Bogleheads Four Fund Portfolio

Background

The Bogleheads Four-Fund Portfolio is an expansion of the classic Three-Fund Portfolio inspired by the investing philosophy of John C. “Jack” Bogle, founder of Vanguard, and popularized by the Bogleheads community. It applies Bogle’s core principles of simplicity, diversification, and low cost while adding a fourth component—international bonds—to further broaden global exposure. The result is a globally balanced portfolio that captures returns from nearly all major markets while remaining easy to understand and maintain.

Primary Goals

The primary goal of the Four-Fund Portfolio is to achieve comprehensive diversification across global equity and fixed-income markets while maintaining the simplicity and cost efficiency that define Boglehead investing. By including both U.S. and international assets in stocks and bonds, the portfolio spreads risk across regions, sectors, and currencies, reducing dependence on any single economy or market condition. A secondary goal is to provide balanced risk and steady income—ensuring the portfolio performs reliably in both strong and weak economic environments.

The structure is designed to adapt smoothly across major macroeconomic regimes:

• Economic expansion: Domestic and international stocks participate in global growth and rising corporate profits.
• Inflationary periods: Equities and international diversification help preserve purchasing power.
• Recession or deflation: U.S. and international bonds stabilize returns as yields decline and investors seek safety.
• Market volatility: Broad diversification across asset classes reduces drawdowns and promotes investor discipline.

The portfolio’s balance between growth and income aims to provide long-term, inflation-adjusted returns while minimizing the temptation to time markets or chase performance.

Construction

The Four-Fund Portfolio divides assets among four major market categories that together represent the global investable universe:

• U.S. stocks: Core growth engine of the portfolio, offering exposure to American companies of all sizes and sectors.
• International stocks: Diversify equity exposure globally by including developed and emerging markets outside the U.S.
• U.S. bonds: Provide income, stability, and protection during economic slowdowns or equity market declines.
• International bonds: Add fixed-income diversification across global issuers, reducing reliance on U.S. interest rate cycles and broadening currency exposure.

A representative allocation typically includes approximately 40% U.S. stocks, 20% international stocks, 28% U.S. bonds, and 12% international bonds. This structure creates a globally diversified, risk-balanced portfolio that captures the benefits of worldwide investing while staying true to Bogle’s guiding principles: keep costs low, stay diversified, and stay the course.

Performance & Returns

Total Return by Period

Updated: Nov 07, 2025

1 Day	1 Week	28 Days	90 Days	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
0.10%	-0.84%	1.47%	3.51%	8.74%	39.36%	29.61%	73.15%

Total Return by Year

2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
10.93%	16.10%	-15.94%	10.94%	13.38%	19.87%	-4.64%	14.92%	7.52%	-0.29%

10 Year Performance

Total Return	Annualized Return	CAGR	Max Drawdown	Sharpe Ratio	Sortino Ratio	Calmar Ratio	Ulcer Index
73.15%	6.09%	5.66%	-37.32%	0.29	0.35	0.16	0.08

Asset Allocation

Symbol	Description	Weight %
VTI	Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF	40.0
VXUS	Vanguard Total International Stock ETF	20.0
BND	Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF	28.0
BNDX	Vanguard Total International Bond ETF	12.0

Total Return Graph

Comparisons with Other Portfolios