Big Rocks Moderately Aggressive Portfolio by Larry Swedroe
The Big Rocks Moderately Aggressive Portfolio is a higher-equity variant in Larry Swedroe's "Big Rocks" model allocation series. Swedroe, the former Director of Research at Buckingham Strategic Wealth and author of books including The Only Guide to a Winning Investment Strategy You'll Ever Need, developed the Big Rocks concept to show how deliberate factor tilts within a clearly defined allocation can improve expected returns relative to market-cap-weighted portfolios. This version leans more heavily toward equities than the moderate variant while retaining a meaningful fixed-income buffer.
Investment Philosophy
Swedroe's moderately aggressive allocation applies a higher equity weight — typically in the 70-80% range — with those equities tilted toward small-cap and value stocks globally, following the Fama-French three-factor model. The fixed-income sleeve is kept relatively short in duration to reduce interest rate risk. The philosophy holds that investors should only take risks that are compensated by expected return premiums, and that a bias toward higher-returning asset classes (within a sound risk management framework) is the rational approach for investors with the capacity to bear volatility.
Who It's For
This portfolio is appropriate for investors with a moderately high risk tolerance and a time horizon of at least ten years. It suits someone who is comfortable with equity market volatility, believes in the factor investing thesis, and has enough time ahead to ride out periods when small-cap and value stocks underperform growth or blend indices.
Pros
- Higher equity allocation provides greater long-run growth potential than a standard balanced portfolio
- Factor tilts toward size and value aim to deliver a return premium over plain market-cap-weighted equity exposure
- Fixed-income sleeve retained to buffer the worst equity drawdowns
Cons
- Factor tilts can produce prolonged underperformance relative to cap-weighted indices, testing patience
- Higher equity weight means larger drawdowns in severe bear markets compared to more conservative allocations
- Implementation requires access to factor-tilted funds, which may carry higher fees than plain index funds
We cover a curated selection of portfolios in this database.
workspace_premiumSee what's coveredCancel anytime. No lock-in.
Target Allocation
Performance Snapshot
Rolling Returns
| Period | Low | Average | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Year | -38.3% | +9.4% | +51.9% |
| 3 Year | -12.3% | +8.2% | +24.1% |
| 5 Year | -2.8% | +7.9% | +19.8% |
| 10 Year | +3.3% | +7.8% | +12.6% |
Growth of $10,000
Historical Drawdown
Percentage decline from the portfolio's peak value at each point in time.
Rolling Returns
Annualised return for each rolling period ending on that date.
Annualised return for each 1Y period ending on that date.