Investment policy statement

An Investment Policy Statement (IPS) 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.

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.

Financial account information

 * Where are your financial assets located?
 * How much is in tax-advantaged accounts (IRA, Roth 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)

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.

Other real-world examples

 * Investing Personal Statement for EmergDoc and Ms EmergDoc
 * Peter Foley's Investment Policy Statement
 * DaleMaley's Outline

Investing plan
In some cases, a formal investing policy statement may seem too complicated or inconvenient for some investors. In-lieu of a formal policy, an informal investing plan can be developed. Whether it's called a policy or a plan, the idea is that the investor has a clear understanding of managing their investment goals and objectives.

The Bogleheads forum often gets questions such as “I have $50K saved up and I need to know which funds to put it in!”. Setting up an investing plan will help answer these questions.

An investing plan can be as easy as following these simple steps:
 * Step 1 - Formulate your goals. Be as specific as possible, realizing that you’ll make changes as the years go by.
 * Step 2 - Set up a plan for each goal. The plan consists of identifying what type of account you will use to save the money, choosing the amount you will put toward the goal each year, working out an asset allocation likely to reach the goal with the minimum risk necessary, and identifying a plan B for the goal in case the returns you’re planning on don’t materialize.
 * Step 3 - Select the best (usually lowest cost) investments to fulfill your desired asset allocation. Using all or mostly index funds further simplifies the process.

Some typical goals that can benefit from an investing plan:
 * I want $40,000 for home downpayment by June 30, 2013
 * I want to have enough money to pay the tuition at my alma mater in 13 years when my 5 year old turns 18
 * I want to have $2 Million saved for retirement by Jan 1 2030

For a detailed discussion on how to achieve those goals, see EmergDoc's Investing Plan Thread.

Forum Discussions

 * Collective thoughts, forum discussion. Approach and methodology for investment policies.
 * Forum Poll: Do you have a written investment plan? Recommended reading.
 * Post your Investment Policy Statement IPS here Additional examples.
 * EmergDoc's Investing Plan Thread