Build The Talmud Portfolio with ETFs
Build this 3000 year old Talmud portfolio with ETFs - How does it compare to the best portfolios?
What is The Talmud portfolio?
The Talmud portfolio can be built with just 3 ETFs. It is exposed to 66.66% equities and 33.33% bonds. It is a medium-risk portfolio.
For the past 10 years, the The Talmud portfolio has returned 10.55 with a standard deviation of 10.51.
The dividend yield is 2.27%. The 30-year return is 9.81%.
Year to date the Talmud portfolio has returned -12.86.
Article Contents
How do you build The Talmud Portfolio with ETFs?
Here is how you build the Talmud portfolios with ETFs
- 33.33% Total US Market (VTI)
- 33.33% Real Estate – REIT (VNQ)
- 33.33% Total Bond Market (BND)
What is the historical return of the Talmud portfolio?
The Talmud portfolios has performed wonderfully for over 3000 years!
Data was last updated on July 31, 2022 at 08:29 a.m. ET
| Name | Asset class count | Year to date | Return in 2020 | 10 year return | CAGR since 1989 (%) | Risk level | Expense ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Talmud Portfolio | 3 | -12.86 | 8.15 | 10.55 | 9.81 | 2 | 0.06% |
Here is how you read the table.
CAGR stands for Compound Annual Growth Rate. It is the rate of the return with included interest on interest. It includes reinvestment of dividends.
CAGR Since 1989 is the return since 1989. This is the year which we have chosen, as we have had reliable data for most asset classes since 1989.
CAGR 10 years is the return for the past 10 years, not including the current year.
CAGR 5 years is the return for the past 5 years, not including the current year.
CAGR 3 years is the return for the past 3 years, not including the current year.
Last year is the return for the asset class last year.
Return YTD is the Year To Date return for the asset class.
How does the Talmud portfolio compare to the best portfolios that we have tested?
Below you can see the returns of the best portfolios that we have benchmarked.
| Name | See Portfolio | Year to date | Return in 2020 | 10 year return | CAGR since 1989 (%) | Draw Down |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premium Portfolio |  | -13.23 | 18.29 | 16.52 | 11.28 | -37.63% |
| Premium Portfolio | | -15.52 | 18.11 | 11.03 | 11.21 | -44.87% |
| Premium Portfolio | | -14.05 | 19.7 | 14.99 | 10.85 | -32.77% |
| Premium Portfolio | | -10.09 | 3.19 | 11.85 | 10.99 | -36.46% |
| Premium Portfolio | | -10.26 | 3.66 | 11.87 | 10.88 | -36.35% |
| Premium Portfolio | | -14.58 | 21.03 | 16.29 | 11.25 | -37.00% |
| Premium Portfolio | | -9.31 | 8.7 | 14.47 | 11.14 | -35.26% |
| Premium Portfolio | | -13.7 | 7.48 | 11.45 | 10.93 | -37.91% |
| Premium Portfolio | | -12.75 | 5.36 | 13.2 | 11.81 | -35.43% |
| Premium Portfolio | | -10.64 | 3.42 | 13.15 | 10.99 | -40.85% |
What is the Talmud portfolio?
“Let every man divide his money into three parts, and invest a third in land, a third in business and a third let him keep by him in reserve.”
So it is written in the Talmud, a record of debates among rabbis about Jewish law dating as early as 1200 B.C.
The portfolio has performed surprisingly well over the decades. You could also keep 1/3 in cash instead of bonds.
The Talmud portfolio is a conservative portfolio because it has 33.33% in bonds. Bonds are not as volatile as stocks but they also provide a lower return than bonds.
John Bogle mentions the Talmud portfolio in his book Common Sense on Mutual Funds.
Suggestions for your next steps
Finding the correct portfolio is hard. Maintaining your portfolio is also daunting. If you are still in doubt about which portfolio to choose, we suggest you read our article How To Invest Money: 5 Simple Steps That Work For Anyone
If you have already committed to a portfolio – good for you! If you need help maintaining the portfolio you will find our rebalance worksheet useful.
Rebalancing your portfolio lowers your risk and may provide higher returns in the long run. It is completely FREE.
You can find the rebalance worksheet in our article Here Is The Most Easy To Use Portfolio Rebalance Tool.
Rebalancing lowers your portfolio risk and can increase your returns.
If you want access to our high-performing portfolios then you want to take a look at the premium portfolios. This is a paid product that gives you the 20 best-performing portfolios since 1989. The portfolios represent a great opportunity for you to get more money from your investment portfolios. We think it’s a “no-brainer”.
You stand to gain literally thousands more dollars EACH YEAR for the price of a few months of Netflix. (Haven’t you watched enough Netflix?).
