Portfolio Guidance for 2013 and Beyond

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Chimcheroo
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Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2012 9:47 pm

Portfolio Guidance for 2013 and Beyond

Post by Chimcheroo »

I could use a little (or a lot! I'll take what I can get!) guidance on my portfolio/financial situation.

First, a bit about my mindset: I've always been a minimalist and a saver and have always felt more secure having my money stashed away in a savings account (as a bloated emergency fund...I grew up poor, just feels comforting to have it right there) versus an investment vehicle. I've tried educating myself about investing and financial planning and quickly get frustrated with the complexity of information and overwhelmed by the number of investment options, and typically have just thrown up my arms and walked away from the entire game. Not this time! I'm excited to have learned about Bogleheads and am going to pick up a few of the books recommended at the top of this board.

With that preamble, here's my situation:

Emergency funds: 12 months
Debt: Effectively none, though I do pay the minimum on my remaining grad school loan ($700 remaining) just to string along positive credit reporting.
Tax Filing Status: Married Filing Jointly
Effective Tax Rate: 25% Federal, 5.3% State
State of Residence: MA
Age: Me 36, Wife 40 (no children, no intentions)
Desired Asset allocation: I'm not sure
Desired International allocation: I'm not sure

Household income: ~$170,000
Portfolio size: ~$20,000 (excluding emergency funds)

Current Retirement Assets

Taxable -- 63%
  • 40% Series-I Savings Bond
    19% Cash
    15% BWEN (85% unrealized loss, ~$12k)
    15% RAD (24% unrealized loss, ~$600)
    7% AUQ (20% unrealized loss, ~$200)
    4% ASTI (94% unrealized loss, ~$7k)
*Percentages based on current stock price. I haven't made a purchase in a LONG time, having been burned on all the stocks listed above. Just hoping to break even on a couple.

Non-Taxable -- 37%
Fidelity Rollover IRA from Former Employer -- 65%
  • 100% Fidelity Intermediate Bond (FTHRX) -- .45%
Current Employer Fidelity 401k -- 35%
  • 50% PIMCO Total Return Fund Class A (PTTAX) -- .85%
    25% American Century Investments Equity Income Fund Class A (TWEAX) -- 1.2%
    15% Fidelity Advisor® Government Income Fund - Class A (FVIAX) -- .77%
    10% Fidelity Advisor® International Discovery Fund - Class A (FAIDX) -- 1.3%
Comments/Questions
1. We live on about 50% of our income, hoping to knock that down to 40% this year with salary raises and either buying a condo (mortgage would be cheaper than our current rent) or finding a cheaper rental.

2. I currently contribute 10% of my salary to my company's 401k plan (allocations described above). I plan to bump my contributions up to 15-20% in 2013.

3. Company matches 50% of contributions up to 10% of salary.

4. Company was recently acquired and we are being moved over to our new parent company's 401k plan. Listed below are the funds available in the new plan. Any recommendations on which I should select or which should be weighted more heavily?
  • Fidelity® Contrafund® - Class K (FCNKX) -- .69%
    Neuberger Berman Socially Responsive Fund Institutional Class (NBSLX) -- .71%
    T. Rowe Price Institutional Large Cap Core Growth Fund (TPLGX) -- .65%
    Spartan® 500 Index Fund - Institutional Class (FXSIX) -- .05%
    Eaton Vance Large-Cap Value Fund Class I (EILVX) -- .73%
    Dreyfus Opportunistic Midcap Value Fund Class A (DMCVX) -- 1.17%
    RS Partners Fund Class Y (RSPYX) -- 1.21%
    Morgan Stanley Institutional Small Company Growth Portfolio Class I (MSSGX) -- 1.1%
    Fidelity® Low-Priced Stock Fund - Class K (FLPKX) -- .76%
    Fidelity® Diversified International Fund - Class K (FDIKX) -- .73%
    PIMCO Total Return Fund Institutional Class (PTTRX) -- .46%
    Stable Value Fund -- .1%
    Fidelity® Money Market Trust Retirement Money Market Portfolio (FRTXX) -- .42%
    Fidelity Freedom K Funds
5. My wife is going to begin contributing 20% to her 401k this year. Her company's plan is through John Hancock and there just aren't many fund options. Her company matches 100% up to 3%.

Below are the options available in her 401k plan:
  • Equity Income Fund (JIEMX) -- 87%
    The Investment Company of America (RICFX) -- .80%
    Prudential Jennison 20/20 Focus Fund (PTWZX) -- 1.13%
    Capital Appreciation Fund (JICPX) -- .78%
    Value Fund (JEVLX) -- .83%
    Mid Value Fund (JEMUX) -- 1.06%
    Small Cap Value Fund (JESVX) -- 1.33%
    Small Company Value Fund (JISVX) -- 1.33%
    Invesco Small Cap Growth Fund (GTSAX) -- 1.27%
    DFA Emerging Markets Value Fund (DFEVX) -- 1.11%
    New World Fund (RNWFX) -- 1.16%
    Oppenheimer International Growth Fund (OIGYX) -- 1.12%
    U.S. Government Securities Fund (RGVFX) -- .79%
    Capital World Bond Fund (RCWFX) -- 1.03%
    International Equity Index Fund -- .62%
    Small Cap Index Fund (JESIX) -- .60%
    Mid Cap Index Fund (JECIX) -- .54%
    Total Stock Market Index Fund (JETSX) -- .57%
    500 Index Fund -- .53%
    Total Bond Market Fund -- .56%
    Real Estate Securities Fund (JIREX) -- .79%
    Natural Resources Fund (JINRX) -- 1.10%
    Energy Fund (VGENX) -- .84%
    MFS Utilities Fund (MMUHX) -- 1.04%
    Lifestyle Fund - Aggressive Portfolio (JILAX) -- 1.10%
    Lifestyle Fund - Growth Portfolio (JILGX) -- 1.07%
    Lifestyle Fund - Balanced Portfolio (JILBX) -- 1.00%
    Lifestyle Fund - Moderate Portfolio (JILMX) -- .99%
    Lifestyle Fund - Conservative Portfolio (JILCX) -- .92%
6. I was thinking to open a Roth IRA (through Vanguard or Fidelity) and start socking money away in that. I just don't like the idea of not having access to the money if necessary.

7. I have a rollover IRA (listed above) from a former employer. I haven't done anything with it in 10 years and it's increased in value by 50%. Should I continue to just let it sit or start making contributions to it or merge it into something else?

Responses to Questions Posed Below

How much do you anticipate being able to contribute toward investments annually in the next few years?

Rather than continuing to channel money into savings account every month, I'd like to start putting more into investments -- probably $20-25k per year over the next few years.

What is your preference about leaving existing accounts at Fidelity vs moving them to Vanguard?

I have no particular loyalty to Fidelity though would prefer to not pay fees for moving an account. I looked into Vanguard this morning and will likely open a Roth account after the new year.

I really appreciate any guidance you can give to help get us on the right track.

Thanks! Happy holidays!
Last edited by Chimcheroo on Sat Dec 29, 2012 1:42 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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englishgirl
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Re: Portfolio Guidance for 2013 and Beyond

Post by englishgirl »

Welcome Chimcheroo! Although, your username has me singing songs from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, darn you! [Mind you, I think that would be ChimChimCheroo].
Chimcheroo wrote:Debt: Effectively none, though I do pay the minimum on my remaining grad school loan ($700 remaining) just to string along positive credit reporting.
Why do you need to string along positive credit reporting? Don't you use credit cards? I'd knock this debt out in a heart beat.
Chimcheroo wrote:*Percentages based on current stock price. I haven't made a purchase in a LONG time, having been burned on all the stocks listed above. Just hoping to break even on a couple.
Don't hope to break even. Sell any losers, and then you can write off the losses on your taxes. This gives you a perfect opportunity to put the money in appropriate index funds. Actually, I'd sell all the individual stocks, but if any are big winners, you'll have to calculate how much tax you'd pay for selling. Can you report back what the current losses/gains are on these stocks?
Chimcheroo wrote: Current Employer Fidelity 401k -- 35%
  • 50% PIMCO Total Return Fund Class A (PTTAX) -- .85%
    25% American Century Investments Equity Income Fund Class A (TWEAX) -- 1.2%
    15% Fidelity Advisor® Government Income Fund - Class A (FVIAX) -- .77%
    10% Fidelity Advisor® International Discovery Fund - Class A (FAIDX) -- 1.3%
4. Company was recently acquired and we are being moved over to our new parent company's 401k plan. Listed below are the funds available in the new plan. Any recommendations on which I should select or which should be weighted more heavily?
  • Spartan® 500 Index Fund - Institutional Class (FXSIX) -- .05%
    PIMCO Total Return Fund Institutional Class (PTTRX) -- .46%
These are the two funds I'd use from your 401k. The bond fund is the same as you current have, just cheaper. But, asking for fund recommendations at this stage is putting the cart before the horse a bit.

Your current 401k is 65% bonds, and 35% stocks. Which if we add together with your IRA and taxable account gives a total portfolio of approx. 69% bonds/cash, 31% stocks. Is this what you want? Before you figure out funds, first figure out what you want in stock:bond percentages, and also US:international percentages. THEN you can figure out what to stick where. In your case, you've got a great 500 index fund, and a good bond fund. So then what I'd do is look to your IRA and taxable account to round out the portfolio with international and small cap.
Chimcheroo wrote: 5. My wife is going to begin contributing 20% to her 401k this year. Her company's plan is through John Hancock and there just aren't many fund options (I don't have the list on-hand). Her company matches 100% up to 3%.
We need the list!
Chimcheroo wrote:6. I was thinking to open a Roth IRA (through Vanguard or Fidelity) and start socking money away in that. I just don't like the idea of not having access to the money if necessary.
You can withdraw contributions to a Roth IRA without penalty. Thus, some of your emergency fund could go in there.
Chimcheroo wrote:7. I have a rollover IRA (listed above) from a former employer. I haven't done anything with it in 10 years and it's increased in value by 50%. Should I continue to just let it sit or start making contributions to it or merge it into something else?
In years past, I would have said to let it sit. Now I'm not so sure. Can you calculate what tax you would have to pay to convert it to a Roth IRA? Alternatively, rolling into the current 401k is an option as in some (many?) states, 401k accounts get slightly better protection in bankruptcies than IRAs. I don't think anything would be wrong, other than taking the money out.

I hope this is a start.
Sarah
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ruralavalon
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Location: Illinois

Re: Portfolio Guidance for 2013 and Beyond

Post by ruralavalon »

Welcome to the forum :) .

Its great that you are effectively debt free, and that you have a high savings rate. You have some very good choices offered in your 401k.
Chimceroo wrote:Age: Me 36, Wife 40 (no children, no intentions)
Desired Asset allocation: I'm not sure
Desired International allocation: I'm not sure
The first decision to make is your asset allocation.

Stock/bond allocation. A fairly typical and relatively conservative suggestion would be "your age in bonds", or about 60/40. Here are some items to read. Wiki article link: Asset Allocation ; and Regression -- http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... 3#p1217243 .

Domestic/international. A fairly typical suggestion would be international equities in the range of 20 - 40% of total equities; if you want to be conservative stick closer to 20%. Here are some items to read -- Vanguard paper https://personal.vanguard.com/pdf/icriecr.pdf ; and Poll -- http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=98922 .

Asset allocation is a very personal decision, and depends on your ability and willingness to take risks.
Chimceroo wrote:Company was recently acquired and we are being moved over to our new parent company's 401k plan. Listed below are the funds available in the new plan. Any recommendations on which I should select or which should be weighted more heavily?
Your 401k. (13%; ~ $3k; adds $17.5k/yr??)
englishgirl is right, the two funds you should select and use in your 401k are:
Spartan® 500 Index Fund - Institutional Class (FXSIX) -- .05%
PIMCO Total Return Fund Institutional Class (PTTRX) -- .46%
I wouldn't use any others.

Your rollover IRA at Fidelity (24%; ~ $5k)
If you want to leave leave this account at Fidelity, I would suggest switching to the much less expensive Fidelity Spartan funds, such as:
Spartan Total Market Index Fund
Spartan Extended Market Index Fund
Spartan Global ex U.S. Index Fund
Spartan U.S. Bond Index Fund

Taxable account (63%; ~ $13k)
This needs to be invested in a tax efficient manner, which means using large cap equity index funds, either domestic or international, such as :
Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral Shares (VTSAX), er = 0.06%
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund Admiral Shares (VTIAX), er = 0.18%
Wiki article link: Principles of Tax-Efficient Fund Placement . The "upside" to having losses in your current holdings in this account is that you can make a switch to funds like the above without incurring tax liability.

Roth IRAs. Don't be concerned about locking up money in Roth IRAs. You can withdraw contributions as needed. "Regular Contributions can be withdrawn at any time with no tax and no penalty". Wiki article link: Roth IRA . You can open two Roth IRAs, one for you and one for your spouse, and are allowed to contribute up to $5.5k/yr to each.

Can you list for us the fund choices (fund names, tickers, expense ratios) offered in her 401k at John Hancock? If the list is very long, all you need to do is list funds with the lowest expense ratios in each category.

How much do you anticipate being able to contribute toward investments annually in the next few years?

What is your preference about leaving exising accounts at Fidelity vs moving them to Vanguard?

If you can provide that info about her 401k, future investment contributions, preference on account location, and indicate a desired asset allocation, more specific suggestions and answers to your questions could be made. You can add this info to your original post using the "edit" button; it helps a lot to have all of your information one place.
"Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein | Wiki article link: Bogleheads® investment philosophy
Topic Author
Chimcheroo
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2012 9:47 pm

Re: Portfolio Guidance for 2013 and Beyond

Post by Chimcheroo »

Thank you, both, for your replies and for giving me so much to think about. Very helpful! I've edited my original post and included my wife's 401k fund options as well as answers to questions posed in your replies. I've somewhat had my head in the ground re: my stock investments and it was pretty painful looking into the gains/losses for each stock. Guess I'll have to consider those losses as a form of tuition -- lesson learned about trying to pick "winners."
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Taylor Larimore
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Sell losing securities immediately

Post by Taylor Larimore »

Chimcheroo;

Welcome to the Bogleheads Forum!

I would sell those individual stocks as soon as possible for their tax loss which may be lost if you don't do it soon. If you want the tax-benefit this year sell Monday. If you want the Benefit next year sell Wednesday. If you hold beyond that you may lose the tax-loss benefit forever.

Holding individual stocks is silly. You can't possibly pick stocks better than a full time professional fund manager--and most managed funds do worse than index funds.

Happy Holidays!
Taylor
"Simplicity is the master key to financial success." -- Jack Bogle
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ruralavalon
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Re: Portfolio Guidance for 2013 and Beyond

Post by ruralavalon »

Any decision on your desired asset allocation?

In her 401k, according to the plan materials what index does "Total Bond Market Fund -- .56%" track?

Taylor is right about the individual stocks in the taxable account.
"Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein | Wiki article link: Bogleheads® investment philosophy
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hoppy08520
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Re: Portfolio Guidance for 2013 and Beyond

Post by hoppy08520 »

Household income: ~$170,000
I'd like to start putting more into investments -- probably $20-25k per year over the next few years.
We live on about 50% of our income
I don't get this math. If you live on 50% of your $170K income, where's the rest of it going if you're only investing $20-25K per year?

I'd think you could max out your 401k and IRAs ($17,000 + $17,000 + $5,000 + $5,000 for 2012, going up by $500 for each account type in 2013). $44,000 in tax-advantaged retirement savings on a $170,000 income is just 25%.

On to your 401k accounts, I'd focus on putting together a combination of these funds, to get to your desired overall AA. Remember, you don't need to achieve this AA in each account, you just need that AA for your overall portfolio that combines all accounts (taxable + IRAs + His 401k + Her 401k).

His 401k:
I'd only look at these two funds:
Stable Value Fund -- .1% <--- could be part of your bond allocation if the rate is good
Spartan® 500 Index Fund - Institutional Class (FXSIX) -- .05%

Her 401k:
These are actually pretty good index funds. See John Hancock Funds for more on John Hancock 401(k) plans:
Total Stock Market Index Fund (JETSX) -- .57%
Total Bond Market Fund -- .56% <--- Assuming this is JEBNX, then it tracks the Barclay's bond index

Down the road, you could use these two fund to complement the Spartan 500 index fund in Her 401k in roughly a 81/6/13 ratio (500/mid/small) if you wish to Approximate Total Stock Market:
Mid Cap Index Fund (JECIX) -- .54%
Small Cap Index Fund (JESIX) -- .60%

As is typical of most 401(k) plans, you don't have a great international index fund (although the John Hancock International Equity Index Fund isn't bad), so you should hold your international allocation outside your 401(k) in one of your IRAs or taxable account, in the Vanguard Total International Stock Market Index Fund.
letsgobobby
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Re: Portfolio Guidance for 2013 and Beyond

Post by letsgobobby »

I'm confused as to how a saver childless couple making $170k at age 38 has only $20k in savings. Where is all your savings?
Topic Author
Chimcheroo
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Re: Portfolio Guidance for 2013 and Beyond

Post by Chimcheroo »

I don't get this math. If you live on 50% of your $170K income, where's the rest of it going if you're only investing $20-25K per year

Good point - I was not factoring in pretax 401k contributions. I plan to raise my contribution to 20% (same with my wife) in 2013. I expect to be able to invest about half (likely more) of our after-tax, after-401k take home pay in different ways...so, about $25k. Total investments would be ~$60k. I'm ready to go stoic, though, so maybe more.

I'm confused as to how a saver childless couple making $170k at age 38 has only $20k in savings. Where is all your savings?


Ha, isn't that the question! The $20k does not include our cash savings, which is enough to last us a year if things go really sour. I'd like to carve out six months worth of that"emergency fund savings" and put it to good use.

We also took a year off btw 2010-2011. Brazenly, I stormed out of a ~180k/year job, suffering from a bit of megalomania and a prima donna complex. Figured we'd travel the world a bit, the economy would accelerate, former clients would be pounding down my door and we'd be sitting pretty. Ha ha. I laugh at that now. I've never been accused of not being spirited. But, that little adventure pretty much drained our savings so we were starting from ground zero. I've also spent much of my career with startup companies which did not offer 401k matching, so I'd never participated. That's the qual behind my quant.

I would sell those individual stocks as soon as possible for their tax loss which may be lost if you don't do it soon. If you want the tax-benefit this year sell Monday. If you want the Benefit next year sell Wednesday. If you hold beyond that you may lose the tax-loss benefit forever.

I was under the impression that I could only claim a tax loss on stocks against capital gains, not against income. Is that not correct? Obviously, I'll look into this again  on my own but am pretty sure I read this somewhere not too long ago. in any respect, lesson learned on the stock game. I knew a guy who knew a guy...and here's what it got me. Zilch!

Any decision on your desired asset allocation

Sounds like the rule of thumb is our age in bonds, but I think we need to be a bit more aggressive. We were talking today about 401k and think we'll go for a 70% stock / 30% bond allocation.
letsgobobby
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Re: Portfolio Guidance for 2013 and Beyond

Post by letsgobobby »

Thank you for that interesting answer! I hope you at least had a good year off.

It's interesting, you are the third poster this week who has mentioned that his 401k was so bad that he didn't use it... at all. That is almost always a mistake, as the tax-deferral and the ability to rollover a 401k to an IRA upon employment separation nearly always makes a 401k superior to taxable investing. And it is always superior to not investing at all.

You can claim up to $3000 per year of capital losses against income. You can also carry forward unused losses indefinitely. Some folks here have hundreds of thousands of dollars of carry forward losses to be used in the future against either gains or income. I agree with the recommendation to sell all individual stocks with losses, at least $3000 of losses on Mon 12/31 and the rest can be done later.

I think 70/30 is fine. Just stick with it.

20% of your income is conveniently equal to the max in his and hers 401k. That's $34,000 total. Then $11,000 into his/hers Roth IRA. Total $45,000 per year = 28% or so of income. I-bonds wouldn't be a bad option as it defers income taxes for up to 30 years. Then you're up to $65k per year in total savings. Despite the late start, that's a pretty good catchup strategy.

This is what I might do with new money:

his 401k:
$17.5k Spartan 500 Index Fund

her 401k
$10k small cap index fund
$7.5k mid cap index fund

Both Roth IRAs:
$11k Total international index fund

I-bonds:
$20k

This gives you:

69% stocks
31% bonds

75.5% of stocks domestic
24.5% of stocks international

I would do this even if it means drawing down some of your savings, as a 12 month EF may be excessive (or may not).
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ruralavalon
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Re: Portfolio Guidance for 2013 and Beyond

Post by ruralavalon »

Here is a portfolio idea to consider using a target 70/30 stock/bond allocation, with 30% of stocks in international. The maximum contribution allowed for the 401ks is $17.5k/yr each, plus any employer match. The maximum contribution allowed for each Roth IRA is $5.5k/yr. I suggest moving both the taxable account and your rollover IRA to Vanguard. Vanguard has a much broader array of low cost mutual funds you can select from.

The idea is to have a combination of broad diversification (to decrease risk) and low cost (to increase your net return), in a tax efficient manner, as simply as possible using the funds available to you. You achieve the optimum combination if you consider all accounts together as a single unified portfolio, rather than looking at each account separately. Start by selecting the best funds offered in the 401ks, where the choices are relatively limited, and then fill out your desired asset allocation using the nearly unlimited choices in the IRAs and the taxable account. In his 401k, by far the best choice is the Spartan® 500 Index Fund because of its very low expense ratio, so initially put all his 401k contributions into that. Although the PIMCO bond fund is fine, a much less expensive bond fund can be bought in the IRAs. Neither 401k has a very good international fund, so use Vanguard's very widely diversified Total International fund (it covers developed markets including Canada, emerging markets, and int'l mid caps and small caps) in another account.

Vanguard's Total International fund is very tax efficient and gives you a foreign tax credit, so is favored in the taxable account. Wiki article link: Principles of Tax-Efficient Fund Placement . You already have some I Bonds in the taxable account, and that is good since "Interest from I Bonds accumulates tax-deferred for up to 30 years" Wiki article link: I Savings Bonds .

When Vanguard index funds reach a balance of $10k in a given account, you are eligible for Admiral shares at a significantly reduced expense ratio.

This is how you could start, with suggestions and explanation on how to proceed. To quickly get up to the 30% bond allocation, make the first IRA contribution to the Vanguard Total Bond Market fund at the start of the year in the new Roth IRA. All percentages and dollar amounts are rounded off; percentages are percentages of the total portfolio except where otherwise noted.

Taxable account (63%; ~ $13k; adds ~ $14k/yr??)
25%, ~ $5k, Series-I Savings Bond
20%, ~ $4k, Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund Investor Shares (VGTSX), er = 0.22%, <= from cash and sales of stocks; most new contributions here; very tax efficient; 30% of equities = ~ 20% overall; after $10k Admiral shares with er = 0.18%
18%, ~ $4k, Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares (VTSMX), er = 0.18%, <= from cash and sales of stocks; tax efficient; after $10k Admiral shares with er = 0.06%
Wiki article link: Principles of Tax-Efficient Fund Placement ; and Wiki article link: I Savings Bonds .

Your 401k (13%; ~ $3k; adds $17.5k/yr)
13%, ~$3k, Spartan® 500 Index Fund - Institutional Class (FXSIX) -- .05%, <= very low expense ratio; all his 401k contributions here initially
00%, $00k, PIMCO Total Return Fund Institutional Class (PTTRX) -- .46%, <= add later if needed to maintain the 70/30 asset allocation

Her 401k (00%; adds $17.5k/yr, plus employer match)
00%, Total Stock Market Index Fund (JETSX) -- .57%
00%, Total Bond Market Fund -- .56%
(initially put 70% of her 401k contribution in the total stock fund, and 30% in the total bond fund; adjust %s later as needed to keep portfolio balanced)

Your rollover IRA at Vanguard (24%; ~ $5k)
24%, ~ $5k, Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares (VTSMX), er = 0.18%

His Roth IRA at Vanguard (00%; $00; adds $5.5k/yr)
00%, $00, Vanguard Extended Market Index Fund Investor Shares (VEXMX), er = 0.28%, <= complements the S&P 500 fund in his 401k, to approximate total market use S&P 500 and this in 4:1 ratio

Her Roth IRA at Vanguard (00%; $00; adds $5.5k/yr)
00%, $00,Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund Investor Shares (VBMFX), er = 0.22%, <= after $10k Admiral shares with er = 0.10%

This gives you a very broadly diversified portfolio, with very low expenses, making the best use of the low cost S&P 500 fund in his 401k. It is tax efficient, and simple using just a few funds, and should be easy to manage and rebalance going forward. Wiki article link: Rebalancing .

Finally, I suggest that you read one or two books from the General Investing section of this reading list -- http://www.bogleheads.org/readbooks.htm . This will help you understand the reasons for the suggestions given, and help you manage your accounts going forward.

I hope that this helps.
"Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein | Wiki article link: Bogleheads® investment philosophy
Topic Author
Chimcheroo
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2012 9:47 pm

Re: Portfolio Guidance for 2013 and Beyond

Post by Chimcheroo »

Thanks so much everyone for the comments and guidance! Initiating the plan today, starting by unloading some of my underwater stock positions. I can't tell you how helpful just this site and your guidance have been! Much appreciated. Happy New Year!
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