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01-04-2008, 08:33 AM
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#21
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
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I'm about 2/3 in index funds and the other 1/3 in funds with good long-term performance and reasonably low expenses (below 1%). I get the feeling, though I certainly can't demonstrate it, that we are entering a churning stock picker's market as opposed to a strong bull or a strong bear. If that's the case, good managers could add value...but my *core* holdings are, and will continue to be, index funds and ETFs.
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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01-04-2008, 08:53 AM
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#22
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: west bloomfield MI
Posts: 2,223
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as of January 1, the only index funds we own will be the two in my wife's 401k, about 5% of the total portfolio. The rest is in managed funds with T Rowe Price or the funds in my employer managed 401k (institutional funds I think is what they are called).
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Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. One person's stupidity is another person's job security.
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01-04-2008, 11:51 AM
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#23
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Boise
Posts: 7,631
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My retirement funds are 100% index funds. 2Cor521
__________________
"At times the world can seem an unfriendly and sinister place, but believe us when we say there is much more good in it than bad. All you have to do is look hard enough, and what might seem to be a series of unfortunate events, may in fact be the first steps of a journey." Violet Baudelaire.
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01-04-2008, 01:18 PM
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#24
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,483
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0%, but you guys know that already.........
__________________
Consult with your own advisor or representative. My thoughts should not be construed as investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results (love that one).......:)
This Thread is USELESS without pics.........:)
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01-12-2008, 05:34 AM
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#25
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 886
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 Quote:
Originally Posted by Trek
Though I got to thinking if I die, can my wife get my assets in the U.S. relatively trouble free or would that be a severe hassle, her not being a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident? I assume she wouldn't be able to keep the funds as they were.
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Cool. Turns out I can transfer up to $2 million in assets to my non-citizen spouse estate tax free at my death. Vanguard here I come!
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01-12-2008, 10:30 AM
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#26
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Dryer sheet wannabe
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 20
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Currently sitting at 80% Index funds, with the hopes to make the switch to lower ETF's in the near future.
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01-12-2008, 11:15 AM
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#27
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Bossier City
Posts: 2,183
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Yes, I'm currently 100% Index funds. That's my whole portfolio. Only other thing I have going is the 2 govt. pensions I'm building. I am about to open a ROTH IRA with Vanguard for 2007, though. Probably will use a Lifecycle type fund for that, most likely a 2015 version.
__________________
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
-John F. Kennedy
“Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?” - Edgar Bergen
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01-13-2008, 02:27 AM
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#28
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,713
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trek
Cool. Turns out I can transfer up to $2 million in assets to my non-citizen spouse estate tax free at my death.
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As long as you die before 2011. 
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01-13-2008, 02:37 AM
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#29
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 886
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What happens then? I don't recall reading about a change in the tax law then?
Edit: Just looked it up and saw it goes back to $1M. That's ok, I'll probably never even get there.
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01-13-2008, 09:34 AM
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#30
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: DFW
Posts: 2,014
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No I am not 100% index funds. But, the serious money is in Vanguard index funds. I made the move from my 401k and another IRA shortly after I retired. I believe it is the way to go if you are not inclined to research everything or trust a financial guru to make all your investments.
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Resist much. Obey Little. . . . Ed Abbey
Disclaimer: My Posts are for my amusement only.
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01-13-2008, 11:11 AM
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#31
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 1,563
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index
What was your total return last year on this mix? It looks like a good mix.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Retire Soon
100% of my portfolio is invested with the following Vanguard funds:
Total Stock Market Index-50%
Total Bond Market Index-9%
Intermediate Term Treasuries-23%
Inflation-Protected Securities-12%
Prime Money Market-6%
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01-13-2008, 11:18 AM
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#32
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,704
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im not 100% in index but my etf mix is
24% shy
15% tip
21% pwb
15% vti
15% ivv
10% pid
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01-13-2008, 11:45 AM
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#33
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 2,657
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Moving to all index funds, except a couple active funds which are holdovers for one reason or another (big cap gain, restricted account, sentimental attachment, etc) but will move if ever it makes sense. About 90% index at this point. Oh, and a tiny pot of "mad money" for goofing around with individual stocks.
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01-13-2008, 03:19 PM
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#34
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Charlotte
Posts: 360
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We are about 2/3 indexed. The 3 Total Market funds and we recently re-added the REIT index. The other 1/3 is in Vanguard's income oriented balanced fund. Thus we have some managed stock and bond to go along with the indexed. Also like having the on-going rebalancing of the balanced fund to complement the infrequent rebalancing we try to maintain with the index funds.
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01-13-2008, 10:54 PM
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#35
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: yonder
Posts: 2,851
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It's about 50% managed funds, 30% index and the rest ETFs. (I'm guessing that's around 20%). The managed funds were basically the first funds that I bought and I've had them a long time. Then, I started buying the index funds, and now, more recently, ETFs. It's something about ETFs--they just give me a freedom from all sorts of rules that come with mutual funds.
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01-13-2008, 10:56 PM
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#36
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Orlando
Posts: 2,601
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100% of our mutual funds are index funds.
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Index Funds should be the default selection
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01-13-2008, 11:16 PM
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#37
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 84
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Index Funds should be the default selection
I haven't used Vanguard products much, but will likely do so in the future.
I bought and have done well with EEM, which is a Barclay's ETF, tracking the EAFE index. But, Vanguard has an ETF called VWO that tracks the same index at a lower management cost. When I've compared the two on the Yahoo finance site, VWO has generally won out. For various reasons, including your location, ETFs may be preferable to mutual funds.
VTI is Vanguard's ETF for the total U.S. stock market index (the Wilshire 5000 index). This has an expense ratio of only 0.07% - which I think is the lowest on record.
I think index funds should be the default selection. On certain occasions some new shining start of a fund manager may catch your eye, but I think those are the exceptions not the rule.
I also own some Berkshire B shares, which I treat as a balanced fund of sorts. It's good for taxable accounts since it does not pay any dividends and has usually exhibited less volatility than the market as a whole.
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