Bogleheads Three-fund Portfolio (2024)

FAQs

Is the 3 fund portfolio good enough? ›

The three-fund portfolio is a sound investing approach, and you can't go wrong with it. If you set up asset allocation appropriate for your age, a three-fund portfolio will most likely perform well. I say "most likely" because nothing is guaranteed with investing, but this strategy is one of the safer options.

Bogleheads create a good plan, avoiding attempts to time the market, and then stick with it ("stay the course"). This consistently produces good outcomes over the long term.

An index fund is a portfolio of stocks or bonds designed to mimic the composition and performance of a financial market index. Mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have many different varieties of low-cost index funds. They have lower expenses and fees than actively managed funds.

The 5/25 rule is a portfolio rebalancing strategy that aims to maintain a balanced investment portfolio while allowing for some flexibility to capture the potential upside of strong-performing assets. Many people attribute this rule to the legendary investor Warren Buffett.

Cons of a Three-Fund Portfolio

Rebalancing. A three-fund portfolio is not set-it-and-forget-it. You will still need to pay attention to your overall allocation and rebalance when necessary to stay aligned with your investment goals. No room for alternatives.

The Three Fund Portfolio, also called the Lazy Portfolio, is a simple yet popular portfolio amongst passive index investors. It is designed to provide broad diversification across the stock and bond markets while incurring minimal costs, taxes, and overhead.

The firm's investment strategy is opportunistic and follows a fundamental, value-oriented approach. Investments generally are made with a long-term time horizon and are typically unlevered and long-biased.

Many real estate investors subscribe to the “100:10:3:1 rule” (or some variation of it): An investor must look at 100 properties to find 10 potential deals that can be profitable. From these 10 potential deals an investor will submit offers on 3. Of the 3 offers submitted, 1 will be accepted.

A lazy portfolio is a set it and forget it collection of stock and bond mutual funds or ETFs, invested in percentages that fit with your personal risk profile. The idea behind this concept is that most investors do not beat the investment returns of the major market indexes.

Investing legend Warren Buffett has said that the average investor need only invest in a broad stock market index to be properly diversified. However, you can easily customize your fund mix if you want additional exposure to specific markets in your portfolio.

Is it wise to only invest in index funds? ›

If you're new to investing, you can absolutely start off by buying index funds alone as you learn more about how to choose the right stocks. But as your knowledge grows, you may want to branch out and add different companies to your portfolio that you feel align well with your personal risk tolerance and goals.

For beginners, the vast array of index funds options can be overwhelming. We recommend Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) (minimum investment: $1; expense Ratio: 0.03%); Invesco QQQ ETF (QQQ) (minimum investment: NA; expense Ratio: 0.2%); and SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA).

1. Understanding the 10-5-3 Rule. The 10-5-3 rule is a simple rule of thumb in the world of investment that suggests average annual returns on different asset classes: stocks, bonds, and cash. According to this rule, stocks can potentially return 10% annually, bonds 5%, and cash 3%.

Vanguard's research paper on this subject suggests that, for most investors, rebalancing on an annual basis is adequate. “Whether it's 60/40 or another asset allocation, rebalancing will help make sure your portfolio is consistent with your risk tolerance,” Schlanger said.

With that in mind, let's look at how often you should rebalance if you use time-based rebalancing. The most common time frame that people use is annual rebalancing. They go in once a year to clean up their portfolio.

Unless you are very well versed with the markets and have expert knowledge about mutual funds, a good rule of thumb would be to own: Large Cap Mutual Funds: Up to 2. Maybe 3 at best. Beyond that, it doesn't make sense as there will be a great overlap in the shares owned by your mutual funds.

As of Apr 10, 2024, the Bogleheads Three-fund Portfolio returned 4.41% Year-To-Date and 8.15% of annualized return in the last 10 years.

General ROI: A positive ROI is generally considered good, with a normal ROI of 5-7% often seen as a reasonable expectation. However, a strong general ROI is something greater than 10%. Return on Stocks: On average, a ROI of 7% after inflation is often considered good, based on the historical returns of the market.

So, what's the ideal number of funds? Well, there is no right or wrong answer. It can depend on a number of factors including the number of funds you're comfortable monitoring in your portfolio, your investment objectives and risk appetite.