Search found 86 matches

by phish_indexer
Fri Nov 07, 2014 3:10 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Junk bond fund NAVs
Replies: 91
Views: 11796

Re: Junk bond fund NAVs

Mathematically speaking, Eric76 is right. The NAV has declined by 1.43% per year. Let x be the time in years (or any other time frame.) The limit as x approaches infinity of 1.0143^(-x) is 0. This holds for any positive decrease in NAV, be it 1.43% per year or .000001% per year. Yes, this is theoretical, but isn't that what Eric76 has repeatedly said in his posts?

ETA: A quick spreadsheet calculation shows that, if the fund lost exactly its 36-year average of 1.43% per year, it would have lost 99% of its original NAV (ie, be worth 10 cents) in year 324. it would take almost 300 more years in addition to that to move down to 1 cent.
by phish_indexer
Thu May 02, 2013 12:40 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: REITs... buy more?
Replies: 39
Views: 5991

Re: REITs... buy more?

Based on the current holdings you list, I'd probably use those funds to buy some bonds. And you need an IPS because you self-manage the portfolio.
by phish_indexer
Wed May 01, 2013 9:56 am
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: RTP, NC Chapter Meeting Noon Sat May 4, 2013
Replies: 3
Views: 2263

Re: RTP, NC Chapter Meeting Noon Sat May 4, 2013

Is this meeting still a go? I haven't seen an e-mail come through from the Yahoo list serve. I plan to attend and bring the DGF. She needs an inoculation of bogleheadism (and cold beer.)
by phish_indexer
Wed Apr 17, 2013 10:50 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Where to invest 10-15k for 6-18 months
Replies: 8
Views: 2998

Re: Where to invest 10-15k for 6-18 months

CDs that match your time frame? If you know that you can hold them for longer than a year, you can put 10k in Series I bonds which have built-in inflation protection. If there's a possibility that you'll need the money in less than a year, just put it all in an online savings account with Ally or Capital One.
by phish_indexer
Sat Apr 06, 2013 4:05 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Anyone selling these days?
Replies: 33
Views: 3726

Re: Anyone selling these days?

To answer the subject title, yes. I just hit a re-balancing band on VNQI, the International Real Estate ETF. It has been on a rampage for over a year. I plan to buy bonds with the proceeds. I don't really care about the low yields, just want to stay the course.
by phish_indexer
Sat Apr 06, 2013 1:20 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Article calling for self-employment, what comes next?
Replies: 13
Views: 1724

Re: Article calling for self-employment, what comes next?

The trades are underrated as career choices. My HVAC repair man earns more than most finance professionals. A friend recently hired a nanny at $1000/day to take care of his newborn. I know a roofer who lives in a $4mn house in Westchester. There is a lot of actual work that still needs to be done in this country. I know several nannies that make a decent living, but nowhere near that kind of scratch. The two nannies I have in mind have the huge perk of travelling abroad with the family for whom they nanny; they watch the kids in Western Europe or on a beach in St. Lucia while the parents get some adult time in those locales. Pretty sweet all-expenses-paid "working" vacation. $1k daily is absurd. Where does this friend live? Back ...
by phish_indexer
Wed Apr 03, 2013 10:50 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Anyone else having trouble deciding?
Replies: 2
Views: 745

Re: Anyone else having trouble deciding?

Why not invest according to your AA? Your prognostications about the directions of the markets are meaningless.
by phish_indexer
Wed Mar 27, 2013 10:47 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Emergency Fund done; where to put the rest?
Replies: 5
Views: 890

Re: Emergency Fund done; where to put the rest?

My vote is for I bonds, assuming you can hold them for more than a year and preferably more than 5 years.
by phish_indexer
Sun Mar 24, 2013 1:35 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard STIG (VFSTX) VS Fidelity HIF (SPHIX) What am I miss
Replies: 4
Views: 1241

Re: Vanguard STIG (VFSTX) VS Fidelity HIF (SPHIX) What am I

Phishing, boy I should have looked closer at price spread, low to high in 09. Love the way you overlayed those charts. Now tell me there is an easy way to do that. SteveKL, I hadn't seen that on Vanguard site, I will find it. One of the things I see and haven't quit grasped yet is the following: when you look at the last ten years, not all, but a lot of the funds totally recovered there original highs in the 09-13 period, some in only two years. So doesn't it follow, that if you just bit your lip in 09 and held on, it didn't really matter what fund you had. Now of course this only holds true if you will not need the money. When I look at phish's chart, if there is any chance you will need the money then caution is the only option. You can ...
by phish_indexer
Sun Mar 24, 2013 1:16 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: ? about asset allocations for retirement planning
Replies: 9
Views: 1010

Re: ? about asset allocations for retirement planning

I'll focus on your first question. 99%/1% bonds does not make sense. If you're that comfortable with risk, then go 100% stocks, bump up the E-fund with that additional 1%, and forget about it. However, I don't think 100% (or 99%) stocks is sensible for many people. Was this your asset allocation in 2008/09? If so, how did you respond to the losses?
by phish_indexer
Sun Mar 24, 2013 1:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard STIG (VFSTX) VS Fidelity HIF (SPHIX) What am I miss
Replies: 4
Views: 1241

Re: Vanguard STIG (VFSTX) VS Fidelity HIF (SPHIX) What am I

If you look at the chart, I don't see how you can say that the '09 collapse was similar. In fact, the junk bond fund looks much more like a stock fund than a bond fund. The returns of the short-term fund take a very small dip in 2009, then continue to provide stable returns. This is what you want in a bond fund. You don't want your bonds mimicking the returns of your equities, which is essentially what SPHIX did. Green line is Vanguard Total Stock, Blue line is SPHIX, Orange line is VFSTX. http://globalquote.morningstar.com/globalcomponent/GenerateFundChart.ashx?chart=quote&w=955&h=266&lan=en-US&reg=USA&tc=CU$$$$$USD&d=false&r=false&p=false&win=3&period=custom&range=2003-3-24|2013-3-24&cfg=sca...
by phish_indexer
Wed Mar 20, 2013 9:47 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 20 Year Old Seeking Financial Advice
Replies: 17
Views: 1289

Re: 20 Year Old Seeking Financial Advice

Pay your parents some rent.

For the safe side of your savings, build up an emergency fund (3-6 months worth of expenses) and then put the rest of the money towards the car loan. The sooner you can knock out that liability, the sooner you can make more of your savings work in your favor. What's the interest rate on the loan?

As for the risky side, open up an IRA at Vanguard and dump it in a Target-Date fund. At $500 per month, you'll max out the current $5500 maximum IRA contribution each year.
by phish_indexer
Fri Mar 08, 2013 11:38 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Insurance for mid-20s DINKs
Replies: 8
Views: 1289

Re: Insurance for mid-20s DINKs

+1 on disability. I have a long-term disability policy (you don't need to pay for short-term as that's what your emergency fund is for) through Northwestern Mutual. Payout would be 90% of my income until I'm 65 for something like $500 annually. The payout is inflation-adjusted. I'm also mid-20s but am not married.
by phish_indexer
Thu Feb 28, 2013 11:06 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Taxable account, dividends to MM, no MM?
Replies: 13
Views: 1261

Re: Taxable account, dividends to MM, no MM?

I use them to re-balance. The point is to make as few purchases as possible to simplify taxes. Automatically re-investing taxable dividends makes for a tax nightmare. (Actually not so much now since covered shares have been introduced, but I like to keep track of my tax lots and purchase prices on a spreadsheet in order to maximize TLH opportunities. FIFO is for wimps.)
by phish_indexer
Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:49 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Taxable account, dividends to MM, no MM?
Replies: 13
Views: 1261

Re: Taxable account, dividends to MM, no MM?

Since it's your sweep account, the minimum balance requirement is not important. You can have $0 balances in your sweep MM accounts (in fact, I currently do) and it will still show up. I'm not sure why Vanguard even lists a minimum for their Money Market fund since you can put however little you want into it. Yes, you can have dividends paid there. That's what I do so I don't end up with twice as many tax lots.
by phish_indexer
Fri Feb 15, 2013 4:50 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Bad time to rebalance to bonds?
Replies: 30
Views: 4402

Re: Bad time to rebalance to bonds?

Several people have also said that it's a bad time to be in equities due to high valuations. Several people hold the opposite view. If you're 10 years from retiring, you probably need some bonds. Hold high quality and short-term bonds if you're worried. But I think 100% equity nearing retirement is more worrisome.
by phish_indexer
Fri Feb 15, 2013 4:41 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Which energy to add to portfolio
Replies: 8
Views: 1231

Re: Which energy to add to portfolio

Neither.

OK, if you have to own one, choose the ETF since it's 20 basis points cheaper. But most here would argue you're taking on uncompensated risk by making a sector bet.
by phish_indexer
Fri Feb 15, 2013 4:27 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Graduation Present
Replies: 10
Views: 1154

Re: Graduation Present

When my younger sister graduated college in 2011, I opened a Roth for her with 1k and put it in the Target 2055 fund. I also bought her A Random Walk Down Wall St. She was underwhelmed. I don't think she's opened the book and she sporadically contributes to the IRA. (I don't think she knows she can withdraw contributions without penalty, thank God.) Good news is she does contribute to a 401k and asks for my input on financial matters. I digress... My point is that these sorts of gifts just don't work for people uninterested in investing. It'd be like if she got me a gluten-free recipe book and a year's supply of tapioca flour. "No thanks, I like my bread to taste like bread." Get him something meaningful for him, not meaningful fo...
by phish_indexer
Wed Feb 13, 2013 2:39 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Norton update phish?
Replies: 14
Views: 2340

Re: Norton update phish?

I assure you it wasn't me :twisted:
by phish_indexer
Tue Feb 12, 2013 10:54 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Switch to Vanguard?
Replies: 2
Views: 531

Re: Switch to Vanguard?

Are there any trading costs when you purchase Vanguard funds through Fidelity's brokerage service? If so, that's a plus for Vanguard. Would there be any cost associated with moving funds from one broker to another? If so, that's a plus for Fidelity. Check to see if you can transfer in-kind as well, because if you had to sell an asset in a taxable account with a large capital-gain in order to transfer funds, you could take a big tax hit. Do you like Fidelity's website's interface? I've admittedly never used them. I use Vanguard and think their site is just OK. Is re-investment of dividends and clearance of sales proceeds quick with Fidelity? With Vanguard, it's next day for MFs and 3 days for ETFs (or often more for dividend payments on ETFs...
by phish_indexer
Wed Feb 06, 2013 8:52 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Just Maxed Roth, What Now?
Replies: 6
Views: 1295

Re: Just Maxed Roth, What Now?

Thanks for the updated info. First of all, yours is a pretty unique situation. It seems that you plan to be an ex-pat for life. This will affect your AA in that you won't be consuming in American dollars. So you'll probably want a more globally-weighted portfolio. (I'm not a CPA and don't know how taxation would affect you, but you'll want to find out.) Since you'll have to invest in taxable, I'd keep Total World Stock there (or your mix of Total Domestic and Total International) and all of your fixed income in the IRAs with additional IRA money in stocks. That keeps things simple and efficient. The real questions in your scenario are taxes (and maybe currency-hedging) which hopefully others can answer. On a side note, I'm also 27 and somet...
by phish_indexer
Wed Feb 06, 2013 2:25 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Just Maxed Roth, What Now?
Replies: 6
Views: 1295

Re: Just Maxed Roth, What Now?

Check out how to ask portfolio questions at the top of this forum. Then edit your post. Do you have a 401k plan or equivalent through work? Do you have an IPS with a stated asset allocation? If not, you need one because your idea leaves you overweight US stocks. How about debt? Short-term purchases?

HSA contribution limits are $3250 for 2013 and $3100 for 2012 for single filers. You can contribute for both years if you haven't filed 2012 taxes yet and if you have a HDHP. The non-qualified withdrawals without penalty start at age 65 rather than 59.5 for HSAs.

Anyways, we need more info about your situation.
by phish_indexer
Wed Feb 06, 2013 10:05 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Taxable accounts: Keeping it simple
Replies: 6
Views: 1390

Re: Taxable accounts: Keeping it simple

Buying I bonds would keep things simple. Just buying one or two stock funds, Total Stock and Total International for example, won't complicate your taxes too much. Your broker should track purchases, sales, and dividends for you and many brokers, such as Vanguard, can automatically import to programs like Turbo Tax. It's far better to invest in taxable and do a few minutes extra work than to forgo investing in taxable at all.
by phish_indexer
Sun Jan 27, 2013 4:38 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Anyone in the New Orleans area?
Replies: 39
Views: 16640

Re: Anyone in the New Orleans area?

This thread hasn't seen any action in a long time. I am currently in Raleigh, NC and have been attending the RTP Bogleheads meetings. However, I am relocating to NOLA in August for graduate school. If there is not currently a chapter (doesn't look like it per the chapter list) and if there is any interest, I'll happily step forward to organize meetings. It may be a little more challenging for me as I will be relatively new to the area, although I have visited several times and have friends that are residents. I'm certain a meeting spot shouldn't be too hard to find. Our RTP group meets quarterly, is this standard for Boglehead groups or does it vary?

Cheers (or should I say, Santé),

Bill
by phish_indexer
Fri Jan 25, 2013 1:05 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Buffett pulls ahead of Hedge Funds at halfway point
Replies: 6
Views: 1317

Re: I hope I am not breaking any forum rules by posting this

You're not violating forum rules, but this topic has already been covered. This definitely bolsters the case for indexing.

http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... 0&t=109599
by phish_indexer
Fri Jan 18, 2013 11:18 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: IRA Withdrawals -not RMDs
Replies: 7
Views: 1596

Re: IRA Withdrawals -not RMDs

I'd let the money continue compounding tax-free for as long as possible in the IRA. This seems to outweigh a slight decrease in taxes down the line. Maybe take money out of the IRA if the market tanks and you can tax-lost harvest in your taxable account to offset. Even then I don't know if it'd be worth it, kinda depends on your time frame, ie will you be required to take a distribution in 3 years or in 15 years.

Often I think investors get caught up in the goal of minimizing taxes to their own detriment. The goal is to finish with as much cash to your name as possible, not necessarily to pay Uncle Sam the least amount possible in any given year. Don't miss the forest for the trees.
by phish_indexer
Thu Jan 17, 2013 11:04 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Would you rebalance if you were me?
Replies: 9
Views: 1093

Re: Would you rebalance if you were me?

No, I wouldn't. The 5/25 rule gives you a 15%-25% band in either case. If your bond allocation was off by 1.5% in a 6% or less allocation, then I'd consider re-balancing but not here. (Actually, if that was the case I'd probably ditch bonds altogether since 6% is going to have very little effect on the returns of a 94% equity portfolio, but I digress...) Do you have an IPS that tells you when to re-balance? If not, I suggest you formulate one. And I personally wouldn't want an IPS that had me re-balancing every time an asset was 1.5% off kilter. You'd be making a lot of trades.
by phish_indexer
Fri Dec 07, 2012 6:56 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Restricted Stock Unit award
Replies: 9
Views: 2194

Re: Restricted Stock Unit award

So is it guaranteed that she'll get cash rather than actual shares? Or is that company-specific? She's required to set up a brokerage account so I'd assumed she'd receive actual shares. Will the tax basis be the price of the stock on the day that it's vested?

Edit: Thanks Janet, stlutz, and Steelersfan. I'm on track now. And I had planned on telling her that it would probably be in her best interest to sell and invest the proceeds in the Vanguard IRA that I helped her set up. (Especially since she's already "invested" in the company by working there.) She has no bias or even remote interest in her company's stock. I'm sure she'll be happy to sell, just don't know if she'll invest the proceeds.
by phish_indexer
Fri Dec 07, 2012 6:06 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Restricted Stock Unit award
Replies: 9
Views: 2194

Re: Restricted Stock Unit award

Vesting is the taxable event. At least at my co., money is withheld at that the time and the income is included in my W-2, so not a lot of complexity there.
Thanks. I'm still a little off base about how these awards actually work. Why is money withheld? Is part of your paycheck diverted to purchase the shares? That would render the word "award" suspect. Seems like you'd just be receiving company stock in lieu of income. Or are they actually awards, in the same sense as a holiday bonus?
by phish_indexer
Fri Dec 07, 2012 5:23 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Restricted Stock Unit award
Replies: 9
Views: 2194

Restricted Stock Unit award

My sibling works for a large, publicly traded corporation and was recently awarded a Restricted Stock Unit (RSU.) I help guide her in her investment decisions while attempting to educate her simultaneously, but this one has me a little stumped and I want to see if we're on track. The unit will be vested in 3 annual intervals with the first installment vesting in December 2013. She sent me a snippet of some literature she received that reads: The value of an RSU equals the stock price in the market times the number of shares, so a 500 share RSU award with a share price of $10 makes the value of the award $5000. Retains value even when market price is below $10/share. Full value shares are considered to be worth more than stock options since ...
by phish_indexer
Fri Dec 07, 2012 12:52 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Blackrock has $3.5 Trillion under management?
Replies: 17
Views: 2251

Re: Blackrock has $3.5 Trillion under management?

They manage my workplace's awful 401(k) plan which is administered through PayChex. I imagine this is the case for a lot of small companies that outsource HR needs. (Off topic: In our plan, the lowest expense ratio is 1.55 on a bond fund. Lowest on a stock fund is 2.05. I'm not a phan.) I doubt it it's Black Rock getting those expenses. Some (maybe a big sum) of it could be going to either your company or Paychex. And if all the funds aren't Black Rock's, then some of it would be going to the mutual fund company who's managing the non-Black Rock funds. I've tried researching this but am not sure. I know that the front-end loads are waived. But according to Morningstar, the two funds I invest in have the same ER as that listed in my plan's ...
by phish_indexer
Fri Dec 07, 2012 12:22 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Blackrock has $3.5 Trillion under management?
Replies: 17
Views: 2251

Re: Blackrock has $3.5 Trillion under management?

They manage my workplace's awful 401(k) plan which is administered through PayChex. I imagine this is the case for a lot of small companies that outsource HR needs. (Off topic: In our plan, the lowest expense ratio is 1.55 on a bond fund. Lowest on a stock fund is 2.05. I'm not a phan.) BLACKROCK has emerged a winner in AUM the last 20yrs afaik. If theres no company match why not exit stage left to another custodian? 1.55/2.05,....thats outrageous! Particularly since you obviously know better. I've lobbied upper management on it to the point of annoyance. My guess is that there are very few employees that contribute (including upper management) and I know for a fact that our HR director does not as she's admitted this and discussed having ...
by phish_indexer
Fri Dec 07, 2012 8:47 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Blackrock has $3.5 Trillion under management?
Replies: 17
Views: 2251

Re: Blackrock has $3.5 Trillion under management?

They manage my workplace's awful 401(k) plan which is administered through PayChex. I imagine this is the case for a lot of small companies that outsource HR needs. (Off topic: In our plan, the lowest expense ratio is 1.55 on a bond fund. Lowest on a stock fund is 2.05. I'm not a phan.)
by phish_indexer
Thu Dec 06, 2012 7:28 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Investment books
Replies: 9
Views: 1186

Re: Investment books

A Random Walk Down Wall St. by Burton Malkiel is the one I always recommend and have bought as a gift for new investors. It's biased towards stock investing and the Efficient Market Hypothesis, but it's informative and most of all it's fun. Some other good starter books are The Four Pillars of Investing by William Bernstein and The Coffeehouse Investor by Bill Schultheis. After digesting those, I'd read Larry Swedroe's Only Guide series. They're fantastic, but a shade more advanced. Finally, I'll mention the Bible of Value Investing, Benjamin Graham's The Intelligent Investor. It doesn't advocate Boglehead principles (well, not many) but it's a Must Read, IMO. After getting this stuff down, have fun! I personally read a lot of market histo...
by phish_indexer
Wed Dec 05, 2012 6:06 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: SEP IRA Vanguard Portfolio (Too Aggressive?)
Replies: 9
Views: 1661

Re: SEP IRA Vanguard Portfolio (Too Aggressive?)

You can touch this money in 23 years. Still a long time frame, but not so long as 40. Are you looking for reassurance or rationale? Because conservative Boglehead rationale points towards holding more and higher quality bonds.
by phish_indexer
Wed Dec 05, 2012 4:47 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Change of 401k Options
Replies: 1
Views: 291

Re: Change of 401k Options

Even though they don't have a ticker, can you tell us what index funds are offered. As a Boglehead, I think I'm also contractually obligated to point you towards the "Asking Portfolio Questions" thread and format.
by phish_indexer
Wed Dec 05, 2012 4:37 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: SEP IRA Vanguard Portfolio (Too Aggressive?)
Replies: 9
Views: 1661

Re: SEP IRA Vanguard Portfolio (Too Aggressive?)

If you intend this money for retitement, then yes, I think you're too aggressive. You are essentially 100% stocks. If and when the market tanks, the correlations of your holdings will head towards 1, meaning they could all fall simultaneously, including the junk bonds. I'd considering adding more and safer bonds. As for domestic versus international, I think you're fine.

If you are comfortable, then by all means roll with it. But you could become your own worst enemy if you panic and sell during a contraction. Did you have this same allocation in 2008? If so, how'd you do then?
by phish_indexer
Tue Dec 04, 2012 11:02 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Rollover 401k to IRA (Vanguard) - when market is down
Replies: 6
Views: 2559

Re: Rollover 401k to IRA (Vanguard) - when market is down

You can't roll over into Signal Shares unless you have tremendously high balances. Assuming you want to keep the 3-fund portfolio in the IRA, this is the rare case where rolling over doesn't make sense, unless you have administrative fees in the 401(k) that you'd leave behind. Your expenses will be higher even with Admiral shares.

As for the rollover itself, you'd likely have to move all assets to a money market fund before the rollover. There will be no tax effect since you're rolling from a pre-tax 401(k) into a Traditional IRA (also pre-tax.)

Edited once for clarity
by phish_indexer
Tue Dec 04, 2012 9:36 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is it worth investing in international value and small cap?
Replies: 15
Views: 2023

Re: Is it worth investing in international value and small c

This thread got me curious about what other international small-cap and value ETFs are out there and I found this topic to be of interest, although it's outside of the theoretical nature of what's being discussed here: http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14338.
by phish_indexer
Tue Dec 04, 2012 8:58 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is it worth investing in international value and small cap?
Replies: 15
Views: 2023

Re: Is it worth investing in international value and small c

FWIW, International Value is actively managed. The small-cap fund is not. My IPS calls for small and value tilts but to avoid actively-managed funds so I invest in the international small-cap fund but not the value fund. But I'm only considering Vanguard. I'm sure another company offers an international value indexed ETF but I haven't bothered looking for one. I'm content holding developed large-cap, emerging large-cap, and international small-cap.
by phish_indexer
Fri Nov 30, 2012 10:01 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I'm 32: am I overweighted in bonds? Should i buy TIPS?
Replies: 12
Views: 2140

Re: I'm 32: am I overweighted in bonds? Should i buy TIPS?

I'm 32 and have about 30% of my non-retirement portfolio in bonds (If i include my retirement account, that percentage goes down to 25%) . It's broken down into 34000 in VBTLX, Vanguard's Total Bond Market 16250 in VCIT, the intermediate term corporate ETF bond fund 17750 in VCLT, the long term intermediate corporate ETF bond fun. I normally would think of having a smaller percentage, but I figured with interests rates low now, it made senes to use VCLT and VCIT to diversify a bit. They are performing really well, and with interests rates so low for the foreseeable future, I feel comfortable with this. Two questions: 1 - Given my age - 32 - am i overweight in bonds? I figured that, once interests rate start rising again, I'm just slowly ea...
by phish_indexer
Fri Nov 30, 2012 9:39 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Extra Principal vs. Investing
Replies: 25
Views: 2908

Re: Extra Principal vs. Investing

MarquisMark wrote: 2: Invest the $200 in a Trad IRA

Annual Contributions

Roth: $5000 DCA over the year
If you plan on maxing out a Roth each and every year, you can't put additional money into a Traditional IRA. You may consider upping your 401(k) contributions, which would be similar to investing through a traditional IRA.
by phish_indexer
Thu Nov 29, 2012 7:21 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Help in choosing stocks for IRA
Replies: 5
Views: 686

Re: Help in choosing stocks for IRA

MallNinja wrote:You probably want to lessen your allocation to Real Estate... particularly less in VNQI.
VNQI, at last check, is my highest-returning asset of 2012. Is that why you're skeptical, or because of overweighting REITs by so much? Or because international REITs aren't always classic investment trusts in the American sense? Just curious about your statement. Full disclosure, I'm a little over 5% in both VNQ and VNQI.
by phish_indexer
Thu Nov 29, 2012 6:52 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Help in choosing stocks for IRA
Replies: 5
Views: 686

Re: Help in choosing stocks for IRA

There are a couple things I'd change to make life simpler: Get rid of the energy and dividend growth etfs. They're already covered in VTI and there's no need for sector diversification. Move that 10% to VTI. You have some overlap in VXUS and VWO, since VXUS includes emerging markets. I'd either move the 10% VWO stake into VXUS or invest the VXUS funds into international developed, VEA. I don't think you need separate funds for corporate bonds and treasuries. Just use total bond, BND. Other than that, you're good. To recap: 35% VTI 10% VB 25% VXUS (or 15% VEA and 10% VWO) 7.5% VNQ 7.5% VNQI 15% BND This gives you 85/15 stocks and bonds (which is pretty agressive) with about 60/40 split domestic to int'l and about 17% of your stock allocation...
by phish_indexer
Thu Nov 29, 2012 4:05 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Need Help Choosing Funds for Roth IRA
Replies: 9
Views: 1468

Re: Need Help Choosing Funds for Roth IRA

I like your 401k choices and if I were in your shoes, I'd use Roth space to tilt towards emerging markets, REITs, and SCV. You should be able to handle this with a few ETFs. But that's just me. The 4 in 1 fund would be a great candudate as well. Sector bets are typically not recommended around these parts. You already hold a bunch of tech in your TSM.
by phish_indexer
Thu Nov 29, 2012 3:55 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What's a good, relatively safe Vanguard fund for IRA?
Replies: 11
Views: 2958

Re: What's a good, relatively safe Vanguard fund for IRA?

You're letting emotion control your investment actions, where you should be letting your IPS and Asset Allocation (which are inherently UNemotional after they've been formed) dictate them. All of the worries you mentioned are priced into the market if you buy into the EMH. Forming a defined investment policy is paramount as your wavering posts have proven.
by phish_indexer
Thu Nov 29, 2012 1:23 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What's a good, relatively safe Vanguard fund for IRA?
Replies: 11
Views: 2958

Re: What's a good, relatively safe Vanguard fund for IRA?

I agree with the above posters and stand by my response in your previous thread: http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... 1&t=105681. Move the entire amount into the Target Date fund and forget about it. You're drinking too much of the DCA kool-aid. Formulating an IPS and AA plan would be a great idea.
by phish_indexer
Wed Nov 28, 2012 10:28 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 2nd yr Boglehead Anniversary - Annual Checkup - 26 yr old.
Replies: 12
Views: 1754

Re: 2nd yr Boglehead Anniversary - Annual Checkup - 26 yr ol

That makes sense. I figured it was either that or that you were an employee of Bain Capital.
by phish_indexer
Tue Nov 27, 2012 3:47 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 2nd yr Boglehead Anniversary - Annual Checkup - 26 yr old.
Replies: 12
Views: 1754

Re: 2nd yr Boglehead Anniversary - Annual Checkup - 26 yr ol

Can I ask how you have 85k in a Roth by age 26? Rollover from 401k -> Roth recharacterization? I'm also 26 and have about 17k in mine, but have only contributed for three years.

As for the portfolio, looks good. I wouldn't sweat the domestic/intl allocations being off, especially since you can re-balance with new contributions in a little more than a month's time.