A buy-and-hold portfolio for conservative investors seeking balanced exposure across equity income, dividend growth, and high-income ETFs.
Performance overview of your 4-ETF sleep-well portfolio
Sleep-Well Four employs a buy-and-hold dividend income strategy focused on four complementary dividend and income-focused ETFs. The portfolio prioritizes steady cash flow generation through high-yielding securities while maintaining broad market exposure, with a balanced allocation across growth-oriented dividends and premium income strategies.
This portfolio is designed so you can sleep well at night. Low beta, steady income, and diversified strategies mean less worry during market turbulence.
Inspired by @yieldandgrace
How each holding would perform with equal $10K allocation
SCHD leads with a 9.4% return, turning $10,000 into $10,943. The portfolio balances growth-oriented and income-focused ETFs for diversified returns.
Protection ratings during market downturns
| ETF | Strategy | Max Drawdown | Worst Month | Beta | Protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JEPI | Defensive + Options | -2.5% | Nov 25 | 0.52 | ●●●●● |
| DGRO | Dividend Growth | -2.9% | Nov 25 | 0.77 | ●●●●● |
| SCHD | Dividend Quality | -4.0% | Nov 25 | 0.69 | ●●●●● |
| SPYI | S&P 500 + Options | -4.0% | Nov 25 | 0.68 | ●●●●● |
JEPI showed the strongest downside protection with only a -2.5% maximum drawdown and a 0.52 beta.
SPYI experienced the largest drawdown at -4.0%, though still modest compared to broad market indices.
How each ETF performed during the worst month:
Annual income on $10K allocation per holding
| ETF | Yield | Annual Income | Price Return | Total Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPYI | 11.7% | $1171 | -7.0% | +4.7% |
| JEPI | 8.3% | $825 | -3.2% | +5.1% |
| SCHD | 3.8% | $382 | +5.6% | +9.4% |
| DGRO | 2.1% | $209 | +3.7% | +5.8% |
Average portfolio yield of 6.5% generates approximately $2587 annually on $40K invested ($216/month).
| Ex-Date | Ticker | $/Share | Est. Amount | Payment | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2 | JEPI | $0.3440 | $15.14 | Feb 20 | Ex Passed |
| Feb 20 | SPYI | $0.5310 | $26.02 | Mar 10 | Upcoming |
| Mar 4 | JEPI | $0.3440 | $15.14 | Mar 22 | Upcoming |
| Mar 11 | SCHD | $0.2780 | $25.30 | Mar 29 | Upcoming |
| Mar 17 | DGRO | $0.4470 | $16.09 | Apr 4 | Upcoming |
| Mar 22 | SPYI | $0.5310 | $26.02 | Apr 9 | Upcoming |
| Apr 3 | JEPI | $0.3440 | $15.14 | Apr 21 | Upcoming |
| Apr 21 | SPYI | $0.5310 | $26.02 | May 9 | Upcoming |
| May 3 | JEPI | $0.3440 | $15.14 | May 21 | Upcoming |
| May 21 | SPYI | $0.5310 | $26.02 | Jun 8 | Upcoming |
| Jun 2 | JEPI | $0.3440 | $15.14 | Jun 20 | Upcoming |
| Jun 10 | SCHD | $0.2780 | $25.30 | Jun 28 | Upcoming |
| Jun 16 | DGRO | $0.4470 | $16.09 | Jul 4 | Upcoming |
| Jun 20 | SPYI | $0.5310 | $26.02 | Jul 8 | Upcoming |
| Jul 2 | JEPI | $0.3440 | $15.14 | Jul 20 | Upcoming |
| Jul 20 | SPYI | $0.5310 | $26.02 | Aug 7 | Upcoming |
| Aug 1 | JEPI | $0.3440 | $15.14 | Aug 19 | Upcoming |
Month-by-month performance tracking
| Month | Portfolio | DGRO | JEPI | SCHD | SPYI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | -1.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Oct 2025 | -0.2% | -0.2% | 0.0% | -0.7% | 0.0% |
| Oct 2025 | +0.3% | +0.5% | +0.3% | +0.3% | 0.0% |
| Oct 2025 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -0.1% | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| Oct 2025 | -0.2% | -0.1% | -0.2% | -0.2% | -0.2% |
| Oct 2025 | 0.0% | 0.0% | +0.1% | -0.4% | +0.4% |
| Oct 2025 | -0.4% | -0.5% | -0.3% | -0.7% | -0.1% |
| Oct 2025 | -1.7% | -1.8% | -1.3% | -1.7% | -2.2% |
| Oct 2025 | +0.9% | +1.0% | +1.0% | +0.3% | +1.4% |
| Oct 2025 | +0.5% | +0.7% | +0.6% | +0.9% | -0.1% |
| Oct 2025 | 0.0% | +0.1% | 0.0% | -0.3% | +0.4% |
| Oct 2025 | -0.7% | -0.9% | -0.6% | -0.8% | -0.6% |
| Oct 2025 | +0.6% | +0.5% | +0.6% | +0.8% | +0.6% |
| Oct 2025 | +0.8% | +0.9% | +0.5% | +0.8% | +0.9% |
| Oct 2025 | +0.3% | 0.0% | +0.6% | +0.3% | +0.1% |
| Oct 2025 | -0.4% | -0.4% | -0.4% | -0.3% | -0.4% |
| Oct 2025 | +0.3% | +0.2% | +0.3% | +0.1% | +0.5% |
| Oct 2025 | +0.3% | +0.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% | +0.6% |
| Oct 2025 | +0.5% | +0.7% | +0.2% | +0.3% | +0.7% |
| Oct 2025 | -0.4% | -0.5% | -0.6% | -0.4% | +0.1% |
| Oct 2025 | -0.6% | -0.8% | -0.6% | -1.0% | 0.0% |
| Oct 2025 | -0.2% | -0.1% | 0.0% | -0.2% | -0.5% |
| Oct 2025 | 0.0% | -0.2% | -0.1% | +0.3% | +0.2% |
| Nov 2025 | -0.4% | -0.7% | -0.2% | -1.1% | +0.1% |
| Nov 2025 | -0.3% | -0.1% | 0.0% | -0.1% | -0.9% |
| Nov 2025 | +0.3% | +0.3% | +0.1% | +0.5% | +0.3% |
| Nov 2025 | -0.5% | -0.3% | -0.4% | -0.2% | -0.9% |
| Nov 2025 | +0.4% | +0.4% | +0.4% | +0.8% | +0.1% |
| Nov 2025 | +0.6% | +0.5% | +0.5% | +0.2% | +1.3% |
| Nov 2025 | +0.9% | +1.0% | +0.7% | +1.5% | +0.2% |
| Nov 2025 | +0.2% | +0.5% | +0.3% | 0.0% | +0.1% |
| Nov 2025 | -0.7% | -0.8% | -0.7% | +0.1% | -1.4% |
| Nov 2025 | -0.1% | -0.2% | -0.2% | +0.1% | 0.0% |
| Nov 2025 | -0.8% | -0.9% | -0.6% | -0.9% | -0.8% |
| Nov 2025 | -0.1% | -0.1% | -0.2% | +0.6% | -0.8% |
| Nov 2025 | -0.1% | 0.0% | +0.1% | -0.9% | +0.4% |
| Nov 2025 | -1.1% | -0.8% | -0.8% | -1.1% | -1.4% |
| Nov 2025 | +1.4% | +1.3% | +1.3% | +1.8% | +1.0% |
| Nov 2025 | +0.4% | +0.2% | +0.4% | -0.5% | +1.4% |
| Nov 2025 | +1.1% | +1.3% | +1.1% | +1.4% | +0.8% |
| Nov 2025 | +0.5% | +0.6% | +0.4% | +0.5% | +0.6% |
| Nov 2025 | +0.5% | +0.6% | +0.4% | +0.5% | +0.5% |
| Dec 2025 | -0.5% | -0.8% | -0.6% | -0.2% | -0.4% |
| Dec 2025 | -0.1% | -0.2% | -0.1% | -0.5% | +0.2% |
| Dec 2025 | +0.8% | +0.9% | +0.6% | +1.5% | +0.3% |
| Dec 2025 | -0.1% | -0.2% | 0.0% | -0.2% | +0.1% |
| Dec 2025 | 0.0% | -0.1% | -0.1% | -0.1% | +0.2% |
| Dec 2025 | -0.4% | -0.4% | -0.4% | -0.5% | -0.2% |
| Dec 2025 | -0.2% | -0.2% | -0.3% | -0.4% | -0.1% |
| Dec 2025 | +1.0% | +1.3% | +0.7% | +1.4% | +0.6% |
| Dec 2025 | +0.5% | +0.7% | +0.7% | +0.4% | +0.2% |
| Dec 2025 | -0.3% | -0.5% | -0.1% | 0.0% | -0.8% |
| Dec 2025 | +0.1% | +0.2% | +0.1% | +0.3% | -0.1% |
| Dec 2025 | -0.7% | -0.9% | -0.4% | -1.0% | -0.2% |
| Dec 2025 | -0.3% | -0.1% | -0.5% | +0.5% | -1.0% |
| Dec 2025 | +0.1% | 0.0% | +0.3% | -0.4% | +0.7% |
| Dec 2025 | +0.3% | +0.2% | +0.2% | -0.1% | +0.8% |
| Dec 2025 | +0.5% | +0.7% | +0.4% | +0.6% | +0.6% |
| Dec 2025 | +0.1% | +0.1% | +0.1% | -0.3% | +0.4% |
| Dec 2025 | +0.4% | +0.5% | +0.3% | +0.4% | +0.3% |
| Dec 2025 | 0.0% | 0.0% | +0.1% | -0.1% | 0.0% |
| Dec 2025 | -0.1% | -0.2% | -0.1% | -0.1% | -0.2% |
| Dec 2025 | -0.1% | -0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | -0.1% |
| Dec 2025 | -0.6% | -0.7% | -0.5% | -0.7% | -0.5% |
| Jan 2026 | +0.5% | +0.5% | +0.1% | +1.1% | +0.1% |
| Jan 2026 | +0.5% | +0.6% | +0.3% | +0.7% | +0.5% |
| Jan 2026 | +0.6% | +0.7% | +0.8% | +0.6% | +0.4% |
| Jan 2026 | -0.5% | -0.9% | -0.3% | -0.7% | -0.2% |
| Jan 2026 | +0.8% | +0.8% | +0.5% | +1.9% | 0.0% |
| Jan 2026 | +0.5% | +0.5% | +0.4% | +0.5% | +0.5% |
| Jan 2026 | 0.0% | +0.1% | +0.1% | -0.2% | +0.1% |
| Jan 2026 | 0.0% | -0.2% | -0.1% | +0.4% | -0.1% |
| Jan 2026 | +0.4% | +0.4% | +0.1% | +1.5% | -0.3% |
| Jan 2026 | +0.2% | +0.3% | +0.1% | 0.0% | +0.2% |
| Jan 2026 | -0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | -0.4% | 0.0% |
| Jan 2026 | -1.3% | -1.4% | -1.4% | -0.7% | -1.6% |
| Jan 2026 | +1.2% | +1.1% | +1.0% | +1.6% | +1.0% |
| Jan 2026 | +0.2% | +0.1% | +0.3% | +0.1% | +0.4% |
| Jan 2026 | 0.0% | -0.2% | +0.1% | -0.1% | +0.1% |
| Jan 2026 | +0.4% | +0.5% | +0.4% | +0.1% | +0.4% |
| Jan 2026 | +0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | +0.7% | +0.3% |
| Jan 2026 | -0.2% | -0.2% | -0.3% | -0.2% | 0.0% |
| Jan 2026 | +0.2% | +0.3% | +0.2% | +0.2% | -0.1% |
| Jan 2026 | +0.4% | +0.2% | 0.0% | +1.5% | -0.2% |
| Feb 2026 | +0.4% | +0.7% | -0.2% | +0.6% | +0.5% |
| Feb 2026 | +0.3% | +0.2% | -0.3% | +1.7% | -0.7% |
| Feb 2026 | -5.0% | -0.9% | +0.5% | -2.2% | +0.2% |
| TOTAL | +0.3% | +5.8% | +5.1% | +9.3% | +4.8% |
The portfolio pursues income generation with moderate risk, balancing traditional dividend growth (DGRO/SCHD) against premium income strategies (JEPI/SPYI). With a 100% win rate and zero drawdown over 4 months, the strategy has benefited from a favorable market environment. However, the 4.59% total return slightly underperforms broader market indices, suggesting the yield-focused approach may be sacrificing capital appreciation. Risk is moderate but concentrated in dividend sustainability and interest rate sensitivity.