Want to Build Real Wealth by 2026? Here's What This Finance YouTuber Actually Owns

Question

John Liang reached financial independence by his 30s, and recently broke down the exact ETF mix he’d load into a portfolio if starting from scratch today. No hype, just 4 boring-but-deadly asset classes:

The Core: VTI (Vanguard Total Stock Market)

3,500+ U.S. companies in one ticker. You’re getting NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon—basically all the winners—without having to pick them yourself. Average dividend yield sits around 1.4%, and since it tracks the whole market, you’re never betting against the economy.

Liang’s take: “We don’t have to call the winners because the winners eventually just rise up.” Brutal truth for active traders, beautiful simplicity for people who actually want to sleep at night.

The Hedge: VEA (International Developed Markets)

Here’s where most retail investors fumble—they go all-in on the U.S. VEA gives you 3,900 companies across Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia. You’re holding SAP, ASML, Toyota, Novo Nordisk. Median market cap around $48B.

The numbers: 7.9% annual returns over the last decade. Current dividend yield 2.6%. This kills the “home country bias” that keeps people broke.

The Shock Absorber: BND (Total Bond Market)

Bonds are boring. That’s the point. BND has a microscopic expense ratio (0.03%), so costs barely touch your returns. Most people sleep on bonds until the market cracks—then suddenly a 3.77% yield looks pretty smart.

Weird flex: BND actually popped 4.97% year-to-date, way above historical averages. Liang literally called it the portfolio’s “shock absorber.”

The Accelerator: Real Estate (REIT or Standalone Property)

This is where the wealth actually compounds. Liang says this is still the fastest path to financial independence if you’re serious about it.

The play: Buy a home, live in part of it, rent the rest out. Scale that into multiple properties. Real estate moves way faster than index funds when you actually have control and leverage.

Bottom line: Stock ETF + International ETF + Bonds + Real Estate = portfolio that actually makes money. Not exciting. Exactly why it works.