Build Roger Gibson Portfolios With ETFs

What is Roger Gibson’s portfolio?

Roger Gibson’s 5 asset class portfolio is exposed to 60% stocks and 20% bonds and 20% commodities. It can be built with 6 ETFs.

What is the historical return of Roger Gibson’s portfolios?

Below you can see the historical return of Roger Gibson’s portfolios.

Portfolio data was last updated on 11th of August 2023, 08:35 ET

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 Roger Gibson’s portfolios compare to the best portfolios?

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

How do you build Roger Gibson’s portfolios with ETFs?

Below you can see you build Roger Gibson’s portfolios with ETFs.

Portfolio data was last updated on 11th of August 2023, 08:35 ET

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.

Gibson Five Asset Classes Portfolio

• 20.00% US Total Stock Market (VTI)
• 20.00% REITs (VNQ)
• 20.00% International All-World ex-US (VEU)
• 14.00% Total US Bond MarketBND)
• 20.00% Commodities (DBC / GSG)
• 6.00% Non-US Bonds (BNDX)

Gibson Four Asset Classes Portfolio

• 25.00% US Large Cap Value (VTV)
• 25.00% REITs (VNQ)
• 25.00% International Developed Blend (VEA)
• 25.00% Commodities (DBC / GSG)

Check the best mutual funds and ETFs here.

Make sure you select the right ETFs!

There are a lot of ETFs! It is pretty boring to sift through hundreds and hundreds of ETFs just to find the right one, but it is worth it!

Finding the right and BEST ETF could earn you a lot more money than number two on the list.

We have done the work for you – all for FREE.

We have carefully selected ETFs for each asset class that the portfolios on portfolioeinstein.com use. If you want to read more about our selection process and see what we consider the best ETFs please visit our article What Is The Best ETF?

If you are a European investor you need to buy European ETFs (they need to be of the UCITS kind!).

We have listed 47 of the best ETFs in our article What Are The Best ETFs For European Investors? (Here Is 47).

As of 2021 we also track socially responsible investing ESG portfolios. Socially responsible investing (ESG) portfolios prioritize investing that puts an emphasis on environmental, social, and corporate governance issues.

You can find the socially responsible investing ESG ETFs in the same article.

Who is Roger Gibson?

Roger Gibson published his seminal book in 1989, Asset Allocation: Balancing Financial Risk, Fifth Edition: Balancing Financial RiskThe book bridges the gap between modern portfolio theory and practical investing.

The book lays out the argument for diversification in understandable, simple terms so anyone can understand it.

“In the early 1960s the term_asset allocation_did not exist.”

– Roger Gibson,Asset Allocation: Balancing Financial Risk

Asset Allocation: Balancing Financial Risk is one of those books that I keep returning to. It is one of the few books that I simply enjoy browsing through. Sure, that may be because I’m a nerd (which I make no excuses for), but it is more likely because the book is just simply fantastic. I always seem to find new nuggets of wisdom in it.

“It is easy for clients to be distracted by investment schemes that promise high returns with little or no risk.”

– Roger Gibson,Asset Allocation: Balancing Financial Risk

The book gives you a foundation for what investing is all about. It gives you a foundation on how to approach investing and what the investing playing field consists of.

In other words, the book hands you the rulebook to investing. Knowing the rules in any filed is pretty essential, and I am reminded by my Latin teacher that liked to warn me about knowing the Latin grammar rules:

“If you don’t know the rules, you can’t play the game”

– My Latin teacher

Asset Allocation: Balancing Financial Risk, Fifth Edition: Balancing Financial Risk is a great field guide to investing.

Combined with Rick Ferri – The Power of Passive Investing: More Wealth with Less Work and All About Asset Allocation, andyou will be an investing powerhouse with more knowledge than 99.9% of all others, including investing professionals (made-up number).

“I still think Gibson’s Asset Allocation is required reading. He does the best job of explaining how diversification with multiple asset class investing brings a portfolio’s annualized return closer to the average return of its components. He makes the strong argument with only 4 or 5 pretty vanilla asset classes. But the logic is critical.”

Roger Gibson has influenced some of the other giants in practical investing, including Rick Ferri, William Bernstein, and Larry Swedroe.

Let’s take a look at the sample portfolios Roger Gibson presents in his excellent book.

Description of Roger Gibson’s portfolios

Roger Gibson presents two portfolios in his book Asset Allocation: Balancing Financial Risk, Fifth Edition: Balancing Financial Risk.

One portfolio with four asset classes and another with five asset classes.

The portfolios come with very vanilla asset classes:

• Stocks
• Foreign stocks
• Real estate
• Commodities
• Bonds

“Successful investing will always be as much of a psychological process as it is a money management endeavor.”

– Roger Gibson

Now, looking at the returns, they are not as spectacular as other portfolios on portfolioeinstein.com. The substantial inclusion of commodities is the cause. Commodities have historically lagged other asset classes.

This is due to their nature. Their price is based on supply and demand and therefore enter speculative territory on par with fx gold and precious metals. Commodities are a non-income producing asset class. That is, they do not generate any income – on the contrary, we spend money to preserve and store commodities. Finally, historically commodities have fallen in price over time, not risen, making them a negative-sum investment over time.

This is because we humans are so ingenious and always getting better at pulling raw materials out of the ground, breeding farm animals, etc. See the [Simon-Ehrlich wager](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon% E2%80%93Ehrlich_wager) for more information. This argument should also stop you from ~making investments in~ buying gold (unless you are preparing for a zombie apocalypse, but then again, the gold will weigh you down, and then what are you going to do?)

“But the Long-Term trend for metals at least is downwards”

– Economist Tim Worstall

Where can I learn more about Roger Gibson’s portfolios?

Roger Gibson’s book is required reading for anyone wanting to understand how diversification works.

Roger Gibson established his wealth management firm Gibson Capital. They are incredibly fiduciary oriented, and the firm has high ethical standards with plenty of room for having a relaxed attitude towards asset management.

Suggestions for your next steps

If you have already committed to a portfolio then maybe you need help maintaining the portfolio. In this case 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.