The Zen Core ETF Portfolio had another market-beating year in 2019.
The portfolio was up 37.3% vs. a gain of 29.3% for the S&P 500. I'll have details about 2019 after we look at the full 10 year track record of this portfolio.
Table 1. The 10-year performance of the Zen Core ETF Portfolio
Over the last 10 years, the portfolio gained an average of 17.1% per year, compared to the S&P 500 average return of 12.5%. That works out to an annual average of 4.6% of alpha captured over the full 10 years.
Table 2. The 2019 performance of the Zen Core ETF Portfolio
2019 was a very good year for the portfolio. The biggest winner was Goldman ActiveBeta Large Cap, up 60.9% for the year. The only ETF that lagged the market was the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation, up 27.7% (not including dividends). A small miss for this conservative fund.
Table 3. The 2020 Zen Core ETF Portfolio lineup
Lastly we turn to the new lineup for 2020. There are three new names this year - PCY, which invests in non-U.S. sovereign debt; VWO, which invests in Emerging Market equities; and PALL, which invests in physical Palladium.
The new lineup has a slightly higher risk profile than last year, but I think it's well-positioned to capture alpha once again.