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Re: Asset Allocation Critique
Old 11-19-2003, 03:56 AM   #4
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 398
WilliamG,

While your allocation to stocks soeems reasonable, I'd say that there is too much in "cash equivalents," which include not only the Vanguard Short Term Corporate Fund, but also whatever bonds are about to mature.

I would make three suggestions:

1. Drop the stock allocation to about 50%, and drop the "cash equivalent" allocation enough to put about 15% of you assets in one or more high yield bond funds. I'm not sure whether Vanguard's is open to new investors, but TIAA-CREF has one that is equivalent, and T.R. Price also has a good one. Fidelity's High Income Fund and Capital and Income Fund offer higher returns, but with greater volatility. (In terms of volatility, high yield bonds act about 2/3 like bonds and 1/3 like stocks.)

2. Put any long term bonds (greater than 5 years) into TIPs. Now that you are retired, the tax deferral of the gains on I Bonds probably does not compensate for the lower interest that they pay relative to TIPs.

3. Check the average maturity of your GNMA bonds. If it is more than about 5 years, I would sell those and buy TIPs to protect against loss of value if long term interest rates rise, which I think is very likely. When they do, you might consider putting some money back into GNMA or other longer term bonds.
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