[kh99]

$templater->render() returns a string, so just calling it doesn't produce anything. if your portal template represents and entire html document, then you can call print_output(), like

$templater = vB_Template::create('portal');
print_output($templater->render());

Note that print_output() doesn't return, so it has to be the last thing you call.

If the portal template isn't an entire document, then you need to save the string in a variable, then use it in another template.