Recent content by cyclone6

I would like to generate income from the fixed income portion of my portfolio that exceeds the measly yields ZIRP has given in CDs and MMs. So this is what I came up with... BND: 25% - Vanguard Total Bond DLTNX: 25% - Doubleline Total Return Bond NUV: 25% - Nuveen Municipal Value fund...

I guess I did not consider that. But its an excellent point. Most funds list their average duration at cefconnect.com (those that don't I simply ignore from that point on), and their effective leverage. So I assume that duration x effective leverage = effective duration? I owned LEO years...

Muni bond CEFs have been getting hammered lately. And discounts to NAV are among some of the highest ever seen for some of these funds (with the exception of the 2008-2009 meltdown). Yields of 6% + - tax free - for bond durations of less than 6 years sure is tempting. Anybody picking up some...

FIREd: What metric do you use? When you reduce your stock %, is it across the board (intl/domestic, small cap/mid cap) - or are there some metrics you use for different stock asset classes? The only one I know of is for the S&P 500, the Shiller PE. Glad to see I'm not the only one...

Thanks Midpack! I found a couple of links that I will consider: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/29448/1/MPRA_paper_29448.pdf Asset Allocation Central I agree with you. Annual re-balancing sort of accomplishes the same thing. But adjusting stock percentages up or down should, theoretically...

Does anybody adjust allocation percentages based on stock market valuations? I am thinking of moving percentages up and down based on the PE10 - available for download from Yale each month - at each annual re-balancing. I know the general consensus here seems to be valuations don't matter, but...

The thought of some time by the beach in the dead of winter sure sounds appealing! Tampa appears to have one of the most depressed housing markets around - lots of properties listed at 1/4 to 1/2 of what they cost here in Colorado. Anybody live in the Tampa area? Any advice about the local...

Agreed - great links rayvt! ItDontMeanAThing and NW-Bound...one of my earlier attempts at putting something together included the slicing and dicing of market capitalizations of both the Domestic and International markets. Much along the lines Merriman proposes. I may still go that way... My...

Thanks for the comments. I agree completely that the table to use PE10 ratios to adjust stock percentages is far too detailed...think maybe I will tone that down and make it much more broad so that I am not jumping around every year. Seems like too much work. As for the commodities and REITS...

I've struggled with this for a long time. Total information overload. But I think this is the plan I am going to implement...and would appreciate any comments or feedback. About me: 48 years old Single Total investable assets: $1550000 Partially retired (making about 25-30k/yr working...

Has anyone used Everbanks foreign currency CDs? There appears to be some attractive short-term (3-6 month) rates available for Brazil, S. Africa and India. I know there are possible currency fluctuation concerns with these CDs - but for such short terms is the risk really that great? Is there...

So what it the advantage to using options to lock in a price instead of just shorting an equal number of shares? Sorry for my ignorance...I have no options experience whatsoever...

Here is my situation: I bought a significant amount of Altria (MO) on Oct 26 2009. It is up 27% since I bought it. I am very concerned that the market is about to take a significant hit this fall. So: 1) If I sell MO now, it will be a short-term gain 2) If I wait until Oct 27 to sell, it...

Therein lies the problem. We were "made fun of" when the DOW was at 14200. And 12000. And 10000. And 8000. Markets go up - and down. But if you post that you think its going down, you get flamed. Call it what you will, but if you're not following the herd (lemmings?) and post a counter...

It wasn't necessarily in this thread that the shout downs occurred. But it became such commonplace to my posting concerns over market valuations that I eventually cut way back on posting. All I can say is that I'm damn grateful that I heeded the advice of a few of the non-CNBC pumpers who...