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:
  • Looking at the total return, or performance of 33.2% in the last 5 years of Coffeehouse Portfolio, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (98.4%)
  • Looking at total return, or performance in of 34.5% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (86.6%).

CAGR:

'The compound annual growth rate isn't a true return rate, but rather a representational figure. It is essentially a number that describes the rate at which an investment would have grown if it had grown the same rate every year and the profits were reinvested at the end of each year. In reality, this sort of performance is unlikely. However, CAGR can be used to smooth returns so that they may be more easily understood when compared to alternative investments.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • The annual return (CAGR) over 5 years of Coffeehouse Portfolio is 5.9%, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (14.7%) in the same period.
  • During the last 3 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) is 10.5%, which is lower, thus worse than the value of 23.3% from the benchmark.

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 volatility of 10.4% of Coffeehouse Portfolio is smaller, thus better.
  • Compared with SPY (15.3%) in the period of the last 3 years, the volatility of 9.3% is lower, thus better.

DownVol:

'Downside risk is the financial risk associated with losses. That is, it is the risk of the actual return being below the expected return, or the uncertainty about the magnitude of that difference. Risk measures typically quantify the downside risk, whereas the standard deviation (an example of a deviation risk measure) measures both the upside and downside risk. Specifically, downside risk in our definition is the semi-deviation, that is the standard deviation of all negative returns.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • The downside risk 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 risk of 6.4% is smaller, thus better.

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio was developed by Nobel laureate William F. Sharpe, and is used to help investors understand the return of an investment compared to its risk. The ratio is the average return earned in excess of the risk-free rate per unit of volatility or total risk. Subtracting the risk-free rate from the mean return allows an investor to better isolate the profits associated with risk-taking activities. One intuition of this calculation is that a portfolio engaging in 'zero risk' investments, such as the purchase of U.S. Treasury bills (for which the expected return is the risk-free rate), has a Sharpe ratio of exactly zero. Generally, the greater the value of the Sharpe ratio, the more attractive the risk-adjusted return.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Looking at the Sharpe Ratio of 0.33 in the last 5 years of Coffeehouse Portfolio, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.72)
  • Looking at risk / return profile (Sharpe) in of 0.85 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (1.36).

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:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (1.04) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 0.47 of Coffeehouse Portfolio is smaller, thus worse.
  • Looking at ratio of annual return and downside deviation in of 1.25 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (2.04).

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:
  • The Ulcer Ratio over 5 years of Coffeehouse Portfolio is 7.6 , which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (8.42 ) in the same period.
  • During the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index is 3.1 , which is lower, thus better than the value of 3.52 from the benchmark.

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.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Looking at the maximum reduction from previous high of -20.1 days in the last 5 years of Coffeehouse Portfolio, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days)
  • Compared with SPY (-18.8 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley of -10.7 days is larger, thus better.

MaxDuration:

'The Drawdown Duration is the length of any peak to peak period, or the time between new equity highs. The Max Drawdown Duration is the worst (the maximum/longest) amount of time an investment has seen between peaks (equity highs) in days.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Looking at the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 630 days in the last 5 years of Coffeehouse Portfolio, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (488 days)
  • Looking at maximum days below previous high in of 142 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (87 days).

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 time in days below previous high water mark over 5 years of Coffeehouse Portfolio is 184 days, which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (120 days) in the same period.
  • Looking at average days under water in of 36 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, 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.