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 | YTD (September 2019) | 10 year return | CAGR since 1989 | Sharpe | Drawdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 (Benchmark) |  | 1 | 20.36% | 12.97% | 9.84% | 0.48 | -37.71% |
| Three Fund Portfolio (50-30-20) | | 3 | 14.91% | 9.30% | 7.82% | 0.41 | -30.74% |
| Meb Faber Ivy 5 Portfolio | | 5 | 14.27% | 6.01% | 7.05% | 0.41 | -31.56% |
| Meb Faber Ivy 10 Portfolio | | 9 | 11.28% | 6.25% | 7.75% | 0.43 | -33.41% |
| Warren Buffett Portfolio | | 2 | 18.59% | 11.83% | 9.46% | 0.49 | -32.65% |
| Index Fund Advisors, Portfolio 80 | | 16 | 10.77% | 9.81% | 9.27% | 0.49 | -30.64% |
| The Andrew Tobias Portfolio | | 3 | 11.59% | 7.95% | 7.24% | 0.4 | -28.09% |
| Muhammad El-Erian Portfolio | | 8 | 13.50% | 6.66% | 7.93% | 0.44 | -31.28% |
| Scott Burns Margaritaville | | 3 | 11.59% | 7.95% | 7.24% | 0.4 | -28.09% |
| Scott Burns Seven Value Portfolio | | 7 | 12.74% | 8.09% | 8.49% | 0.53 | -27.78% |
| Scott Burns Seven Value 2 Portfolio | | 8 | 12.55% | 8.66% | 8.80% | 0.53 | -28.29% |
| Scott Burns Nine Emerging Portfolio | | 9 | 12.15% | 8.65% | 9.15% | 0.52 | -31.02% |
| Scott Burns 10 Speed Portfolio | | 10 | 11.41% | 8.34% | 8.76% | 0.48 | -32.31% |
| William Bernstein No Brainer Portfolio | | 4 | 11.34% | 8.68% | 7.68% | 0.42 | -27.63% |
| William Bernstein Four Pillars High Risk Portfolio | | 11 | 10.95% | 7.74% | 7.94% | 0.45 | -28.32% |
| Robo Advisor Betterment 80 | | 10 | 13.29% | 9.20% | 8.55% | 0.45 | -31.68% |
| Robo Advisor Wealthfront 60 | | 7 | 15.67% | 9.40% | 8.67% | 0.48 | -31.03% |
| Gibson Five Asset Classes | | 6 | 14.13% | 6.07% | 7.08% | 0.4 | -32.09% |
| Rick Ferri Early Saver Moderate Multi Asset Portfolio | | 11 | 13.32% | 9.39% | 8.90% | 0.52 | -27.23% |
| Balanced Portfolio 80/20 | | 2 | 17.63% | 11.26% | 9.32% | 0.51 | -28.62% |
| Balanced Portfolio 90/10 | | 2 | 18.77% | 12.20% | 9.61% | 0.49 | -32.83% |
| iShares Model Portfolio 85% Stocks | | 3 | 14.85% | 9.30% | 7.60% | 0.38 | -33.34% |
| iShares Model Portfolio 80% Stocks | | 4 | 14.40% | 8.93% | 7.49% | 0.38 | -31.14% |
| Ben Stein Portfolio | | 7 | 12.96% | 8.38% | 8.01% | 0.42 | -32.19% |
| Fidelity Freedom Index 2030 (55 year old) | | 6 | 14.78% | 9.10% | 7.99% | 0.45 | -28.24% |
| TD Ameritrade Core Portfolio Aggressive | | 5 | 15.24% | 9.62% | 7.83% | 0.4 | -33.00% |
| Morningstar Moderate Retirement Saver Portfolio | | 5 | 14.76% | 9.67% | 8.49% | 0.46 | -29.87% |
| Vanguard Target Retirement 2040 (45 year old) | | 4 | 15.17% | 9.54% | 7.76% | 0.39 | -33.14% |
| Merrill Lynch Edge Select Portfolio, Moderately Aggressive | | 12 | 14.65% | 9.84% | 8.78% | 0.49 | -30.53% |
| David Booth (DFA) Aggressive Portfolio | | 15 | 12.58% | 9.66% | 8.95% | 0.49 | -30.49% |
| Rick Ferri's Core 4 fund Portfolio (80/20) | | 4 | 16.03% | 9.64% | 8.20% | 0.45 | -30.32% |
| Vanguard LifeStrategy Growth Fund (80/20) | | 4 | 14.77% | 9.21% | 7.71% | 0.4 | -30.84% |
| T. Rowe Price ActivePlus Portfolio, Model 80 | | 3 | 15.46% | 9.70% | 8.13% | 0.43 | -30.31% |
| Schwab Target Date Fund 2040 (45 year old) | | 8 | 15.26% | 9.71% | 8.41% | 0.45 | -32.53% |
| Schwab Managed Portfolio, Growth | | 9 | 13.33% | 8.08% | 7.71% | 0.41 | -32.44% |
| Alpha Architect Robust | | 8 | 14.32% | 8.86% | 9.70% | 0.61 | -29.92% |
| Meb Faber GTAA Moderate | | 11 | 14.55% | 6.57% | 8.35% | 0.49 | -32.09% |
| Morningstar Lifetime Allocation Index Aggressive, 2030 | | 18 | 14.25% | 9.58% | 8.64% | 0.46 | -33.69% |
| Morningstar Lifetime Allocation Index Conservative, 2060 | | 18 | 13.86% | 9.37% | 8.60% | 0.45 | -33.85% |
| Morningstar Lifetime Allocation Index Conservative, 2050 | | 18 | 13.88% | 9.27% | 8.57% | 0.46 | -32.36% |
| Burton Malkiel Portfolio, Late Thirties to Early Forties | | 8 | 16.34% | 9.71% | 9.06% | 0.48 | -33.66% |
| Burton Malkiel Portfolio, Mid-Fifties | | 8 | 16.73% | 9.53% | 9.06% | 0.51 | -31.13% |
| Burton Malkiel Portfolio, Late Sixties and Beyond | | 8 | 16.62% | 8.98% | 8.83% | 0.55 | -26.55% |
| Dimensional 2040 Target Date Retirement Income Fund | | 7 | 15.96% | 9.12% | 7.69% | 0.39 | -32.72% |
| Dan Solin SuperSmart Portfolio, Medium-High Risk | | 8 | 11.89% | 9.50% | 9.08% | 0.5 | -30.31% |
| Dan Solin The Smartest ETF Portfolio, Medium-High Risk | | 2 | 13.16% | 7.92% | 6.58% | 0.32 | -32.17% |
| Dan Solin The Smartest Index Portfolio, Medium-High Risk | | 3 | 15.46% | 9.70% | 8.13% | 0.43 | -30.31% |
| TIAA-CREF Lifecycle 2040 | | 4 | 15.97% | 10.21% | 8.65% | 0.45 | -32.62% |
| William Bernstein Taxable Ted 90/10 | | 5 | 16.38% | 10.67% | 8.61% | 0.45 | -33.62% |
| William Bernstein Taxable Ted 80/20 | | 5 | 15.51% | 9.91% | 8.42% | 0.47 | -29.32% |
| William Bernstein Sheltered Sam 80/20 | | 12 | 12.95% | 9.56% | 8.75% | 0.49 | -31.25% |
| William Bernstein Sheltered Sam 70/30 | | 12 | 11.93% | 8.84% | 8.41% | 0.51 | -27.84% |
| William Bernstein Wendy Wonk Portfolio | | 11 | 10.95% | 7.74% | 7.94% | 0.45 | -28.32% |
| Goldman Sachs Target Date 2045 Portfolio | | 12 | 15.30% | 9.88% | 8.46% | 0.44 | -33.25% |
| Rick Ferri Total Economy Core-4 Portfolio Moderate | | 4 | 13.01% | 7.76% | 7.54% | 0.49 | -21.64% |
| Rick Ferri Total Economy Core-4 Portfolio Agressive | | 4 | 14.52% | 9.12% | 7.86% | 0.43 | -30.53% |
| Rick Ferri Global Markets Core-4 Aggressive | | 4 | 15.69% | 9.67% | 8.06% | 0.43 | -29.62% |
| Rick Ferri Inflation Fighter Core-4 Portfolio Moderate | | 4 | 13.93% | 8.02% | 7.20% | 0.43 | -26.80% |
| Rick Ferri Income Seeker Core-4 Portfolio Aggressive | | 4 | 9.53% | 9.57% | 8.22% | 0.46 | -30.29% |
| Rick Ferri Socially Conscious ESG Core-4 Portfolio Aggressive | | 4 | 15.73% | 8.84% | 7.29% | 0.38 | -32.48% |
| 3 Fund Portfolio 80/20 | | 3 | 15.67% | 9.65% | 8.07% | 0.43 | -29.65% |
| FPL Capital Management Portfolio 80 | | 9 | 12.00% | 9.82% | 9.51% | 0.53 | -30.26% |
| Assetbuilder.com Portfolio 10 | | 12 | 10.96% | 8.81% | 8.81% | 0.47 | -28.59% |
| Assetbuilder.com Portfolio 11 | | 12 | 11.39% | 9.81% | 9.50% | 0.47 | -33.43% |
| Alexander Green Gone Fishin' Portfolio | | 10 | 12.22% | 8.67% | 8.23% | 0.43 | -30.72% |
| Robo Advisor WiseBanyan 80% stocks | | 9 | 15.19% | 9.61% | 8.20% | 0.43 | -32.22% |
| Robo Advisor WiseBanyan 70% stocks | | 9 | 14.52% | 9.05% | 8.09% | 0.46 | -28.37% |
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?
