Investment

» allancoleman - Train Leaving the Station?

In response to Train Leaving the Station? posted by bob90245:

Hello bob90245 ,

Sy harding hasn't given up on his fall correction just quite yet , but he does allow that time is running out on that possible buying opportunity . He has posted recently that in back dating his system that there has been a couple of years where his " sell in May and go away " and buying back into the market on a fall ( October / November ) dip did NOT occur .

I don't pay or subscribe to Sy's service . I think Normxxx does . I've found that by checking Sy's web site weekly that i can follow his system as close as I need cause i'm not concerned about nailing the exact turnaround date . And i've found , as you've stated , that the MACD indicator is what Sy is going by anyway . So by me just watching that technical indicator and reading Sy's weekly freebie commentary is enuf for me .

-- posted by allancoleman

» bob90245 - Fall 2006

In response to Winter 2006 posted by bob90245:

Just deployed my "explore" assets for the Favorable Season. Here is my current asset allocation:

9.3% Lrg Blend ( IWV )
7.3% Lrg Value ( VTV, IWE )
7.6% Mid cap ( IWR )
7.6% Sml Value ( FLPSX )
7.7% REITs ( VGSIX )
7.5% International ( FDIVX )
4.5% Int'l Value ( EFV )
4.0% Explore ( DVY, QQQQ, VTI, Company Stock )
30.6% Bonds ( 401k Stable Value Fund, 5-yr CDs, I-Bonds, FTHRX, VFIIX, EIA, NVX )
13.9% Cash

Still transitioning my portfolio to be more like the Coffeehouse Portfolio (equal percentages for each stock asset class). But because of their huge capital gains, I'm going very slowly selling my large IWV holdings. I'll be selling more IWV next year to push the tax hit into 2007.

-- posted by bob90245

» SteveT - Lowered equities

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Just placed orders to lower my allocation from 80% equities to 75%. Of that 75%; 25% is still International. All done in 401(k)s to save commissions.
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-- posted by SteveT

» trnhlxfgh - Asset Assessment Tools????

What do you recommend for an asset allocation assessment tool? I can go to vanguard.com and see my accounts there. I can go to 401k.com and see my accounts there. I can go to treasury direct and see savings bonds there, and I can pull out old paper ones and look at them.

Is there a tool where I can input all of my holdings and see the whole picture? A tool like that would have to know the asset allocation of each of my mutual funds too, so it can put the right percentages in each slice of the pie. I could just do a big spreadsheet, but it would not be able to keep up with asset allocation changes of various mutual funds.

Anyone know of something like that? Oh, and I'm hoping for something free of charge . . .

-- posted by trnhlxfgh

» SteveT - Asset Assessment Tools????

In response to Asset Assessment Tools???? posted by trnhlxfgh:
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I built my own Excel spreadsheet that does just what you described. I would guess there are programs or sites that would accomplish what you seek but I prefer to try to keep those matter a little more under my control and minimize the chances my personal info parading around cyberspace.
Mine spreadsheet uses one page for the totals I just plug in the current NAVs and stock prices etc. When done my allocation is listed along with my target percentages from the various asset classes.

-- posted by SteveT

» trnhlxfgh - Asset Assessment Tools????

In response to Asset Assessment Tools???? posted by SteveT:

How do you keep it up to date as the allocations of your mutual funds change?

-- posted by trnhlxfgh

» SteveT - Asset Assessment Tools????

In response to Asset Assessment Tools???? posted by trnhlxfgh:

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That involves changing the formulas but for me that is not a big deal since most of my funds are total market index funds. That helps keep it simple.

-- posted by SteveT

» smile_1 - Asset Assessment Tools????

In response to Asset Assessment Tools???? posted by trnhlxfgh:

Is there a tool where I can input all of my holdings and see the whole picture? A tool like that would have to know the asset allocation of each of my mutual funds too, so it can put the right percentages in each slice of the pie.

Anyone know of something like that? Oh, and I'm hoping for something free of charge . . .
_________________

The best tool like that I have seen is Morningstar's Instant X-Ray.

The free version does not allow you to save your portfolio. The paid version does. There are a number of other Portfolio analysis tools there at Morningstar too. I think they have a free trial for the premium features like Asset Allocator and Portfolio Allocator.

site map:

http://www.morningstar.com/SiteMap.html?...

Instant X-Ray:

http://portfolio.morningstar.com/NewPort...

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Also here is a link to some portfolio trackers: http://www.sectorupdates.com/create.asp

some of the links may be a bit stale.

-- posted by smile_1

» runner26 - Asset Assessment Tools????

In response to Asset Assessment Tools???? posted by trnhlxfgh:
I use my Vanguard account. It allows me to input and save my 401K, 457, Non Vanguard mutual funds, bank accounts and Treasury Direct Bonds, etc. That way I can get an instant snapshot and analysis of my total portfolio on the Portfolio Watch tab. You enter outside investments on the "Accounts and Activities" tab.

Some things I have to fudge. For example, my 401K has an S&P 500 managed by CALPERS. I just convert the amount to the equivalent shares of the Vanguard S&P. They track fairly closely. I just update the equivalent from time to time. It's close enought for the analysis.

-- posted by runner26

» runner26 - 'Lazy portfolios' win again

'Lazy portfolios' win again, beat S&P 500!

And 'lazy' win streak likely to extend into '07 for a fifth year

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- No fifth year in the bull run? That was last week's red flag. So how do you protect yourself? Let's begin with that good old Wall Street adage: "You make your money in stocks, you keep it in bonds." Here's the modern version: "You make money in stocks, you keep it in a lazy portfolio!"

Why? Two reasons. Unless you're working full-time in the financial world, you don't have the skills, tools, information, time or interest in playing the market, especially the bond market. And even if you do play the market, the odds are you'll lose because the more you trade the less you earn; transaction costs and taxes kill returns. So for 94 million out of America's 95 million investors, being a lazy investor is the best defensive strategy.

In fact, even the hotshots working full-time in the financial world follow the same strategy with the bulk of their assets. It's their biggest secret. Mutual fund managers making an average $400,000-plus playing the market with your money, often lock away the bulk of their retirement assets in safe, untouchable portfolios using a variation of a lazy portfolio strategy. Why not, they're no dummies, they've got families to protect too.

And if you haven't figured it out from reading about lazy portfolios the past five years since we've written the book and updated them periodically, lazy investing is nothing more than the good old "Modern Portfolio Theory" put into action: Simple, well-diversified portfolios of three to 11 no-load index funds, either mutual funds or ETFs.

But, unfortunately, Wall Street doesn't want you to use this Nobel Prize-winning strategy because it can't rake off enough in transactions fees from index funds.

So how'd the 'Lazy Portfolios' do last year? Same old dull, boring results as the past five years! They beat the pants off the S&P 500, that's what.

Morningstar tallied the results for us, with the Aronson portfolio the three- and five-year winner, and Swensen's portfolio the 2006 winner. Take a close look folks:
(more)
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/la...

-- posted by runner26