Investment Policy Statement
From Bogleheads
Bogleheads Investing Start-Up Kit: Implementing an Investment Plan
- Mutual Funds and Fees
- Mutual Funds: Additional Costs
- Indexing
- Vanguard Target Retirement Funds
- Lazy Portfolios
- Principles of Tax-Efficient Fund Placement
- Rebalancing
- Tax Loss Harvesting
- Investment Policy Statement
For Introduction to Investing and Asset Classes see Bogleheads Investing Start-Up Kit.
An Investment Policy Statement (IPS) [1] is a statement that defines general investment goals and objectives. It describes the strategies that will be used to meet these objectives and contains specific information on subjects such as asset allocation, risk tolerance, and liquidity requirements.
Contents |
Benefits of using an IPS
Every investor could potentially benefit from having an investment policy statement. It provides the foundation for all future investment decisions to be made by an investor. It serves as a guidepost, identifies goals and creates a systematic review process. The IPS is intended to keep investors focused on their objectives during short-term swings in the market and provides a baseline from which to monitor investment performance of the overall portfolio, as well as the performance of individual fund managers. If you are using some sort of financial advisor, an IPS outlines the ground rules of the relationship between you and that advisor. And you can use the IPS as a reference to see whether or not your portfolio is achieving your stated goals and objectives. Any proposed changes to your investments can also be evaluated and reviewed against your overall objectives using your IPS.
A properly constructed Investment Policy Statement provides support for following a well-conceived, long-term investment discipline, rather than one that is based on false overconfidence or panic in reaction to short-term market fluctuations.
Drawbacks of not using an IPS
Someone who doesn't have a written policy often bases decisions on day-to-day events, which often leads to chasing short-term performance that may hinder them in reaching long-term goals. Having a policy encourages maintaining focus on the long-term nature of the investment process, especially during turbulent or exuberant times.
Basic sections of an IPS
Financial account information
- Where are your financial assets located?
- How much is in tax-deferred accounts (IRA, 401(k), etc) versus taxable accounts?
- How much will you be contributing to these accounts?
Investment objectives, time horizon, risk tolerance
- Short-term financial goals and liquidity needs
- Long-term financial goals and retirement
- Time-frame for funding these goals
- Length of time assets will be needed
- Amount of assets to be needed
Asset classes to be used and those to be avoided
- Asset classes I must include in my overall investment portfolio
- U.S. Stocks
- International Stocks
- U.S. Bonds
- Asset classes I would rather avoid due to excessive risk, high expenses, or large tax liabilities, etc.
- Hedge funds
- Actively-managed funds with high taxable turnover or distributions
- Consider under-weighting tech sector due to my employment there
Asset allocation targets and re-balancing ranges
- Target allocation between stocks and bonds
- Target allocation for international investments
- Time-frame for altering these allocations
- Minimum and maximum deviations from these targets that will trigger portfolio re-balancing
Monitoring and control procedures
- Frequency of monitoring
- Benchmark for comparison of portfolio returns
- Acceptable deviation from benchmark (amount and time)
- Concrete procedures for future changes to IPS
- Financial reasons for changing IPS
- Lifestyle reasons for changing IPS
- Reasons not to change IPS (e.g. short-term market performance)
Example IPS
| Investment Objectives: | These are my main objectives for my investment program. I have made developed them after a review of my financial resources, financial goals, asset allocation, risk tolerance and time horizon.
|
| Risk Tolerance: | My ability to tolerate the uncertainties, complexities and volatility inherent in the investment markets has been considered in the development of this investment program. The main factors that have influenced my risk tolerance and asset allocation are: age, present financial condition, specific financial goals, discretionary income and its variability, past investment experience. |
| Holding Limits: | My portfolio was developed subject to certain holding limitations. These are limitations on the minimum and maximum percentage investment in each asset class:
|
| Target Allocation: | Based on my financial resources, financial goals, time horizon, tax status, holding limitations, risk tolerance and expected investment performance a recommended portfolio was determined. The portfolio balances risk and reward and attempts to achieve the stated objectives of the investment program. The initial asset allocation is:
|
| Selection Criteria: | Investment portfolios used to implement the investment program shall be subject to specified selection criteria and shall be monitored for adherence to my investment policy guidelines, major changes in the portfolios and comparative performance with similar investments. The expense ratio and overall cost of funds shall be a major point in the selection criteria. To minimize style drift, index funds are preferred, if available, for all asset class. |
| Review Process: | My investment performance will be monitored and reported on a quarterly basis and will be compared against the appropriate benchmarks. The investment program will be reviewed at least annually to make sure that it continues to achieve his stated objectives. Since this investment program is long-term in nature, the periodic adjustments made to his investment program should be small. |
| Re-balancing: | The percentage weighting to each asset class within the investment portfolio will vary. The percentage weighting within each asset class will be allowed to vary within a reasonable range of plus or minus an absolute 5 percent or 25 percent of the original allocation amount; whichever is triggered first. To minimize taxable events when re-balancing is required, dividends and net cash inflows will be used to meet the strategic asset allocation targets. If cash flow is not sufficient to meet the target allocation for an asset class, I will decide whether to effect transactions in order to re-balance the asset allocation. |
Real-World IPS
Fellow Boglehead Sunny was one of the first to post a popular IPS. It may not cover all of the topics necessary for someone with a complicated financial situation, but his IPS is brilliant in its elegance and compactness. [2]
| Investment Philosophy: | "Buy-and-hold, long-term, all-market-index strategies, implemented at rock-bottom cost, are the surest of all routes to the accumulation of wealth" - John C. Bogle |
| Asset Allocation: | Maintain overall 60% stock + 40% fixed-income allocation until home purchase to accommodate both short-term and long-term requirements. Assets should be diversified across major asset classes including domestic equity, international equity (20-25% of equities), conventional bonds of short to intermediate term, and TIPS (50% of fixed). |
| Funds & Accounts: | Use low cost mutual funds - index funds preferably - which do not overlap and provide maximum diversification across asset classes. Try to assume only market risk as far as possible. Try to shelter tax-inefficient funds in tax-advantaged accounts to reduce tax drag. |
| Target Allocation: |
|
| Other considerations: | Automate future contributions wherever possible. Rebalance yearly. No market timing. Exact sub-allocations are not as important as maintaining the overall 60/40 stock/fixed allocation - no need to make things complex in order to meet sub-allocation targets. |
Links
- Creating Your Investment Policy Statement, Sue Stevens, Morningstar, 8-15-02.
References
- ↑ Creating Your Investment Policy Statement at Morningstar's Investing Classroom
- ↑ Bogleheads Forum Conversation 681
How to Cite
You can link to this page from the Bogleheads Forum by copying and pasting the following text into your forum posting:
Please see [url=http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Investment_Policy_Statement]Investment Policy Statement[/url] on the [url=http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Main_Page]Bogleheads Wiki[/url].
| Notice something that needs correcting? Notify a wiki editor or become a wiki editor and fix it yourself! |
|---|
| Portfolios | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sample Portfolios | Lazy Portfolios | |
| Portfolio Management | Investment Policy Statement • Rebalancing • Lump sum vs DCA • Using a Spreadsheet to Maintain a Portfolio | |
| Portfolio Withdrawals | Withdrawal Methods • Safe Withdrawal Rates | |
| Asset Classes | US Stocks • International Stocks• Real Estate • Bonds • Money Markets • Alternate Asset Classes | |
