The funds and their fees
The 14 funds the six portfolios hold, a cheaper alternative for each, and the funds the other pages reject, each with its fee and its fee after income from lending its shares.
The second fee column subtracts income from lending the fund's shares to other investors. It leaves out the fund's trading costs, your broker's charges and personal taxes. IEMG charges 0.09% a year and VWO 0.06%; both invest broadly in emerging markets. In the filings used here, IEMG's lending income covered its fee and added $0.87 per $10,000. That makes its fee after lending lower, but does not guarantee a better return. SPY's fee after lending is 0.0945% a year. A dash means lending income has not been read. A fee of 0.10% is $10 a year per $10,000.
Each fund carries a verdict. Held: one of the six portfolios holds it, and the line says which. Fine alternative: the same holding as a held fund at an equal or lower fee; buy it if your broker offers it more cheaply. Rejected: the current comparison argues against adding it; the line says why, and the strategies pages explain the scope. A different use or better evidence can change that decision. Unresolved: it has been researched, but the evidence does not settle its place in a portfolio. Not assessed: no research verdict is recorded. The full-lean portfolio's fund comparison shows what replacing VTV with AVUV or adding SPMO changed in the available fund history.
Every held fund was checked against its rivals in September 2026: the same job, from other issuers, at whatever fee and screen they use. None lost its place. AVLV is the cheapest large value fund with a profit test; AVUV and AVDV are the cheapest small value funds with one, and the largest; SPMO and IDMO are the cheapest momentum funds and beat their iShares rivals on their own records; DFIV and AVIV do the same job abroad and either is fine. What would move a fund off this list is a rival doing the same thing for less, or a fund changing what it does. The momentum index rules change in September 2026, which is a reason to re-read SPMO and IDMO's holdings next year.
The gap between buying and selling prices also matters: CTAP's is 0.33% of its price against RSST's 0.09%, which over a one-year hold outweighs the difference in their fees. And some fees have an end date: CTAP charges less than the fee shown until December 4, 2026, and about 0.99% all in after it. Everything here was read from the funds' own filings on or before September 2, 2026. Fund facts go stale, so a year from now read them again rather than quoting this page.
| Fund | Fee a year | Fee after lending | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The whole world in one fund | ||||
| VT Vanguard Total World Stock ETF | 0.06% | — | Held | Portfolios 1 and 2. Every listed company in the world |
| US stocks | ||||
| VTI Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF | 0.03% | 0.0116% | Held | Portfolios 3, 4 and 5. The whole US market |
| VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | 0.03% | 0.0294% | Fine alternative | The 500 largest US companies, in place of the whole market |
| ITOT iShares Core S&P Total US Stock Market ETF | 0.03% | 0.0104% | Fine alternative | The whole US market; lowest fee after lending among these four |
| SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | 0.0945% | 0.0945% | Not assessed | Cannot lend its shares, so the dearest S&P 500 fund |
| AVLV Avantis U.S. Large Cap Value ETF | 0.15% | 0.1494% | Held | Portfolios 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Big US companies that are cheap for their profits |
| DFLV Dimensional US Large Cap Value ETF | 0.21% | — | Unresolved | The same idea from Dimensional, at 0.21%; a fine swap for AVLV |
| DFUV Dimensional US Marketwide Value ETF | 0.21% | — | Unresolved | Dimensional's cheap-and-profitable US fund across all company sizes |
| VTV Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF | 0.03% | 0.027% | Rejected | Big cheap US companies with no profit test; it lagged the market by almost 3% a year over ten years |
| AVUV Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF | 0.25% | 0.2454% | Held | Portfolios 3, 4 and 6. Small US companies that are cheap for their profits |
| RPV Invesco S&P 500 Pure Value ETF | 0.35% | 0.3387% | Rejected | Buys cheapness by selling profitability |
| QVAL Alpha Architect U.S. Quantitative Value ETF | 0.28% | — | Rejected | Sells and replaces 332% of its holdings a year |
| SPMO Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.13% | 0.1293% | Held | Portfolios 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. The hundred large US companies whose shares have been rising; cheaper and less traded than MTUM |
| MTUM iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF | 0.15% | — | Rejected | The other US rising-share fund; SPMO beat it on the funds' own records |
| QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF | 0.15% | — | Rejected | Profitable companies at any price; matched the market over ten years, so not a source of extra return |
| Foreign stocks | ||||
| VXUS Vanguard Total International Stock ETF | 0.05% | 0.0143% | Held | Portfolios 3, 4 and 5. Developed and emerging markets in one fund |
| VEA Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF | 0.03% | −0.003% | Fine alternative | Developed markets only; with VWO it replaces VXUS |
| SPDW SPDR Portfolio Developed World ex-US ETF | 0.03% | −0.0163% | Fine alternative | Developed markets only; lowest fee after lending on this page |
| VWO Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF | 0.06% | 0.0167% | Fine alternative | Emerging markets by size |
| IEMG iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | 0.09% | −0.0087% | Fine alternative | Emerging markets; lending covers its whole fee |
| DFIV Dimensional International Value ETF | 0.27% | — | Held | Portfolios 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Big foreign companies that are cheap for their profits |
| AVIV Avantis International Large Cap Value ETF | 0.25% | — | Unresolved | The same idea from Avantis, at 0.25%; a fine swap for DFIV |
| AVDV Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF | 0.36% | 0.3003% | Held | Portfolios 3, 4, 5 and 6. Small, cheap, profitable foreign companies |
| IDMO Invesco S&P International Developed Momentum ETF | 0.25% | 0.2259% | Held | Portfolios 3, 4 and 6. Foreign shares that have been rising; more than half Japan in 2026 |
| IMTM iShares MSCI Intl Momentum Factor ETF | 0.30% | — | Rejected | The dearer of the two foreign rising-share funds; matched a plain index fund over ten years |
| AVES Avantis Emerging Markets Value ETF | 0.36% | 0.2921% | Held | Portfolios 3, 4 and 6. Cheap emerging-market companies |
| Bonds and cash | ||||
| SCHP Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF | 0.03% | 0.0299% | Held | Portfolios 4 and 5. Inflation-protected US government bonds |
| TIP iShares TIPS Bond ETF | 0.18% | 0.1792% | Rejected | The same bonds as SCHP at six times the cost |
| VTIP Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF | 0.03% | 0.03% | Fine alternative | Short inflation-protected bonds, with almost no interest-rate swing |
| STIP iShares 0-5 Year TIPS Bond ETF | 0.03% | 0.0294% | Fine alternative | Short inflation-protected bonds, with almost no interest-rate swing |
| SGOV iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF | 0.09% | — | Fine alternative | Cash as a fund |
| BOXX Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF | 0.1949% | — | Fine alternative | A cash-like return paid as a rise in price, so tax falls when you sell |
| VGLT Vanguard Long-Term Treasury ETF | 0.03% | 0.03% | Held | Portfolio 5. Long US government bonds; five points of the cautious portfolio, for a crash where rates fall |
| TLT iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF | 0.15% | 0.15% | Not assessed | The same long bonds at five times VGLT's fee |
| LQD iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | 0.14% | 0.1206% | Not assessed | Government bonds plus a slice of stock risk |
| Trend-following and stacked funds | ||||
| RSST Return Stacked U.S. Stocks & Managed Futures ETF | 0.99% | — | Held | Portfolios 4, 5 and 6. A dollar of US stocks plus a dollar of trend following |
| CTAP Simplify US Equity PLUS Managed Futures Strategy ETF | 0.28% | — | Unresolved | First in the replacement queue for RSST; a 0.33% gap between buy and sell prices |
| RSSB Return Stacked Global Stocks & Bonds ETF | 0.39% | — | Not assessed | Stocks plus borrowed government bonds; tested as an idea, not added |
| NTSX WisdomTree U.S. Efficient Core Fund | 0.20% | — | Not assessed | 90% stocks plus 60% government bonds per dollar; the cheapest stacked fund with a record |
| GDE WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund | 0.20% | — | Not assessed | Stocks plus borrowed gold; pays out 1.53% a year taxed like wages |
| RSSY Return Stacked U.S. Stocks & Futures Yield ETF | 0.99% | — | Not assessed | Stocks plus carry; two years old, look again in mid-2027 |
| DBMF iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | 0.85% | — | Unresolved | Trend following on its own, measured against a model |
| CTA Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF | 0.75% | — | Unresolved | Trend following on its own; bought by selling stocks it gives up the stock return |
| KMLM KFA Mount Lucas Managed Futures Index Strategy ETF | 0.90% | — | Rejected | Trend following on its own; bought by selling stocks it gives up the stock return |
| Gold, bitcoin, commodities and the rest | ||||
| GLDM SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust | 0.10% | 0.10% | Held | Portfolios 4 and 5. Gold in a vault; the one held, at 0.10% |
| IAUM iShares Gold Trust Micro | 0.09% | 0.09% | Fine alternative | The same gold at 0.09%; a fine swap for GLDM |
| GLD SPDR Gold Shares | 0.40% | 0.40% | Not assessed | The same gold at four times GLDM's fee |
| IBIT iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF | 0.25% | 0.25% | Not assessed | Bitcoin; the largest fund |
| BTC Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF | 0.15% | 0.15% | Not assessed | Bitcoin; the cheapest fund |
| PDBC Invesco Optimum Yield Diversified Commodity Strategy No K-1 ETF | 0.59% | — | Not assessed | Commodities; sends an ordinary 1099 where DBC sends a K-1 |
| SCHD Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF | 0.06% | — | Rejected | The market with a screen and a tax bill |
| VNQ Vanguard Real Estate ETF | 0.13% | — | Rejected | Property: 112% of the market's falls for 80% of its rises |
| SSO ProShares Ultra S&P500 | 0.87% | — | Not assessed | Twice the daily move of the S&P 500, with borrowed money |