The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that a well-diversified portfolio includes significant exposure to U.S. stocks through all presidential administrations. The Globe's Rob Carrick writes that the S&P 500 has enjoyed a 36.5-per-cent return for the 12 months to Oct. 31. U.S. stocks have outdone Canadian and international stocks, which means they may well occupy more space in your portfolio than you originally intended. The right allocation to U.S. stocks varies widely, which tells you there is no one correct number. Mr. Carrick offers a few different investment products that weight the U.S. market. He uses balanced portfolios, with a rough mix of 60 per cent stocks and 40 per cent bonds, as a point of comparison. Among asset-allocation exchange-traded funds, the Vanguard Balanced ETF Portfolio (VBAL) has a 27.4-per-cent weighting in U.S. stocks, the iShares Core Balanced ETF Portfolio (XBAL) has 28.4 per cent in U.S. stocks, the Fidelity All-in-One Balanced ETF (FBAL) has 30 per cent and the TD Balanced ETF Portfolio (TBAL) has 25 per cent. Among mutual funds, the Mawer Balanced Fund has a 15.3-per-cent U.S. equity weighting, while the massive RBC Select Balanced Portfolio has 25 per cent.