Description

The Coffeehouse Portfolio was popularized by financial advisor Bill Schultheis in the best-selling book The Coffeehouse Investor. It is part of what we could call "Lazy Portfolios".

The Coffeehouse Portfolio consists of 7 funds. It starts with a 60/40 stock bond allocation. The 60% in stocks is allocated to a large-cap fund, a large-cap value fund, a small-cap fund, a small-cap value fund, an international fund, and a REIT fund.

Asset Class Portfolio Weight

Large Cap 10%
Large Cap Value 10%
Small Cap 10%
Small Cap Value 10%
International 10%
REIT 10%
Total Bond 40%

Statistics (YTD)

What do these metrics mean? [Read More] [Hide]

TotalReturn:

'Total return is the amount of value an investor earns from a security over a specific period, typically one year, when all distributions are reinvested. Total return is expressed as a percentage of the amount invested. For example, a total return of 20% means the security increased by 20% of its original value due to a price increase, distribution of dividends (if a stock), coupons (if a bond) or capital gains (if a fund). Total return is a strong measure of an investment’s overall performance.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • The total return over 5 years of Coffeehouse Portfolio is 32%, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (94.9%) in the same period.
  • Looking at total return, or performance in of 33% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (84.9%).

CAGR:

'Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a business and investing specific term for the geometric progression ratio that provides a constant rate of return over the time period. CAGR is not an accounting term, but it is often used to describe some element of the business, for example revenue, units delivered, registered users, etc. CAGR dampens the effect of volatility of periodic returns that can render arithmetic means irrelevant. It is particularly useful to compare growth rates from various data sets of common domain such as revenue growth of companies in the same industry.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Looking at the annual return (CAGR) of 5.7% in the last 5 years of Coffeehouse Portfolio, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (14.3%)
  • Looking at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in of 10% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (22.9%).

Volatility:

'Volatility is a statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index. Volatility can either be measured by using the standard deviation or variance between returns from that same security or market index. Commonly, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security. In the securities markets, volatility is often associated with big swings in either direction. For example, when the stock market rises and falls more than one percent over a sustained period of time, it is called a 'volatile' market.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (17.1%) in the period of the last 5 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 10.4% of Coffeehouse Portfolio is lower, thus better.
  • Looking at historical 30 days volatility in of 9.3% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to SPY (15.3%).

DownVol:

'The downside volatility is similar to the volatility, or standard deviation, but only takes losing/negative periods into account.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • The downside deviation over 5 years of Coffeehouse Portfolio is 7.2%, which is smaller, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (11.8%) in the same period.
  • Compared with SPY (10.2%) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside deviation of 6.3% is smaller, thus better.

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio is the measure of risk-adjusted return of a financial portfolio. Sharpe ratio is a measure of excess portfolio return over the risk-free rate relative to its standard deviation. Normally, the 90-day Treasury bill rate is taken as the proxy for risk-free rate. A portfolio with a higher Sharpe ratio is considered superior relative to its peers. The measure was named after William F Sharpe, a Nobel laureate and professor of finance, emeritus at Stanford University.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • The Sharpe Ratio over 5 years of Coffeehouse Portfolio is 0.31, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.69) in the same period.
  • During the last 3 years, the Sharpe Ratio is 0.81, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 1.33 from the benchmark.

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio improves upon the Sharpe ratio by isolating downside volatility from total volatility by dividing excess return by the downside deviation. The Sortino ratio is a variation of the Sharpe ratio that differentiates harmful volatility from total overall volatility by using the asset's standard deviation of negative asset returns, called downside deviation. The Sortino ratio takes the asset's return and subtracts the risk-free rate, and then divides that amount by the asset's downside deviation. The ratio was named after Frank A. Sortino.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • The excess return divided by the downside deviation over 5 years of Coffeehouse Portfolio is 0.45, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (1.01) in the same period.
  • Compared with SPY (2) in the period of the last 3 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 1.19 is lower, thus worse.

Ulcer:

'The ulcer index is a stock market risk measure or technical analysis indicator devised by Peter Martin in 1987, and published by him and Byron McCann in their 1989 book The Investors Guide to Fidelity Funds. It's designed as a measure of volatility, but only volatility in the downward direction, i.e. the amount of drawdown or retracement occurring over a period. Other volatility measures like standard deviation treat up and down movement equally, but a trader doesn't mind upward movement, it's the downside that causes stress and stomach ulcers that the index's name suggests.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (8.42 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Ulcer Index of 7.6 of Coffeehouse Portfolio is smaller, thus better.
  • Compared with SPY (3.51 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index of 3.1 is smaller, thus better.

MaxDD:

'A maximum drawdown is the maximum loss from a peak to a trough of a portfolio, before a new peak is attained. Maximum Drawdown is an indicator of downside risk over a specified time period. It can be used both as a stand-alone measure or as an input into other metrics such as 'Return over Maximum Drawdown' and the Calmar Ratio. Maximum Drawdown is expressed in percentage terms.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • The maximum reduction from previous high over 5 years of Coffeehouse Portfolio is -20.1 days, which is higher, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days) in the same period.
  • Looking at maximum reduction from previous high in of -10.7 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (-18.8 days).

MaxDuration:

'The Maximum Drawdown Duration is an extension of the Maximum Drawdown. However, this metric does not explain the drawdown in dollars or percentages, rather in days, weeks, or months. It is the length of time the account was in the Max Drawdown. A Max Drawdown measures a retrenchment from when an equity curve reaches a new high. It’s the maximum an account lost during that retrenchment. This method is applied because a valley can’t be measured until a new high occurs. Once the new high is reached, the percentage change from the old high to the bottom of the largest trough is recorded.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 630 days of Coffeehouse Portfolio is higher, thus worse.
  • Compared with SPY (87 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high of 142 days is higher, thus worse.

AveDuration:

'The Drawdown Duration is the length of any peak to peak period, or the time between new equity highs. The Avg Drawdown Duration is the average amount of time an investment has seen between peaks (equity highs), or in other terms the average of time under water of all drawdowns. So in contrast to the Maximum duration it does not measure only one drawdown event but calculates the average of all.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • The average days under water over 5 years of Coffeehouse Portfolio is 184 days, which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (119 days) in the same period.
  • Looking at average days below previous high in of 36 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (21 days).

Performance (YTD)

Historical returns have been extended using synthetic data.

Allocations ()

Allocations

Returns (%)

  • Note that yearly returns do not equal the sum of monthly returns due to compounding.
  • Performance results of Coffeehouse Portfolio are hypothetical and do not account for slippage, fees or taxes.
  • Results may be based on backtesting, which has many inherent limitations, some of which are described in our Terms of Use.