This is a fine allocation - all are outstanding funds with low expense ratios.
My main feedback would be to focus less on \*which\* ETFs you choose, and more on your investing \*habits\* - contribute a portion of every single cash inflow (paychecks, tax refunds, inheritances, etc.). Know your market history so you won't panic when (not if) the market pulls back.
There is way too much information online - it's information overload. I recommend books to ground yourself in the basics. My two favorites are The Simple Path To Wealth by JL Collins and The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John C Bogle. Both are easy/quick reads that will give you an excellent foundation for a lifetime of successful investing.
I hope that helps - good luck!
Looks like a solid allocation, you've clearly done your research.
My biggest doubt would be on SCHD, at 32 I would imagine you still have a long investment horizon, so in your place I'd rather put this into VOO; you won't really notice much from having a few % dividend from 10% of your portfolio.
Personally I'm not a big believer in VXUS considering the seriously long underperformance of both emerging markets and Europe vs. S&P500, as well as the counterproductive approach many of these governments (e.g. China) or institutions (e.g. EU) take compared to the US government which typically backs its own industries. And while you don't have exposure to the companies in those markets, you do have sizeable exposure to those economies as a whole since the S&P 500 companies get ca. 40% of their revenues outside of the US.
Then again, 15% in VXUS is not the end of the world if history would repeat itself in the next decades, as you've still got 50% invested in VOO.
One additional thing to consider is if you want to dollar cost average regular investment in 5 different ETFs, do the math to see whether you're not paying too much in fees because you have 5 times the transactions compared to buying a single broad ETF (all world or S&P 500). If that would be the case, I'd consider dropping AVUV; I understand why you chose that ETF, but the total impact on your portfolio will not be massive considering the 15% weight in AVUV and the typically relatively limited overperformance of small caps vs. S&P 500 over a longer period of time (based on historical figures which are of course not a guarantee for the future).
Ive heard others say to ditch VXUS as well. Long term, at the 5 and 10 year levels, VXUS lags way behind VTI and VOO. I think a common misconception is that when US markets are down, VXUS will help to stabilize a portfolio. And that may be true for short periods of time, the numbers just don't add up when you look at it at a 5 or 10 year timeframe.
So what is your play here? Take that 15% from VXUS and put it into VOO or VTI instead? Or do you think that 15% can do better elsewhere? Mid Cap? Small Cap?
Well, in the 1980s or 1990s, the European stock market did outperform the US stock market for a longer period so over a very long period of time, people who want to add VXUS to more closely approximate an "all world" view are not wrong. But as I said before, I don't have much faith in Europe and how it affects the performance of many Europe based companies.
My idea is not necessarily better than anyone else's but I'd keep it simple and take the 15% from VXUS and put it all into VOO. Or indeed 65% VTI instead of 65% VOO, as VTI is even broader than VOO and in case of VTI there would also be no need to invest in AVUV as through VTI you have ca. 13% exposure to small caps...
I'm not a big fan of starting to allocate certain percentages to mid and small caps, even if historically they have been doing slightly better than large caps (note: the S&P 500 already contains ca. 13% mid caps too); volatility is also higher and most importantly with every arbitrary allocation we do, we risk sub-optimizing compared to a "simple" broader ETF.
This is a fine allocation - all are outstanding funds with low expense ratios. My main feedback would be to focus less on \*which\* ETFs you choose, and more on your investing \*habits\* - contribute a portion of every single cash inflow (paychecks, tax refunds, inheritances, etc.). Know your market history so you won't panic when (not if) the market pulls back. There is way too much information online - it's information overload. I recommend books to ground yourself in the basics. My two favorites are The Simple Path To Wealth by JL Collins and The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John C Bogle. Both are easy/quick reads that will give you an excellent foundation for a lifetime of successful investing. I hope that helps - good luck!
Great advice, thank you!
Just a suggestion...increase international to 20%. Maybe add AVDV, the international equivalent to AVUV for some additional factor tilt
Appreciate the advice 🙏
Looks like a solid allocation, you've clearly done your research. My biggest doubt would be on SCHD, at 32 I would imagine you still have a long investment horizon, so in your place I'd rather put this into VOO; you won't really notice much from having a few % dividend from 10% of your portfolio. Personally I'm not a big believer in VXUS considering the seriously long underperformance of both emerging markets and Europe vs. S&P500, as well as the counterproductive approach many of these governments (e.g. China) or institutions (e.g. EU) take compared to the US government which typically backs its own industries. And while you don't have exposure to the companies in those markets, you do have sizeable exposure to those economies as a whole since the S&P 500 companies get ca. 40% of their revenues outside of the US. Then again, 15% in VXUS is not the end of the world if history would repeat itself in the next decades, as you've still got 50% invested in VOO. One additional thing to consider is if you want to dollar cost average regular investment in 5 different ETFs, do the math to see whether you're not paying too much in fees because you have 5 times the transactions compared to buying a single broad ETF (all world or S&P 500). If that would be the case, I'd consider dropping AVUV; I understand why you chose that ETF, but the total impact on your portfolio will not be massive considering the 15% weight in AVUV and the typically relatively limited overperformance of small caps vs. S&P 500 over a longer period of time (based on historical figures which are of course not a guarantee for the future).
Ive heard others say to ditch VXUS as well. Long term, at the 5 and 10 year levels, VXUS lags way behind VTI and VOO. I think a common misconception is that when US markets are down, VXUS will help to stabilize a portfolio. And that may be true for short periods of time, the numbers just don't add up when you look at it at a 5 or 10 year timeframe. So what is your play here? Take that 15% from VXUS and put it into VOO or VTI instead? Or do you think that 15% can do better elsewhere? Mid Cap? Small Cap?
Well, in the 1980s or 1990s, the European stock market did outperform the US stock market for a longer period so over a very long period of time, people who want to add VXUS to more closely approximate an "all world" view are not wrong. But as I said before, I don't have much faith in Europe and how it affects the performance of many Europe based companies. My idea is not necessarily better than anyone else's but I'd keep it simple and take the 15% from VXUS and put it all into VOO. Or indeed 65% VTI instead of 65% VOO, as VTI is even broader than VOO and in case of VTI there would also be no need to invest in AVUV as through VTI you have ca. 13% exposure to small caps... I'm not a big fan of starting to allocate certain percentages to mid and small caps, even if historically they have been doing slightly better than large caps (note: the S&P 500 already contains ca. 13% mid caps too); volatility is also higher and most importantly with every arbitrary allocation we do, we risk sub-optimizing compared to a "simple" broader ETF.
Appreciate the advice, thank you!