Copernicus Portfolio Update: February 12, 2026 | ITA Asset Management

Copernicus, the all-equity portfolio, is back for an update or review. I have refrained from investing only in VOO or the S&P 500. Ten of the 500 stocks in the S&P 500 represent 39.1% of the entire index. Make one in ten (10) sneeze and the S&P 500 index will catch the flu. That in turn will cause at least a market correction, if not worse. For this reason, I diversify or place more emphasis on mid- and small-cap stocks with the RSP Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). I also diversify between the best dividend-paying stocks with investments in VIG, VYM and SCHD. Yes, there is overlap of stocks within these three ETFs, but that doesn’t bother me.

Copernicus Security Holdings

Below are the “new” holdings in Copernicus. In the right column you will find information about the extent to which certain ETFs are out of balance. Rather than selling shares of SHV, VOO and VYM, which will trigger a number of taxable events, I plan to use new cash deposits and dividends to build the ETFs that are closest to target. VIG is currently that ETF. The owner of this wallet is good at adding cash every month. This method of dollar-cost averaging is the reason the portfolio has performed so well over the past four years.

Most of the available cash is spent on limit orders (there are several) to buy shares of VIG.

Copernicus performance data

Since December 31, 2021, Copernicus has outperformed all tracked benchmarks. New cash added during the 2022 recession is the main reason this portfolio tops the S&P 500. Dollar cost averaging has worked in this portfolio’s favor over the past four years.

Copernicus risk ratios

All four risk ratios are above last February’s levels. Although the Jensen Performance Index is not as high as last September, 11.55 is still a very high value.

Even if the broad market cools, Copernicus should outperform as the three dividend-focused ETFs are heavily weighted toward stocks classified as value stocks. In difficult market times, value stocks outperform growth stocks.

Comments are welcome and always welcome.

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