the rest of the world, so the countries that perform terribly will drag down the overall average. I'm not putting 40% of my portfolio in a fund that will likely underperform, except for 10 year stretches hear and there. Look at any 30 year period as far back as the late 1800s and the American market outperformed the Ex-US market. Yes, you can find 10 year periods where ex-us outperformed, but no 30 years. I'll trust american greed over European regulation and aging, Japanese aging, Chinese cooked books and aging, and for emerging markets, again, I'm sure single countries will outperform, but you'd have to pick the right ones. For every Brazil having an amazing 10 year period, there's a Russia that gets sanctioned. I've been investing since 2004, and besides a few years pre 2010, my 20% foreign allocation has been a drag on my portfolio.

ucbcawt

You lose the international tax benefit with VT, better to have VTI and VXUS separately

dard12

Replace VT with VXUS.

dard12

Too much international in my opinion. 70% - VOO 20% - VGT 10% - VXUS Adjust your percentages accordingly.

gstanleycapital

I'd go 60% VTI (total US market), 20% VXUS (international), 20% SCHD (dividend growth for stability).VGT is great but heavy tech concentration; this spreads risk while keeping growth potential. Good luck!

Internal_Field5970

Hey /r/ETF is my portfolio good? “No VT all the way or some VXUS you fkin retard” Just sticky this ffs and stop wasting Sam Altman’s precious storage with your comments, he needs it

ATUGA

Good work, but remember this is supposed to be your nest egg for retirement. Maybe put your gains in VTI + VXUS and trade options on your initial contribution? Obviously, it's your account, but you know how things go in the casino...

Ablgarumbek

Since nov 2024 i've been 60% VXUS, 25% EUAD, 15% SPY worked out pretty well so far

v_x_n_

VMFXX is federal money market. VT is well diversified and easy. Personally I do VTI and VXUS. I want to have about 15% in diversified international etf which is why I don’t do straight VT. Just personal preference.

barris59

Hold all the VTI/VXUS is currently have, and DCA into more as I get paid.

Not_FinancialAdvice

> Meanwhile it's not like there are no opportunities to make money by investing in regular, non-scam businesses. Yeah but those opportunities are *boring*; I'm regularly surprised by people I meet talking about how they're not interested in like 30% gains in one year (like VXUS, not some penny or meme stock). Thirty fucking percent! No, it has to be like overnight and it's gotta be a 10-bagger! Lots of people aren't really interested in investing, they want to straight gamble.

BaltimoreNewbie

VTI, VXUS and ignoring all the noise

Lauve

60% QQQ & VOO 30% VXUS 5% Bitcoin 5% Gold And chill

LiberalAspergers

It is even MORE bullish for non-dollar denominated stocks. VXUS here I come!

CanYouPleaseChill

The alternative isn't cash, but reasonably valued equities. I think all of the following ETfs will outperform the S&P 500 over the next decade: \- AVUV (small-cap value) \- VXUS (international) \- RSP (equal-weight S&P 500)

tomtim90

Yeah it's just easy diversification with VT for Boglehead types. US stocks took a massive hit with the tariff reaction that didn't impact VXUS to the same degree. All my international stuff has outpaced my domestic this year mostly because it was gold/silver miners.

chuckroastvalue

Ya but VT is like the same top holdings as VOO and therefore only 4% better YTD. VXUS is up more than 12% over VOO YTD. 30% YTD is kind of insane for such a broad market etf, and it's because it excludes the US. 

chuckroastvalue

VOO and chill getting dicked down by VXUS and chill (thanks to the retard in charge)

cruisin_urchin87

VTI, VXUS, and a minor stake in SGOV. Feed these three (45, 45, 10) and don’t mess with options until you get bonus money you can afford to lose. Eventually branch out into single stocks when you have a good nest egg

Ok-Juggernaut-8349

Hello everyone! I am currently debating what to do for my investment portfolio in 2026, and am debating between 2 options. Sorry for the long post. To get this out of the way - yes, I expect a significant market downturn in 2026. Yes, I definitely also think it is very possible for there to be significant gains as well. I’m not trying to debate this point here, though it is fascinating it has been asked and debated a million times and nobody knows the answer. Instead I am looking for feedback on my thought process which I have outlined below. Are there any big flaws here? What have I not considered? Am I a raging idiot for forgetting something important? Probably. Thanks a lot for taking a look and any feedback! **General plan** * 10-20% immediate shift to HYSA (assuming 20% hereafter for simplicity) * Currently \~66% VTI, 7% VXUS, rest individual stocks.  * Rebalance portfolio to even more heavily focus low-risk ETFs, deprioritize individual holdings, potentially increase VXUS(?) **Debate:** * **Note:** I previously harvested gains in 2024, and rebought on Dec 30th, so my window to harvest gains in 2025 is about as short as it can be * *Option A) Harvest all gains Dec 31st, immediately rebuy 80%* * Locks in 100% of gains, also minimizes advantageous sale opportunities through 2026 due to short term capital gains * *Option B) Harvest only 20% gains* Dec 31st * Maintains option to ladder sell further through 2026, keeping LTCG rates **Other Considerations:**  * I do have a \~6 month emergency fund in a HYSA. * Assuming no layoff, I am putting money monthly into a retirement account that is 100% FXAIX. I plan no changes for this account. * I expect to make more $ in 2026 than 2025, and am right around the 0-15% transition income for long term capital gains (after factoring in all income sources and standard deduction). * This would indicate that harvesting all gains would be good to do this year. * However, layoffs are currently abundant and while I feel no personal current warning signs, I do not assume to be immune here. A layoff in the first half or even 3rd quarter of the year would strongly incentivize harvesting gains during the 2026 year instead.

TransientVoltage409

I read somewhere that Trump is really upset with the guy who nominated Powell to the Fed. [Plz ignore me while I quietly ponder my VTI/VOO/VXUS distribution]

BeneficialQuality899

FTEC and VGT have better performance than QQQM so you are incorrect. OP already has VOO and VXUS. They don’t need any more diversification

CherryRoutine9397

You’re 20 with a super long time horizon, so you don’t need to rush into “lower risk” stuff yet. Most people stay heavily in equities all the way through their 20s and 30s because the main thing that matters at your age is growth and consistency. Diversification doesn’t have to mean becoming conservative, it can just mean spreading your bets a bit more. If you want international exposure, adding something like VXUS or a global ETF is totally normal. It doesn’t change your risk that much, it just means you’re not betting only on the US. Bonds usually come way later for most people, like 40s and 50s, or when you actually need the money. Right now your main advantage is time, not trying to perfectly adjust your risk. As long as you keep contributing and have a simple plan you stick to, you’re already doing better than 90 percent of people your age.

JeffB1517

> however; I started wondering at what age should I start diversifying into safer/more diversified investments such as international ETFs (ex. VXUS, or VEU) Or even bonds? International equity you should be in now. International divserification is a huge advantage to you, despite recent underperformance. Bonds you can wait for many years there is no harm with 100% stock. When your portfolio starts getting big enough that the portfolio's gains are far larger than your annual contributions you can move towards 80/20 (20% bonds). As you get near retirement you can be somewhere between 80/20 and 50/50. Near the start and end of retirement (death) are when bonds will be most important; the middle 80% you can have a lot of stock. FWIW the mortality credits in annuities allow you to cut your bond allocation and anti-correlate with longevity risk so when you get there seriously consider annuities. But that's decades off. If you start to own a business or have some reason you'll need lots of taxable fixed income for many years then consider permanent life solutions. You must learn how to have a policy properly configured for accumulation and minimum commission or it is likely to do terribly. Otherwise you can use a little bit of bond type stuff for short term savings and mostly not worry about it.

OutlandishnessOk4315

If you are going to invest in total market ETFs like VT, VTI, VOO, VEA, VXUS then no, you don’t really have to research that.  If you want to invest in individual stocks, then yes, you would want to research that.  And that is complicated. Some segments or industries have higher or lower valuations. Software tends to be higher because it has a lower barrier to business expansion—you just need more copies of a digital asset (not just, but you don’t need to buy a bunch of tractors or factories usually). So then companies are valued relative to others in their industries—based on what the likelihood of earnings growth is among other factors. So, if a comparable business gets bought out by a larger one, it could cause a revaluation for instance, based on the comparable sale.  For the S&P 500, PE ratios near 20 are going to be the norm because these are established and growing businesses (on average)—otherwise they wouldn’t have made it into a list of the 500 largest profitable businesses in the US. Generally these businesses are going to be stable and so their equity risk premium is going to have a lower spread to the risk free rate than smaller, less established companies.  PE ratios are elevated because a lot of investors are betting on earnings growth from this new AI tool. Pricing the market at “normal” price during a time when a transformational tool might serve as a catalyst for rapid growth would intuitively seem to be a mistake. It would seem to be a steal to buy the whole market at 18-20 PE ratios when one of the most powerful tools in human history had just entered the stage—and that’s one of the main things driving prices. 

helpwithsong2024

I'm 39 and 95% of my investment portfolio is VOO and VXUS, so yes this holds

blindnlearning2see

Why not just VXUS and VGT then? VGT is pure tech.

FRNAP13

I’m in the same process of simplifying with my wealth advisor for better clarity and peace of mind. On my side, I decided to go with Direct Indexing S&P500 50%, Direct Indexing Russell 1000 Growth 40%, and VXUS international 10%. So a bit more oriented growth, as well as Tax Loss Harvesting.

WealthVenue123

buying individual stocks without serious knowledge on markets and a serious data feed is a losing proposition IMO. Yet newbies somehow feel they can beat everyone else with their insights :) investing in ETFs is the best way to be at peace in your investor journey I would consider alternatives to VTI and VXUS as these are serious performance diluter. VTI by design is biased toward LargeCap, and Global ETFs are too much impacted by currency impact that they become a basket of currency instead of international equities. See my others posts on VTI and Global ETFs on why they are a poor long term strategy for a portfolio.

InjuryEmbarrassed532

Plenty of Reddit degens were advocating this back in April. I own a little of VXUS, but mostly VTI. Don’t believe there will be a return to the “average” over the next 15 years as the EU is simply absent from tech and people don’t want Chinese stocks.

SuperHeroww

VXUS looks weak mainly because the last decade has been unusually dominated by US large-cap growth, so any broad ex-US fund will lag the S&P 500 over that window. Its role isn’t to beat the US, but to give you exposure to different economies, currencies, and sector mixes so your outcome isn’t 100% tied to one country. If you compare country weights, you’ll see VXUS is heavy in developed Europe, Japan, and emerging markets, which have had slower earnings and different cycles than US tech. Whether that tradeoff is worth it comes down to how much you value diversification versus sticking with the market that’s been the recent winner, not which line on a past-performance chart is higher.

thetreece

Sectors don't offer risk premiums. Chasing a sector because it did well last decade is a bad idea. There is no reason to suspect it will be the big winner next decade. I would recommend VTI and VXUS.

Poundcake2RedVelvet

now the opposite looks like it is true, the US debt is picking up pace and tariffs are causing the U$D to weaken, creating an ideal scenario for VXUS to benefit from currencies around the world strengthening against the dollar. Gemini won't tell u that tho because it cannot offer financial advice, u have to use critical thinking to come to that conclusion urself

accountinreddit

Cannot upvote you enough and this needs to be made a pinned post. We need to stop thinking that something is scam, if I don't understand or know how it works. VOO, VT, VTI, VXUS all contain companies you do not like or consider "scam", but that is part of investing in an index. Like `Successful-Tea-5733` linked, pick an index you like then.

Poundcake2RedVelvet

VXUS has only existed since 2011, during one of the largest gaps of returns when comparing US vs international. compare it to the index VXUS tracks and u see international outperforms the decade before it was created. it gets u about 7% ROI annual

MyWorkComputerReddit

I'm up 29% on VXUS, I keep it at 20% of my portfolio

daviddjg0033

VXUS outperforms SPY for 5 years at a time sometimes go back historically

Unlucky-Violinist-15

Gemini If the foreign currencies in which the underlying stocks are denominated strengthen relative to the USD, it boosts your returns when those holdings are converted back to USD.  If the foreign currencies weaken (the USD strengthens) relative to the USD, it will reduce or even negate the gains from the stock market performance itself. The strong USD in recent years has often been cited as a headwind for unhedged international funds like VXUS

sirzoop

No? My portfolio has been \~20% VXUS for years. I've been enjoying the gains this year and am still going to keep it around that allocation

benjamaniac

Out of all the wild advice I've seen on Reddit switching to 100% VXUS isn't one of them. Not sure what this person is talking about.

Hulledout

I'v got VXUS 15% paired with SPYM 70% and VXF 15%. Works good a part of a portfolio.

meathead13_

Who is saying go from SPY to 100% in VXUS Just own both

welshwelsh

Index funds. Easy and hard to beat the returns. Don't mess with real estate or individual stocks, not worth the trouble. 40% US stocks + 40% intl stocks + 20% bonds. So VTI + VXUS + BND and you're covered. Set it and forget it. For passive income it's safe to assume a 4% withdrawal rate so about $6,400 per year for what you're investing.

prince_peepee_poopoo

VXUS

ConcentrateOk523

Your grandfather did great! I have an 80/20 portfolio and underperformed him. Wish I stayed 100 percent stocks with VTI and VXUS. Risk adjusted return means nothing. Overall return is better.

owalski

Yes, this will work long term. The difference between different intervals (daily, weekly, monthly, annually) diminishes to zero over time. It can be big in the first year, but in both directions, so it's random. Don't worry about it if your time horizon is more than a few years. I would question more the strategy: those indices are massively overlapping. You're not achieving much by jumping from one to another—a world index already heavily includes the US market, and the S&P 500 heavily includes the Nasdaq 100. This just makes reading your results harder. Instead, match, e.g., [VOO and VXUS because they don't overlap](https://etfcomparison.org/voo-vs-vxus/), and you'll have a better understanding of your allocation and how each market performs.

kelvinRonn

I use VXUS and VGU as a hedge against my VOO (75%)

BananaJoe_Ktard

ETF, create a budget, 30% of your salary and invest in ETF like VOO + VXUS. Better and less riskier than individual stocks

TheInkDon1

Good question: I'm in between. Let me explain. Over the past 20 years I've sworn off stocks for ETFs so many times I can't count. And always for the same reason: *single-issue risk.* What it that? Musk tweets something stupid, Tesla drops 10%. Oracle doesn't meet expected earnings, it drops 15%. Enron, "the smartest guys in the room", weren't: bankruptcy. **So since March I've only done ETFs.** If you ever catch me trading a single stock, I want you to shoot me. Please. And sure some ETFs have big drops, but they're ones I don't touch: crypto and cannabis. Other than that, ETFs just don't move that quickly. And why? Because they're baskets of stocks, right? (For the most part.) So if an ETF holds 100 stocks, and one goes to zero, how much should the ETF drop? Just 1%. (Aside from sector-sympathy that might drag some of the others down too.) Why don't I use SPY and QQQ and the like? 1 - because I'm not an indexer by nature, because: 2 - I like to find things *that are going up*, and trade those. But don't get me wrong, if SPY or QQQ were going up fast enough to screen-in to how I screen, then I'd trade them. I recently traded IWM, the Russell 2000, because of that. Now maybe let me expand your mind a bit: *Do you know how many ETFs there are in the US?* **4,300!** Four **THOUSAND** and three hundred. But you only hear about a dozen of them, don't you? VT, VTI, SCHD, VOO, IVV, VXUS, maybe ITOT, like that. *Did you know that* [momentum in equity prices persists](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0927538X18303998?via%3Dihub#preview-section-references)*?* It does. For 1, 2, 3, even 6 months or more. Now, what if we put those 2 things together and looked for **ETFs with momentum**? And then instead of *buying* them, buy **LEAPS Calls** on them. Deep ITM LEAPS Calls act as *share substitutes* and give us **leverage**. Let me know if you're interested in hearing more.

baseballer213

Splitting it into VTI and VXUS allows him to claim the foreign tax credit. VT generally does not. This also avoids potential wash sale headaches since he already holds VT in his Roth. Rent free is the real cheat code here though.

Reynhart

If he really doesn't want to think of anything VT and chill is a great plan. I'm personally pretty negative on long-term US economic outlook so I have re-balanced my holdings to more heavily weight VXUS, but I could be super wrong.

FearlessButterfly3

Roth IRA: FXAIX, SCHG, VXUS, GLDM Brokerage: Mix of individual stocks including Google and NVDA, Coca Cola but will eventually just DCA into VTI, VXUS and QQQM after maxing out my IRA

Richifyai

VT or VTI+VXUS in a taxable brokerage. Simple, tax-efficient, globally diversified. He's already maxing tax-advantaged, so this is the standard play. Congrats to your kid for crushing it early.

Fantastic-Ice-1402

I use VXUS and VGU as a hedge against my VOO (75%)

Andeo23

I would read “The Little Book on Common Sense Investing” by John Bogle. It’s an easy read. Then change it over to 90% index funds, like VTI and VXUS, and maybe keep 10% in your company stock.