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Old 02-29-2008, 07:38 AM   #21
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Like the others have said, a good plan is your ally in times of inflation and falling dollar. Or, so I understand and trust is the case.

Equities are important to protect you from inflation. A decent proportion in internationals will help you as the dollar falls. Bonds and small caps will strengthen your portfolio too, and make it more robust. All of the qualities of a good, diversified portfolio are meant to help you when economic times get rough.

Personally I didn't wait to buy my plan's designated proportion of Wellesley, but I am moving a little more gradually into the index equity funds in my plan. I should have everything in place by late spring. As others have said, equities are essentially on sale this winter/spring.

I have a very small Roth IRA that presently represents less than 2% of my portfolio. I regard it as the part of my portfolio that I allow myself to play with. Eventually I would like to have it in REIT's. I will wait a little longer before moving it into REIT's and try to catch them on the upswing, which might take a while at this rate. That is my main concession to the "dirty market timers".
lowest cost REIT fund i've found is VGSIX. it's one of my Roth IRAs. take a look at
Vanguard REIT Index Report (vgsix) | Snapshot

the fund is not a happy camper right now. better times down the road?
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Old 02-29-2008, 07:45 AM   #22
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lowest cost REIT fund i've found is VGSIX.
Actually, that is exactly the fund I am following and plan to get into, but LATER... as you suggest! My portfolio is 100% Vanguard so I suppose the selection of Vanguard's only REIT fund for my REITs is pretty predictable for me. I have been following the prices of that particular fund on a daily basis for months, for that reason.

I can bide my time and get into it on the upswing, as I stated above. That is my one concession to the "dirty market timers".

Oh, I edited my post that you quoted, in order to add some good references on building a diversified porfolio. Since it ended up on the last page, and since you happened to catch it while I was looking them up, here it is again:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Want2retire View Post
Like the others have said, a good plan is your ally in times of inflation and falling dollar. Or, so I understand and trust is the case.

Equities are important to protect you from inflation. A decent proportion in internationals will help you as the dollar falls. Bonds and small caps will strengthen your portfolio too, and make it more robust. All of the qualities of a good, diversified portfolio are meant to help you when economic times get rough. For information on how to construct such a portfolio, read some books with sound investment information such as The Four Pillars of Investing by William Bernstein, The Only Guide to a Winning Investment Strategy You'll Ever Need by Larry Swedroe, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing by Taylor Larimore et al., and All About Asset Allocation by Richard Ferri.

Personally I didn't wait to buy my plan's designated proportion of Wellesley, but I am moving a little more gradually into the index equity funds in my plan. I should have everything in place by late spring. As others have said, equities are essentially on sale this winter/spring.

I have a very small Roth IRA that presently represents less than 2% of my portfolio. I regard it as the part of my portfolio that I allow myself to play with (in a rather conservative way, I admit). Eventually I would like to have it in REIT's. I will wait a little longer before moving it into REIT's and try to catch them on the upswing, which might take a while at this rate. That is my main concession to the "dirty market timers".
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Old 02-29-2008, 07:49 AM   #23
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I think this is the ideal market for dollar cost averaging. That and holding back some cash.
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Old 02-29-2008, 08:06 AM   #24
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Actually, that is exactly the fund I am following and plan to get into, but LATER... as you suggest! My portfolio is 100% Vanguard so I suppose the selection of Vanguard's only REIT fund for my REITs is pretty predictable for me. I have been following the prices of that particular fund on a daily basis for months, for that reason.

I can bide my time and get into it on the upswing, as I stated above. That is my one concession to the "dirty market timers".

Oh, I edited my post that you quoted, in order to add some good references on building a diversified porfolio. Since it ended up on the last page, and since you happened to catch it while I was looking them up, here it is again:
bargain basement prices rule...i have a preferred morningstar subscription, so if you need some VGSIX data, let me know.
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Old 02-29-2008, 08:10 AM   #25
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Is that REIT fund Global? I think you're way early on trying to bottom fish the domestic REIT market. JMO.
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Old 02-29-2008, 08:20 AM   #26
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Is that REIT fund Global? I think you're way early on trying to bottom fish the domestic REIT market. JMO.
nope, domestic only. zero foreign stocks. asset alloc for VGSIX is 98.1% stocks, 1.9% cash.

very good advice on fishing. i'm already into it, over 5 years now. want2retire is thinking about it for future.
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Old 02-29-2008, 08:23 AM   #27
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bargain basement prices rule...i have a preferred morningstar subscription, so if you need some VGSIX data, let me know.
No, I don't need any data for a fund that I have personally followed for as long as I have followed this one (and many others that I also follow...) Thanks but getting the data is just not a problem for me!

Glad you also have an interest in one of the funds I had targeted, but I don't think it's that unusual of an REIT fund to be interested in. In fact, I would guess that probably half the people on this board either have some VGSIX or plan to get some at some point in the future. I mean, gee!! It's not like I "discovered" Vanguard or VGSIX - - or maybe I am giving people too much credit, here? :confused:

EDITED TO ADD: I didn't mean for this to sound so testy!!! And wouldn't you know it, when I went back to change it, I lost connectivity and had to mess around with that forever. Anyway, my apologies if I sounded grumpy. Must be hormones (or lack of same).
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Old 02-29-2008, 08:34 AM   #28
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Personally, I wouldn't even be considering VGSIX until it hits $16 (maybe not even then). Of course, if you're already in it, at least you're getting dividends. That's just my opinion.
I can see a value for international REIT's, but not domestic ones, at least not right now. Too much available land, too much instability amongst banks, too many questions over how to bail out companies, too many questions as to our next President and what he/she (boy that feels weird to say!) might have planned for the future.
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Old 02-29-2008, 08:46 AM   #29
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I can see a value for international REIT's, but not domestic ones, at least not right now. Too much available land, too much instability amongst banks, too many questions over how to bail out companies, too many questions as to our next President and what he/she (boy that feels weird to say!) might have planned for the future.
That makes more sense to invest now before all these uncertainties are lifted.
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Old 02-29-2008, 08:56 AM   #30
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(domestic) REIT is an area I added to this past January, as per my asset allocation. The asset class had been beaten up so bad the previous year, I had to invest quite a bit to bring it up to balance.

It's actually done quite well since then, and is now above allocation! It has certainly done much better than the rest of my equity funds YTD!

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Old 02-29-2008, 09:12 AM   #31
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(domestic) REIT is an area I added to this past January, as per my asset allocation. The asset class had been beaten up so bad the previous year, I had to invest quite a bit to bring it up to balance.

It's actually done quite well since then, and is now above allocation! It has certainly done much better than the rest of my equity funds YTD!

Audrey
I can imagine! I am really happy for you, and I am looking forward to shifting my "play" account over to VGSIX. It may not be too terribly long before I choose to make that move, but maybe not just yet. Since this is in my "play" account, I might as well go with my guts instead of my AA.

UncleMick calls his "play" investments, his testosterone investments - - I don't have a whole lot of testosterone involved, but I think it is helpful to have some small account that one is free to play around with!
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Old 02-29-2008, 09:34 AM   #32
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(domestic) REIT is an area I added to this past January, as per my asset allocation. The asset class had been beaten up so bad the previous year, I had to invest quite a bit to bring it up to balance.

It's actually done quite well since then, and is now above allocation! It has certainly done much better than the rest of my equity funds YTD!

Audrey
VGSIX was at $20.45 on 1/1/08. Today it's at $19.94. While it may be doing better than the rest of your portfolio, that's not a trend I'd want to jump into. I wouldn't want to be jumping into domestic REITS until I saw less sub prime, and more prime stuff taking a beating. Have you ever heard the expression "wait until there's blood in the streets"? The big boys won't be jumping in for a while, in my opinion.
At least for me, I'd rather be a week late than a week early. Again, this is just my opinion.
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Old 02-29-2008, 09:47 AM   #33
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If you are FIRE investing for the long term, today's indigestion will be seen to be a minor glitch.

Unless of course this is the precursor to total world-order economic meltdown,...
I couldn't agree more, Mitch. If the market crashes and stays crashed, it won't matter how many bonds you have, what you'll need is horses, bullets, and fish hooks! A water well with a solar panel wouldn't hurt, either.
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Old 02-29-2008, 10:01 AM   #34
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I didn't mean for this to sound so testy!!! And wouldn't you know it, when I went back to change it, I lost connectivity and had to mess around with that forever. Anyway, my apologies if I sounded grumpy. Must be hormones (or lack of same).

no problemo. actually, i thought your post was cool.

heck, i didn't even know what a REIT was 5 years ago. i think i saw it in Bogle's mutual fund book. so of course i had to go check it out.

18 years of the fed world made me an acronym junkie.
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Old 02-29-2008, 01:33 PM   #35
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VGSIX was at $20.45 on 1/1/08. Today it's at $19.94. While it may be doing better than the rest of your portfolio, that's not a trend I'd want to jump into. I wouldn't want to be jumping into domestic REITS until I saw less sub prime, and more prime stuff taking a beating. Have you ever heard the expression "wait until there's blood in the streets"? The big boys won't be jumping in for a while, in my opinion.
At least for me, I'd rather be a week late than a week early. Again, this is just my opinion.
FRESX was at $24.88 when I added to it on 1/3/08. It is at $25.75 as of yesterday, so I had gained YTD.

I am an AA investor - I only care about relative performance of asset classes within my portfolio. I don't try to time the market with the "big boys".

If things get bad enough in the short term (i.e. enough blood in the streets), I'll be rebalancing my portfolio yet again, but I suspect I'll be trimming my REITs to buy other equity asset classes at that time.

Audrey
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Old 02-29-2008, 03:31 PM   #36
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Another good day for those of us acquiring stocks this year.

DD
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Old 02-29-2008, 03:46 PM   #37
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Another good day for those of us acquiring stocks this year.

DD
please don't stop, i plan to buy QID next week and need someone to buy the stocks they sell
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Old 02-29-2008, 04:48 PM   #38
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please don't stop, i plan to buy QID next week and need someone to buy the stocks they sell
LOL. Unfortunately I'm not buying in that asset class currently

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Old 02-29-2008, 05:25 PM   #39
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Hmmm - I sold my VGSIX(reit index), sm cap value, high yield corp - Jan 2006 because I convinced myself I was in denial - ie really chasing performance instead of trying help my core 60/40ish balanced index with low correlation asset classes.

Cold Turkey - went 100% auto - everything into Target Retirement 2015 EXCEPT:

15% mad money for individual stocks. At 13 yrs into ER - I could look myself in the mirror and admit I was bad to the bone/totally incurable/and that I might go to my grave with the Saints never having won the Superbowl.

So full auto for retirement - and wild and free for my 15%. Slice and Dice, manual rebalancing, picking low correlation asset classes and that sort of thing lead me down the slippery slope to momentum and performance chasing - de nile is not just a river in Egypt.

heh heh heh - don't know where I heard that one.
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Old 02-29-2008, 06:37 PM   #40
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i personally think these target funds are a scam to keep the boomers money longer and keep collecting fees

for 30 years the financial media told us to rebalance into bonds as we get older. of course the stock fund people don't want to lose the fees, so they make up these target retirement funds
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