I think the problem is how we define value. In Graham's era, people had only just started looking at metrics. Today, when a stock's trading on a low PE multiple, there's a good chance it's doing so for a reason: bad management, shrinking earnings, etc. So it's not necessarily 'good value'.

Value ETFs are typically impure implementations. It usually means an overweight to lower quality, cyclical earnings – financials, mining stocks.. Historic value outperformance is no smarter to bed on than any other stock screen. The risk is we just pick the ones that happened to produce interesting results.

Equal weight is just a way of lessening the effect of cap-weighting – which doesn't necessarily make sense. Quality and dividend growth won't necessarily outperform, but do overweight stocks more likely to ride out a recession, and underweight the more speculative. So Quality could enable a portfolio to take more market risk.

The thing with factors is their performance is quite linked to the economic regime we're in – what's happening with rates, growth, inflation, etc. So over a year – even 5 years – I think any differences between TH and VLS will just be noise.

TH's bond allocations also don't look very optimal. I think McQ on Bogleheads did a good deep dive on what really diversifies equities and improves portfolios (if I recall: TIPS). I don't think VLS is optimal either – it's unnecessarily complex, and all you're really doing is drawing arbitrary lines through stock and bond markets exposures, and juggling things around for no obvious benefit.

Figures are to 26/11/2024.

Tim Hale Global Tilt 60 Vs Vanguard LS60 cumulative performance
1 month - 3.0% Vs 2.5%
3 month - 4.5% Vs 3.6%
6 month - 7.1% Vs 6.3%
1 year - 16.3% Vs 16.2%

Tim Hale Global Tilt 80 Vs Vanguard LS80 cumulative performance
1 month - 4.4% Vs 3.3%
3 month - 6.4% Vs 5.1%
6 month - 9.0% Vs 7.3%
1 year - 20.7% Vs 19.8%

Figures are to 26/11/2024.

Tim Hale Global Tilt 60 Vs HSBC Global Strategy Balanced cumulative performance
1 month - 3.0% Vs 2.4%
3 month - 4.5% Vs 4.4%
6 month - 7.1% Vs 7.6%
1 year - 16.3% Vs 16.8%

A different outcome. I can add a comparison to:

- Vanguard LifeStrategy 60
- HSBC Global Strategy Balanced
- Fidelity Multi Asset Allocator Growth

Which are three funds I was tempted with initially.

Yes, Hale suggests there is a premium in small caps and value stocks, hence the 'tilt'. So technically it and LS60 are 'tilted'.

I'm sure a lot will say 'is the juice worth the squeeze' and why don't I just go with one or all of the three funds listed in my previous post. But now it's setup I will rebalance annually and there's no other bother.