This page displays high-risk portfolios available on portfolioeinstein.com.
Some words on risk
Risk comes in many shapes and forms. In academia and in much of the investing industry, risk in investing is measured by standard deviation (a measure of how much the price of an asset bounces around).
Now, a standard deviation is, well – academic. This is because, for you and me, the risk is the pain we go through when we lose money. That pain is called draw-down. The draw-down of a portfolio is the amount of money the portfolio will lose in a given year. So, for example, a portfolio with a draw-down of -20% has at some point lost 20% of its value. That’s a good indication of what could happen in the future.
Now, that’s pretty actionable information that we can plan around and relate to.
A rough rule of thumb is that for each 20% of stocks a portfolio has it has a draw-down of -10%. So a 100% stock portfolio has potentially a draw-down of -50%. A 60% stock portfolio has a potential draw-down of -30%.
There are other forms of risk however but the draw-down is what we will focus on when dividing the portfolios into the various risk levels. You should also look at standard deviation as well as the stock to bond ratio.
How the risk levels are determined
We have given the portfolios a risk level from 1-5.
1 is the least risky but also offers the least reward.
5 is the riskiest but offers the most rewards.
The portfolios have been divided into quintiles. The first quintile, the first 20% represent the portfolios that have the lowest draw-downs. The last 20% are the ones with the highest draw-downs.
You can find the other 4 risk portfolios here:
This page is displaying the high-risk portfolios. They are suited for long-term savings like retirement and college savings with many years to go before needing the money.
High-risk portfolios
| Portfolio Name | Asset Allocation | Number of asset classes | CAGR since 1989 | Std | Drawdown | Risk Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 (Benchmark) |  | 1 | 9.84% | 17.46% | -37.71% | 5 - very high risk |
| Three Fund Portfolio (50-30-20) | | 3 | 7.82% | 13.95% | -30.74% | 4 - high risk |
| Meb Faber Ivy 5 Portfolio | | 5 | 7.05% | 11.71% | -31.56% | 4 - high risk |
| Meb Faber Ivy 10 Portfolio | | 9 | 7.75% | 13.14% | -33.41% | 4 - high risk |
| Warren Buffett Portfolio | | 2 | 9.46% | 15.72% | -32.65% | 4 - high risk |
| Index Fund Advisors, Portfolio 80 | | 16 | 9.27% | 14.49% | -30.64% | 4 - high risk |
| The Andrew Tobias Portfolio | | 3 | 7.24% | 12.14% | -28.09% | 4 - high risk |
| Muhammad El-Erian Portfolio | | 8 | 7.93% | 13.20% | -31.28% | 4 - high risk |
| Scott Burns Margaritaville | | 3 | 7.24% | 12.14% | -28.09% | 4 - high risk |
| Scott Burns Seven Value Portfolio | | 7 | 8.49% | 11.57% | -27.78% | 4 - high risk |
| Scott Burns Seven Value 2 Portfolio | | 8 | 8.80% | 12.12% | -28.29% | 4 - high risk |
| Scott Burns Nine Emerging Portfolio | | 9 | 9.15% | 13.60% | -31.02% | 4 - high risk |
| Scott Burns 10 Speed Portfolio | | 10 | 8.76% | 13.97% | -32.31% | 4 - high risk |
| William Bernstein No Brainer Portfolio | | 4 | 7.68% | 12.90% | -27.63% | 4 - high risk |
| William Bernstein Four Pillars High Risk Portfolio | | 11 | 7.94% | 12.71% | -28.32% | 4 - high risk |
| Robo Advisor Betterment 80 | | 10 | 8.55% | 14.50% | -31.68% | 4 - high risk |
| Robo Advisor Wealthfront 60 | | 7 | 8.67% | 13.43% | -31.03% | 4 - high risk |
| Gibson Five Asset Classes | | 6 | 7.08% | 11.92% | -32.09% | 4 - high risk |
| Rick Ferri Early Saver Moderate Multi Asset Portfolio | | 11 | 8.90% | 12.46% | -27.23% | 4 - high risk |
| Balanced Portfolio 80/20 | | 2 | 9.32% | 14.23% | -28.62% | 4 - high risk |
| Balanced Portfolio 90/10 | | 2 | 9.61% | 15.88% | -32.83% | 4 - high risk |
| iShares Model Portfolio 85% Stocks | | 3 | 7.60% | 14.86% | -33.34% | 4 - high risk |
| iShares Model Portfolio 80% Stocks | | 4 | 7.49% | 14.04% | -31.14% | 4 - high risk |
| Ben Stein Portfolio | | 7 | 8.01% | 14.13% | -32.19% | 4 - high risk |
| Fidelity Freedom Index 2030 (55 year old) | | 6 | 7.99% | 12.93% | -28.24% | 4 - high risk |
| TD Ameritrade Core Portfolio Aggressive | | 5 | 7.83% | 14.79% | -33.00% | 4 - high risk |
| Morningstar Moderate Retirement Saver Portfolio | | 5 | 8.49% | 13.85% | -29.87% | 4 - high risk |
| Vanguard Target Retirement 2040 (45 year old) | | 4 | 7.76% | 14.83% | -33.14% | 4 - high risk |
| Merrill Lynch Edge Select Portfolio, Moderately Aggressive | | 12 | 8.78% | 13.60% | -30.53% | 4 - high risk |
| David Booth (DFA) Aggressive Portfolio | | 15 | 8.95% | 13.69% | -30.49% | 4 - high risk |
| Rick Ferri's Core 4 fund Portfolio (80/20) | | 4 | 8.20% | 13.36% | -30.32% | 4 - high risk |
| Vanguard LifeStrategy Growth Fund (80/20) | | 4 | 7.71% | 13.98% | -30.84% | 4 - high risk |
| T. Rowe Price ActivePlus Portfolio, Model 80 | | 3 | 8.13% | 13.91% | -30.31% | 4 - high risk |
| Schwab Target Date Fund 2040 (45 year old) | | 8 | 8.41% | 14.38% | -32.53% | 4 - high risk |
| Schwab Managed Portfolio, Growth | | 9 | 7.71% | 13.63% | -32.44% | 4 - high risk |
| Alpha Architect Robust | | 8 | 9.70% | 12.32% | -29.92% | 4 - high risk |
| Meb Faber GTAA Moderate | | 11 | 8.35% | 12.71% | -32.09% | 4 - high risk |
| Morningstar Lifetime Allocation Index Aggressive, 2030 | | 18 | 8.64% | 14.61% | -33.69% | 4 - high risk |
| Morningstar Lifetime Allocation Index Conservative, 2060 | | 18 | 8.60% | 14.93% | -33.85% | 4 - high risk |
| Morningstar Lifetime Allocation Index Conservative, 2050 | | 18 | 8.57% | 14.32% | -32.36% | 4 - high risk |
| Burton Malkiel Portfolio, Late Thirties to Early Forties | | 8 | 9.06% | 14.88% | -33.66% | 4 - high risk |
| Burton Malkiel Portfolio, Mid-Fifties | | 8 | 9.06% | 13.70% | -31.13% | 4 - high risk |
| Burton Malkiel Portfolio, Late Sixties and Beyond | | 8 | 8.83% | 11.71% | -26.55% | 4 - high risk |
| Dimensional 2040 Target Date Retirement Income Fund | | 7 | 7.69% | 14.62% | -32.72% | 4 - high risk |
| Dan Solin SuperSmart Portfolio, Medium-High Risk | | 8 | 9.08% | 13.70% | -30.31% | 4 - high risk |
| Dan Solin The Smartest ETF Portfolio, Medium-High Risk | | 2 | 6.58% | 13.94% | -32.17% | 4 - high risk |
| Dan Solin The Smartest Index Portfolio, Medium-High Risk | | 3 | 8.13% | 13.91% | -30.31% | 4 - high risk |
| TIAA-CREF Lifecycle 2040 | | 4 | 8.65% | 15.05% | -32.62% | 4 - high risk |
| William Bernstein Taxable Ted 90/10 | | 5 | 8.61% | 14.72% | -33.62% | 4 - high risk |
| William Bernstein Taxable Ted 80/20 | | 5 | 8.42% | 13.16% | -29.32% | 4 - high risk |
| William Bernstein Sheltered Sam 80/20 | | 12 | 8.75% | 13.28% | -31.25% | 4 - high risk |
| William Bernstein Sheltered Sam 70/30 | | 12 | 8.41% | 11.88% | -27.84% | 4 - high risk |
| William Bernstein Wendy Wonk Portfolio | | 11 | 7.94% | 12.71% | -28.32% | 4 - high risk |
| Goldman Sachs Target Date 2045 Portfolio | | 12 | 8.46% | 14.58% | -33.25% | 4 - high risk |
| Rick Ferri Total Economy Core-4 Portfolio Moderate | | 4 | 7.54% | 9.99% | -21.64% | 3 - medium risk |
| Rick Ferri Total Economy Core-4 Portfolio Agressive | | 4 | 7.86% | 13.04% | -30.53% | 4 - high risk |
| Rick Ferri Global Markets Core-4 Aggressive | | 4 | 8.06% | 13.79% | -29.62% | 4 - high risk |
| Rick Ferri Inflation Fighter Core-4 Portfolio Moderate | | 4 | 7.20% | 10.99% | -26.80% | 4 - high risk |
| Rick Ferri Income Seeker Core-4 Portfolio Aggressive | | 4 | 8.22% | 13.12% | -30.29% | 4 - high risk |
| Rick Ferri Socially Conscious ESG Core-4 Portfolio Aggressive | | 4 | 7.29% | 13.56% | -32.48% | 4 - high risk |
| 3 Fund Portfolio 80/20 | | 3 | 8.07% | 13.78% | -29.65% | 4 - high risk |
| FPL Capital Management Portfolio 80 | | 9 | 9.51% | 13.78% | -30.26% | 4 - high risk |
| Assetbuilder.com Portfolio 10 | | 12 | 8.81% | 13.92% | -28.59% | 4 - high risk |
| Assetbuilder.com Portfolio 11 | | 12 | 9.50% | 16.13% | -33.43% | 4 - high risk |
| Alexander Green Gone Fishin' Portfolio | | 10 | 8.23% | 14.03% | -30.72% | 4 - high risk |
| Robo Advisor WiseBanyan 80% stocks | | 9 | 8.20% | 14.36% | -32.22% | 4 - high risk |
| Robo Advisor WiseBanyan 70% stocks | | 9 | 8.09% | 12.73% | -28.37% | 4 - high risk |
Disclaimer: There are many factors that go into choosing your right portfolio, though not as many as you would think. Therefore, the information here presented are not specific recommendations but instead for information purposes only.
Now it’s your turn!
Which portfolio are you leaning towards and why?
Why do you think a high-risk portfolio is right for you?
