Has Anyone Made a Detailed Spreadsheet on M.F. Choices?

[LFKB]

I saw one in the Wiki that displayed a list of funds with expense ratios but has anyone put together a comparison spreadsheet of a list of funds that is more detailed? I am considering putting one together before coming up with my asset allocation to better understand expense ratios of each fund, geographical diversity, etc. but wanted to see if that has already been done.

Also, if you have any suggestions for categories to include, please let me know. I can post the spreadsheet here when completed.

Thanks

[livesoft]

I am going to say that this is a ridiculous waste of time because the variation for the interesting funds would be more than what one could expect to gain from knowing the information. I have found that the day or hour that I make a purchase changes the net performance more than any expense ratio or what's in the fund can. This is because the expense ratio differences of the funds that I am interested in are so small and the stock market so volatile that just buying a position at 0.2% less or 0.2% more than at another time is more than 10 years of expense ratio differences.

Perhaps another way to look at this is driving to work. If you no longer work, just remember when you did. How many minutes did it take you to drive to work? Did it matter at what time you started your drive? Mondays? Wednesday? 7 am? 9 am? School days? Holidays? Was the variation in time of travel so much that you couldn't predict within a few seconds how long it would take you to get to work?

That said, I want to use funds and ETFs found on Eric Haas's web site: http://www.altruistfa.com/dfavanguard.htm

Also I think it is better to come up with an asset allocation without reference to any funds. Then figure out some funds that will get you there. For reference, here is my current asset allocation without reference to any funds: viewtopic.php?p=1563521#p1563521 Do you see how I didn't mention any funds?

[LadyGeek]

I am considering putting one together before coming up with my asset allocation...

Let's back up a bit. Take another look in the wiki: Financial planning - Bogleheads (Investment plan)

Those steps need to be followed in order. Determing your asset allocation is step 3 (how much risk can you take) and is independent of how the portfolio is constructed - the following step. Get this figured out first, then look for funds.

Choosing funds can be as simple as a Target Retirement Fund, or a Lazy Portfolio.

Consider it like building a house. Get the plans together first and check with the architect. Then, get the materials and start construction.

[dbr]

I've codged together stuff like that at different times. The outcome, except for some education, is generally a waste of time as arriving at fund selection to meet a reasonable plan doesn't take detailed comparison of statistics about different funds.

Once one knows what assets one wants, it isn't very difficult to identify funds that are suited to the purpose.

[LFKB]

Thanks for the responses. It wouldn't have taken me very much time (maybe an hour) because most of it can be done through the comparison tool through Vanguard and then simply pasted into excel and grouped by fund type but maybe it's not even worth that amount of time.

[Aptenodytes]

Thanks for the responses. It wouldn't have taken me very much time (maybe an hour) because most of it can be done through the comparison tool through Vanguard and then simply pasted into excel and grouped by fund type but maybe it's not even worth that amount of time.

Not only is it not worth the time, but there's a danger it will be counterproductive and lead you astray.

Once you get down to specific asset categories, and are then ready to make fund selections, the number to choose from is extremely small. You might want to put the data in a spreadsheet at that point, but it will only have a handful of rows.