Data Source: from June 1991 to June 2022
Consolidated Returns as of 30 June 2022
Live Update: Jul 05 2022, 02:00PM Eastern Time
PORTFOLIO • LIVE PERFORMANCE (USD currency)
1.06%
1 Day
Jul 05 2022, 02:00PM Eastern Time
0.06%
Current Month
July 2022

The David Swensen Lazy Portfolio is a High Risk portfolio and can be implemented with 6 ETFs.

It's exposed for 70% on the Stock Market.

In the last 30 Years, the David Swensen Lazy Portfolio obtained a 8.28% compound annual return, with a 10.43% standard deviation.

Asset Allocation and ETFs

The David Swensen Lazy Portfolio has the following asset allocation:

70% Stocks
30% Fixed Income
0% Commodities

The David Swensen Lazy Portfolio can be implemented with the following ETFs:

Weight Ticker ETF Name Investment Themes
30.00 % VTI Vanguard Total Stock Market Equity, U.S., Large Cap
20.00 % VNQ Vanguard Real Estate Real Estate, U.S.
15.00 % VEU Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Equity, Global ex-US, Large Cap
5.00 % EEM iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Equity, Emerging Markets, Large Cap
15.00 % IEI iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond Bond, U.S., Intermediate-Term
15.00 % TIP iShares TIPS Bond Bond, U.S., All-Term
Most of Lazy Portfolios are made of common components (asset classes), very simple and well defined. For a more complete view, find out the most common ETFs you can use to build your portfolio.

Portfolio and ETF Returns

The David Swensen Lazy Portfolio guaranteed the following returns.

According to the available data source, let's assume we built the portfolio on June 1991.

Portfolio returns are calculated in USD, assuming: July 2022 return is calculated on the hypothesis of a newly built portfolio, with the starting asset allocation.
DAVID SWENSEN LAZY PORTFOLIO RETURNS
Consolidated returns as of 30 June 2022
Live Update: Jul 05 2022, 02:00PM Eastern Time
Swipe left to see all data
  Chg (%) Return (%)
Return (%) as of Jun 30, 2022
  1 Day Time ET(*) Jul 2022 1M 6M 1Y 5Y(*) 10Y(*) 30Y(*)
David Swensen Lazy Portfolio -1.06 -0.06 -5.85 -16.36 -11.31 5.80 6.89 8.28
US Inflation Adjusted return -5.85 -19.62 -17.56 2.12 4.32 5.67
Components
VTI
Vanguard Total Stock Market 		-0.84 01:59PM
Jul 05 2022 		0.21 -8.23 -21.32 -14.17 10.53 12.52 9.81
VNQ
Vanguard Real Estate 		-1.65 01:59PM
Jul 05 2022 		0.12 -7.46 -20.54 -8.02 5.69 7.49 9.57
VEU
Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US 		-2.68 01:59PM
Jul 05 2022 		-2.70 -7.68 -17.38 -18.51 2.89 5.19 5.29
EEM
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets 		-1.73 02:00PM
Jul 05 2022 		-2.34 -5.14 -17.20 -25.55 1.56 2.33 6.09
IEI
iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond 		0.19 02:00PM
Jul 05 2022 		1.02 -0.73 -6.91 -7.85 0.73 0.98 4.68
TIP
iShares TIPS Bond 		-0.12 01:59PM
Jul 05 2022 		1.49 -3.11 -9.04 -5.27 3.04 1.57 5.80
(*) Returns over 1 year are annualized
(*) Eastern Time (ET - America/New York)

US Inflation is updated to May 2022. Waiting for updates, inflation of Jun 2022 is set to 0%. Current inflation (annualized) is 1Y: 7.57% , 5Y: 3.61% , 10Y: 2.46% , 30Y: 2.47%

Live update: World Markets and Indexes

Portfolio Dividends

In 2021, the David Swensen Lazy Portfolio granted a 2.51% dividend yield. If you are interested in getting periodic income, please refer to the David Swensen Lazy Portfolio: Dividend Yield page.

Readings that may interest you
Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know
Crush It With ETFs: How to Invest With Exchange-Traded Funds

Historical Returns as of Jun 30, 2022

Historical returns and stats of David Swensen Lazy Portfolio. Total Returns and Inflation Adjusted Returns are both mentioned.

DAVID SWENSEN LAZY PORTFOLIO
Consolidated returns as of 30 June 2022
Data Source: from June 1991 to June 2022
Swipe left to see all data
Period Return (%)
as of Jun 2022		 Return (%)
Infl.Adj.		 Standard
Deviation (%)		 Max
Drawdown (%)		 Months
Pos - Neg
1M
Jun 2022
-5.85
-5.85
-5.85
Jun 2022 - Jun 2022
0 - 1
3M
-11.67
-12.82
-11.67
Apr 2022 - Jun 2022
0 - 3
6M
-16.36
-19.62
-16.36
Jan 2022 - Jun 2022
1 - 5
YTD
-16.36
-19.62
-16.36
Jan 2022 - Jun 2022
1 - 5
1Y
-11.31
-17.56
11.49
-16.36
Jan 2022 - Jun 2022
5 - 7
42% pos
3Y(*)
5.02
0.49
12.49
-16.36
Jan 2022 - Jun 2022
25 - 11
69% pos
5Y(*)
5.80
2.12
11.17
-16.36
Jan 2022 - Jun 2022
44 - 16
73% pos
10Y(*)
6.89
4.32
9.34
-16.36
Jan 2022 - Jun 2022
83 - 37
69% pos
15Y(*)
5.79
3.41
12.17
-40.89
Nov 2007 - Feb 2009
118 - 62
66% pos
20Y(*)
7.66
5.08
11.27
-40.89
Nov 2007 - Feb 2009
164 - 76
68% pos
25Y(*)
7.25
4.71
10.99
-40.89
Nov 2007 - Feb 2009
199 - 101
66% pos
30Y(*)
8.28
5.67
10.43
-40.89
Nov 2007 - Feb 2009
247 - 113
69% pos
MAX(*)
01 Jun 1991
8.31
5.67
10.43
-40.89
Nov 2007 - Feb 2009
254 - 119
68% pos
(*) Returns over 1 year are annualized

Returns and stats are calculated assuming a yearly rebalancing of the components weight. How do returns change with different rebalancing strategies?

Capital Growth as of Jun 30, 2022

An investment of 1000$, since July 1992, now would be worth 10870.37$, with a total return of 987.04% (8.28% annualized).

The Inflation Adjusted Capital now would be 5224.96$, with a net total return of 422.50% (5.67% annualized).
An investment of 1000$, since June 1991, now would be worth 11945.54$, with a total return of 1094.55% (8.31% annualized).

The Inflation Adjusted Capital now would be 5557.32$, with a net total return of 455.73% (5.67% annualized).

Drawdowns

Swipe left to see all data
Drawdown period
Recovery period
Total
Drawdown Start Bottom #Months End #Months #Months
-40.89% Nov 2007 Feb 2009 16 Dec 2010 22 38
-16.36% Jan 2022 Jun 2022 6 in progress 6
-14.66% Feb 2020 Mar 2020 2 Aug 2020 5 7
-12.40% May 2011 Sep 2011 5 Feb 2012 5 10
-11.28% Apr 1998 Aug 1998 5 Dec 1998 4 9
-10.67% Sep 2000 Sep 2002 25 May 2003 8 33
-8.21% Feb 1994 Nov 1994 10 May 1995 6 16
-8.18% Sep 2018 Dec 2018 4 Mar 2019 3 7
-6.84% Mar 2015 Sep 2015 7 Jun 2016 9 16
-5.90% Apr 2004 Apr 2004 1 Sep 2004 5 6
-4.74% May 2012 May 2012 1 Aug 2012 3 4
-4.57% May 2013 Aug 2013 4 Oct 2013 2 6
-4.14% Jun 2007 Jul 2007 2 Sep 2007 2 4
-3.96% Feb 2018 Feb 2018 1 Aug 2018 6 7
-3.79% Aug 1997 Aug 1997 1 Sep 1997 1 2
-3.68% Nov 1993 Nov 1993 1 Jan 1994 2 3
-3.57% Sep 2021 Sep 2021 1 Oct 2021 1 2
-3.50% Sep 2014 Sep 2014 1 Nov 2014 2 3
-3.44% Sep 2020 Oct 2020 2 Nov 2020 1 3
-3.28% Oct 1997 Oct 1997 1 Jan 1998 3 4
Swipe left to see all data
Drawdown period
Recovery period
Total
Drawdown Start Bottom #Months End #Months #Months
-40.89% Nov 2007 Feb 2009 16 Dec 2010 22 38
-16.36% Jan 2022 Jun 2022 6 in progress 6
-14.66% Feb 2020 Mar 2020 2 Aug 2020 5 7
-12.40% May 2011 Sep 2011 5 Feb 2012 5 10
-11.28% Apr 1998 Aug 1998 5 Dec 1998 4 9
-10.67% Sep 2000 Sep 2002 25 May 2003 8 33
-8.21% Feb 1994 Nov 1994 10 May 1995 6 16
-8.18% Sep 2018 Dec 2018 4 Mar 2019 3 7
-6.84% Mar 2015 Sep 2015 7 Jun 2016 9 16
-5.90% Apr 2004 Apr 2004 1 Sep 2004 5 6
-4.74% May 2012 May 2012 1 Aug 2012 3 4
-4.57% May 2013 Aug 2013 4 Oct 2013 2 6
-4.14% Jun 2007 Jul 2007 2 Sep 2007 2 4
-3.96% Feb 2018 Feb 2018 1 Aug 2018 6 7
-3.79% Aug 1997 Aug 1997 1 Sep 1997 1 2
-3.68% Nov 1993 Nov 1993 1 Jan 1994 2 3
-3.57% Sep 2021 Sep 2021 1 Oct 2021 1 2
-3.50% Sep 2014 Sep 2014 1 Nov 2014 2 3
-3.44% Sep 2020 Oct 2020 2 Nov 2020 1 3
-3.34% Jun 1991 Jun 1991 1 Aug 1991 2 3

Rolling Returns ( more details)

David Swensen Lazy Portfolio: annualized rolling and average returns

Swipe left to see all data
Rolling
Period		 Return (*) Negative
Periods
Average (%) Best (%) Worst (%)
1 Year
 9.41 48.80
Mar 2009 - Feb 2010 		-35.77
Mar 2008 - Feb 2009 		16.85%
2 Years
 8.97 34.03
Mar 2009 - Feb 2011 		-19.80
Mar 2007 - Feb 2009 		9.43%
3 Years
 8.64 23.62
Mar 2009 - Feb 2012 		-9.56
Mar 2006 - Feb 2009 		7.69%
5 Years
 8.52 17.95
Mar 2009 - Feb 2014 		-1.29
Mar 2004 - Feb 2009 		0.64%
7 Years
 8.31 13.33
Jul 1991 - Jun 1998 		2.61
Mar 2002 - Feb 2009 		0.00%
10 Years
 8.18 11.76
Mar 2009 - Feb 2019 		3.38
Mar 1999 - Feb 2009 		0.00%
15 Years
 8.10 11.07
Nov 1992 - Oct 2007 		5.58
Mar 1994 - Feb 2009 		0.00%
20 Years
 8.17 9.49
Jul 1991 - Jun 2011 		6.35
Apr 2000 - Mar 2020 		0.00%
(*) Annualized rolling and average returns over full calendar month periods

If you need a deeper detail about rolling returns, please refer to the David Swensen Lazy Portfolio: Rolling Returns page.

Seasonality

David Swensen Lazy Portfolio: in which months is it better to invest?

Both the Average Return and the Gain Frequency (Win %) are useful to get an idea of what happened in the past.

For further information about the seasonality, check the Asset Class Seasonality page.
Swipe left to see all data
Monthly Average Return (%) and Gain Frequency
Return (%) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Average
Win %		 0.40
61% 		0.02
61% 		0.85
74% 		1.55
84% 		0.53
65% 		0.13
63% 		1.22
71% 		0.24
68% 		0.24
61% 		0.56
65% 		0.86
61% 		1.97
84%
Best
Year		 6.9
2019 		3.5
2014 		6.7
2009 		10.3
2009 		5.5
2009 		3.9
2019 		6.7
2009 		4.4
2009 		5.8
2010 		8.6
2011 		7.8
2020 		8.3
1991
Worst
Year		 -8.5
2009 		-9.0
2009 		-10.6
2020 		-5.9
2004 		-5.3
2010 		-5.9
2008 		-4.6
2002 		-9.1
1998 		-7.0
2011 		-16.8
2008 		-6.5
2008 		-5.0
2018
Statistics calculated for the period Jun 1991 - Jun 2022

Monthly/Yearly Returns

David Swensen Lazy Portfolio monthly and yearly returns: how is the distribution of the returns recorded so far?

MONTHLY RETURNS HISTOGRAM
254 Positive Months (68%) - 119 Negative Months (32%)
Jun 1991 - Jun 2022
Swipe left to see all data
Yearly Return(%)
Monthly Return(%)
Year Total Infl.Adj Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2022
 -16.36 -19.62 -4.4 -2.0 1.1 -5.4 -0.8 -5.8
2021
 +17.34 +9.56 0.1 1.6 2.2 3.9 1.1 1.4 1.5 1.6 -3.6 4.2 -1.6 4.0
2020
 +10.56 +9.16 0.0 -4.5 -10.6 7.1 2.8 2.2 3.8 3.1 -1.9 -1.5 7.8 3.4
2019
 +21.27 +18.59 6.9 1.3 2.0 1.7 -2.7 3.9 0.4 0.2 1.2 1.6 1.0 2.1
2018
 -5.67 -7.44 1.7 -4.0 0.3 0.1 1.2 0.6 1.6 1.3 -0.7 -4.8 2.2 -5.0
2017
 +13.94 +11.56 1.6 2.2 0.2 1.0 0.9 0.7 1.8 0.5 0.8 1.0 1.5 1.0
2016
 +7.74 +5.57 -2.9 -0.2 6.3 0.0 0.5 2.2 3.1 -0.8 0.2 -2.3 -0.2 1.8
2015
 -0.95 -1.58 1.3 1.6 -0.2 0.1 -0.2 -2.2 1.4 -4.8 -0.9 4.7 -0.3 -1.0
2014
 +9.97 +9.26 -0.9 3.5 0.3 1.2 2.0 1.4 -0.8 2.4 -3.5 3.3 1.2 -0.5
2013
 +10.89 +9.24 2.6 0.4 1.9 2.7 -2.0 -2.3 3.0 -3.2 3.8 3.1 -0.2 0.8
2012
 +13.49 +11.52 4.8 2.0 1.4 0.4 -4.7 3.4 1.1 1.2 1.2 -0.6 0.7 2.1
2011
 +2.21 -0.83 1.3 2.5 0.2 3.6 -0.4 -1.4 0.1 -4.3 -7.0 8.6 -1.2 0.9
2010
 +15.37 +13.73 -2.9 2.2 5.2 2.4 -5.3 -2.6 6.1 -1.8 5.8 3.3 -1.4 4.1
2009
 +24.86 +21.44 -8.5 -9.0 6.7 10.3 5.5 -1.0 6.7 4.4 4.5 -2.3 5.0 2.2
2008
 -25.53 -25.51 -2.6 -0.8 0.9 3.4 0.7 -5.9 -0.3 0.2 -5.4 -16.8 -6.5 6.0
2007
 +5.59 +1.42 2.5 -0.6 0.6 2.1 1.4 -2.1 -2.1 2.0 3.8 2.9 -3.2 -1.5
2006
 +17.84 +14.93 4.2 0.1 1.8 0.6 -2.8 1.1 1.5 2.4 1.2 3.4 3.0 0.3
2005
 +8.97 +5.45 -2.7 2.2 -1.8 0.6 2.3 1.7 3.1 -0.1 1.5 -2.5 3.0 1.4
2004
 +16.10 +12.34 2.3 1.8 1.3 -5.9 2.2 1.6 -1.4 2.6 1.2 2.6 3.6 3.4
2003
 +26.85 +24.32 -1.9 0.2 0.0 5.1 5.2 1.5 1.4 1.9 1.7 3.6 1.8 3.8
2002
 -3.41 -5.75 -0.7 0.6 3.0 -0.3 0.4 -1.9 -4.6 1.3 -4.4 1.1 3.2 -0.7
2001
 -1.71 -3.26 2.5 -4.4 -3.1 4.2 0.5 0.2 -0.9 -1.0 -4.9 1.3 3.3 1.2
2000
 +3.13 -0.30 -2.3 1.5 3.6 -1.5 -1.4 3.4 0.8 1.9 -1.5 -2.0 -2.6 3.6
1999
 +12.70 +9.77 0.6 -2.6 2.5 5.0 -1.6 2.1 -1.6 -0.5 -1.1 2.4 1.9 5.2
1998
 +8.13 +6.42 0.4 3.4 2.8 -0.1 -1.6 1.0 -1.7 -9.1 4.1 3.9 3.4 2.3
1997
 +15.35 +13.42 1.5 0.3 -2.0 1.3 4.3 3.8 4.4 -3.8 5.3 -3.3 1.5 1.6
1996
 +15.04 +11.28 1.7 -0.2 0.4 1.2 1.0 0.6 -2.4 1.6 3.2 1.6 4.4 1.2
1995
 +20.31 +17.34 -0.3 1.6 1.8 1.9 3.4 1.3 2.3 0.4 2.1 -1.0 2.5 2.8
1994
 -2.86 -5.32 3.8 -2.3 -4.6 0.7 0.2 -1.2 1.9 2.4 -2.5 0.2 -3.1 2.0
1993
 +20.71 +17.41 3.1 2.7 4.6 0.2 0.8 1.7 1.6 3.6 0.5 1.1 -3.7 2.9
1992
 +5.36 +2.33 -0.1 -0.7 -2.5 0.5 3.6 -1.8 3.0 0.3 0.7 -0.9 1.8 1.5
1991
 - - -3.3 2.9 1.7 2.0 1.5 -2.1 8.3

Portofolio Returns, up to December 2007, are simulated. They have been calculated using the historical series of equivalent ETFs / Assets, instead of the actual ETFs of the portfolio.

In particular, it has been used:

  • VTI - Vanguard Total Stock Market: simulated historical serie, up to December 2001
  • VNQ - Vanguard Real Estate: simulated historical serie, up to December 2004
  • VEU - Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US: simulated historical serie, up to December 2007
  • EEM - iShares MSCI Emerging Markets: simulated historical serie, up to December 2003
  • IEI - iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond: simulated historical serie, up to December 2007
  • TIP - iShares TIPS Bond: simulated historical serie, up to December 2003

Portfolio efficiency

Is the David Swensen Lazy Portfolio actually efficient, compared to other Lazy Portfolios?

Overall Ratings

The David Swensen Lazy Portfolio is classified as High Risk.

Very High Risk
Bond weight:
Less than 25%
High Risk
Bond weight:
25% - 49.99%
Medium Risk
Bond weight:
50% - 74.99%
Low Risk
Bond weight:
At least 75%
High Risk
Portfolios		 All
Portfolios
25 Years Ann. Return
(Inflation Adjusted)		 +7.25%
(+4.71%)
Bad : 1.8 / 5
Average : 3 / 5
Standard Deviation
over 25 Years		 10.99%
Bad : 2 / 5
Good : 3.1 / 5
Maximum Drawdown
over 25 Years		 -40.89%
Poor : 1 / 5
Average : 2.4 / 5
Easy to manage 6 ETFs
Average : 2.5 / 5
Average : 2.5 / 5
Rating assigned considering all the High Risk Portfolios Rating assigned considering all the Portfolios in the database

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30 Years Stats (%)
% Allocation
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Simple Path to Wealth
JL Collins 		+0.42 +8.84 -38.53 75 25 0
Yale Endowment
David Swensen 		+0.17 +8.66 -39.48 70 30 0
Late Sixties and Beyond
Burton Malkiel 		-0.38 +8.59 -41.80 71 29 0
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Lazy Portfolio
David Swensen 		-0.06 +8.28 -40.89 70 30 0

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Jul 2022 return refers to period 01-05 July 2022.
Last update: Jul 05 2022, 02:00PM Eastern Time.
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