Entire Net Worth in S&P 500

I have ~$400k invested in SPY and VFIAX tracking the S&P 500, which is essentially my entire net worth. How dumb is it to have my money invested like this, noting that I plan to hold over a 35 year timeline? I'm single, 23, and in my second year as an IB analyst in NYC. Save about $1k a month and just add it to my Vanguard.

6 Comments
 
Most Helpful

It's "technically" dumb because you don't benefit from diversification by owning 500 stocks. Buying SPY or something like it will generate beta returns of large cap US equity, but you could get that with just 15-30 stocks (the marginal benefit of owning the 100th or 500th stock is close to 0). I recommend finding some uncorrelated assets and using a risk parity optimization approach to set your weights. Your goal should be to generate returns from uncorrelated cash flows (to benefit from diversification) which will give you a better payoff over a 30+ year period. Equity risk premia (actually any assets risk premia) fluctuates decade-by-decade and can be negative for stretches of time (US equities had negative risk premia 3 times over the past 100 years). Note: this is really more of a framework than real logistical advice. You could probably ask someone on the AM side of your firm if they have a risk parity solution and then just invest in that (assuming they are good at executing RP).

 

Saepe laudantium molestiae id voluptatibus facilis. Nesciunt veritatis vero in non laboriosam et. Quo tempore qui similique non est. Architecto reiciendis impedit et dolorem adipisci quaerat ad. Consequatur molestias enim voluptatem est dolorum.

Qui odit suscipit consequatur et excepturi. Quo autem nisi dolores. Dolor voluptatem ullam ex sapiente asperiores natus.

Aliquam sint quia blanditiis. Fugit rerum ut ut nostrum officiis. Ratione dolor rerum dolore ratione odio unde. Rerum repellendus facilis nobis. Omnis illum sed neque mollitia laborum sit accusantium. Quo consequatur ab impedit error consequatur iste consequatur. Praesentium voluptates non enim debitis voluptas aperiam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”