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Old 12-07-2014, 09:53 PM   #21
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Mostly passive.....except for pssst Wellesley.

I buy passive index funds to keep costs down. I manage my portfolio by rebalancing.
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Old 12-07-2014, 10:43 PM   #22
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Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Kansas City
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95% passive - 100% of retirement in VG Target Retirement aka passive plus full auto when it comes to rebalancing.

5% in a few good stocks for medical reasons to keep male hormones from flaring up too badly. My stock picks over the decades have been like my football teams - scarce victories - Saint's, Chiefs and my old alma mater Washington Huskies.

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Old 12-08-2014, 12:19 AM   #23
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The only domestic ETFs that aren't indexed are the dividend-type from the likes of Vanguard.

My only actively-managed mutual funds and some closed-end/ETFs are for foreign stocks. If I only chose index for foreign, there's a huge # of stocks that I don't have exposure to. By going with a lot of active-managed funds for foreign, the hope is that they continue their mission of not just replicating the index, and instead trying to get exposure to many small/mid cap foreign companies that the foreign indexes (often just the top 20 or top 40) don't have.
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Old 12-08-2014, 02:08 AM   #24
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i started tracking an etf/index model that interested me over the last year just for comparison to the active models i do use. i have been evaluating what i would have done if i made the swich vs what i am doing as one day i was hoping to cut expenses by making the switch..


the etf model is a 50/50 mix with very broad coverage including commodity coverage. basically it is designed to be a buy and die static model which carries through year to year with just rebalancing.

the models i do use are a bit more conservative and have no tips or commodity coverage at the moment.. i have 2/3's in the fidelity insight income model and 1/3 in the growth and income model. the funds in the models change dynamically and nudge the portfolio based on the world around it as opposed to static forever.


the retirement portfolio i find interesting is :

2 years of withdrawals in cash. that is about 8% of the total

6% in BSV VANGUARD SHORT TERM BOND INDEX ETF

10% BND VANGUARD TOTAL BOND ETF

04% LQD I-SHARES INVESTMENT GRADE CORPORATE BONDS ETF

7% VTIP VANGUARD SHORT TERM INFLATION PROTECTED BONDS

5% VANGUARD WELLESLEY INCOME FUND (ONLY NON ETF).
23% VIG VANGUARD DIVIDEND APPRECIATION ETF

14% VTI VANGUARD TOTAL MARKET ETF

13% VXUS VANGUARD TOTAL INTERNATIONAL ETF

5% JNK BARCLAYS HIGH YIELD BOND ETF

5% DBC COMMODITY FUND ETF

NUMBERS ARE ROUNDED OFF.



no doubt in a straight up bull run the etf model would win.

but so far it has been kind of an up and down ride this past year.

so startng with about 2.50 million in each the active more conservative model is ahead by about 35k.

the etf model took a nasty dip early on and has not recovered well from it. the drag of the commodities portion being down about 30k hurt it.

without such broad coverage and if we didn't try to have commodities coverage they would have been neck and neck.

at the worst point this past year the etf model was down 70k from the active model.

but the comparison is not to compare apples to apples ,it was to compare had i done the changeover how would i have done.


of course 1 year means little but it is quite interesting watching them move against each other .

it also shows that while expenses do mean something the biggest factors will be allocations and most important your own entrance and exit points.

it is very difficult to compare portfolio performance and not just funds since so many variable factors enter the equation.

while over the decades my fidelity insight growth model did very very well ,i really can't compare it to a what if i did the same thing indexing or using etf's and had even lower expenses since many of the funds have no equals.

with allocations out weighing everything else you just can not compare apples to apples easily .


there really is no way i can compare results that would be apples to apples . this is more a case of how would i have done if i did what i was going to do vs what i am doing.


today since i am a far more conservative investor than i was i really have my own benchmark i use.

did i beat doing nothing and just buying a bunch of muni bonds and calling it a day. was the effort , pain at times and hassle of dealing with markets worth it.

if i did better , i am happy and it was worth the effort,

if my portfolio allows me to sleep at night and generates my income goals that is all i care about . i couldn't really care as to whether i squeaked out an extra couple of percent or beat some index.

it is only about me now and my portfolio requirements and no longer am i as focused on growing richer as much as i am focused on not growing poorer .
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Old 12-09-2014, 10:30 AM   #25
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Passive for the last few years since retirement. It has worked out well and we are pleased with the service and the results.
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Old 12-09-2014, 01:48 PM   #26
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I'm about half and half active vs. passive - all my active stuff is in Fidelity (including 401k) and all my passive is in Vanguard. I've stuck with Contrafund, Growth Co. etc. for almost 25 years now and haven't been disappointed in the returns (vs. S&P), and now I'm in way too deep tax-wise to consider selling them all off for passives instead. Or at least it would take some number of years to do so, so they might be the first funds I pick to sell for expenses if they start getting worse.

Fidelity has been good to me.
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Old 12-09-2014, 02:35 PM   #27
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Both, portfolio is:
43% indexed stocks
19% managed stocks
6% indexed bonds
32% managed bonds
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Old 12-09-2014, 04:02 PM   #28
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89% VG and Dodge and Cox mutual funds, all indexed except Wellesley and Dodge and Cox Income

11% individual stocks (BHP, CELG)

AA 41/56/3
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Old 12-09-2014, 05:08 PM   #29
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My biggest single holding is an index fund that has done just fine over the last 10 years.

My second biggest holding is Wellesley. Enough said.

My third biggest is Wellington. Enough said.

My fourth biggest is an managed bond fund that has crushed its index over 10 years.

My fifth biggest is a managed stock fund that has consistently beaten its index over 10 years.

So, bottom line, I'm happily in the "mixed" category.

Alas, I have 12 funds, 4 ETFs, three stocks, and several individual bonds, so I'm sitting on quite a conglomeration of investments. Eventually I'll simplify more, but for the time being I'm content.
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Old 12-09-2014, 05:41 PM   #30
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I'm 100% passive. I experimented with some individual stock picking myself years ago with a tiny fraction of my portfolio and determined that I didn't enjoy it/find it interesting, and the active funds my 401ks were in were purely based on what was available at each company I worked at. When I rolled all my existing 401ks into a single rollover IRA at Vanguard, I got rid of all my active funds.
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Old 12-28-2014, 06:13 AM   #31
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We use 60% VT (passive) for equities and 35% PIGIX (active) for bonds.


VT costs us 0.83% (ER = 0.18% + 0.65% taxes) and PIGIX costs us 0.49% (ER = 0.49% + 0% taxes) per year.
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Old 12-28-2014, 06:58 AM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Retch The Grate View Post
I'm 100% passive. I experimented with some individual stock picking myself years ago with a tiny fraction of my portfolio and determined that I didn't enjoy it/find it interesting, and the active funds my 401ks were in were purely based on what was available at each company I worked at. When I rolled all my existing 401ks into a single rollover IRA at Vanguard, I got rid of all my active funds.
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