Four portfolios. One disciplined framework.

Conservative

Tier 2

8.52% Annualized

-5.86% Peak to Trough

2.41% Trailing 12 Mo

0.11% Weighted Avg

Moderate

Tier 3

9.93% Annualized

-9.42% Peak to Trough

2.15% Trailing 12 Mo

0.09% Weighted Avg

Aggressive

Tier 4

12.64% Annualized

-13.62% Peak to Trough

1.73% Trailing 12 Mo

0.06% Weighted Avg

Returns shown are gross of advisor and platform fees. Net returns will vary based on your specific fee schedule and account type.

View Fee Schedule →

Reading the Numbers

What each metric actually tells you.

Four numbers do most of the work in evaluating a portfolio. Here is how to interpret each one.

Compound Annual Growth Rate

CAGR

The smoothed annual return that, if earned every year, would produce the same ending value as the actual year-by-year results. The cleanest single number for comparing long-term growth.

Maximum Drawdown

Max DD

The worst peak-to-trough loss the portfolio experienced during the backtest period. A measure of downside, not theory. Smaller drawdowns mean less recovery work and easier behavior in bad markets.

Yield

TTM Yield

The trailing twelve-month income generated by dividends and interest, as a percentage of the portfolio's current value. The cash flow component of total return.

Expense Ratio

Weighted ER

The annual cost of the underlying ETFs, weighted by allocation. Subtracted automatically from fund returns. Lower is better and compounds meaningfully over decades.

How They're Built

Strategic, not reactive. Diversified, not diluted.

Every Global Core portfolio is built from the same five-asset-class framework. What changes between tiers is the weighting, not the philosophy. The result is a coherent product family where moving from Conservative to Moderate to Aggressive is a question of how much volatility a client can absorb, not which strategy they happen to land on.

Low-cost ETFs

Weighted expense ratios between 0.06% and 0.16%. Every basis point saved on fees compounds for decades.

True diversification

Across asset classes (equity, income, gold) and geographies (U.S., international developed). Not just a different shade of the same risk.

Built-in defense

Gold, ultra-short income, and dividend quality serve as structural ballast. Drawdown protection is engineered in, not bolted on.

Strategic, not tactical

Allocations are set with intent and held with discipline. We do not chase momentum, predict markets, or shuffle positions on news cycles.

The Five Roles

Each holding plays a deliberate role.

The portfolios are not a collection of funds we like. They are a system where every position answers a specific question about growth, income, or protection.

SCHB / SPLV

U.S. Equity

Primary growth engine. SCHB delivers total-market exposure. SPLV adds a low-volatility screen for clients who need equity returns without equity drama.

SCHF

International Developed Equity

Geographic diversification across 1,400+ holdings in developed markets outside the U.S. Hedges against single-country concentration risk.

SCUS

Ultra-Short Income

Volatility buffer and dry powder. Provides yield while preserving capital. Lets clients rebalance into weakness instead of selling into it.

SCHD

U.S. Dividend Equity

Quality factor exposure. The 100-stock screen for dividend consistency and balance-sheet strength has historically softened drawdowns while keeping pace in growth markets.

IAU

Gold / Hard Asset

Inflation hedge and crisis diversifier. Low correlation with both stocks and bonds means gold often zigs when the rest of the portfolio zags.

The Compounding Engine

Every dividend. Every interest payment. Automatically reinvested.

Dividends from SCHB, SCHD, and SCHF, along with interest from SCUS, are not pulled out as cash. They go straight back to work, buying more shares, generating more income, compounding quietly and relentlessly across decades.

This is not optional behavior. It is the structural choice that turns a 2% yield into a meaningful share of long-term total return. No cash sits idle. The earliest dollars work for the longest time, and that is where compounding does its real damage to the case for keeping money on the sidelines.

$100,000 on Global Core Moderate

14-YR BACKTEST

January 2012 through December 2025, full reinvestment, annual rebalancing.

TOTAL WEALTH CREATED

+$276,381

COMPOUND ANNUAL GROWTH

9.93%

Tier One

Capital Preservation

Global Core Conservative, Low Volatility

Designed for investors prioritizing capital preservation and minimal drawdowns, with reduced equity volatility through a low-volatility screen.

14-YR CAGR 7.61 %

-2.95% MAX DD

HOLDING

ROLE

WEIGHT

SPLV

U.S. Low Volatility

20%

SCHF

International Equity

10%

SCUS

Ultra-Short Income

30%

SCHD

U.S. Dividend Equity

20%

IAU

Gold / Hard Asset

20%

CAGR 7.61%

MAX DD -2.95%

YIELD 2.63%

EXPENSE 0.16%

Why this works. Replacing broad U.S. equity (SCHB) with a low-volatility screen (SPLV) lowers the portfolio's beta without sacrificing equity participation. Combined with the highest cash and gold weightings in the suite, this is the portfolio for retirees, near-retirees, and clients who simply cannot stomach meaningful drawdowns.

Tier two

Capital Preservation with Growth

Global Core Conservative

Designed for investors prioritizing capital preservation with steady growth and limited drawdowns.

14-YR CAGR 8.52 %

-5.86% MAX DD

HOLDING

ROLE

WEIGHT

SCHB

U.S. Equity

20%

SCHF

International Equity

10%

SCUS

Ultra-Short Income

30%

SCHD

U.S. Dividend Equity

20%

IAU

Gold / Hard Asset

20%

CAGR 8.52%

MAX DD -5.86%

YIELD 2.41%

EXPENSE 0.11%

Why this works. Same defensive architecture as the Low Volatility tier (30% income, 20% gold) but with broad U.S. equity exposure swapped in for the low-vol screen. The result is roughly a percentage point of additional CAGR for clients willing to accept a still-modest 5.86% historical drawdown. Suited to retirees with longer horizons or conservative pre-retirees.

Tier Three

Balanced Growth

Global Core Moderate

Designed for investors seeking growth with built-in guardrails to limit drawdowns.

14-YR CAGR 9.93 %

-9.42% MAX DD

HOLDING

ROLE

WEIGHT

SCHB

U.S. Equity

35%

SCHF

International Equity

15%

SCUS

Ultra-Short Income

20%

SCHD

U.S. Dividend Equity

15%

IAU

Gold / Hard Asset

15%

CAGR 9.93%

MAX DD -9.42%

YIELD 2.15%

EXPENSE 0.09%

Why this works. The most popular tier for a reason. Equity exposure rises to roughly 65% to capture real growth, while a meaningful 20% income sleeve and 15% gold position contain volatility. A 9.42% peak-to-trough loss is notably milder than the broad market, which gives clients the staying power to actually realize equity returns.

Tier four

Maximum Growth

Global Core Aggressive

Designed for investors seeking maximum growth while being comfortable with volatility in exchange for higher long-term returns.

14-YR CAGR 12.64 %

-13.62% MAX DD

HOLDING

ROLE

WEIGHT

SCHB

U.S. Equity

55%

SCHF

International Equity

15%

SCHD

U.S. Dividend Equity

20%

IAU

Gold / Hard Asset

10%

CAGR 12.64%

MAX DD -13.62%

YIELD 1.73%

EXPENSE 0.06%

Why this works. The income sleeve is removed and equity exposure rises to 90%, with SCHD providing quality-factor support to soften drawdowns. Gold remains at 10% as a structural diversifier. Outperformed a traditional 80/20 portfolio over the backtest period with materially lower drawdowns than a 100% equity portfolio. Suited to accumulators with long horizons.