Here is my 2025 3rd Quarter portfolio update that includes all our combined 401k/403b/IRAs and taxable brokerage accounts but excludes our house and small side portfolio of self-directed investments. Following the concept of , the following is not a recommendation, but a sharing of our actual, imperfect DIY portfolio.
“Never ask anyone for their opinion, forecast, or recommendation. Just ask them what they have in their portfolio.” – Nassim Taleb
How I Track My Portfolio
Here’s how I track my portfolio across multiple brokers and account types:
- The (free) automatically logs into my different accounts, adds up my various balances, tracks my performance, and calculates my overall asset allocation daily. Formerly known as Personal Capital.
- Once a quarter, I also update my (free to copy, ) because it helps me calculate how much I need in each asset class to rebalance back towards my target asset allocation. I also create a new sheet each quarter, so I have a personal archive of my portfolio dating back many years.
2025 Q3 Asset Allocation and YTD Performance
Here and at the top of this post are updated performance and asset allocation charts, per the “Holdings” and “Allocation” tabs of my Empower Personal Dashboard.
The major components of my portfolio are broad index ETFs. I do mix it up a bit around the edges, but not very much. Here is a model version of my target asset allocation with sample ETF holdings for each asset class.
- 35% US Total Market (VTI)
- 5% US Small-Cap Value (AVUV)
- 20% International Total Market (VXUS)
- 5% International Small-Cap Value (AVDV)
- 5% US Real Estate (REIT) (VNQ)
- 20% US “Regular” Treasury Bonds and/or FDIC-insured deposits (VGSH)
- 10% US Treasury Inflation-Protected Bonds (SCHP)
Big picture, it is 70% businesses and 30% very safe bonds/cash:
By paying minimal costs including management fees, transaction spreads, and tax drag, I am trying to essentially guarantee myself above-average net performance over time.
I do not spend a lot of time backtesting various model portfolios. You’ll usually find that whatever model portfolio is popular at the moment just happens to hold the asset class that has been the hottest recently.
The portfolio that you can hold onto through the tough times is the best one for you. I’ve been pretty much holding this same portfolio for 20 years. Check out these ancient posts from and . Every asset class will eventually have a low period, and you must have strong faith during these periods to earn those historically high returns. You have to keep owning and buying more stocks through the stock market crashes. You have to maintain and even buy more rental properties during a housing crunch, etc. A good sign is that if prices drop, you’ll want to buy more of that asset instead of less. I don’t have strong faith in the long-term results of commodities, gold, or bitcoin – so I don’t own them.
Performance details. According to , the S&P 500 keeps reaching toward all-time highs (+14% YTD) and foreign stocks continued their relative outperformance this year (+27% YTD). I wonder how long this will last?
Here’s an updated YTD Growth of $10,000 chart courtesy of for some of the major ETFs that shows the difference in performance in the broad indexes:
My portfolio is getting a bit too stock-heavy (a good sign overall I suppose) so I am reinvesting excess income and dividends into bonds. I will stay invested for sure, but will rebalance around the edges. I’ll share about more about the income aspect in a separate post.
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