VXUS

Deck_of_Cards_04

Should note that it might be prudent to at least at 1-2k to a non U.S. fund like VXUS which is basically every economy except the U.S. market The U.S. has outperformed global for a while but that’s hardly guaranteed.

FD_4LYFE69

I have a million invested into VTI/VXUS. I can margin 300k. Thinking about selling CSPs. If assigned I hold them and replenish and pay off the margin asap and just wheel if assigned. Thoughts?

gmenez97

That's exactly what I do. I still have a small portion of my portfolio in VGT, VOO, and a small cap for a little more risk/gain and to see what part of the market is moving. VTI and VXUS are my biggest holdings. My international exposure is around 25% or so.

Ledzeppelinbass

You have 3m in the bank bro., you are good. If you are worried about a tank, get out while ahead. Take the profits and buy back at a discount if the market poops itself. I only am a FXIAX /VTI/VXUS guy so I’ll keep pumping my numbers up regardless if it’s green, red, blue, purple, whatever lol. Be proud tho

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.

yottabit42

Get rid of the dividend fund for sure. That's just a tax and performance drag. Buying the NASDAQ also makes no sense as it's just an exchange. I would sell all your positions and buy in 100% VT for maximum global stock diversification with a very low expense ratio. (Or 60-65% VTI + 35-40% VXUS in a taxable account, equivalent to VT but you can claim the foreign tax credit on your taxes.) Follow the [financial order of operations](https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Prioritizing_investments). Head over to r/Bogleheads and read the side bar (touch the sub name at the top on mobile). There are a lot of great resources there to learn from!

xiongchiamiov

So you're trying to protect against underperformance in your investments in US companies? The much more straightforward approach to that would be to invest in an ex-US stock fund, eg VXUS.

Poundcake2RedVelvet

VXUS is rather fair value btw

deadfishlog

Everyone needs some VXUS in the new economy

Slachi2025

Invest in VXUS

FormalCompetition118

VXUS?

InclinationCompass

Bruv VTI is 84%, VXUS is 34%. And I went from $100k to over $500k in 5 years 💀. I'm retiring in 10 years, in my 40s.

alien__0G

Bruv VTI is 83%, VXUS is 345. And I went from $100k to over $500k in 5 years 💀. I'm retiring in 10 years, in my 40s.

InclinationCompass

VTI and VTSAX each have nearly 4000 companies. VXUS has over 8500. So between the two, I’m invested in over 12,500 companies globally.

floo82

I put a good chunk in VXUS, it's vanguards world market minus all US stocks. Ex-US holdings are held in their own market currency, so it's up %10 more than SPY YTD because of the dollar dropping in value by 10%.

redditfirefly

Yes, definitely add global. My combo above was for baseline US exposure. For global, I have VXUS for broad capture, with additional focus on certain sectors/regions like SHLD, AIA, EWS, EWG, and some others.

_Tyrus_

If I was in your shoes I would max out my employer-sponsored retirement accounts every year. I would then get a high-deductible health plan and max out an HSA every year. I would also max out either a traditional or Roth IRA every year (Roth is better for most people). I would primarily invest in international stock ETFs like VXUS, and in bond ETFs like SCHQ and BNDX.

floo82

VXUS

grokfinance

Money you plan to use for major purchases within the next 3-5 years is not money that should be invested in the stock market. It is entirely possible the market drops 20-30% in any given year. So if you are going to use 120k to buy a house soon then keep that money in high yield savings like Ally Bank or CDs or money market fund. The remainder can invest in something like an 80/20 mix of VTI and VXUS. Those two funds give you diversified exposure to the entire stock market (US and international). Over 20 or 30 years history suggests that almost no funds beat the simple stock market average.

floo82

Long VXUS, short SPY

BucsLegend_TomBrady

Think about it like this. The whole premise of your question is, why would you invest in VXUS when its performance is worse than SP500, correct? Well then ask yourself, why did you buy SP500 when its performance is worse than QQQ? (biggest 100 companies in the world) Or go further and ask yourself, why would you buy the top 100 companies when you could just buy NVDA? Why did you buy any non NVDA companies in the past? Because at the time, you had no idea those other 499 companies in the SP500 would be worse than NVDA these last 10 years. So no apply the same approach to VXUS. Yes, VXUS has performed worse than VOO these last ten years, but did you know that ten years ago? And more importantly, do you know if VXUS will continue to under perform these next 10 years? No, you don't. If you think you do, then ask yourself if you know if NVDA will continue to over perform these next 10 years (spoiler, you don't). Thats why lots of people buy the SP500. You don't know which of those 500 companies will be the best, so you buy them all.

gamedawgs

Maybe I don’t then, I just didn’t notice much growth when looking at the lifespan of VXUS. That’s why I was asking. Also Brady is the goat!

Based_Commgnunism

100% VT is the best choice for most people. Though if it's in a taxable account it's more tax efficient to break it up into VTI and VXUS.

xiongchiamiov

Perhaps consider a fund like VXUS? Regardless of any bubble prediction, it would be prudent to be diversified globally. You can also put all of your stock into VT or a target date fund, which will handle the US/ex-US balance for you automatically. I also think it's wise for people to consider bonds: * https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/in-defense-of-bonds/ * https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/100-stock-portfolio/ * https://www.kitces.com/blog/stocks-for-the-long-run-siegal-mcquarrie-portfolio-investment-bonds-asset/

Cruian

VOO (alone) is single country risk (revenue source doesn't make it global, as it is the performance of foreign stock markets that we're after and companies act like their home market). US only is single country risk, which is an *uncompensated* risk. An uncompensated risk is one that doesn't bring higher expected long term returns. Uncompensated risk should be avoided whenever possible. Compensated vs uncompensated risk: * https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/uncompensated-risk/ * https://www.northerntrust.com/middle-east/insights-research/2024/wealth-management/compensated-portfolio-risk >But not all risks are compensated with an expected return premium. * https://www.pwlcapital.com/is-investing-risky-yes-and-no/ (Bold mine) >Uncompensated risk is very different; it is the risk specific to an individual company, sector, **or country.** VT wouldn't be a good pairing with existing VOO, as currently over half of VT is already the entirety of VOO (VT would replace VOO). A dedicated ex-US fund would be an appropriate addition. VXUS or IXUS for example. Think of it like this: * VT is essentially equal to VTI + VXUS * VTI is essentially equal to VOO + VXF So VT alone could be all you need (in a tax advantaged account like an IRA there's no taxes to work about if selling A to buy B), or cost either VTI or VOO (or equivalents) for your US exposure and pair that with a dedicated ex-US fund (VXUS is one of many examples).

Cruian

VOO (alone) is single country risk (revenue source doesn't make it global, as it is the performance of foreign stock markets that we're after and companies act like their home market). US only is single country risk, which is an *uncompensated* risk. An uncompensated risk is one that doesn't bring higher expected long term returns. Uncompensated risk should be avoided whenever possible. Compensated vs uncompensated risk: * https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/uncompensated-risk/ * https://www.northerntrust.com/middle-east/insights-research/2024/wealth-management/compensated-portfolio-risk >But not all risks are compensated with an expected return premium. * https://www.pwlcapital.com/is-investing-risky-yes-and-no/ (Bold mine) >Uncompensated risk is very different; it is the risk specific to an individual company, sector, **or country.** VT wouldn't be a good pairing with existing VOO, as currently over half of VT is already the entirety of VOO (VT would replace VOO). A dedicated ex-US fund would be an appropriate addition. VXUS or IXUS for example. Think of it like this: * VT is essentially equal to VTI + VXUS * VTI is essentially equal to VOO + VXF So VT alone could be all you need (in a tax advantaged account like an IRA there's no taxes to work about if selling A to buy B), or cost either VTI or VOO (or equivalents) for your US exposure and pair that with a dedicated ex-US fund (VXUS is one of many examples).

Cruian

>Why? The S&P 500 already offers exposure to global markets—its companies derive significant revenue internationally, effectively embedding diversification without the added risk of foreign markets. Revenue source is at best just one small piece out of many that are important. There are other factors, some of which are more important, that revenue source wouldn't help with in any meaningful way. * https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/investing-ideas/international-investing-myths if that link doesn't work: https://web.archive.org/web/20201112032727/https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/investing-ideas/international-investing-myths (Archived copy from Archive.org's Wayback Machine) * https://www.vanguard.com/pdf/ISGGEB.pdf (PDF) or the archived version if that doesn't work: https://web.archive.org/web/20210312165001/https://www.vanguard.com/pdf/ISGGEB.pdf (PDF) * https://www.dimensional.com/us-en/insights/global-diversification-still-requires-international-securities - Companies will act more like the market of their home country * https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogleheads/comments/vpv7js/share_of_sp_500_revenue_generated_domestically_vs/ - The argument that “US companies have plenty of foreign revenue is sufficient ex-US coverage” is tilted towards a few sectors, some have almost no coverage. Also what about in reverse- how many big foreign companies have lots of US exposure? * Some explanation on why international revenue is not the same as true international holdings by HenryGeorgia: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogleheads/comments/1jcs4pd/comment/mi4zf0c/ * Or (if it loads) by /u/InternationalFly1021: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogleheads/comments/1hm95gg/comment/m3t2779/ * To add to the above, there’s also the issue of valuations. One country can still become over valued, even with global revenue sources. * https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Domestic/International and expanding on part of that: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogleheads/comments/161i2l1/comment/jxs659h/ by TropikThunder All cover it to some degree. >Chasing VT or international-heavy portfolios ignores this. We don't ignore it, we just realize it is overly democratic training that should fall apart with a little bit of thinking about it. There's plenty of foreign companies that do lots of business within the US, isn't there? Every employee vehicle in my work's lot would trade in an ex-US fund not US fund. Many electronics are Asian branded. European brands can be found in medicine cabinets, kitchen pantries, and cleaning supply closets across the US. So 100% VXUS is all you need for US coverage, right? Obviously not. International diversification isn't about revenue source, it is about capturing the performance of stock markets outside the US as they aren't perfectly correlated. >Timing international outperformance is a gamble Don't time anything. Always hold both the US and international, market favor can shift very quickly and unexpectedly >This drives the S&P 500’s edge, consistently outperforming global indices over long periods. 5 of the last 7 decades (as measured xxx0-xxx9) favored international over the US. 4 of them were in a row (1950-1989). All excess returns since 1950 (read: the last time the lines crossed) come only from around 2010 through now, that means we saw a roughly 60 year period where the end winner would have been international, that's a long time period to me. >but history shows U.S. markets recover faster and grow steadier Certain other market drops affected the US worse. See 2000-2010 for example where the US ended behind international. >Stick with the S&P 500 for broad exposure, lower risk, and a system built to win. Going global (properly) can be less risky than 100% US or 100% ex-US. I do have citations available for any claims that I haven't provided them for yet.

Sounders12

It's an index fund which is not very good overall. Many times S&P drops or does have good returns, VXUS performs much worse. Check 2018, 2015, 2011.

Sounders12

VXUS is terrible. It may outperform on some odd years but underperofms the next 10.

Oracle_of_Nada

7.71% of VXUS is China. Their stock market is over inflated. I sold VXUS and bought VEA. I won't support China.

weasler7

One reason to own international would be the US dollar is experiencing headwinds due to deliberate trade and physical policy to value the US dollar. Just look up VXUS versus SPY YTD.

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. 

Doodsonious22

Since everyone already gave the point that we are in a bit of an era of US dominance in the stock market that is not always the case, let me hit you with another one: it's unhedged, meaning that if the dollar starts to slide against foreign currencies (say, a madman is in the white house or we print a bunch of money to deal with\[hypothetically\] a massive debt), you also gain pretty hard in VXUS assuming the underlying stocks are doing at least alright--and indeed, that's one of the reasons it's done so well this year.

VoidMageZero

I would just buy gold, that's already enough of a hedge against US stocks for most people imo. The big US companies like Microsoft already do tons of business internationally, so you're already getting international exposure from the big US stocks. If you look at VXUS, it's full of Chinese and European stocks. Like yeah, they could do well, but I'm good without betting on those. Anyone buying VXUS is basically making a bet on those companies doing better than US companies, even if you hide behind likes like diversification and mean reversion. But US stocks have a premium for a reason, I'm not going to buy into that stuff just for diversification.

Stunning-End-6870

Out of curiosity, what would you recommend as an international hedge if not VXUS?

ServerTechie

I’ve seen far worse ER than 0.25%, and besides IDMO has significantly outperformed VXUS since its inception in 2012. Supposed you could pay $1 and get $100 back, or pay $5 and get $150 back, are you really gonna say no to the bigger reward? IDMO is well managed fund, worth the higher ER.

ucbcawt

I have a mix of VXUS and IDMO

Live42Long

Agree. You can invest in real estate, precious metals, bonds, etc. There are other ways to diversify your portfolio. Investing in international stocks is just one of those ways to diversify. The point is you shouldn't assuming VXUS will continue to suck based on solely its past performance.

VoidMageZero

I think hedging US stocks is fine, but I don't think VXUS is the best option. And personally I'm not going to get on those stocks that VXUS is holding. Gold is enough of a hedge imo.

Live42Long

Exactly. Future is unpredictable. That is why people is saying diversification is important. You can't just look at past performance or current performance and assume it will go one way or other. VTI + VXUS covers everything.

VoidMageZero

I disagree, Warren Buffett is the best investor and he warned against diworsefication. Gold is a good enough hedge imo, and it has been outperforming VXUS too.

VoidMageZero

That's actually fair, but I would probably just buy gold over VXUS.

Live42Long

Past performance is not indicative of future results. Just because VXUS underperformed in the past, it doesn't mean it will in the future. Heck if you are looking at YTD, VXUS is outperforming VOO.

VoidMageZero

No one has a crystal ball. You're basically guessing that Chinese and European stocks will do better in the future if you pick VXUS.

therealjerseytom

Zoom out. Way out. Before VXUS existed. Big picture.

VoidMageZero

I don't think VXUS is the answer tbh. Look at the performance history, it kinda sucks.

StatisticalMan

P/E were high 3 years ago too and here we are. It is why I buy total market funds. VTI+VXUS. If tech is too expensive it is just part of it.

Spicyboi981

I allocate most of mine to VXUS now

Used_Bag6446

I disagree. IDMO is 5x the expense fee of VXUS, and who knows if it will outperform in a different market environment that does not favor the U.S. How can use performance in the last few decades of U.S. economic dominance to project a future period where that is not the case? Also, when you diversify, the thinking is your outperformance will be from the market/sector not the individual stock picking. It’s a hedge against the rest of my portfolio being so U.S.-centric, not another place to take on risk.

greenpride32

Let's take a look at top 10 weights in SP500: * NVIDIA * Microsoft * Apple * Amazon * Meta * Broadcom * Alphabet * Berkshire Hathaway * Tesla Now let's compare it to top 10 weights in VXUS: * Taiwain Semiconductor * Tencent * SAP * ASML * Alibaba * Samsung * Nestle * Roche * AstraZeneca * HSBC While there isn't a bad name on either list, one list has a much larger concentration of revenue and profit growth, and higher margins. Which one do you feel more comfortable with putting your money in long term? There was a time when top market cap stocks were your banks, petroluem and big pharma - and your developed nations all had some of their own. But now as the world has become more digital, technology companies are dominating as they have true economies of scale compared to old industry. The US companies are the clear leaders here and that's why US index has substantially outperformed in more recent years and IMO will continue to do so into the future.

DivineBladeOfSilver

People love a simple stupid approach they can sleep at night with. VT or VTI + VXUS or some similar combo of owning the market is proven long term. You won’t do the best but you likely won’t do bad either and you will do so likely with little stress. That is the thesis they accept and work with. Now people like Warren Buffet advocate for this strategy (tho he prefers just VOO + 10% bonds). He acknlowedges it’s not the best strategy, but the typical person is not good at picking stocks, sticking with it long term up and down is hard for them, and people frequently move funds by selling when bad and buying when good hurting themselves. Otherwise if you can avoid such bad habits and can pick great companies through good analysis he fully says it’s better to just own a lot of a small number of wonderful companies rather than the whole market or a big portion of it. Sadly this typically results in most investors just buying whatever is most popular today because they assume it will forever be a good investment, panic when it finally has a bad day, and they do terrible. You’ll see people buy the magnificent 7 and just think that’s the best strategy ever because it’s done good for awhile now. Not that any are necessarily bad stocks. But an investment under buffet’s guidance requires full proper analysis of actual data long term of a company and considering various aspects about the company itself and value it has and making a decision. Most people just follow hype and that’s as far as it goes

4pooling

VXUS is the ETF share class of the original investor mutual fund share class from 1996. So VXUS has a much, much longer history than 2011.

amg-rx7

You are correct on it's historically mediocre performance. It started performing well this year when people got scared from Trump's tariff plans and rhetoric and moved some of their investments out of US stocks. Also because those other governments started to announce investments within their own countries - like Germany and their defense companies. All of the companies in FXAIX do business globally so I don't feel like I'm missing out on "international exposure" by focusing the bulk of my investment in the S&P 500. I do have a bit in an international ETF that took off as a result of politics but we'll see if it continues to perform well over time. I definitely wouldn't a long term holder of VXUS or "intl" ETFs just for the sake of perceived "diversification".

ZoraHookshot

NPR's Marketplace just did a fantastic piece called "Demographics is Destiny". Essentially, the amount of high schoolers and immigrants entering the American force isn't enough to replace those retiring out of the workforce. That means in many cases, if the business wants to add labor, it can't do it in the US, simply because there isn't enough labor to go around. That could lead to stagnant growth here, and large growth where there's more people, particularly Africa and SE Asia. I bought AFK to supplement VXUS because VXUS doesn't have enough exposure to Africa. It's up 43% YTD.

BraveG365

Professor G on Youtube also doesn't seem to like VXUS for it low returns. He says that you really don't need an international fund for diversity since most all large US companies now are overseas so that is your international exposure.

SirGlass

The 5.5% is the yearly average return not the total And the answer is diversification. Why invest in the S&P500 when you an invest in tech what has had greater returns something like QQQ Why invest in the under performing QQQ when you can invest in the mag 7 Why invest in the under performing mag 7 when you can simply invest in NVIDIA? Well we don't know if NVIDIA going forward is going to have the amazing returns its had the past 10-15 years. So we diversify , I guess if you can understand the reason for picking VOO over Nvidia despite having lower returns, You can understand why adding VXUS would be beneficial as its the same logic

ServerTechie

It absolutely makes sense to include non-US equity in a portfolio, you gotta diversify because you should never assume S&P always wins. My bigger gripe with VXUS is it holds every possible foreign stock, versus hand-selecting stocks with potential value and growth. I always recommend IDMO, FENI, or FIVA as they practice a methodology for stock selection and the performance shows it too.

Ragnarok-9999

Standard index fund covering the rest of the world. Sometimes it returns good, sometimes it does not. If you want low cost international conering all parts of the world, That is best. Recently Vanguard is offering active fund Vanguard International core fund(VZICX). This new fund, more expensive and not time tested. It is giving better returns than VXUS.

diggida

My understanding is because it’s market weighted and owns virtually everything outside of the US. VT is the whole world. VTI plus VXUS is the whole world. It fits that philosophy. Personally I have VOO, AVUV, and VXUS, but I probably should just have VT.

Bacontastic

International stocks have existed since long before VXUS was created 2011, and have at many times in history outpaced US stocks.

gamedawgs

PLEASE HELP ME BETTER UNDERSTAND WHY VXUS IS A GOOD INVESTMENT. VXUS is an international ETF. People urge you to include VXUS in your portfolio to gain international exposure. Coupling this with domestic funds like FXAIX makes for a strong, diversified portfolio. My questions is why VXUS when it only has about a 5.5% “life of fund” growth (2011)? I absolutely understand wanting to diversify and get some international exposure, but with something like VXUS who hasn’t proved significant growth like the domestic funds, why do people recommend it so heavily? This isn’t shade towards VXUS, I bought shares of it, but I’m really just wondering if I’m missing something with this one. I’m looking for long term growth, 30ish years. Thanks for any insight you can offer!

joe-re

YTD: VOO (US large cap index etf): +10% VXUS (Non US large cap etf): +21% 3067.HK (China tech large cap etf): +27% ICE USD index (USD vs. Basket of currencies): -9% Yeah, USD is a problem. And an idiot at the helm trying to break the Fed ain't making it better.

Wild_Capital7202

Your portfolio is quite aggressive, but it's a bit concentrated in individual stocks. Tesla and Amazon each hold over 20% each, which can be quite risky. I recommend placing the majority of your holdings in broad-based index funds (VOO/VXUS/FZROX), leaving a portion of your portfolio in individual stocks as a "passion position." Also, be sure to max out your Roth IRA annually, placing growth assets in it for the best future tax-free growth. Combined with global diversification and regular rebalancing, your retirement goals will be more stable.

Wild_Capital7202

I recommend prioritizing your Roth IRA for long-term tax-free growth, and the sooner you max it out, the better. Also, avoid over-diversifying your portfolio. Currently, you have a number of individual stocks, which offer high potential returns but also high volatility. Perhaps you could gradually shift your holdings toward broad-based index funds (like VTI and VXUS), keeping your individual stocks to a "small, enjoyable" level. Also, since you're over 50, US tax law allows for catch-up contributions to your retirement accounts, which can help you close your retirement gap faster. The overall strategy is: prioritize Roth, base your portfolio on index funds, and sprinkle in individual stocks, along with regular rebalancing. You should basically be well-positioned for retirement.

grokfinance

It doesn't make sense to do both VOO and VTI. VOO already makes up a large part of VTI. You'd be over indexing on the S&P 500 companies. If you are in your 20s, 30s, 40s, maybe even 50s I'd do something like 80/20 mix of VTI and VXUS to get some international exposure as well.

trevor_barnette

Or just don’t worry about the above and staying on top of the markets and just invest in VT (or VTI/VXUS) and some mixture of bonds depending on age. There is no need to ever worry about making adjustments with this strategy as that could lead to performance chasing. Short term politics and worrying about dips etc could lead to some costly decisions. Total market index funds and let it ride, the only change you should worry about with this strategy is what percentage of bonds to hold and when. You never need to read an article about markets to succeed with this.

Same-Letter6378

Broad market index funds. Probably international since you already have a lot of US. VXUS is probably good. Or maybe something in Canada like that other person said for tax purposes. Read this: [https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/career-map/sell-side/risk-management/systematic-risk/](https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/career-map/sell-side/risk-management/systematic-risk/) See the chart? When you own one company it puts you on the far left of that chart. As you get more diversified (such as VOO) it puts you to the right of the chart, where risk is much less. If there's one thing to understand about investing, it's this chart.

KoABori1661

What is happening with VXUS. Which one of these international markets is poopooing the bed right now

micha_allemagne

You’ve got a solid core with VTI + VXUS, but then you tacked on QQQM and SMH which kind of just pump up your tech exposure twice over. You’re already heavy US large cap with VTI, and QQQM is just pouring more into the same bucket. SMH makes it even more concentrated. Not necessarily bad if you want to tilt hard toward tech, but don’t kid yourself thinking this is diversified. Here’s a breakdown of your portfolio: https://www.insightfol.io/en/portfolios/report/9d7f389450/

OceanWaveSunset

This is not advice, and it depends on what your goals are, but for me yes. I have VOO, BV, VXUS, and SCHD. I wanted an easy to manage, wide covering ETFs that I can buy partials and slowly build up my portfolio. I plan on letting this sit for a medium to long amount of time as I just add money in when I can. I averaged a return of 10% last year and 5% so far this year. I don't know if this is the best strategy but for someone who just wants to add money when I can and see the bottom line go up more than down, it is working so far. I will buy one off stocks that I plan to keep for a few moneys and keep a little cash so I can buy every time the market dips but the vast amount is just throw in on payday. I hope this is useful.

ax_graham

In 2023 I took the L on $18k lost via various ARK funds I bought in February 2021. I redeployed as a boglehead (VTI, VXUS, small/mid value tilt) and definitely haven't looked back. Best time was yesterday, second best is today.

Based_Commgnunism

The Fidelity mutual funds are good. FXAIX is S&P500. For total US market there's FSKAX and FZROX. The Vanguard equivalents VOO/VTI are also fine if you prefer an ETF. Or any of the other many low fee S&P500/total US funds. As to whether you prefer to hold S&P500 or total US it doesn't really matter as their performance is essentially the same. Total US market is technically more diversified so I'd go for that if you only plan to hold one US fund. For international there's FTIHX or FZILX, or VXUS. I'd recommend holding them at market cap weights, so 65% US and 35% international. That way you just own the whole market. Another option is to buy VT, which is 65% VOO/35% VXUS in a single fund. With VT your whole portfolio can be just one fund. This also eliminates the need to do an annual rebalance. There are good reasons to hold small cap value funds, both US and international, but you shouldn't do it unless you really understand the thesis and why you are holding it and how it has performed recently and historically.

scottyk318

I would certainly suggest you keep 6 months of expenses in your hysa..... For my emergency fund I have it sitting as sgov, which is a very safe Bond ETF... I would then suggest you split your investments into 70% VOO and 30% VXUS... I use Fidelity as my broker, they are very simple and have amazing customer service

strangebutohwell

VT Or VTI + VXUS Add BND if you want bonds

PrettyLittleRosey

Howard Marks has always leaned cautious, but I wouldn’t call him a total bear.. he’s more of a cycle realist. His whole philosophy is about recognizing where we are in the market cycle and adjusting risk accordingly. That’s why he’ll sound bearish in frothy times *(dot-com, 2021 tech bubble vibes)* & more bullish when fear is everywhere **You’re spot on about the contradiction:** he admits his biggest mistake was being too conservative, which shows even he knows leaning bearish too often means missing big compounding years. Meanwhile, Tom Lee is the other extreme  a perma bull who can spin every data point into higher **On valuations:** yeah, forward P/Es look stretched, especially in mega cap tech. The earnings growth story needs to actually catch up, and if it doesn’t, that’s when Marks’ caution pays off. But there’s also the reality that U.S. equities have been expensive relative to history for over a decade now and still delivered Your VXUS allocation makes sense.. international is cheaper, though it’s been “cheap” for a while. Whether that discount closes depends on global growth catching up and the U.S. dollar softening. **If I had to put it simply:** Marks is like your sober uncle reminding you to leave the party before the cops show up, while Lee is the hype friend ordering one more round. Both voices are useful.. the truth is probably somewhere in the Middle 

SwingNavOscillator

You're doing a lot of things right: maxing out Roths, learning as you go, and realizing the power of ETFs for long-term, diversified growth. Focusing future contributions on funds like $VTI and $VXUS is a solid strategy. The one piece of advice I'd offer is to be careful with the concentration of individual stocks. Given that retirement is only 10-12 years away, your portfolio's risk level is something to watch closely. While individual stocks can provide great gains, they can also introduce volatility that can be tough to stomach when you're closer to needing the income. What works for a 25-year-old with a 40-year time horizon is very different from what's appropriate for someone looking to retire in a decade. You might consider thinking about your overall asset allocation. As you get closer to retirement, many people gradually shift to a more conservative stance to protect the wealth they've built.

reedshipper

Right now I have 3 shares of VOO, 2 of FXAIX, 1 of QQQ, 1 of FMAGX, 1 of VXUS, and 1 of VTI

kiwimancy

VXUS

rawrisrawr

I’ve also been dumping money into VXUS

monkypanda34

I've been putting some into VXUS and investing more outside the US. All his policies are bad for investor confidence, growth and American prospects. Attacking fed independence, the BLS, running up the deficit, weakening the dollar, the tariffs, who wants to invest in that? Not to mention getting rid of cheap renewable energy, attacking science, cutting research and attacking higher ed, it's just ceding the future to China and dimming our long term prospects.

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

No-Violinist260

While I do agree, VXUS and international stocks haven't been more valuable because they are killing earnings or profitability, they've been more valuable because they are getting higher premiums than in the past. Eventually it'll become the same problem as in the US where there's sky high valuations for mostly middling companies.

CanYouPleaseChill

The better place is international equities. Valuations are very reasonable, particularly for emerging markets. I bet VXUS significantly outperforms the S&P 500 over the next decade.

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%

ncz34

I don't. I buy VTI and VXUS in my IRA that I won't touch until I retired. I trade individual stocks in my brokerage account.

Various_Couple_764

you could get teh diversity you want with VTI and VXUS. Go ahead and keep some in a few individual stocks you like. For bitcoin expposure I would go with BTCI and covered call fund that converts bitcoin volatility to income . The high volatility of bitcoin means this fund has a yield of 25%. Turn off automatic dividend reinvestment. TI and VXUS also have a small dividend. The dividend will alll go into a money market fund then on monthly basis you can setup automatic purchases of VTI, VXUS, and BTCI. Se it up so that about 50% of the dividends stay as cash for liquidity. As you get closer to retirment you could gradually increaser the dividend income by adding dividned funds that have yields higher than VTI /VXUS but lower than BTCI. That way you will sufficient dividned income to cover living expenses. The high yield of BTCI will insure VTI and VXIS will grow even i the marketer has a bad year with minimal returns.

Based_Commgnunism

Instead of XMAG just do a higher percentage of your diversifiers. For sure do 20%+ of VXUS. And like 10% each of small and midcaps.

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.

ConcentrateOk523

Biggest mistake of my life was going into 20 percent bonds 9 years ago, cost me a million dollars not sticking with 100 percent VTI. Also bought VXUS. This fed and government will never allow a 50 percent stock decline again. Stay 100 percent stovks even in retirement.

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.

milkplantation

I don’t think XEQT makes sense as an ETF for international exposure if OP already owns VOO: 42% of XEQT is American stocks and 26% are Canadian. Too much overlap. For international exposure and diversification VXUS would probably make the most sense.

KZ7548

You’re overcomplicating things. Just invest in Total US + Total International index funds. Add bonds later in life. Something like VTI + VXUS or VT or VOO and chill. There’s arguments to be made for each setup, but all have their merits. Comes down to personal preference. You’ll beat whatever you’re currently doing in the long run. Pick up a few books like “The Simple Path to Wealth” and “The Little Book of Common Sense Investing.” These will help build your foundational knowledge of investing.

Sensitive-Good-2878

They say to invest in what you know and believe in. Don't just pick random stocks because theyre trendy at the moment. For me, my individual stocks are: - Dollarama (DOL.TO) because I am Canadian and believe in the brand - United Health (UNH) Because ive done a lot of research, and I dont see a company like that going away. And I know how heartless US health insurance companies are. - Amazon because their business model is unmatched, and they can have an order at my door the next day in a small(ish) canadian city. They're also into brick and mortar grocery stores now (whole foods). And their cloud computing business is just getting started - Cameco (CCJ) because I believe nuclear power is the future Other than that im mostly QQQM and VXUS

IronyElSupremo

For total international (non-US), it’s VXUS or VEU for Vanguard. VXUS has more small caps as a % though VEU has a slight performance advantage most years. The iShares IXUS is between the 2. Some separate international further out into 3 developed to 1 emerging (so VEA, IDEV or SCHF to VWO, IEMG, or SCHE).

IronyElSupremo

For total international (non-US), it’s VXUS or VEU. VXUS has more small caps as a % though VEU has a slight performance advantage most years. The iShares IXUS is between the 2. Some separate international further out into developed> emerging (so VEA, IDEV or SCHF>VWO, IEMG, or SCHE).

Interesting-Foot2880

Take your pick of 100% VT or 70% VTI + 30% VXUS. That's all you'll ever need. With $200k I'd also DCA in over 20 weeks (10k/week) or 40 weeks (5k/week) and avoid lump summing it in. Make sure you have paid off all high interest debts and have a solid emergency fund too first though!

Interesting-Foot2880

VXUS or VEA depending on how you feel about emerging markets!