Heyh Ron- been with American Funds for some 30 years. Absolutely do not understand "they've got him 90% in equities".
1) When it comes to allocation, there is no "they" at American Funds- you have to set up an account with them through a broker/adviser. If his broker/adviser doesn't have him set up the way he wants, why hasn't he been talking to them?
2) He has been getting quarterly statements from American Funds ever since he opened his account. Does he ever read them?
3) Once your account is set up at AF, you can easily deal with them directly on-line, without going through the broker. This is how I do it... my broker gave up years ago- says that "he can't keep track of what I'm doing, but it seems to be working OK". (Broker is friend... we see him at least once a year to go over things, but the only time he bothers me is if he sees that I'm doing something that may possibly be unsmart. He's cool.
It's hard to see how anyone but B-I-L is responsible for the present account configuration. On the other hand, almost all of the American Funds are sort of unexciting middle-of-the-road stuff, no sector stuff at all. Actually, Long-term buy and hold has worked pretty well with AF, as long as you can stay there long enough to recover from the inevitable occasional stock market disasters. And their balanced funds, while unexciting, actually hold up pretty well.
Their ERs are on the low side, but they do charge a front load starting at about 5.75%, which of course is why his broker used AF, same as mine. After all, he has kids to put through college. (B-I-L pays broker who pays David who buys groceries and puts his kids through college....) But once you have a sufficient account total (and they add all of the accounts, retirement and non-retirement together for this) the load goes down in steps all the way to "no-load".
B-I-L maybe should have talked to you a long time ago.
Hang in there...

Rono, since your b-i-l is conservative in the investment schtick, if he wants a one-fund solution, I'd prob'ly pick the most conservative of the Price one-funders: Personal Strat Conservative or Retirement Income. Price has pretty substantial allocations to stocks in the various one-fund products.
Or, he could roll his own, say with some combination of Prwcx, Pridx, Prhsx, and Prcix, Premx or even Rpsix on the bond side. Overall, though, I'm not a fan of Price's foreign offerings, and I'd like Rpsix much better if it were wholly a bond fund; just not real keen on the Equity Income fund.
Fwiw, in general, not knowing "the rest of the story," AJ

Hi Rono. At 20 years, you've been with TRP about three more than this neophyte. No comment on allocation. Too much depends on personal comfort level & one's market appraisal. Two favorites: (1) conservative allocation = PRWCX (ER .73), (2) moderate growth = PRSGX (ER .80). This one currently holds about 25% international with some EM - about all you'd need for decent growth. Read somewhere long ago Price subsidizes the low ER on "fund-of-funds" a bit, thinking it saves them money since investors who would otherwise be in half-dozen vehicles are consolidated into just one. Never been able to locate that again but believe it to be true. I use couple retirement funds, but not for purpose intended - more for stability within larger portfolio: TRRIX (ER .56) and TRRFX (ER .58). Second one appears slightly more aggressive - but not by much.
Free M* Analyst Reports on all TRP funds until March 31: http://analysis.morningstar.com/Centers/trowe-fund-list?PlacementGUID=97C7719F-0073-4E4C-A008-B5C6A98ECB29&adcode=7277&CreativeGUID=8d26a6db-d03a-4b5f-be6f-ad83d1d2ad8e

Hi, rono!
What do you/he think about Price's target-date funds? It's clear that Morningstar thinks of them as "best of breed."
I suppose one objection would be to their target asset allocation. For the 2015 fund, it's about 66% stocks - way more conservative than American, it seems. If you check the bottom on the portfolio page for any of the target-date funds, you'll see the asset allocation glide path: http://portfolios.morningstar.com/fund/summary?t=TRRGX&region=USA&culture=en-US.
If, given his circumstances, that seems too aggressive, you could use one of their diversified income funds as a core and then supplement it to tweak the allocation. Personal Strategy Income is 45% equities, Retirement Income is about 40% equities, Spectrum Income is about 12% (both are funds of funds), Strategic Income has almost none but targets high-yield and e.m. bonds.
Just a thought,
David

Howdy good people,
My brother in law is retiring and has a simple IRA that he wants to move from American funds to Price and reallocate. Currently, they've got him 90% in equities!!!! [I don't even recall being 90% long myself during the dot.com run].
Also, please note that I've been investing with Price for about 20 odd years, and so am familiar with a lot of their stuff. That said, I could still use your good offices in how to set him up and what are your particular Price fund favorites. Nothing fancy, just Price mutual funds.
He's 63 and just filed for social security; no debt, very conservative (worse than his sister and she's bad), other monies, wife has DB pension, benefits, successful kids, etc. His goals for this account, are basic capital preservation with some safe growth. Size, small 6 figs.
Thanks muchly,
peace,
rono

Yes, exactly my observation also re diversification. Unfortunately, the same investment requirements which reduce or remove the loads also require maintenance of such a high account level that it becomes an all or nothing situation... if we were to take a significant amount out of American the remainder would then be subject to load, if we were to move it around within American.
As we are primarily interested in a relatively non-volatile retirement environment at this juncture, as opposed to trying to grow our retirement funds, American Funds is minimally satisfactory for our needs. SmallCap World for example is, as you mention, very conservative but just fine for us. New Economy, ANEFX, seems similar. Capital World Growth & Income has been hopeless during the last ten years or so.
I also agree that American is living in the past... at some point they are going to have to deal with this. As msf mentions below, one saving grace is the relatively low ongoing ER; and as David Snowball somewhat famously observed, dull is sometimes good. However, I would not recommend American Funds for anyone younger due to the loading and lack of diversity involved.

Reply to @msf: Re load at AF: Yes, indeed, loads are waived under certain circumstances, in both retirement and non-retirement accounts. A significant investment is required, however.

Rolling over a Roth 401K into an IRA can be exceedingly tricky, as this article at Fairmark.com (an outstanding site for tax and IRA issues) attests.
Since you have significant assets in your current 401(k), you have the right to keep your money there if you so choose. If it is a low cost plan with good options (more typical of large plans than small ones), this is something to consider.
In thinking about where to move your 401(k), you'll want to think about where to put the pre-tax money as well - unless you're doing a simultaneous Roth conversion, that money will have to go somewhere else. You seem to be implying that you'd move that money to your new employer plan, but is that the best place for it, as opposed to leaving it where it is, or moving it to a traditional IRA with more flexibility?
Regarding the annuity itself, if it were a fixed annuity, where you had locked in a good rate for a period of years, and you could add to the annuity at the same rate and without extending the penalty period, it could be a good deal. But since you added the comment that it's a VA, the only rates we're talking about are annuitization rates (or possibly guaranteed minimum withdrawal rates). What are your plans regarding withdrawals - how many years down the road are we talking, do you anticipate annuitizing (98% of people do not, which I think is sometimes a mistake but then I'm obviously in the tiny minority :-), does it have a rider for minimum withdrawals that you were planning to rely on, etc.?
If the answer is essentially no - you weren't planning on using this for cash flow in retirement, then the rate guarantee has no value. If you were, then you begin to look at how valuable that guarantee is, and for that matter, whether you can get that same guarantee by adding the money just before you start drawing it out. (In that case, you could move the Roth money elsewhere, and then transfer it in when you wanted to start annuitizing or otherwise withdrawing.)
I'm guessing, since the annuity is 20 years old, that it doesn't come with a withdrawal rider (that's a fairly new "innovation"). So the question could be as simple as what the guaranteed rate of return is once you annuitize (and are you planning to annuitize).

Some interesting thoughts. In my mind, I compare and contrast them with Fidelity and Vanguard, for different reasons. Like Fidelity (especially in the 90s) I think they focus on conservative investors (Fidelity pushed the retirement plan side of the house and reigned in its managers). And this can lead to a lot of similar, lackluster performance. Not to mention that many of Fidelity's funds rely on the same analysts, which can also lead to similar performance.
I've tended to view American Funds as the closest the load world has to Vanguard - low cost, efficiently run, somewhat dull. But one major difference (and something that makes Vanguard more of a one-stop shop than almost anyone else) is that Vanguard outsources the day to day management of many of its funds to a variety of different management companies with very different styles - the antithesis of American. Like American, Vanguard is into the multi-manager approach, but uses different sets of managers for different funds.
Curious about your opinion of Euro Pacific Growth. That has always seemed a bright spot to me in their roster, and despite being the 800 lb gorilla in the room (isn't that the case for all their funds?), seems to maintain reasonable performance with moderately low risk - the conservative, retirement-oriented profile I mentioned above. And as it continues to perform respectably (albeit having dropped to middle quintile in the past couple of years from top quintile), it is not bleeding cash.

Welcome to the discussion board. This sounds familiar with insurance agents on selling annuity within retirement accounts. Personally I would exhaust all the tax-deferred options [IRA, 401(K), 403(b)] long before I consider annuity conversion from 401(K).
Many of us on this board have live through several changes of employers in our career. If you want to manage it yourself, rollover old 401(K) into Rollover IRA is a solid choice. The other choice is to rollover it into your new employer and live with whatever choices available in their 401(K) plans. I chose the former route years ago and never regret a moment in learning every aspects of investment. The choices are yours to make, but please think carefully and critically before you make your decision.

"By the way we pay pay for this poney show one way or the other. No performance incentive that I can see."
The vast majority of funds do not have expense ratios that include a performance adjustment, so this is not news. (The largest family that does use performance adjustments is, I believe, Fidelity, and perhaps the one with the biggest ones, even resulting in a negative ER, is Bridgeway.)
"AGTHX HAS A YIELD OF .68% and a expense of .68%. Plus a 5.75% front load. Gleaned this without going to their premium content. Don't know how the waived loads - if there is any would work out."
As far as I know, American Funds never waives loads (if someone has a load-waived A,B, or C fund, e.g. in a retirement account, I'd be interested in knowing about it). What they do, however, is offer a slew of other share classes, some with 12b-1 fees still constituting loads, and others that are genuinely no load. What you can find out from M* (for free!) is that GFAFX, the no-load F-1 share class of AGTHX, is available through Scottrade. M* will also tell you (for free) that this F-1 share class has lower expenses than AGTHX.

http://community.nasdaq.com/News/2012-03/get-exposed-to-global-economic-growth-with-aluminum.aspx?storyid=127633
5 ways to beat retirement bandits
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-ways-investors-can-beat-the-retirement-bandits-2012-03-15
top 10 commodities etfs
http://www.thestreet.com/story/11457563/1/top-10-base-metals-commodity-etfs.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN
who's doing all the buyin?
http://www.cnbc.com/id/46748440
[imho - I am thinking of getting off the train real soon, a crash may come soonner than later]

They might be a good asset but since there are complications holding them I generally avoid.
They are generally not very good in Mutual fund or ETF formats. Tax inefficient in taxable accounts (or taxed at the investment company level as some mutual funds/ETFs in this asset class do) and there are even problems holding them in tax advantaged (retirement) accounts as you might be subject to taxes even if they are held in taxable accounts if there is substantial income.

Hey Catch. Sounds like you had a successful operation. Medical technology is doing amazing things, extending both the duration and quality of life. In turn, it looks like we need to plan for longer retirement (or work longer)

Howdy,
Again, a thank you to all who post the links and also start and participate in the many fine commentaries woven into the message threads.
For those who don't know; I ramble away about this and that, at least once each week.
NOTE: For those who visit MFO, this portfolio is designed for retirement, capital preservation and to stay ahead of inflation creep. This is not a buy and hold portfolio, and is subject to change on any given day; based upon perceptions of market directions. All assets in this portfolio are in tax-sheltered accounts; and any fund distributions are reinvested in the funds. Gains or losses are computed from actual account values.
While looking around..... Speaking of looking around ! I can with clarity. I note this as I have had a 2nd eye lens implant within a month's time. Don't know about the sometimes discussed "all seeing" third eye. That one seems to be without problems most of the time...:):):) Back to the lens implant to discard the cataract burdened eyes. Will these procedures help with investments decisions? I can not say at this time; but the previous frustration with the ability to properly see all that we should read regarding investments surely must become a positive. I had chosen to write this week regarding this surgery and technology; but this will have to find another day. A small side effect of the numerous eye drops I must use for several weeks, four times a day; is drowsiness. This should only be a concern for this next week. None the less, further notes about investments with this write are at the near limit. I have added a few blips related to our portfolio and market observations at the below SELLs/BUYs and Portfolio Thoughts.
I have retained the following links for those who may choose to do their own holdings comparison against the fund types noted.
This 1st link to Bloomberg is for their list of balanced funds; although I don't always agree with the placement of fund styles in their categories.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/data?Sector=888&pid=invest_mutualfunds&ListBy=YTD&Term=1
These next two links are for conservative and moderate fund leaders YTD, per MSN.
http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/partsub/funds/topfundresults.asp?Symbol=$HF&Category=CA
http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/partsub/funds/topfundresults.asp?Category=MA&Type=&symbol=$HF
Such are the numerous battles with investments attempting to capture a decent return and minimize the risk.
We live and invest in interesting times, eh?
Hey, I probably forgot something; and hopefully the words make some sense.
Comments and questions always welcomed.
Good fortune to you, yours and the investments.
Take care,
Catch
SELLs/BUYs THIS PAST WEEK:

---All of FCVSX, FFGCX and a portion of FSAGX were sold and the proceeds moved to FTBFX. May in March? Okay, you're asking why these? Fair question, indeed. FCVSX and FFGCX have had decent runs, and nice YTD's. FSAGX is a bit more on the rocky path right now. Our house is not assured that there are not more investment sparks nearby; which may continue upward pressure on the $ which would likely surpress commodities and the metals. The same applies to the convertible securities sector; although our other equity holdings would also be exposed to down moves. We don't move monies around very often; and we may be off the track with these changes, but this is where we are for now.
A reflection upon the links above; we attempt to establish a "benchmark" for our portfolio to help us "see" how our funds are performing. Aside from viewing many funds within the balanced/flexible funds rankings (the above links), a quick and dirty group of 4 funds we watch for benchmarking are the following:
***Note: these YTD's per M*
VWINX ....YTD = + 3.1% - .21 week
PRPFX ....YTD = + 6.1% - .43 week
SIRRX .....YTD = + 1.8% + .0 week
HSTRX ....YTD = + .49% - .32 week
None of these 4 are twins to our holdings, but we do watch these as a type of rough guage.
Portfolio Thoughts:
Our holdings had a - .18 % move this past week. Greece may be given the old credit card rework; but all of the holders of debt are still in place; just wearing bond clothing made of a different fabric. Some CDS (Credit Default Swaps) will be trigged by losses on Greek bonds. Soon enough we will discover whether these psuedo insurance contracts written among bond holders and those stating they will cover losses are worth the electronic pages the words are noted upon. Between our Federal Reserve system and the European bank system; a form of what I will name as "halograhic" money has been formed. I suspect if one tries to touch the monies; that one's hands would merely pass through the image of what appears to be real money. These monies appear to mostly trapped within a tight circle of circulation; rotating among the central banks, the state banks and whomever may be the holders of government, state or soverign bonds. How much of this hot, halographic money is actually moving out into the consumer public is probably anyone's good guess on any given day. Where and when will all of this protective money find its landing place? So, many global and the state banks within countries are in place to note that their balance sheets are better. I don't know better than what? Also in the mix is the continued large amounts of bonds being issued by and for, everyone and his brother. One can not argue that bonds do indeed have a place in the public company sector allowing a business to raise monies for operations and/or expansion. Based upon some writings over the last six months; it appears that much of the bond issuance by emerging market governments or companies has been the result of European banks not willing or able to provide traditional loans; as their exposure to non-performing bonds is already too high; and I would suspect these banks really don't have the kind of balance sheets that one would hope for from a well capitalized bank. It appears that many of the European banks still have too much junk on the books; and they ran, did not walk for big pieces of cheap money when the ECB and friends opened up the LTRO halographic money doors, a second time at a 1% borrow rate over a 3 year period. "Such a deal I have for you"; as the old saying goes.
All of the new, cheap money would not be unlike our house having a large outstanding mortgage, the current house value being well under the remaining cost of the mortgage and being offered 2 new lines of credit against the value of the house. I take the money gladly at 1% interest and continue to pay down the mortgage. At least that is what all parties involved are hoping will happen. 'Course, in the fine print of the new credit line; one also discovers that some payment is also expected to be made against other underwater mortgages in the neighborhood. Credit, credit everywhere. Will it, the money; find its way into the public sector for spending? I sure don't know, but will presume those on the issue end sure hope so. Whether the global public continues to deleverage or spend a bit more into the economies is a most critical consideration going forward.
Bond prices at least relative to the U.S. Treasury 30 and 10 year areas have had a bit of upward yield creep over the past few weeks. The 30 year area is seeing continued downward price moves. This is not killing any broadbased bond fund holdings in my opinion; but is none the less, a movement I continue to monitor more today than six months ago. Some yet unknown days, weeks or months into the future; may find such a saturation of bonds of all flavors, that there will not be enough buyers; from either public (governments) or the private citizen. I do not know that this point would also indicate the buying of equities to replace bonds. Perhaps nothing more than a sideways and stalled equity market(s) finding the big traders swapping the ups and downs against the best laid plans of their computers algorithms. A bit like recent markets.
Enough blabber from this person...................
The old Funds Boat is at anchor, riding in the small waves and watching the weather. To the high praise of MFO and the members, it is very difficult to find a topic to note here that has not been placed into the discussion boards. Excellence, as usual.
---Below is what M* x-ray has attempted to sort for our portfolio, as of March 9, 2012---
U.S.Stocks 10.5%
Foreign Stocks 6.8%
Bonds 78.5% ***
Other 4.2%
Not Classified 0.00%
***about 35% of the bond total are high yield category (equity related cousins)
---This % listing is kinda generic, by fund "name"
-Investment grade bond funds 26.8%
-Diversified bond funds 19.8%
-HY/HI bond funds 23.2%
-Total bond funds 17.8%
-Foreign EM/debt bond funds 4.3%
-U.S./Int'l equity/speciality funds 8.1%
This is our current list: (NOTE: I have added a speciality grouping below for a few of fund types)
---High Yield/High Income Bond funds
FAGIX Fid Capital & Income
SPHIX Fid High Income
FHIIX Fed High Income
DIHYX TransAmerica HY
---Total Bond funds
FTBFX Fid Total
PTTRX Pimco Total
---Investment Grade Bonds
APOIX Amer. Cent. TIPS Bond
DGCIX Delaware Corp. Bd
FBNDX Fid Invest Grade
FINPX Fidelity TIPS Bond
OPBYX Oppenheimer Core Bond
---Global/Diversified Bonds
FSICX Fid Strategic Income
FNMIX Fid New Markets
DPFFX Delaware Diversified
TEGBX Templeton Global (load waived)
LSBDX Loomis Sayles
---Speciality Funds (sectors or mixed allocation)
FRIFX Fidelity Real Estate Income (bond/equity mix)
FDLSX Fidelity Select Leisure
FSAGX Fidelity Select Precious Metals
RNCOX RiverNorth Core Opportunity (bond/equity)
---Equity-Domestic/Foreign
FDVLX Fidelity Value
FSLVX Fidelity Lg. Cap Value
FLPSX Fidelity Low Price Stock
MACSX Matthews Asia Growth-Income

alternate to stock-bond portfolio
http://www.smartmoney.com/retirement/planning/alternatives-to-the-stockbond-portfolio-1331145549126/
investors are wise to TDF
http://www.onwallstreet.com/news/investors-are-wise-to-target-date-funds-vanguard-2677768-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
4 funds to play the oil surg
http://www.investorplace.com/2012/03/4-mutual-funds-to-play-the-oil-surge/
Muni bonds: Should widows and orphans flee?
http://www.stltoday.com/business/columns/jim-gallagher/muni-bonds-should-widows-and-orphans-flee/article_89d8432a-67e5-11e1-9f1d-0019bb30f31a.html
liz sonder's current perspectives
http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/resource_center/expert_insight/todays_market/sonders/sonders_022712.html
buffett betting on housing
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/realestate/2017641095_realbuffett04.html

Reply to @kevindow: Would have put this under Ted's post, but from what I can see, he stopped short of invoking Fund Alarm, though might well agree with the sentiment. I must respectfully disagree. Many, many of the 35% labeled "off topic" at MFO would have passed mustard with RW and been allowed to stand. Guarantee it. Perhaps he'll weigh in. At FA often discussed were: ETFs, market trends, bonds, gold, oil, money managers outside the MF realm, Fed policy, annuities, investment tax implications, retirement planning, and to some extent financial education & media. Heck, you can't make intelligent decisions about funds without the background all that other stuff provides. Not to say David hasn't allowed more latitude. He has and that's his call. But let's not presume all these "OT" posts would have been wiped clean from the FA board - just ain't so.

@hank. When Warren Buffet or anyone else talks about interest rate risk in reference to 'bonds', they most of the time mean 'US treasurys'. 35% of catch's exposure is high yield - which has a very strong correlation to equities and is called 'credit instrument' rather than 'treasury'. with 22% in equity (including commodities) and 35% in credit (or more if you include EMD and HY in Pimco Total Return and some 'core' funds , i would classify catch's portolio as 'moderate' -- not even 'conservative'. The most interest sensitive portion of his portfolio is probably 26% in what he classifies as 'investment grade' -- specifically core bond and TIPs funds. That is a very reasonable position for someone approaching retirement. So constant references to talking heads and some investors (with all due respect to mr buffet) interest rate rethoric here is somewhat misplaced. don't forget a chorus from other reputable camp who think that we are in the long deleveraging cycle and interest rates are going to stay low for a while -- and site Japan as an example. I would think that anyone older than 30 years of age, needs some 'traditional' bond funds -- if only as a hedge against equity risk -- since they are negatively correlated. My personal opinion of course, but i thought 2008 and even 2011 tempered some unabated risk appetite and proved to those purchasing TBT in 2009 that interest rates could stay lower for longer than many of us can predict.

For those who are self-employed, note that while Vanguard added the Roth option to its individual (solo) 401(k), neither Fidelity nor Schwab offer that option. T. Rowe Price (not mentioned in the article) has offered this option since day one (2006).
Vanguard: https://personal.vanguard.com/us/whatweoffer/smallbusiness/individual401k
T. Rowe Price: http://individual.troweprice.com/public/Retail/Retirement/Small-Business-Retirement-Plans/Individual-401(k)
Perhaps something to keep in mind also when looking at statistics about the percentage of companies at each adminstrator who use the Roth option. (I have no idea whether such small companies are included in their figures, but if they are, it would act as a drag on figures for Fidelity and Schwab.)

Howdy,
Again, a thank you to all who post the links and also start and participate in the many fine commentaries woven into the message threads.
For those who don't know; I ramble away about this and that, at least once each week.
NOTE: For those who visit MFO, this portfolio is designed for retirement, capital preservation and to stay ahead of inflation creep. This is not a buy and hold portfolio, and is subject to change on any given day; based upon perceptions of market directions. All assets in this portfolio are in tax-sheltered accounts; and any fund distributions are reinvested in the funds. Gains or losses are computed from actual account values.
While looking around..... I know you know, those little steel balls in the handheld games where one tilts and moves the flat base around to drop the balls into holes, or pass through a maze or some other quest. You may have one of these stashed away in a drawer at home. Well, I envison such a game from time to time and presume my game board and the holes represent investment choices. There are 20 holes in the base board representing the investment sector choices; but there are only 10 steel balls. Hey, I can do this with enough time, practice and experience. Cool, I got the balls into the holes of choice. Whoops, who bumped my board? Ah, that's it. While I slept, someone else was messing around with my game board. As you may assume by now; after placing the steel balls into the investment sector holes of my choice; I find during one practice event with the board, the sensation of other hands also attempting to move the board. Now this hole alignment thing is hard enough; let alone another set of hands trying to override my moves. I'm sure your understand my connective note about this board game and the others who are also playing with our game; even while we sleep. Keep your thinking caps in place, be patient and continue to assess your own risk and reward behaviors. There always will be others who are messing around with your game.
#72 There also exists rules 69 and 70. These, of course; are the simple, quick and dirt methods using head math to rough guage investment return rates; although these may be used for other caluclations, too. I know some here question why I would bother with such a note about the rule of 72. I will note that there have been more than enough adults whom I have encountered over the years who have never heard of the rule; so I will assume this may apply here, too; and that I/we have no way of knowing how many first time and young investors may be reading through the posts here at MFO. The number 72 has many of the easy factor numbers from multiplication that most folks learn in the 4th grade. So, one conjures that their portfolio is able to return about 6%/year with proper management. How long before one may be close to doubling their monies, from a set value? Divide 72 by 6 (annual % return); and one finds about 12 years are required to double the worth of the original investment dollars. Now, if one is really good with money; and gathers returns of 35%/year; the money will double in worth in just about 2 years. Okay, enough for this.
Sideways, with a twist. This is what our current portfolio could be named. A little bit of this and a little bit of that, with a yield average of about 4.7%; awaiting to find if there is more than sideways markets in our near future, and where and what may be the sectors.
Well, just some out loud thinking and writing.
I have noted a few things below, in the Buy/Sell/Portfolio section.
I have retained the following links for those who may choose to do their own holdings comparison against the fund types noted.
This 1st link to Bloomberg is for their list of balanced funds; although I don't always agree with the placement of fund styles in their categories.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/data?Sector=888&pid=invest_mutualfunds&ListBy=YTD&Term=1
These next two links are for conservative and moderate fund leaders YTD, per MSN.
http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/partsub/funds/topfundresults.asp?Symbol=$HF&Category=CA
http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/partsub/funds/topfundresults.asp?Category=MA&Type=&symbol=$HF
Such are the numerous battles with investments attempting to capture a decent return and minimize the risk.
We live and invest in interesting times, eh?
Hey, I probably forgot something; and hopefully the words make some sense.
Comments and questions always welcomed.
Good fortune to you, yours and the investments.
Take care,
Catch
SELLs/BUYs THIS PAST WEEK:
NONE
A reflection upon the links above; we attempt to establish a "benchmark" for our portfolio to help us "see" how our funds are performing. Aside from viewing many funds within the balanced/flexible funds rankings (the above links), a quick and dirty group of 4 funds we watch for benchmarking are the following:
***Note: these YTD's per M*
VWINX ....YTD = + 3.3% + .4 week
PRPFX ....YTD = + 6.6% - 1.3 week
SIRRX .....YTD = + 1.5% + .3 week
HSTRX ....YTD = + .81% + .2 week
None of these 4 are twins to our holdings, but we do watch these as a type of rough guage.
Portfolio Thoughts:
Our holdings had a + .34 % move this past week. A M* returns list I really like. Click the link just below.
http://news.morningstar.com/index/indexReturn.html?msection=IdxReturns
Many equity markets were just kinda hanging around this week; with the exception of the U.S. small/mid cap area, which received a slight haircut. Treasury yields still indicate a bit of an edge for some investors; or at the very least a parking spot for some extra cash. Yields in most Treasury durations ended the week in the down range, with prices reflected upward. The old Funds Boat is at anchor, riding in the small waves; watching the weather and keeping the existing cargo. To the high praise of MFO and the members, it is very difficult to find a topic to note here that has not been placed into the discussion boards. Excellence, as usual.
---Below is what M* x-ray has attempted to sort for our portfolio---
U.S.Stocks 11%
Foreign Stocks 11.14%
Bonds 70.83% ***
Other 7.03%
Not Classified 0.00%
***about 35% of the bond total are high yield category (equity related cousins)
---This % listing is kinda generic, by fund "name"
-Investment grade bond funds 26.8%
-Diversified bond funds 19.8%
-HY/HI bond funds 23.2%
-Total bond funds 17.8%
-Foreign EM/debt bond funds 4.3%
-U.S./Int'l equity/speciality funds 8.1%
This is our current list: (NOTE: I have added a speciality grouping below for a few of fund types)
---High Yield/High Income Bond funds
FAGIX Fid Capital & Income
SPHIX Fid High Income
FHIIX Fed High Income
DIHYX TransAmerica HY
---Total Bond funds
FTBFX Fid Total
PTTRX Pimco Total
---Investment Grade Bonds
APOIX Amer. Cent. TIPS Bond
DGCIX Delaware Corp. Bd
FBNDX Fid Invest Grade
FINPX Fidelity TIPS Bond
OPBYX Oppenheimer Core Bond
---Global/Diversified Bonds
FSICX Fid Strategic Income
FNMIX Fid New Markets
DPFFX Delaware Diversified
TEGBX Templeton Global (load waived)
LSBDX Loomis Sayles
---Speciality Funds (sectors or mixed allocation)
FCVSX Fidelity Convertible Securities (bond/equity mix)
FRIFX Fidelity Real Estate Income (bond/equity mix)
FFGCX Fidelity Global Commodity
FDLSX Fidelity Select Leisure
FSAGX Fidelity Select Precious Metals
RNCOX RiverNorth Core Opportunity (bond/equity)
---Equity-Domestic/Foreign
FDVLX Fidelity Value
FSLVX Fidelity Lg. Cap Value
FLPSX Fidelity Low Price Stock
MACSX Matthews Asia Growth-Income