Evaluate my portfolio

[lazyday]

For a conservative investor concerned about volatility, it's surprising to see about an 11%+11%+18%=40% exposure to the U.S. dollar getting stronger.

(It might not be appropriate to include the full % from commodities; I haven't worked that out yet.)

Not sure what ideal % is for conservative, volatility fearing investor, perhaps something between 15% and 25%? Probably no biggie to go a little over that, but I don't understand why foreign bonds need to be in the portfolio.

If you plan to live outside the U.S. at some point, or have significant expenses that would go up when the dollar falls, then you might ignore the above.


Too value tilted? I don't know; my guess is that total market is safer than most any combination or tilt today, but that's just my current opinion...


On EM--my guess is that it would add a diversification benefit. Doesn't need to be a huge % of portfolio. You could just add the actual market weight.


Congrats on those 3% ibonds!

 

[soupcxan]

For a conservative investor concerned about volatility, it's surprising to see about an 11%+11%+18%=40% exposure to the U.S. dollar getting stronger.

My understanding is that a foreign stock fund isn't a currency play, because the fund hedges away most of the FX risk. And the commodities fund does have some exposure to USD FX (but not 100%, unsure of the magnitude) but that makes sense - if commodities that the US imports get more expensive, then my personal inflation rate will increase, so DJP will help offset that. I'm comfortable with <22% in non-USD exposure, it's not just about volatility - it's about correlation and the effect on the overall portfolio.

Does anyone know if DJP will start paying dividends/distributions at some point in the future? Or is it all held inside the fund's NAV until you realize capital gains?

I think some EM would be good, so we'll see how Vanguard's new Total Int'l ex-US based on the FTSE index looks when it comes out in the next few months.

 

[brewer12345]

Does anyone know if DJP will start paying dividends/distributions at some point in the future? Or is it all held inside the fund's NAV until you realize capital gains?

DJP isn't a fund. It is technically a zero coupon bond issued by Barclays. So no distributions until maturity.

 

[lazyday]

My understanding is that a foreign stock fund isn't a currency play, because the fund hedges away most of the FX risk.

Some funds do, but not Vanguard index funds. You can check the prospectus; if they hedged, it would say so.