Last year was solid for all of the core asset classes. US equities, international equities, and bonds all landed in the black. My Model Retirement Saver Portfolios, which are geared to people who are still working and saving for retirement, feature anywhere from 50% to 95% of their assets in stocks. All logged double-digit gains in a strong equity market in 2025, with their biggest returns coming from international stocks.
Outperformance from non-US stocks was a turnabout from 2023 and 2024, when non-US stocks managed gains but couldn’t keep pace with the soaring US market. Another switcheroo: The mutual fund portfolios bested their analogous all-ETF portfolios by convincing margins in 2025 after lagging them in 2023 and 2024. Primecap Odyssey Growth, which appears in all three mutual fund portfolios, was the main driver of those portfolios’ success last year. The low-turnover fund saw strong gains among its technology, healthcare, and industrials names.
I also compare each portfolio’s return with that of a blended benchmark composed of inexpensive index funds and exchange-traded funds. The goal is to examine whether an investor would have done just as well assembling a portfolio of three core index funds—US stock, non-US stock, and bonds—and calling it a day. The 2025 results were a mixed bag. While the mutual fund portfolios bested their blended benchmarks, the ETF portfolios all lagged their minimalist benchmarks. For investors who are compelled by a simple portfolio of index funds or ETFs, I’ve created minimalist versions.
And while these Retirement Saver Portfolios are geared toward investors’ tax-sheltered accounts, I’ve also created tax-efficient versions, both mutual fund and ETF.
Aggressive Mutual Fund Saver Portfolio
20% Primecap Odyssey Growth POGRX
20% Oakmark Fund OAKMX
15% Vanguard Extended Market Index VEXAX
33% Vanguard Total International Stock Index VTIAX
7% Oakmark International Small Cap OAKEX
5% TCW MetWest Total Return Bond MWTRX
2025 Return: 24.19%
Moderate Mutual Fund Saver Portfolio
12% Primecap Odyssey Growth
13% Oakmark Fund
13% Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index VDADX
10% Vanguard Extended Market Index
27% Vanguard Total International Stock Index
5% Oakmark International Small Cap
20% TCW MetWest Total Return Bond
2025 Return: 20.45%
Conservative Mutual Fund Saver Portfolio
10% Primecap Odyssey Growth
10% Oakmark Fund
10% Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index
5% Vanguard Extended Market Index
10% Vanguard Total International Stock Index
5% Oakmark International Small Cap
30% TCW MetWest Total Return Bond
10% Fidelity Short-Term Bond FSHBX
10% Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index VTAPX
2025 Return: 14.81%
Performance Recap
Primecap Odyssey Growth was the best performer in any of the Retirement Saver Portfolios in 2025, besting the broad US market by a wide margin and landing in the top 1% of large-blend funds. That helped atone for what had been a string of underwhelming returns over the past decade. Morningstar downgraded the fund’s Medalist Rating in mid-2025, but it remains at Silver thanks to its seasoned management and disciplined process.
The portfolios’ weightings in non-US stocks are in line with the ratio of non-US stocks in the global market capitalization. As a result, they also benefited handsomely as international stocks rallied and the dollar declined last year.
The portfolios’ core fixed-income fund, TCW MetWest Total Return Bond, notched a strong year in 2025. Its longer-than-average duration provided a boost amid declining interest rates, though that same positioning hurt it from 2022-24. The fund has seen significant manager changes over the past several years, but it has a Silver rating thanks to its still-deep and experienced management team and the soundness of its process.
Portfolio Changes for Mutual Fund Saver Portfolios: None. All the holdings in the mutual fund portfolios retain Morningstar Medalist Ratings at this time.
Aggressive ETF Saver Portfolio
40% Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF VTI
10% Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF VBR
35% Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF VEA
10% Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF VWO
5% iShares Core Universal USD Bond ETF IUSB
2025 Return: 22.99%
Moderate ETF Saver Portfolio
40% Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF
8% Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF
25% Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF
7% Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF
20% iShares Core Universal USD Bond ETF
2025 Return: 19.63%
Conservative ETF Saver Portfolio
30% Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF
5% Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF
12% Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF
3% Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF
30% iShares Core Universal USD Bond ETF
10% Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF VTIP
10% Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF BSV
2025 Return: 13.99%
Performance Recap
These portfolios are anchored in inexpensive, broad-market ETFs, but they have modest “factor” tilts thanks to their strategic positions in Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF. The small-value exposure put the funds at a disadvantage in 2025, as the Morningstar Category badly lagged the broad US market last year. As in 2023 and 2024, all three ETF Saver Portfolios benefited from the stellar showing of Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF in 2025. As the largest holding in all the portfolios, it benefited from ample exposure to large-cap technology names.
On the fixed-income side, core holding iShares Core Universal USD Bond ETF performed in line with other intermediate-term core-plus bond funds. In a year in which the most interest-rate-sensitive bonds rallied, the Conservative ETF Portfolio’s exposure to short-term bonds put it at a disadvantage.
Portfolio Changes for ETF Saver Portfolios: None.