William bernstein portfolios the portfolio giant | Portfolio Einstein

What is William Bernstein’s portfolio?

William Bernstein’s Portfolios can be built with 2-12 ETFs. They are exposed to between 0% and 100% equities. William Bernstein has built low-risk, medium-risk and high-risk portfolios.

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How do you build William Bernstein’s portfolios with ETFs?

Here is how you build William Bernstein portfolios with ETFs.

This is the asset allocation for the No Brainer Lazy Portfolio.

25.00% US Large Cap (VV)
25.00% US Small Cap (VIOO)
25.00% International All-World ex-US (VEU)
25.00% Short Term Treasuries(VGSH)

This is just one of many portfolios made by William Bernstein.

We cover 32 ETF portfolios by William Bernstein below.

What is the historical return of the William Bernstein portfolios?

Portfolio data was last updated on 11th of November 2022, 11:40 ET

Performance for William Bernstein’s portfolios
Name	Year to date	Return in 2021	10 year return	CAGR since 1989 (%)	STDEV	Draw Down	Expense ratio	Yield
William Bernstein No Brainer Portfolio	-15.69	15.8	10.03	8.37	12.48	-27.62%	0.07%	1.85
William Bernstein Cowards Portfolio	-12.55	14.12	8.23	8.23	9.51	-19.94%	0.07%	1.93
William Bernstein Four Pillars High Risk Portfolio	-15.43	14.51	8.44	8.39	11.98	-27.41%	0.11%	2.33
William Bernstein Four Pillars Medium Portfolio	-12.51	14.75	8.74	8.15	9.33	-19.66%	0.06%	1.82
William Bernstein Four Pillars Low Risk Portfolio	-13.43	11.54	7.74	7.5	8.04	-15.91%	0.05%	1.7
William Bernstein Sheltered Sam Portfolio	-11.79	15.01	8.14	8.39	9.48	-21.03%	0.09%	1.78
William Bernstein Taxable Ted 100% Stocks	-20.97	24.61	13.4	9.91	15.82	-37.86%	0.06%	2.07
William Bernstein Taxable Ted 90/10	-20.1	22.13	12.39	9.58	14.3	-33.83%	0.06%	2.02
William Bernstein Taxable Ted 80/20	-19.22	19.64	11.37	9.21	12.78	-29.79%	0.06%	1.98
William Bernstein Taxable Ted 70/30	-18.35	17.15	10.34	8.82	11.29	-25.76%	0.06%	1.94
William Bernstein Taxable Ted 60/40	-17.47	14.67	9.3	8.39	9.82	-21.73%	0.06%	1.9
William Bernstein Taxable Ted 50/50	-16.6	12.18	8.25	7.94	8.4	-17.70%	0.06%	1.86
William Bernstein Taxable Ted 40/60	-15.72	9.7	7.19	7.46	7.04	-13.66%	0.06%	1.82
William Bernstein Taxable Ted 30/70	-14.85	7.21	6.11	6.96	5.8	-9.63%	0.06%	1.78
William Bernstein Taxable Ted 20/80	-13.97	4.72	5.03	6.43	4.76	-5.60%	0.06%	1.74
William Bernstein Taxable Ted 10/90	-13.1	2.24	3.93	5.87	4.1	-1.85%	0.06%	1.69
William Bernstein Taxable Ted 100% Bonds	-12.22	-0.25	2.82	5.29	3.99	-2.30%	0.06%	1.65
William Bernstein Sheltered Sam 100% Stocks	-15.66	23.82	12.3	10.21	15.32	-36.95%	0.11%	2.36
William Bernstein Sheltered Sam 90/10	-14.92	21.62	11.36	9.83	13.97	-33.64%	0.11%	2.25
William Bernstein Sheltered Sam 80/20	-14.17	19.41	10.41	9.43	12.62	-30.34%	0.10%	2.14
William Bernstein Sheltered Sam 70/30	-13.43	17.2	9.45	9.01	11.31	-27.03%	0.09%	2.02
William Bernstein Sheltered Sam 60/40	-12.68	15.0	8.48	8.56	10.02	-23.73%	0.09%	1.91
William Bernstein Sheltered Sam 50/50	-11.94	12.79	7.5	8.09	8.78	-20.42%	0.08%	1.8
William Bernstein Sheltered Sam 40/60	-11.19	10.59	6.51	7.6	7.61	-17.12%	0.08%	1.69
William Bernstein Sheltered Sam 30/70	-10.45	8.38	5.52	7.08	6.54	-13.81%	0.07%	1.58
William Bernstein Sheltered Sam 20/80	-9.7	6.18	4.51	6.55	5.64	-10.51%	0.06%	1.46
William Bernstein Sheltered Sam 10/90	-8.96	3.97	3.49	5.99	5.0	-7.20%	0.06%	1.35
William Bernstein Sheltered Sam 100% Bonds	-8.21	1.77	2.46	5.41	4.72	-3.90%	0.05%	1.24
William Bernstein Young Yvonne Portfolio	-16.19	13.55	8.65	8.77	9.64	-20.11%	0.08%	2.27
William Bernstein Charlie Cringe Portfolio	-13.36	11.88	7.83	7.49	7.99	-15.62%	0.05%	1.69
William Bernstein Wendy Wonk Portfolio	-15.43	14.51	8.44	8.39	11.98	-27.41%	0.11%	2.33
William Bernstein Between Charlie and Wendy Portfolio	-12.44	15.08	8.83	8.14	9.28	-19.38%	0.06%	1.82
The Rip Van Winkle Portfolio William Bernstein Taxable	-17.95	15.1	10.11	8.44	10.5	-23.66%	0.10%	1.78
William Bernstein The Small Investor Coward Portfolio (SICEI)	-20.91	18.12	11.16	8.95	17.75	-41.54%	0.12%	2.54
William Bernstein The Academic Coward Portfolio (ACEI)	-14.96	19.99	10.51	8.92	16.44	-38.39%	0.29%	3.0

Here is what the table is showing you

Year to date: This shows what the portfolio has returned this year starting from the first trading day of the year.

10 Year return: This shows the compounded annualized growth rate over a ten-year period. The current year is excluded from calculations.

CAGR since 1989: This shows the compounded annualized growth rate since 1989. The current year is excluded from calculations.

Expense ratio: This shows the cost of holding the portfolio if you were to construct the portfolio using the proposed ETFs.

Yield: This is the expected dividend yield of the portfolio.

Please note that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns.

How does William Bernstein’s portfolios compare to the best portfolios?

Below you can see the returns of the best portfolios that we have benchmarked.

The 10 Best Performing Portfolios That We Have Benchmarked
Name	Year to date	Return in 2021	10 year return	CAGR since 1989 (%)	Draw Down
Premium Portfolio	-20.97	32.14	13.2	11.81	-35.43%
Premium Portfolio	-18.7	28.78	16.52	11.28	-37.63%
Premium Portfolio	-19.64	25.67	16.29	11.25	-37.00%
Premium Portfolio	-23.99	13.49	11.03	11.21	-44.87%
Premium Portfolio	-12.0	28.17	14.47	11.14	-35.26%
Premium Portfolio	-14.9	24.75	11.85	10.99	-36.46%
Premium Portfolio	-14.79	29.02	13.15	10.99	-40.85%
Premium Portfolio	-20.6	20.7	11.45	10.93	-37.91%
Premium Portfolio	-15.12	24.51	11.87	10.88	-36.35%
Premium Portfolio	-19.38	22.92	14.99	10.85	-32.77%

Who is William Bernstein?

William Bernstein is a former doctor, an investment consultant, and an all-around good guy in the investing world. He has presented a host of portfolios throughout his career.

His book,The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio,is required reading on investing. His investing philosophy is broad diversification, common sense, and a realistic expectation of future returns.

Other books that come highly recommended are Rational Expectations: Asset Allocation for Investing Adults and The Intelligent Asset Allocator: How to Build Your Portfolio to Maximize Returns and Minimize Risk.

William Bernstein is one of the first names you encounter when entering the investing world, especially the personal investing world. But his investing principles apply to institutional investing as well.

His book William Bernstein: The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio,is one of the best books on investing you can read. It is on our concise list of the very best investing book ever written.

William Bernstein is also one of the very few good guys in investing. He has gone above and beyond in helping the everyday investor to get better returns through a robust investing framework.

Get this on Amazon – The audiobook is especially recommended as the narrator is phenomenal.

What is unique about the William Bernstein portfolios?

The one thing that William Bernstein focuses on in his portfolios is diversification through many asset classes. He is a self-proclaimed asset class junkie.

Therefore his portfolios display extensive diversification.

In addition to this, William Bernstein is a 360-degree investor, so he takes into account a lot of factors. For example:

Asset location (to minimize taxes)
Specific asset class to reduce taxes like muni bonds
Your age
Your appetite for risk
Your employer’s fund offerings if you are investing through a 401K.

All this makes Bernstein shine as a useful guide in all of your investment endeavors.

Finally, he is adamant about facing reality and being very aware of what you can expect in the returns of your portfolios.

William Bernstein’s most famous portfolios are the lazy portfolios. The two are the No-brainer portfolio_ and the Cowards’ portfolio. You can read more about those specific portfolios in our posts on Lazy Portfolios and 5 Reasons Why A Lazy Portfolio Is Right For You.

If you are interested in learning way more about William Bernstein and his investing philosophy, pick up one or two of his books. Apart from his book Four Pillars I very much recommend the following two:

Get it on Amazon – The audiobook has GREAT narration.

What is the asset allocation of William Bernstein’ portfolios?

Here is how you build all of William Bernstein’s portfolios.

William Bernstein Four Pillars High Risk Portfolio

William Bernstein’s Cowards Portfolio

10.00% US Large Cap Value (VTV)
15.00% US Large Cap (VV)
10.00% US Small Cap Value (VIOV)
5.00% US Small Cap (VIOO)
5.00% REITs (VNQ)
5.00% Emerging Markets (VWO)
5.00% Pacific Stocks (VPL)
5.00% European Stocks (VGK)
40.00% Short Term Treasuries (VGSH)

William Bernstein’s Four Pillars High-Risk Portfolio

10.00% US Large Cap Value (VTV)
10.00% US Large Cap (VV)
7.50% US Small Cap Value (VIOV)
5.00% US Small Cap (VIOO)
7.50% REITs (VNQ)
7.50% Emerging Markets (VWO)
7.50% Pacific Stocks (VPL)
10.00% European Stocks (VGK)
7.50% International Large Cap Value (EFV)
25.00% Short Term Treasuries (VGSH)
2.50% Precious Metals (GLTR)

William Bernstein’s Four Pillars Low-Risk Portfolio

35.00% US Total Stock Market (VTI)
5.00% REITs (VNQ)
10.00% International All-World ex-US (VEU)
50.00% Short Term Treasuries (VGSH)

William Bernstein’s Four Pillars Medium Portfolio

25.00% US Total Stock Market (VTI)
10.00% US Large Cap Value (VTV)
10.00% US Small Cap Value (VIOV)
5.00% REITs (VNQ)
10.00% International All-World ex-US (VEU)
40.00% Short Term Treasuries (VGSH)

William Bernstein’s No Brainer Portfolio

25.00% US Large Cap (VV)
25.00% US Small Cap (VIOO)
25.00% International All-World ex-US (VEU)
25.00% Short Term Treasuries (VGSH)

The No-Brainer portfolio is part of the group of Lazy Portfolios.

William Bernstein’s Sheltered Sam Portfolio

15.00% US Large Cap Value (VTV)
12.00% US Large Cap (VV)
9.00% US Small Cap Value (VIOV)
3.00% US Small Cap (VIOO)
6.00% REITs (VNQ)
3.00% Emerging Markets (VWO)
3.00% Pacific Stocks (VPL)
3.00% European Stocks (VGK)
4.20% International Large Cap Value (EFV)
24.00% Short Term Treasuries (VGSH)
1.80% Precious Metals (GLTR)
16.00% TIPS (VTIP)

William Bernstein’s Sheltered Sam 100% Stocks

25.00% US Large Cap Value (VTV)
20.00% US Large Cap (VV)
15.00% US Small Cap Value (VIOV)
5.00% US Small Cap (VIOO)
10.00% REITs (VNQ)
5.00% Emerging Markets (VWO)
5.00% Pacific Stocks (VPL)
5.00% European Stocks (VGK)
7.00% International Large Cap Value (EFV)
3.00% Precious Metals (GLTR)

William Bernstein’s Sheltered Sam 90/10

22.50% US Large Cap Value (VTV)
18.00% US Large Cap (VV)
13.50% US Small Cap Value (VIOV)
4.50% US Small Cap (VIOO)
9.00% REITs (VNQ)
4.50% Emerging Markets (VWO)
4.50% Pacific Stocks (VPL)
4.50% European Stocks (VGK)
6.30% International Large Cap Value (EFV)
2.70% Precious Metals (GLTR)
6.00% Short-Term Investment-Grade (VCSH)
4.00% TIPS (VTIP)

William Bernstein’s Sheltered Sam 80/20

20.00% US Large Cap Value (VTV)
16.00% US Large Cap (VV)
12.00% US Small Cap Value (VIOV)
4.00% US Small Cap (VIOO)
8.00% REITs (Real Estate) (VNQ)
4.00% Emerging Markets (VWO)
4.00% Pacific Stocks (VPL)
4.00% European Stocks(VGK)
5.60% International Lg Cap Value (EFV)
2.40% Precious Metals (GLTR)
12.00%Short-Term Investment-Grade (VCSH)
8.00% TIPS (VTIP)

William Bernstein’s Sheltered Sam 70/30

17.50% US Large Cap Value (VTV)
14.00% US Large Cap (VV)
10.50% US Small Cap Value (VIOV)
3.50% US Small Cap (VIOO)
7.00% REITs (Real Estate) (VNQ)
3.50% Emerging Markets(VWO)
3.50% Pacific Stocks (VPL)
3.50% European Stocks(VGK)
4.90% International Large Cap Value (EFV)
2.10% Precious Metals (GLTR)
18.00% Short-Term Investment-Grade (VCSH)
12.00% TIPS (VTIP)

William Bernstein’s Sheltered Sam 60/40

15.00% US Large Cap Value (VTV)
12.00% US Large Cap (VV)
9.00% US Small Cap Value (VIOV)
3.00% US Small Cap (VIOO)
6.00% REITs (Real Estate) (VNQ)
3.00% Emerging Markets (VWO)
3.00% Pacific Stocks (VPL)
3.00% European Stocks (VGK)
4.20% International Large Cap Value (EFV)
1.80% Precious Metals (GLTR)
24.00% Short-Term Investment-Grade (VCSH)
16.00% TIPS (VTIP)

William Bernstein’s Sheltered Sam 50/50

12.50% US Large Cap Value(VTV)
10.00% US Large Cap(VV)
7.50% US Small Cap Value (VIOV)
2.50% US Small Cap (VIOO)
5.00% REITs (Real Estate) (VNQ)
2.50% Emerging Markets (VWO)
2.50% Pacific Stocks (VPL)
2.50% European Stocks (VGK)
3.50% International Large Cap Value (EFV)
1.50% Precious Metals (GLTR)
30.00% Short-Term Investment-Grade (VCSH)
20.00% TIPS(VTIP)

William Bernstein’s Sheltered Sam 40/60

10.00% US Large Cap Value (VTV)
8.00% US Large Cap (VV)
6.00% US Small Cap Value (VIOV)
2.00% US Small Cap (VIOO)
4.00% REITs (Real Estate) (VNQ)
2.00% Emerging Markets(VWO)
2.00% Pacific Stocks(VPL)
2.00% European Stocks (VGK)
2.80% International Large Cap Value (EFV)
1.20% Precious Metals (GLTR)
36.00% Short-Term Investment-Grade (VCSH)
24.00% TIPS (VTIP)

William Bernstein’s Sheltered Sam 30/70

7.50% US Large Cap Value (VTV)
6.00% US Large Cap(VV)
4.50% US Small Cap Value (VIOV)
1.50% US Small Cap (VIOO)
3.00% REITs (Real Estate) (VNQ)
1.50% Emerging Markets(VWO)
1.50% Pacific Stocks(VPL)
1.50% European Stocks (VGK)
2.10% International Large Cap Value (EFV)
0.90% Precious Metals (GLTR)
42.00% Short-Term Investment-Grade (VCSH)
28.00% TIPS(VTIP)

William Bernstein’s Sheltered Sam 20/80

5.00% US Large Cap Value (VTV)
4.00% US Large Cap(VV)
3.00% US Small Cap Value (VIOV)
1.00% US Small Cap (VIOO)
2.00% REITs (Real Estate) (VNQ)
1.00% Emerging Markets(VWO)
1.00% Pacific Stocks(VPL)
1.00% European Stocks (VGK)
1.40% International Large Cap Value (EFV)
0.60% Precious Metals (GLTR)
48.00% Short-Term Investment-Grade (VCSH)
32.00% TIPS(VTIP)

William Bernstein’s Sheltered Sam 10/90

2.50% US Large Cap Value (VTV)
2.00% US Large Cap (VV)
1.50% US Small Cap Value (VIOV)
0.50% US Small Cap (VIOO)
1.00% REITs (Real Estate) (VNQ)
0.50% Emerging Markets (VWO)
0.50% Pacific Stocks (VPL)
0.50% European Stocks (VGK)
0.70% International Large Cap Value (EFV)
0.30% Precious Metals (GLTR)
54.00%Short-Term Investment-Grade(VCSH)
36.00% TIPS (VTIP)

William Bernstein’s Sheltered Sam 100% Bonds

60.00% Short-Term Investment-Grade (VCSH)
40.00% TIPS (VTIP)

William Bernstein’s Young Yvonne Portfolio

15.00% US Large Cap Value(VTV)
12.00% US Large Cap (VV)
9.00% US Small Cap Value (VIOV)
3.00% US Small Cap (VIOO)
6.00% REITs (Real Estate) (VNQ)
3.00% Emerging Markets (VWO)
3.00% Pacific Stocks (VPL)
3.00% European Stocks (VGK)
4.20% International Large Cap Value(EFV)
40.00% Total US Bond Market(BND)
1.80% Precious Metals (GLTR)

William Bernstein’s Charlie Cringe Portfolio

35.00% US Total Stock Market (VTI)
5.00% REITs (Real Estate) (VNQ)
10.00% International Developed Blend (VEA)
50.00% Short Term Treasury (VGSH)

William Bernstein’s Wendy Wonk Portfolio

10.00% US Large Cap Value (VTV)
10.00% US Large Cap (VV)
7.50% US Small Cap Value (VIOV)
5.00% US Small Cap (VIOO)
7.50% REITs (Real Estate) (VNQ)
7.50% Emerging Markets(VWO)
7.50% Pacific Stocks (VPL)
10.00% European Stocks(VGK)
7.50% International Large Cap Value(EFV)
25.00% Short Term Treasury(VGSH)
2.50% Precious Metals (GLTR)

William Bernstein’s Between Charlie and Wendy Portfolio

25.00% US Total Stock Market (VTI)
10.00% US Large Cap Value (VTV)
10.00% US Small Cap Value(VIOV)
5.00 REITs (Real Estate) (VNQ)
10.00% International Developed Blend (VEA)
40.00% Short Term Treasury (VGSH)

William Bernstein’s The Small Investor Coward Portfolio (SICEI)

5.00% US Total Stock Market (VTI)
20.00% US Large cap Blend (VOO)
20.00% Small Cap Blend (VIOO)
8.00% Emerging Markets (VWO)
7.00% International Pacific Stocks (VPL)
15.00% International Europe (VGK)
12.50% International Value (EFV)
12.50% International Small Cap (VSS)

William Bernstein’s The Academic Coward Portfolio (ACEI)

25.00% Large Cap Value (VONV)
25.00% Small Cap Value (VIOV)
25.00% International Value (EFV)
25.00% International Small Cap Value (VSS)

William Bernstein’s The Rip Van Winkle Portfolio Taxable

30.00% US Large Cap Blend (VOO)
15.00% Small Cap Blend (VIOO)
15.00% International Developed Blend (VEA)
20.00% Intermediate Term Tax Exempt Munis (VTEB)
20.00% Long Term Tax Exempt Munis (PZA)

Where can I learn more about William Bernstein?

His website The Efficient Frontier details Williams Bernstein’s many many books and a few other resources

His many books on Amazon. He has written on other topics other than investing. His book A Splendid Exchange is a fantastic inquiry on how trade enabled the modern world.

He has appeared on many financial and investing podcasts, use this search to find them all.

He is one of only three good guys in investing.

Suggestions for your next steps

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You stand to gain thousands more dollars EACH YEAR for the price of a few months of Netflix.

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.

What is the name of William Bernstein’s website?

William Bernstein’s website is the Efficient Frontier.

What is the best book by William Bernstein?

The best book is The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio.

What is William Bernstein’s Coward Portfolio?

Here is the Coward Portfolio.

10.00% US Large Cap Value(VTV)
15.00% US Large Cap (VV)
10.00% US Small Cap Value (VIOV)
5.00% US Small Cap (VIOO)
5.00% REITs (VNQ)
5.00% Emerging Markets (VWO)
5.00% Pacific Stocks (VPL)
5.00% European Stocks (VGK)
40.00% Short Term Treasuries (VGSH)

William Bernstein Portfolios: The Portfolio Giant