Asset Class Risk Spectrum

Visualize where each asset class falls on the risk-return spectrum. Lower-risk assets like Treasury bonds provide stability, while higher-risk assets like emerging market equities offer greater growth potential with more volatility.

Lower RiskHigher Risk

Low

Low-Med

Medium

Med-High

High

Very High

Risk	Grade	Asset Class	Category	Ann. Vol	Max DD	Beta	ETFs	Preferred ETF
2 — Low	4/100	US Treasury Short	Fixed Income	1.1%	0.5%	0.01	3	SGOV
2 — Low	6/100	US Floating Rate	Fixed Income	0.7%	0.6%	0.00	3	USFR
2 — Low	10/100	US TIPS	Fixed Income	4.2%	5.6%	0.09	3	VTIP
2 — Low	14/100	Intl Developed Bond	Fixed Income	6.0%	14.6%	0.22	2	BNDX
2 — Low	14/100	US Municipal	Fixed Income	6.1%	12.5%	0.25	3	VTEB
3 — Low-Med	18/100	US Treasury Intermediate	Fixed Income	5.4%	14.0%	0.17	3	SCHR
3 — Low-Med	19/100	US Aggregate Bond	Fixed Income	6.5%	16.6%	0.25	3	AGG
3 — Low-Med	24/100	US Securitized (MBS)	Fixed Income	7.1%	16.5%	0.27	3	MBB
3 — Low-Med	26/100	US High Yield Corp	Fixed Income	7.8%	15.1%	0.40	4	USHY
4 — Medium	29/100	Consumer Staples	Equity Sectors	14.1%	13.4%	0.50	2	XLP
4 — Medium	29/100	US Investment Grade Corp	Fixed Income	7.8%	18.8%	0.33	3	VCIT
4 — Medium	33/100	US Large Cap Value	Equity	14.5%	15.5%	0.76	3	VTV
4 — Medium	36/100	US Min Volatility	Equity Factors	12.6%	17.5%	0.64	2	USMV
4 — Medium	37/100	Gold	Commodities	15.8%	15.9%	0.15	3	SGOL
4 — Medium	40/100	Healthcare	Equity Sectors	14.7%	15.8%	0.60	3	FHLC
4 — Medium	41/100	Emerging Market Debt (Local)	Fixed Income	9.9%	23.9%	0.37	2	EMLC
4 — Medium	41/100	US Dividend	Equity Factors	14.1%	20.2%	0.81	3	VIG
5 — Medium	45/100	Emerging Market Debt (USD)	Fixed Income	10.1%	25.0%	0.49	3	VWOB
5 — Medium	52/100	Utilities	Equity Sectors	17.0%	18.3%	0.60	2	XLU
5 — Medium	53/100	Emerging Markets	Equity	15.6%	31.5%	0.63	4	VWO
5 — Medium	54/100	US Large Cap	Equity	16.0%	24.1%	0.98	5	IVV
5 — Medium	54/100	US Treasury Long	Fixed Income	13.8%	39.5%	0.48	3	SPTL
5 — Medium	56/100	Emerging Markets Small Cap	Equity	14.7%	25.0%	0.67	1	EEMS
5 — Medium	56/100	Intl Developed Value	Equity	16.2%	23.0%	0.63	2	IVLU
6 — Med-High	58/100	Energy	Equity Sectors	26.7%	18.0%	0.48	2	XLE
6 — Med-High	58/100	US Multi-Factor	Equity Factors	15.9%	21.3%	0.97	2	LRGF
6 — Med-High	60/100	Financials	Equity Sectors	18.2%	23.5%	0.90	2	XLF
6 — Med-High	60/100	Intl Developed Large Cap	Equity	16.8%	28.3%	0.84	4	VEA
6 — Med-High	64/100	Industrials	Equity Sectors	18.6%	20.8%	1.01	2	XLI
6 — Med-High	64/100	US Quality	Equity Factors	16.7%	27.9%	1.00	2	QUAL
6 — Med-High	68/100	Intl Quality	Equity Factors	16.9%	28.4%	0.84	1	IQLT
6 — Med-High	70/100	Intl Developed Small Cap	Equity	16.9%	31.9%	0.86	2	VSS
6 — Med-High	71/100	Materials	Equity Sectors	20.0%	23.8%	0.94	2	XLB
7 — High	74/100	US Momentum	Equity Factors	19.8%	21.7%	1.07	2	SPMO
7 — High	75/100	Broad Commodity	Commodities	37.7%	36.5%	-0.14	3	PDBC
7 — High	77/100	Communication Services	Equity Sectors	18.5%	43.6%	0.96	2	XLC
7 — High	78/100	Global Real Estate	Equity	19.8%	32.1%	1.02	4	VNQ
7 — High	79/100	US Small Cap	Equity	20.3%	27.0%	1.13	4	SCHA
7 — High	81/100	Real Estate	Equity Sectors	19.9%	31.7%	1.00	1	XLRE
7 — High	83/100	US Mid Cap	Equity	38.1%	75.5%	0.94	3	VO
8 — Very High	87/100	Consumer Discretionary	Equity Sectors	22.5%	36.4%	1.21	2	XLY
8 — Very High	88/100	Technology	Equity Sectors	22.6%	32.4%	1.26	3	FTEC
8 — Very High	88/100	US Large Cap Growth	Equity	42.7%	84.8%	1.10	3	VUG

Risk metrics are calculated using monthly returns since each ETF's inception date. Volatility (annualized standard deviation), max drawdown, and beta vs. the broad US stock market (VTI) are the primary risk measures.

Risk grades (0-100) are composite scores weighting: volatility 40%, max drawdown 30%, beta 20%, and liquidity 10%.

Past performance and historical risk measures do not guarantee future results. Risk characteristics may change over time.

Sharpe ratio uses a risk-free rate of 4%. Beta of 1.0 indicates market-level sensitivity.

Preferred ETFs are selected per asset class by lowest expense ratio, with ties broken by highest assets under management.

Last updated: May 8, 2026

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