DIY Wealth: 3 Simple ASX Model Portfolios

If you’ve been following along, you now know that picking individual stocks is a headache, and that ETFs are the secret weapon for building wealth simply. You also know that true safety comes from diversification—owning different types of assets, like stocks and bonds. But now you’re probably staring at your brokerage account screen thinking: “Okay, I get it. But which ETFs do I actually buy? And how much of each?”

This is where the rubber meets the road. You have the ingredients; now you need a recipe – in the finance world, these recipes are called Model Portfolios. A model portfolio is simply a pre-determined mix of ETFs designed to achieve a specific goal based on your timeline and your stomach for risk. Today, we are going to look at three classic, simple “recipes” using ETFs listed right here on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

The Golden Rule: The “Sleep Well at Night” Factor

Before we look at the recipes, remember this: The “best” portfolio isn’t mathematically the one that makes the most money on a spreadsheet. The best portfolio is the one you can stick with when the market crashes 30%.

If you pick a high-risk portfolio but panic-sell the moment it drops, you lose. Your portfolio choice should depend heavily on two things:

Your Time Horizon: How many years until you need this money to live on (your FIRE date)?
Your Risk Tolerance: How much pain can you handle without hitting the “sell” button?

Portfolio #1: The “High Growth”

This is the “pedal to the metal” approach. It is designed for maximum long-term wealth accumulation.

The Philosophy: You are young or have a very long time horizon (15+ years) before you need the money. You don’t care about bonds because you have enough time to recover from major market crashes. You want maximum exposure to global innovation and Australian dividends.
The Asset Allocation:
- 90% – 100% Stocks (Equities)
- 0% – 10% Bonds/Cash

The ASX ETF Ingredients (A Simple 2-Fund Mix) – we love simplicity. You don’t need 10 ETFs. You can conquer the world with just two.

Percentage	Ticker	ETF Name	Why it’s in the recipe
70%	VGS(or BGBL)	Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares (or Betashares Global Shares ETF)	Owns 1,500+ of the world’s biggest companies (Apple, Microsoft, etc.) across 20+ developed countries, excluding Australia. This is your massive global growth engine.
30%	VAS(or A200)	Vanguard Australian Shares Index (or BetaShares Australia 200 ETF)	Owns the top 300 companies in Australia (BHP, CommBank, CSL). Provides high dividends (franking credits – we will cover this in another post) and exposure to your local currency.

Note: VGS/VAS are Vanguard options. BGBL/A200 are BetaShares options that do the exact same job, sometimes for slightly lower fees. Both combos are excellent.

Who is this for?

Age Group: Typically 20s and 30s.
FIRE Stage: The “Accumulation Phase” (early to mid-journey).
Personality: You understand that markets crash, and you view those crashes as a “sale” to buy more cheap units.

Portfolio #2: The “Slow and Steady”

This is the classic approach to wealth building that balances the desire for growth with the need for a safety net.

The Philosophy: You want your money to grow, but the thought of your portfolio dropping 40% in a bad year makes you queasy. You are willing to sacrifice a tiny bit of maximum long-term return to significantly reduce the volatility (the rollercoaster effect). You introduce bonds to act as shock absorbers.
The Asset Allocation:
- 70% Stocks (Equities)
- 30% Bonds (Fixed Income)

The ASX ETF Ingredients (A 3-Fund Mix)

We take the growth engine from Portfolio #1 and bolt on some airbags.

Percentage	Ticker	ETF Name	Why it’s in the recipe
50%	VGS	International Shares	Your main global growth engine.
20%	VAS	Australian Shares	Your local dividend and currency anchor.
30%	VAF(or IAF)	Vanguard Australian Fixed Interest	This is a mix of Australian government and high-quality corporate bonds. When the stock market crashes, this part of your portfolio usually holds steady or goes up, softening the blow.

Note: you could swap the 30% bonds for precious metals (GOLD / PMGOLD) or property REITs (VAP / MVA)

Who is this for?

Age Group: Typically 40s and 50s.
FIRE Stage: Approaching the finish line (maybe 5–10 years away from FIRE). You have a lot to lose now, so preservation matters more.
Personality: You want growth but prioritize sleeping soundly during a financial crisis.

Portfolio #3: “VDHG and Chill”

For many in the FIRE community, even rebalancing two or three ETFs is too much effort. They want ultimate simplicity. They want to buy one thing forever and never think about it again. Enter the “Diversified” ETFs. These are pre-packaged portfolios in a single wrapper. They do all the rebalancing for you.

The Contender A: VDHG (Vanguard Diversified High Growth)

This is arguably the most famous ticker symbol in the Australian FIRE community.

What is it? It’s a “fund of funds.” When you buy VDHG, Vanguard takes your money and automatically splits it between 7 of their own wholesale funds, covering Australian shares, International shares (hedged and unhedged), small companies, emerging markets, and bonds.
The Split: Roughly 90% Stocks / 10% Bonds.
The Vibe: It’s a highly aggressive portfolio, but that 10% bond allocation just takes the slightest edge off the volatility. It is the ultimate “set and forget” weapon.
The Tax “Drag”: A slight caveat – because of its legal structure (a managed fund, not an ETF structure internally), VDHG can sometimes be slightly less tax-efficient than holding the underlying ETFs yourself, as it may pass on capital gains to you even if you didn’t sell. For most, the simplicity outweighs this cost, but it’s worth knowing.

The Contender B: DHHF (BetaShares Diversified All Growth)

The new challenger to the throne.

What is it? Similar to VDHG, it’s a pre-mixed portfolio of ETFs.
The Key Differences:
1. 100% Stocks: DHHF has zero bonds. It is pure aggression.
2. Tax Efficiency: It uses a newer legal structure that avoids some of the tax drag issues associated with VDHG.
The Vibe: For those who want the “one-click” simplicity but want maximum equity exposure and slightly better tax outcomes.

Who is this for?

Age Group: Any
FIRE Stage: Any
Personality: The minimalist. You value simplicity above optimization. You know that if you have to manage three different ETFs, you might tinker with them and mess it up. You just want to automate your transfer and go live your life.

Conclusion: Just Pick One and Start

The biggest mistake new investors make is “analysis paralysis.” They spend six months debating whether to have 20% or 30% in Australian shares.

It doesn’t matter as much as you think.

The difference in final outcome between these portfolios over 20 years will be minimal compared to the difference between investing and doing nothing.

If you want maximum growth and can handle the heat, pick the High Growth fund or DHHF.
If you want a smoother ride because you are getting older or hate seeing red numbers, pick the Balanced fund mix.
If you just want it to be easy, pick VDHG/DHHF and go live your life.

Pick a recipe, buy the ingredients, and let the oven do its work.