Top Plans for Brokerages
Vanguard ETF: 7.4%*
Diversified Core: 8.1%*
Six Core Asset ETFs: 7.3%*
*:5 Yr Annualized Return of TAA Moderate Portfolio

...More Plans...

Articles on BIV

  • Using Asset Classes in Amerivest Guided Portfolios to Construct ETF Portfolios

    07/22/2011

    We have just released ETF based plan Amerivest Guided Portfolios Based ETF Plan that uses index ETFs to represent the asset classes suggested by the Amerivest balanced portfolio. Based on Amerivest, the model portfolios are suggested by Morningstars.

    One can see the list of ETFs used in this plan from the Investment Options of the plan.

    This plan investment choice is rated as average based on our plan rating methodology that measures the effectiveness of a plan's available investment funds. It has the following detailed ratings:

    Diversification -- Rated as great (94%)
    Fund Quality -- Rated as below average (26%)
    Portfolio Building -- Rated as below average (23%)
    Overall Rating -- Average (45%)

    The performance has been reasonable.

    Portfolio Performance Comparison

    Portfolio/Fund Name 1Yr AR 1Yr Sharpe 3Yr AR 3Yr Sharpe 5Yr AR 5Yr Sharpe
    VFINX 23% 151% 3% 15% 3% 8%
    Amerivest Guided Portfolios Based ETF Plan Strategic Asset Allocation Moderate 19% 181% 3% 17% 6% 34%
    Amerivest Guided Portfolios Based ETF Plan Tactical Asset Allocation Moderate 14% 125% 7% 44% 11% 76%
    VBINX 16% 203% 6% 32% 5% 28%

    Both SAA and TAA portfolios beat the general S&P 500 (SPX) (VFINX) and the balanced portfolio index (VBINX) in the last 5 years.

    See more detailed comparison from our comparison tool here. Users can change the parameters on that page to compare with other portfolios or funds.

    See the SeekingAlpha article for some detailed description on this plan.

    In general, this is a good plan that has very good diversification. Users can do more comparison and studies on this.

    Symbols: BIV, SPX, BLV, BND, BSV, BWX, DBC, EMB, GWX, IWC, JNK, MBB, TIP, VBK, VBR, VEU, VNQ, VOE, VOT, VTI, VTV, VUG, VWO, Brokerage Plans

     

    comments(0)  Share/Bookmark

  • BND Leads US Total Bond ETFs

    05/17/2011

    Retirement concerns are important to us all. A well thought out, long term approach to investing is a key for retirement planning.  This makes bonds attractive. The lower risk inherent in bonds make them a key part most portfolios. Today we look at total bonds

    What are corporate Bonds? Companies need money for expansion, acquisition in new units, or exploring new markets. One way of raising these funds is through a bond issue. Bonds are corporate debt, and the attractiveness of them is determined by the organization's credit history. The key question arises over how the bond rates are determined.

    Bonds rates are measured with respect to their position above treasury yield. This is to induce the investor to purchase their bonds assuming that if the rate is below the treasury yield no one will be interested as treasury is the secure of all bonds. Currently treasury yields are low making overall bonds look attractive. But there are secondary factors.

    It has has been more than 31 months during which the FED has kept interest rates low. With inflations showing signs of returning with the record high price of oil and commodities we expect that inflation will keep rising. In the last six months the producer price index (PPI) has risen at an annual rate of 10%. That will feed into the consumer price index (CPI) over the next few months.

    This is a serious concern for bond buyers and one reason they remain under pressure.

    Please find below the table of major ETF's.

     

    Description

    Symbol

    1 Yr

    3 Yr

    5 Yr

    Avg. Volume(K)

    1 Yr Sharpe

    Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF

    BND

    5.32%

    4.73%

    NA

    728

    182.95%

    iShares Barclays Aggregate Bon

    AGG

    5.35%

    5.74%

    6.24%

    655

    181.9%

    PowerShares CEF Income Composi

    PCEF

    11.37%

    NA

    NA

    55

    179.66%

    Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bon

    BIV

    7.47%

    7.1%

    NA

    113

    144.51%

     

     

    From the above table we have a mixed picture of returns since the bonds are used as a fixed income returns usually. BND is the best as it has a significant history of 5 years as all the others are the new one in the markets. AGG has also good volumes making it attractive for investment.  BND is also good in terms of return and heavy volume the overall return in 5.18% which I well above the treasury benchmark yield of 10 years. The expense ratio is 0.12%.

    Please find bellows Distribution by credit quality as at 13-05-2011.

     

     

    BND

    AGG

    US Treasury

    69.7%

    38.35%

    Aaa

    5.2%

    36.86%

    Aa

    4.9%

    2.99%

    A

    10.6%

    11.21%

    Baa

    9.6%

    10.59%

    Total

    100%

    100%

     

     

    From this we see AGG has better diversification in terms of credit quality rating compared to BND. There is a slight change from our previous article in which Baa grading has lesser concentration the revised BAA concentration is increased by the fund. Usually the lower the credit rating the higher the yield can be obtained from these bonds.

    Total Bonds are very important from the portfolio perspective. There appropriate use can provide stability and a hedge when equities drop. The proper allocation of bonds in the portfolio not only provides the hedge in terms of volatility but also a good fixed income streams.

     

    Exchange Tickers : (NYSE: BND), (NYSE: AGG), (NYSE: BIV), (NYSE: PCEF)

     

    Symbols: BND, AGG, BIV, PCEF

     

    Disclaimer:

    MyPlanIQ does not have any business relationship with the company or companies mentioned in this article. It does not set up their retirement plans. The performance data of portfolios mentioned above are obtained through historical simulation and are hypothetical.

    comments(0)  Share/Bookmark

  • US Total Bonds Led By AGG, BND

    04/26/2011

    Retirement concerns are important for everybody. A well thought out, long term approach to investing is a key for retirement planning.  The lower risks in bonds make them a key part of everybody’s. Today we look at total bonds

    To understand bond returns one has to understand the bond dynamics. Companies need money for expansion, acquisition in new units, or exploring new market etc. One way of raising these funds is through a bond issue.

    Bonds are corporate debt, and the attractiveness will be determined by the organization’s credit history. The key question arises over how the bond rates are determined.

    Bonds rates are measured with respect to their position above treasury yield. This is to induce the investor to purchase their bonds assuming that if the rate is below the treasury yield no one will be interested in investing these bonds as treasury is the most bonds. Currently treasury yields are low making overall bonds look attractive. But there are secondary factors.

    It has has been more than 30 months during which the FED has kept interest rates low. With inflations showing signs of returning with the record high price of oil and commodities we expect that inflation will keep rising. In the last six months the producer price index (PPI) has risen at an annual rate of 10%. That will feed into the consumer price index (CPI) over the next few months.

    This is a serious concern for bond buyers and one reason they remain under pressure.

    Please find below the table of major ETF’s.

    Description

    Symbol

    1 Yr

    3 Yr

    5 Yr

    Avg. Volume(K)

    1 Yr Sharpe

    Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF

    BND

    5.18%

    4.34%

    NA

    780

    183.34%

    iShares Barclays Aggregate Bon

    AGG

    4.89%

    5.33%

    5.98%

    683

    173.31%

    Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bon

    BIV

    6.64%

    5.01%

    NA

    123

    130.96%

    PowerShares CEF Income Composi

    PCEF

    6.44%

    NA

    NA

    55

    57.91%

     

    From the above table we have a mixed picture of returns since the bonds are used as a fixed income returns usually. AGG is the best as it has a significant history of 5 years as all the others are the new one in the markets. AGG has also good volumes making it more attractive for investment purposes.  BND is also good in terms of return and heavy volume the overall return in 5.18% which I well above the treasury benchmark yield of 10 years. The expense ratio is 0.12%.

    Please find bellows Distribution by credit quality as at 31-03-2011

     

    BND

    AGG

    US Treasury

    69.8%

    38.66%

    Aaa

    5.3%

    36.31%

    Aa

    4.9%

    2.81%

    A

    10.4%

    11.5%

    Baa

    9.6%

    8.71%

    Total

    100%

    100%

     

    From this we see AGG has better diversification in terms of credit quality rating compared to BND.

    Total Bonds are very important from the portfolio perspective. There appropriate use can provide stability and a hedge when equities drop. The proper allocation of bonds in the portfolio not only provides the hedge in terms of volatility but also a good fixed income streams.

     

    Symbols: BND, AGG, BIV, PCEF

     

    Exchange Tickers: (NYSE: BND), (NYSE: AGG), (NYSE: BIV), (NYSE: PCEF)

     

    Disclaimer

    MyPlanIQ does not have any business relationship with the company or companies mentioned in this article. It does not set up their retirement plans. The performance data of portfolios mentioned above are obtained through historical simulation and are hypothetical.

    comments(0)  Share/Bookmark

  • US Total Bonds (BND): PowerShares CEF Income Composite shows good Performance

    04/20/2011

    Setting targets for your retirement nestegg must be evaluated based on the risks and the returns of the portfolio. The type of lifestyle achieved in retirement depends on decisions taken today.

    Bonds provide low risk, predictable income and are a key part of a portfolio. They are an investment with low risk and constant payments. In a previous article we outlined the types of credit risk that are possible for these types of investments.

    All bonds are under pressure and the US total Bond market is in the lower half of the table as interest rates domestically are being kept low by the Fed.

    Major Asset Classes Trend

    04/15/2011

    Description

    Symbol

    1 Week

    4 Weeks

    13 Weeks

    26 Weeks

    52 Weeks

    Trend Score

    Treasury Bills

    SHV

    0.01%

    0.01%

    0.06%

    0.05%

    0.12%

    0.05%

    Emerging Mkt Bonds

    PCY

    -0.45%

    0.53%

    0.47%

    -4.3%

    6.52%

    0.55%

    Frontier Market Stks

    FRN

    -1.63%

    6.32%

    -7.13%

    -5.77%

    11.34%

    0.63%

    Intermediate Treasuries

    IEF

    1.49%

    -0.85%

    -0.01%

    -4.26%

    6.86%

    0.64%

    Municipal Bonds

    MUB

    0.84%

    0.45%

    5.25%

    -3.69%

    0.57%

    0.68%

    Mortgage Back Bonds

    MBB

    0.71%

    -0.1%

    0.54%

    -0.01%

    3.92%

    1.01%

    Total US Bonds

    BND

    0.82%

    -0.26%

    0.77%

    -0.44%

    5.01%

    1.18%

    US Credit Bonds

    CFT

    0.98%

    -0.02%

    1.32%

    -0.21%

    6.11%

    1.63%

    International Treasury Bonds

    BWX

    0.93%

    0.07%

    4.49%

    -0.04%

    10.44%

    3.18%

    International Developed Stks

    EFA

    -0.54%

    5.23%

    2.52%

    6.94%

    8.47%

    4.53%

    US High Yield Bonds

    JNK

    -0.05%

    1.28%

    2.68%

    8.69%

    14.88%

    5.49%

    International REITs

    RWX

    -0.1%

    4.52%

    1.25%

    4.62%

    21.16%

    6.29%

    Emerging Market Stks

    VWO

    -1.63%

    8.33%

    2.25%

    6.58%

    18.78%

    6.86%

    US Stocks

    VTI

    -0.61%

    3.65%

    2.9%

    15.79%

    15.39%

    7.42%

    US Equity REITs

    VNQ

    2.49%

    3.99%

    6.7%

    10.41%

    23.94%

    9.5%

    Gold

    GLD

    0.97%

    4.83%

    9.31%

    8.51%

    30.39%

    10.8%

    Commodities

    DBC

    -2.35%

    4.88%

    11.24%

    24.98%

    28.54%

    13.46%

     

    In the very short term (1 week) US Bonds ended below other Fixed Income Investments, such as the Treasury Bills (SHV), which is short term focused (maturity less than a year), but Above Municipal Bonds (MUB) and International Treasury Bonds (BWX).

    PowerShares CEF Income Composite (PCEF) is a diversified portfolio which includes mostly Bonds (44%), followed by High Yield Bonds (20%) and Options (36%). This provides low risk with a high one year return.

    U.S. Total Bonds

    04/08/2011

    Description

    Symbol

    1 Yr

    3 Yr

    5 Yr

    Avg. Volume(K)

    1 Yr Sharpe

    PowerShares CEF Income Composi

    PCEF

    6.21%

    NA

    NA

    57

    55.92%

    Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bon

    BIV

    4.07%

    1.7%

    NA

    129

    71.62%

    iShares Barclays Aggregate Bon

    AGG

    3.73%

    4.49%

    5.52%

    715

    114.39%

    Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF

    BND

    3.03%

    1.62%

    NA

    805

    92.35%

    Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond (BIV) is, as its name suggests, a safer Bond in the Medium Term, with lower returns. In other words, a less risky portfolio, that comes with lower returns, composing the investments in 50% of the assets in Corporate Bonds and the other half in US Government Bonds.

    BIV can be a good choice taking into account the maturity of the asset and that the risks of the investments can be due to significant changes on interest rate.

    iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond (AGG) has a longer performance history. Despite lower 1 year returns, the 3 and 5 year returns are strong which translates into a good price/yield ratio.

    Finally, Vanguard’s Total Bond Market ETF (BND), shows a lower one year returns, but showing longer history (3 years), and good volume. It is an ETF based on high quality, medium Weighted Maturity.

    US Total Bonds deserve consideration for a diversified Portfolio for medium to long term objectives, linked with consistent returns.

    Today Bonds are under pressure with many momentum strategies preferring cash. However, in the long term, a well thought out bond strategy is a critical piece of the retirement portfolio. PCEF delivers strong one year returns but is very new. Having AGG as the safe, proven alternative makes sense.

    Symbols: CEF, BND, SHV, MUB, BWX, PCEF, BIV, AGG, Exchange, Tickers, (NYSE: CEF), (NYSE: BND), (NYSE: SHV), (NYSE: MUB), (NYSE: BWX), (NYSE: PCEF), (NYSE: BIV), (NYSE: AGG)

     

    Disclaimer: MyPlanIQ does not have any business relationship with the company or companies mentioned in this article. It does not set up their retirement plans. The performance data of portfolios mentioned above are obtained through historical simulation and are hypothetical.

     

    comments(0)  Share/Bookmark

  • US Total Bonds (BND): PowerShares CEF Income Composite shows good Performance

    04/20/2011

    Setting targets for your retirement nestegg must be evaluated based on the risks and the returns of the portfolio. The type of lifestyle achieved in retirement depends on decisions taken today.

    Bonds provide low risk, predictable income and are a key part of a portfolio. They are an investment with low risk and constant payments. In a previous article we outlined the types of credit risk that are possible for these types of investments.

    All bonds are under pressure and the US total Bond market is in the lower half of the table as interest rates domestically are being kept low by the Fed.

    Major Asset Classes Trend

    04/15/2011

    Description

    Symbol

    1 Week

    4 Weeks

    13 Weeks

    26 Weeks

    52 Weeks

    Trend Score

    Treasury Bills

    SHV

    0.01%

    0.01%

    0.06%

    0.05%

    0.12%

    0.05%

    Emerging Mkt Bonds

    PCY

    -0.45%

    0.53%

    0.47%

    -4.3%

    6.52%

    0.55%

    Frontier Market Stks

    FRN

    -1.63%

    6.32%

    -7.13%

    -5.77%

    11.34%

    0.63%

    Intermediate Treasuries

    IEF

    1.49%

    -0.85%

    -0.01%

    -4.26%

    6.86%

    0.64%

    Municipal Bonds

    MUB

    0.84%

    0.45%

    5.25%

    -3.69%

    0.57%

    0.68%

    Mortgage Back Bonds

    MBB

    0.71%

    -0.1%

    0.54%

    -0.01%

    3.92%

    1.01%

    Total US Bonds

    BND

    0.82%

    -0.26%

    0.77%

    -0.44%

    5.01%

    1.18%

    US Credit Bonds

    CFT

    0.98%

    -0.02%

    1.32%

    -0.21%

    6.11%

    1.63%

    International Treasury Bonds

    BWX

    0.93%

    0.07%

    4.49%

    -0.04%

    10.44%

    3.18%

    International Developed Stks

    EFA

    -0.54%

    5.23%

    2.52%

    6.94%

    8.47%

    4.53%

    US High Yield Bonds

    JNK

    -0.05%

    1.28%

    2.68%

    8.69%

    14.88%

    5.49%

    International REITs

    RWX

    -0.1%

    4.52%

    1.25%

    4.62%

    21.16%

    6.29%

    Emerging Market Stks

    VWO

    -1.63%

    8.33%

    2.25%

    6.58%

    18.78%

    6.86%

    US Stocks

    VTI

    -0.61%

    3.65%

    2.9%

    15.79%

    15.39%

    7.42%

    US Equity REITs

    VNQ

    2.49%

    3.99%

    6.7%

    10.41%

    23.94%

    9.5%

    Gold

    GLD

    0.97%

    4.83%

    9.31%

    8.51%

    30.39%

    10.8%

    Commodities

    DBC

    -2.35%

    4.88%

    11.24%

    24.98%

    28.54%

    13.46%

     

    In the very short term (1 week) US Bonds ended below other Fixed Income Investments, such as the Treasury Bills (SHV), which is short term focused (maturity less than a year), but Above Municipal Bonds (MUB) and International Treasury Bonds (BWX).

    PowerShares CEF Income Composite (PCEF) is a diversified portfolio which includes mostly Bonds (44%), followed by High Yield Bonds (20%) and Options (36%). This provides low risk with a high one year return.

    U.S. Total Bonds

    04/08/2011

    Description

    Symbol

    1 Yr

    3 Yr

    5 Yr

    Avg. Volume(K)

    1 Yr Sharpe

    PowerShares CEF Income Composi

    PCEF

    6.21%

    NA

    NA

    57

    55.92%

    Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bon

    BIV

    4.07%

    1.7%

    NA

    129

    71.62%

    iShares Barclays Aggregate Bon

    AGG

    3.73%

    4.49%

    5.52%

    715

    114.39%

    Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF

    BND

    3.03%

    1.62%

    NA

    805

    92.35%

    Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond (BIV) is, as its name suggests, a safer Bond in the Medium Term, with lower returns. In other words, a less risky portfolio, that comes with lower returns, composing the investments in 50% of the assets in Corporate Bonds and the other half in US Government Bonds.

    BIV can be a good choice taking into account the maturity of the asset and that the risks of the investments can be due to significant changes on interest rate.

    iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond (AGG) has a longer performance history. Despite lower 1 year returns, the 3 and 5 year returns are strong which translates into a good price/yield ratio.

    Finally, Vanguard’s Total Bond Market ETF (BND), shows a lower one year returns, but showing longer history (3 years), and good volume. It is an ETF based on high quality, medium Weighted Maturity.

    US Total Bonds deserve consideration for a diversified Portfolio for medium to long term objectives, linked with consistent returns.

    Today Bonds are under pressure with many momentum strategies preferring cash. However, in the long term, a well thought out bond strategy is a critical piece of the retirement portfolio. PCEF delivers strong one year returns but is very new. Having AGG as the safe, proven alternative makes sense.

    Symbols: CEF, BND, SHV, MUB, BWX, PCEF, BIV, AGG, Exchange, Tickers, (NYSE: CEF), (NYSE: BND), (NYSE: SHV), (NYSE: MUB), (NYSE: BWX), (NYSE: PCEF), (NYSE: BIV), (NYSE: AGG)

     

    Disclaimer: MyPlanIQ does not have any business relationship with the company or companies mentioned in this article. It does not set up their retirement plans. The performance data of portfolios mentioned above are obtained through historical simulation and are hypothetical.

     

    comments(0)  Share/Bookmark

  • Japan Disaster -- Prevention is Better Than Cure -- How Does that Apply to Investing?

    04/07/2011

  • Will We Learn From Japan's Triple Tragedy?

    04/07/2011

  • Schwab Mutual Funds Beat out ETFs

    04/06/2011

  • Schwab Select ETF Plan Has Bright Prospects

    04/06/2011

  • National Semiconductor Provides Good Funds in Their Retirement Plan

    04/04/2011

  • MidAmerican Energy Company's 401K Plan: More Diversification Needed

    03/31/2011

  • Caterpillar's 401K Retirement Plan: Reasonable Investment Choices But Could Be More Systematic

    03/28/2011

  • Accenture 401K Retirement Plan: High Quality and Low Cost Funds with Proper Diversification

    03/25/2011

  • Online Pioneer Amazon.com Can Expand Its 401K Plan for More Diversification

    03/22/2011

  • Employees in Sprint Nextel Dial up An Average 401K Retirement Plan

    03/22/2011

  • Starbucks Should Expand Its 401K Retirement Plan, Just As What It Did in Their Business

    03/11/2011

  • Shell Versus Morningstar -- More is Better

    02/27/2011

  • Initiating Tracking of US Subclasses

    02/22/2011

  • E-Trade ETF Plan Hits Most of the High Notes

    02/16/2011

  • JPMorgan Chase -- Top Tier Company -- Second Tier Retirement Plan

    01/15/2011

First   1   2   3   Last  

Members enjoy Free features

  • Customize and follow a diversified strategic allocation portfolio for your 401k, IRA and brokerage investments within minutes
  • Receive monthly or quarterly re-balance emails
  • Enter funds and percentages in your portfolio, see its historical performance and receive ongoing rebalance emails
  • Real time fund ranking and selection for your plans
  • Quality retirement investing newsletter emails
  • Fund ranking and selection for your plans

Tens of thousands of users have signed up!

Join Now (Free)
No Credit Card Required

User names can only consist of alphabetic and
numeric characters.(eg: 0-9a-zA-Z)
I agree to the Terms of use

Login With Facebook:

Get Started Now. It's Free!

Get portfolio suggestions for your
401k plan or brokerage accounts

Powered by MyPlanIQ
You have created an account on MyPlanIQ.com by using this email "", please login MyPlanIQ account or reset your password.