How complex is your portfolio?

[Lagniappe]

This exercise has been helpful - I see a few opportunities to move and simplify, with limited tax consequences. When I roll over the 401K to the IRA next year, I should be able to get down to 5 funds.

Taxable - 80%
VTSAX - Vanguard Total Market Admiral
VTIAX - Vanguard Total Intl Admiral
VMLUX - Lmtd Term Tax Exempt Admiral
VWENX - Wellington Admiral
VMMXX - Prime Money Market

Tax Deferred - Rollover IRA (12%)
VTIAX - Total Intl Admiral
VBTLX - Total Bond Market Admiral

Tax Deferred - 401K (8%) - Tracking funds, no ticker
US Bond Index Fund
Large Cap Stock Fund
Small Cap Stock Fund
Europacific Index Fund

 

[Free To Canoe]

Recent article on Bonds and Bond Funds:Bank Savers Get Zero Returns – Is It Time To Invest In Bond Funds? | Problem Bank List

A good basics overview for bond investing. The graph is telling. We are in uncharted territory according to it.

Someone on this forum always chimes in that you should always pay attention to what Bill Gross does but not to what he says.

Most of my bond holdings have low duration. I have trouble getting enthusaism for them. I have become a big fan of the treasury I bonds program, though.

 

[yakers]

Pay attention to what Bill Gross does but not to what he says

 

[yakers]

I have to have some FI so I have increased my stable value fund and I bonds, only have bonds in some balanced funds like Wellesley. But bonds have done well while I have been dumpling them for a couple years now. How long can I wait for their decline?

 

[easysurfer]

I try to keep my portfolio simple.

Pretty much just:

Tot bond, tot US stock, tot Int'l Stock, MM fund.

I have an account of each class in taxable, and a counter part in IRA. When time to re-balance, I try to do so the most I can in IRA to avoid tax consequences.

My portfolio is simple enough to already be re-balanced yesterday and now ready for 2014

 

[mathjak107]

Pay attention to what Bill Gross does but not to what he says

he couldn not have been more wrong the last 2 years.

 

[Original Wally]

I am willing to share...

Well, I have PART (about 15%) in a company 457 plan with limited choises..

THAT pot is split about equally in

American Century Stragegic Alliance (Aggressive) TWSAX
Turner Mid Cap TMGFX and
Davis New York NYVTX

IRA Rollover (60+%)

in a modified Lazy portfolio - all Vanguard

Value Index VVIAX 10%
International Value VTRIX 9%
Energy VGENX 10%
Total Stock Index VTSAX 11%
Total International VTIAX 9%
Inflation Protected VIPSX 9%
REIT Index VGSLX 11%
Emerging Mrkts VEMAX 8%
Small Cap Value VSIAX 11%
Money Market VMMX 4%
and ONE non-Vanguard
American Century Intl Bonds BEGBX 8%

The balance (around 25%) is in a taxable portfolio @ VG too...

MMKT VMMX 1/2 of 1%
Value Index VVIAX 9%
Total Stock Index VTSAX 16%
Total International VTIAX 29%
Inflation Protected VIPSX 14%
REIT Index VGSLX 25%
High Yield Bond VWEH 5%

 

[braumeister]

I too am glad we had this thread, because it motivated me to begin simplifying (or at least de-complexifying) my portfolio. I've already begun this week, replacing six individual stocks with two funds. I plan to keep lowering the number of stocks and adding to those funds, but it's going to take time. Still, I've started the process and I feel good about it.

 

[RobLJ]

he couldn not have been more wrong the last 2 years.

PIMCO Total Return was up over 11% 1 year return (as of end of November). I don't have the more recent returns yet (checked Fidelity), but that's not very wrong. That's an outperformance of about 3% based on an Intermediate Bond index (even though comparing Total Return to an Intermediate Bond index is problematic).
He was wrong on Treasuries the year before, so you're half right.

 

[RobLJ]

the fund actually did worse then just doing the 4 parts on your own . not only because of fees but the portfolio is slanted more towards inflation with the actual fund.

If I were going Permanent with the whole nut or with a big account, then monitoring four funds probably would be worth it. Not for 1.5% of our investments, though.
I already have too many funds.

 

[mathjak107]

PIMCO Total Return was up over 11% 1 year return (as of end of November). I don't have the more recent returns yet (checked Fidelity), but that's not very wrong. That's an outperformance of about 3% based on an Intermediate Bond index (even though comparing Total Return to an Intermediate Bond index is problematic).
He was wrong on Treasuries the year before, so you're half right.

Nope he was wrong last year predicting low single digits gains for equities

 

[RobLJ]

Nope he was wrong last year predicting low single digits gains for equities

Well, OK. I thought you were talking about his investment performance. Watch what Bill the Grocer does, not what he says about stocks.

 

[pletal]

I am also glad we had this thread. My portfolio, if you can call it that, is too simple. 5 percent US Savings Bonds , 10 percent muni's , 85 percent CD's.

I better get studying or I'll be working forever.