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
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
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Initiating Tracking of US Subclasses
02/22/2011
We are initiating weekly tracking of the nine different styles or subclasses in the US Equity asset class. We use ETFs to represent each sub-class. We track returns over 1, 4, 13, 26, and 52 weeks and aggregate them to get a trend score. We then track the trend score to see the direction of each representative ETF in the subclass. By using an ETF from the same provider, we are attempting to normalize out performance of the ETF over the performance of the subclass.
Assets Class
|
Symbols
|
02/18 Trend Score
|
02/11 Trend Score
|
Direction
|
Russell Smallcap Growth
|
IWO
|
20.85%
|
19.88%
|
^
|
Russell Smallcap Index
|
IWM
|
18.7%
|
17.58%
|
^
|
Russell Midcap Growth
|
IWP
|
18.3%
|
18.8%
|
v
|
Russell Smallcap Value
|
IWN
|
17.28%
|
16.08%
|
^
|
Russell Midcap Index
|
IWR
|
16.68%
|
16.74%
|
v
|
Russell Midcap Value
|
IWS
|
15.91%
|
15.66%
|
^
|
Russell Largecap Growth
|
IWF
|
14.31%
|
14.08%
|
^
|
Russell Largecap Index
|
IWB
|
13.44%
|
13.04%
|
^
|
Russell Largecap Value
|
IWD
|
13.27%
|
12.67%
|
^
|
The trend score is defined as the average of 1,4,13,26 and 52 week total returns (including dividend reinvested).
We note that most of the of the sub-classes are positive as the US bull market continues. We also note that Midcap is dropping in comparison to Smallcap - Midcap has been at the top of the list but is starting to be replaced by Smallcap. Finally we note that the order within a sub-class is Growth, Index (Blend), Value.
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Although the entire top three dropped compared to the prior week, the smalcaps dropped less than the midcap stock. The continuing bull market is moving investors away from the relative safety of large cap to the small cap stocks. The midcap, which had been a nice midway point, is being supplanted by the smallcap options as investors seek to maximize returns.
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The large cap stocks are solidly at the bottom of the table as investors look for higher returns. We note that the Largecap Value has the best performance in the short term even though it has had the poorest return over the longer time horizon.
We would expect to see this picture to remain for some time unless the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa causes investors to look for safer US equities.
Symbols:VCR,VDC,VIG,VWO,VDE,VEA,VGK,EDV,VFH,VEU,VSS,VUG,VHT,VYM,VIS,VGT,BIV,VCIT,BLV,VCLT,VGLT,VAW,MGC,MGK,MGV,VO,VOT,VOE,VMBS,VPL,VNQ,BSV,VGSH,VB,VBK,VBR,VOX,BND,VTI,VT,VPU,VTV,IJK,VBK,QQQQ,MDY,IWO,IJT,IJH,VB,VXF,IWP,IJR,VO,VOT,IWR,IJJ,VBR,IJS,IWN,RSP,IWM,IWS,VOE,VTV,IWC,SCHA,VTI,DIA,VUG,IWF,SPY,IWB,SDY,IVW,VIG,IVV,IWD,OEF,IVE,DVY,
Disclosure:
MyPlanIQ does not have any business relationship with the company or companies mentioned in this article. The performance data of portfolios mentioned above are obtained through historical simulation and are hypothetical.
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E-Trade ETF Plan Hits Most of the High Notes
02/16/2011
ETrade All-Star ETF plan has recently been announced as no/low cost ETF plans become increasingly widespread. The company has attempted to make their selection on criteria such as low expense ratio, tracking error, liquidity, style purity, underlying holdings, and how well the ETF represents the index it seeks to replicate. In addition, ETFs chosen are passively managed, have at least 6-months trading history and are sponsored by a well balanced investment firm.
The growth in number of ETFs are such that many of them are still new. In our analysis, we ignore ETF's that have less than one year's history which may negatively impact returns in the short term but, over time, they will come on-line and provide greater diversification.
The plan consists of 40 funds giving exposure to 5 major assets: US Equity, Foreign Equity, REITs, Emerging Market Equity, Fixed Income.
Asset Class | Ticker | Name |
LARGE BLEND |
RSP |
Rydex S&P Equal Weight |
LARGE BLEND |
SPY |
SPDR S&P 500 |
LARGE GROWTH |
IWF |
iShares Russell 1000 Growth Index |
LARGE GROWTH |
MGK |
Vanguard Mega Cap 300 Gr Index ETF |
LARGE VALUE |
IWD |
iShares Russell 1000 Value Index |
LARGE VALUE |
DIA |
SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average |
LARGE VALUE |
VYM |
Vanguard High Dividend Yield Indx ETF |
LARGE VALUE |
MGV |
Vanguard Mega Cap 300 Value Index ETF |
MID-CAP BLEND |
VO |
Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF |
Mid-Cap Growth |
VOT |
Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF |
MID-CAP VALUE |
VOE |
Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF |
SMALL BLEND |
IWM |
iShares Russell 2000 Index |
Small Growth |
IWO |
iShares Russell 2000 Growth Index |
SMALL VALUE |
IWN |
iShares Russell 2000 Value Index |
Emerging Markets Bond |
EMB |
iShares JPMorgan USD Emerg Markets Bond |
Emerging Markets Bond |
PCY |
PowerShares Emerging Mkts Sovereign Debt |
High Yield Bond |
HYG |
iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bd |
High Yield Bond |
JNK |
SPDR Barclays Capital High Yield Bond |
Inflation-Protected Bond |
TIP |
iShares Barclays TIPS Bond |
Intermediate Government |
IEI |
iShares Barclays 3-7 Year Treasury Bond |
Intermediate Government |
AGZ |
iShares Barclays Agency Bond |
Intermediate Government |
ITE |
SPDR Barclays Capital Interm Term Trs |
Intermediate-Term Bond |
AGG |
iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond |
Intermediate-Term Bond |
CFT |
iShares Barclays Credit Bond |
Intermediate-Term Bond |
BIV |
Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF |
Intermediate-Term Bond |
BND |
Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF |
LONG GOVERNMENT |
TLH |
iShares Barclays 10-20 Year Treasury Bd |
Long-Term Bond |
BLV |
Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index ETF |
SHORT GOVERNMENT |
SHY |
iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Treasury Bond |
Short-Term Bond |
BSV |
Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF |
WORLD BOND |
BWX |
SPDR Barclays Capital Intl Treasury Bond |
WORLD BOND |
BWZ |
SPDR Barclays Cap S/T Intl Treasury Bond |
WORLD BOND |
WIP |
SPDR DB Intl Govt Infl-Protected Bond |
DIVERSIFIED EMERGING MKTS |
BIK |
SPDR S&P BRIC 40 |
DIVERSIFIED EMERGING MKTS |
VWO |
Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock ETF |
Foreign Large Blend |
EFA |
iShares MSCI EAFE Index |
Foreign Large Value |
IDV |
iShares Dow Jones Intl Select Div Idx |
Foreign Small/Mid Value |
SCZ |
iShares MSCI EAFE Small Cap Index |
Global Real Estate |
RWO |
SPDR Dow Jones Global Real Estate |
REAL ESTATE |
RWR |
SPDR Dow Jones REIT |
This is a good selection of funds which hit the main notes -- good choices in fixed income and the US and choices for international and domestic real estate as well as multiple selections in Foreign and emerging market classes.
The US selections have one in the top ten performance ranking and so US there is room for improvement there.
TKR
|
Name
|
Rank
|
5 Yr AR%
|
3yr AR%
|
1yr AR%
|
MPIQ Score
|
IWO
|
iShares Russell 2000 Growth
|
5
|
3.73%
|
5.45%
|
39.77%
|
55.4%
|
VO
|
Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF
|
12
|
3.60%
|
3.05%
|
36.00%
|
47.8%
|
VOT
|
Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF
|
13
|
0.00%
|
3.26%
|
42.68%
|
47.6%
|
IWN
|
iShares Russell 2000 Value Index
|
18
|
1.61%
|
3.65%
|
32.80%
|
41.5%
|
RSP
|
Rydex S&P Equal Weight
|
19
|
3.45%
|
3.58%
|
27.38%
|
39.7%
|
IWM
|
iShares Russell 2000 Index
|
20
|
2.26%
|
3.50%
|
29.63%
|
39.4%
|
VOE
|
Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF
|
22
|
0.00%
|
2.95%
|
29.26%
|
33.7%
|
DIA
|
SPDR DJ Industrial Average
|
27
|
4.35%
|
0.33%
|
19.15%
|
28.3%
|
IWF
|
iShares Russell 1000 Growth Index
|
29
|
3%
|
2.21%
|
17.76%
|
26.4%
|
SPY
|
SPDR S&P 500
|
30
|
2.07%
|
-0.11%
|
21.68%
|
25.7%
|
IWD
|
iShares Russell 1000 Value Index
|
36
|
1.14%
|
-2.81%
|
18.67%
|
16.7%
|
MGK
|
Vanguard Mega Cap 300 Growth
|
NRV
|
MGV
|
Vanguard Mega Cap 300 Value
|
NRV
|
VYM
|
Vanguard High Dividend Yield Indx
|
NRV
|
NRV means not ranked because the trading volume was below our cutoff
There is no commodity alternative. This may have been less important in the past, but with inflation almost inevitable, a commodities option such as DBC would make sense.
As of Feb 15, 2011, this plan investment choice is rated as average based on MyPlanIQ's plan rating methodology that was designed to measure how effective a plan's available investment funds are .
It has the following detailed ratings:
Diversification -- Rated as great (89%)
Fund Quality -- Rated as below average (17%)
Portfolio Building -- Rated as average (42%)
Overall Rating: average (49%)
It is important to note that the fund quality rating is lower because of the lack of history -- as time marches on and the ETFs create more of a trail, we expect that rating to increase.
Portfolio Discussions
The chart and table below show the historical performance of moderate model portfolios employing strategic and tactical asset allocation strategies. For comparison purpose, we also include the moderate model portfolios of a typical 5 asset SIB (Simpler Is Better) plan . This SIB plan has the following candidate index funds and their ETFs equivalent:
US Equity: SPY or VTI
Foreign Equity: EFA or VEU
REITs: IYR or VNQ or ICF
Emerging Market Equity: EEM or VWO
Fixed Income: AGG or BND
Performance chart (as of Feb 15, 2011)
Performance table (as of Feb 15, 2011)
Currently Real Estate, US Equity and Commodities are doing well. US Equity and Real Estate available to Etrade All Star ETFs participants.
The plan runs neck and neck with the benchmark but we would expect it to pull away as more of the funds establish history and can be used in the portfolio.
To summarize, Etrade All Star ETF plan ticks most of the boxes but would be strengthened by adding commodity choices.
Disclosure:
MyPlanIQ does not have any business relationship with the company or companies mentioned in this article. It does not set up plans. The performance data of portfolios mentioned above are obtained through historical simulation and are hypothetical.
Symbols:SPY,VTI,EFA,VEU,EEM,VWO,IYR,VNQ,ICF,AGG,BND,HYG,JNK,PHB,CIU,BIV,GWL,PFA,IVE,IWW,JKF,VTV,ELV,PWV,RPV,SCHV,SCZ,EFV,PID,DWM,IFGL,RWX,IGOV,BWX,WIP,IVV,IYY,IWV,VV,DLN,RSP,SCHX,SHY,SHV,VGSH,PLK,USY,TLT,TLH,IEF,EDV,VGLT,TLO,PLW,IVW,IWZ,JKE,VUG,ELG,QQQQ,RPG,SCHG,IJJ,IWS,JKI,VOE,EMV,PWP,RFV,UVU,IJH,IWR,JKG,VO,MDY,EMM,PJG,DON,EZM,MVV,IJS,IWN,JKL,VBR,DSV,PWY,RZV,UVT,IJR,IWM,JKJ,VB,DSC,PJM,DES,SAA,UWM,SCHA,GMM,PXH,DEM,SCHE,CLY,LQD,BLV,VCLT,PCY,CSJ,BSV,VCSH,IEI,VGIT,ITE,IJK,IWP,VOT,EMG,PWJ,RFG,UKW,IJT,IWO,JKK,VBK,DSG,PWT,RZG,UKK,TIP,DBC
labels:IRA,Retirement,Investment,ETF,Portfolio,construction,
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