This is an excerpt from the video titled Is a 3 ETF Portfolio Enough? with Ron DeLegge at ETFguide and Andrew Kadjeski at the Vanguard Group. Ron: The U.S. ETF Marketplace has grown to just over 2,350 ETFs with $4.4 trillion dollars. And with a marketplace that’s become this crowded, it’s created both chaos and …
The difference between well-built and poorly designed buildings can be strikingly drastic. Take for example, I.M. Pei, the Chinese-American architect, who is a legend in his profession and has won many prestigious awards, including the Pritzker Prize. Among all the illustrious structures he’s designed, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH is the …
Hedging, for some investors, sounds complicated. In reality, it’s not because it’s all about reducing investment risk. Who can’t understand that? Sometimes stock prices go up, sometimes they go down. That’s how financial markets work. But over the past 8 years, stock prices have enjoyed consecutive yearly gains by making one all-time high after another. How can …
Do you own mutual funds? If you do, there’s a hidden trap called “style drift” that could be increasing the risk of your investment portfolio. How does style drift happen? Style drift occurs when the fund’s portfolio manager begins to deviate from the fund’s investment objective. For example, a mutual fund that is labeled and categorized as …
The ho-hum utilities sector is the antithesis of popular stocks like Netflix (NasdaqGS:NFLX) and Tesla (NasdaqGS:TSLA). It’s a hyper un-sexy industry sector that’s been long associated with widows and orphans, rather than hotshot entrepreneurs who like to build rocket ships in the office parking lot. And guess what? The widows and orphans are beating the hotshots! Moreover, the widows …
Globe’s Dullest Sector is Effortlessly Beating the S&P 500 Read More »
The beginning of a new year is always an important moment for personal reflection. And whatever it is that we want from our lives – whether it’s to become a better spouse, begin a new exercise routine, or just become better people – we must recognize that change is imperative if we’re going to reach our goals. …
(Podcast) Your 2016 Investing Philosophy in Just Three Words Read More »
During the 1849 California Gold Rush people sold all their possessions to chase gold (NYSEARCA:IAU). A small minority hit the jackpot, but most did not. Back then, the few people that did get wealthy by not diversifying were the hyper-extreme exception, not the rule. And it’s the same today. In retrospect, investors that overstuffed their portfolios …
A good investment plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow. Unfortunately, most people don’t have either. What about you? Building a healthy portfolio with sustainable and satisfactory performance doesn’t happen by accident. It takes planning and having the proper framework. Phase 1 The process of assembling and managing your investments is comparable to the construction of a building. Before …
Your Investment Portfolio’s Foundation: Where Should it Be Built? Read More »
Let’s examine the facts and fiction about portfolio diversification. Fiction: A 60/40 stock and bond portfolio (Nasdaq:VBMVX) is fully diversified. Fact: Only investment portfolios with market exposure to all the major asset classes – not just stocks and bonds (NYSEARCA:BND) – but real estate, commodities, and cash too are fully diversified. That means a 60/40 stock …
Facts and Fiction about Portfolio Diversification Read More »
Have you ever wondered why mutual funds that have 80% of their exposure to U.S. stocks (NYSEARCA:SCHB) and the other 20% to international stocks (NYSEARCA:EFA) are still measuring their performance versus the S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:VOO)? Shouldn’t they be using a blended 80/20 passive benchmark to do a proper apples-to-apples measurement? Why don’t they do this? …
What’s the Proper Way to Measure Your Portfolio’s Performance? Read More »
What is the optimal investment portfolio? Is it the one that contains the hottest performing stocks and funds? Actually, it’s the portfolio that perfectly represents a person’s psychology, life circumstances, financial needs, and future goals. My latest Portfolio Report Card is for K.B., a 49 year-old U.S. Marine Officer serving overseas. He told me he …
Portfolio Report Card: A $171, 000 Retirement Portfolio Weighed Down by Cost Read More »
What are the attributes of a world-class investment portfolio that even Warren Buffett would bless? Buffett’s 2013 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders gives us a clue: “The ‘know-nothing’ investor who both diversifies and keeps his costs minimal is virtually certain to get satisfactory results. Indeed, the unsophisticated investor who is realistic about his shortcomings is …
A Portfolio Strategy Warren Buffett Would Approve Read More »
Commodities have outperformed stocks since the start of the year, but many investors have not benefited. Why? Because if there’s one category where most investment portfolios are lacking market exposure, it’s probably commodities. Unless you live on a farm, most of us don’t have enough storage space for 150 barrels of crude oil (NYSEARCA:USO) or …
2 Easy Ways to Add Commodities to Your Portfolio Read More »