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Vanguard ETF: | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
7.4%* |
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Diversified Core: | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
8.1%* |
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Six Core Asset ETFs: | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
7.3%* |
Articles on TIP
- 3 Lessons from the Demise of Legg Mason's Bill Miller
11/17/2011
Bill Miller to Step Down From Legg Mason Value Trust, reported by AdvisorOne.com. Since the great financial crisis in 2008, there have been numerous high profile managers' failures including Fairholme's Bruce Berkowitz (FAIRX). While we can put blame on these individuals, what one should always remember is that all humans are subject to failures, regardless how great they are. By the way, this is also applicable to ourselves and various great committees (recently, Morningstar started to release its new 'forward looking' rating system that is decided by committees, we'll have more on this later). So what to do with our retirement investments such as 401K, IRA accounts? How do we escape from being trapped in such funds? 3 lessons can be drawn from this:
- Diversification: you need diversification at your overall account level, at your portfolio level and at your security level. Diversified funds are better than individual stocks, especially if you are only dealing with a handful of them. At the portfolio or account level, proper asset allocation determines majority of your returns and risk.
- Fundamentals: yes, we still believe fundamentals such as managers' track record, investment strategies, fund expenses, etc. These will serve you the first line of defense (and offense). So information provided by firms such as Morningstar.com is still useful.
- Technical or stop loss: on the other hand, we do believe that one need to have a ultimate line of defense: when a fund is not doing well for an extended period based on a systematic and well defined set of rules, you have to liquidate it. The permanent capital loss is just too great to hope for a recovery or rely on superhuman acts.
The last point is the most contentious and sometimes is against our super human or well educated committee members' consensus. Recognizing that adopting this will result in under performance in a super bull market or for an (extended) period of under performance of a good fund. But that is again an insurance one has to pay to avoid severe damages by such super humans.Just as a comparison, the David Swensen Six ETF Asset Individual Investor Plan consists of only six broad base ETFs and diversified asset allocation portfolios have outperformed both S&P index and other once great funds by big margins:Portfolio Performance Comparison (as of 11/16/2011)
Portfolio/Fund Name 1Yr AR 1Yr Sharpe 3Yr AR 3Yr Sharpe 5Yr AR 5Yr Sharpe David Swensen Six ETF Asset Individual Investor Plan Tactical Asset Allocation Moderate 12% 72% 11% 82% 10% 68% David Swensen Six ETF Asset Individual Investor Plan Strategic Asset Allocation Moderate 5% 26% 18% 90% 6% 27% FAIRX -22% -74% 10% 36% 0% -3% SPY 6% 4% 15% 23% -1% -9% LMVTX -1% -6% 15% 48% -10% -34% More detailed comparison.
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.
Symbols: SPX, COMP, ETFs, Headline, Mutual-Funds Tags: EEM, EFA, FAIRX, IYR, LMVTX, SPY, TIP, TLT, VWO
- Retirement Income ETFs vs. Income Mutual Funds: An Update
09/11/2011
We first compared asset allocation portfolios using dividend ETFs (and bond ETFs) and those using income mutual funds on SeekingAlpha.com Retirement Income Investing: ETFs vs. Mutual Funds more than two months ago. Let's review these two plans: Retirement Income ETFs and Schwab Income Mutual Fund Select List.
Here are the asset classes covered by the two plans:
The list of minor asset classes covered by Retirement Income ETFs The list of minor asset classes covered by Schwab Income Mutual Fund Select List Diversified Emerging Mkts: EEM, VWO, DEM
Emerging Markets Bond: EMB, PCY
Equity Energy: AMJ
Foreign Large Value: PID, IDV
Global Real Estate: RWX
High Yield Bond: HYG
Inflation-protected Bond: TIP
Intermediate Government: IEI
Intermediate-term Bond: CIU, CORP, MBB
Large Blend: VIG
Large Value: DVY, SDY, VYM, FVD
Long Government: IEF, TLT
Long-term Bond: LQD, VCLT
Mid-cap Value: PEY
Miscellaneous Sector: PFF
Muni National Long: MUB
Muni Short: SHM
Real Estate: IYR, ICF, VNQ
Short Government: SHY
Short-term Bond: CSJ, VCSH
World Bond: BWX, WIPEmerging Markets Bond: TGINX
Foreign Large Blend: SICNX, LISOX
Foreign Large Value: AAIPX
High Yield Bond: STHTX, MWHYX
Inflation-protected Bond: ACITX
Intermediate Government: SWGSX, CPTNX
Intermediate-term Bond: SWIIX, SAMFX, PTTDX, PGBOX, MWTRX, FTRFX
Large Blend: SWANX, TICRX, PRBLX
Large Growth: SWLSX, JENSX
Large Value: TWEIX, PQIAX
Mid-cap Blend: NMMCX
Mid-cap Value: ARDEX
Multisector Bond: PONDX
Muni National Interm: SWNTX, TWTIX, STTBX
Muni National Long: NOTEX, ACLVX
Muni Short: FSHIX
Real Estate: CSRSX
Short Government: FIGTX
Short-term Bond: FSTIX, ACSNX
Ultrashort Bond: SIGVX
World Bond: PFODXAsset Class Retirement Income ETFs Schwab Income Mutual Fund Select List REITs 4 1 Fixed Income 19 24 Sector Fund 2 0 Foreign Equity 2 3 Emerging Market Equity 3 0 US Equity 6 9 Other 0 0 Total 36 37 Little in the two plans' investment choice ratings has changed since then. As of Sep 9, 2011, Retirement Income ETFs investment choice is rated as average and Schwab Income Mutual Fund Select List investment choice is rated as above average based on MyPlanIQ Plan Rating methodology that was designed to measure how effective a plan's available investment funds are . It has the following detailed ratings:
Attribute Retirement Income ETFs Schwab Income Mutual Fund Select List Diversification great (95%) great (85%) Fund Quality below average (29%) great (85%) Portfolio Building above average (67%) above average (71%) Overall Rating average (64%) above average (80%)
Performance chart (as of Sep 9, 2011)Performance table (as of Sep 9, 2011)
Portfolio Name 2011 YTD 1Yr AR 1Yr Sharpe 3Yr AR 3Yr Sharpe 5Yr AR 5Yr Sharpe Retirement Income ETFs Tactical Asset Allocation Moderate 2.49% 8% 80% 11% 84% 10% 71% Retirement Income ETFs Strategic Asset Allocation Moderate -1.16% 5% 42% 5% 23% 3% 14% Schwab Income Mutual Fund Select List Tactical Asset Allocation Moderate 3% 9% 84% 11% 101% 10% 92% Schwab Income Mutual Fund Select List Strategic Asset Allocation Moderate -2.11% 4% 35% 4% 27% 3% 16% Refer to detailed portfolio comparison.
Again, we are seeing income ETFs can still rival the well selected income mutual funds. This is a good news for income investors in their IRA investments or taxable account investments. ETFs have more flexibility and have a well defined and simple indexing strategy (isn't this what MyPlanIQ is also doing?).
Disclosure: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.
Symbols: SPX, VIG, DVY, SDY, ICF, RWX, HYG, LQD, IEF, TLT, TIP, AMJ, TWEIX, LISOX, CSRSX, PTTDX, Retirement Investments, IRAs, ETF Portfolios, Portfolio Management, Risk Management, Dividend ETFs
- Portfolio Management: Best of Fixed Income Managers vs. Retirement Income ETFs
09/08/2011
Two defensive investment strategies useful in current stressful times are compared. The first is based on selecting the best bond fund every month or every quarter from a list of bond funds managed by Morningstar's 'Manager of the Year' P Bond Funds Momentum Based on Upgrading Fixed Income Managers of the Year`s Funds Monthly. These funds include PTTRX, TGLMX, WATFX, MWTRX, LSBDX, DODIX, FPNIX.
The second is Retirement Income ETFs that consists of a list of candidate dividend stock and bond ETFs including DVY, EMB, HYG, ICF, IDV, TIP, VIG, VWO.
The conclusion: the Fixed Income Managers of the Year is solid and has lower volatility, a good defensive strategy one should consider. Both of them are better alternatives than a broad based index such as S&P 500 (SPX) or total bond market index (AGG)
Read more from our SeekingAlpha's article:
Defensive Strategies In Stressful Times: The Best Of Fixed Income
Symbols: SPX, DVY, EMB, HYG, ICF, IDV, TIP, VIG, VWO, PTTRX, TGLMX, WATFX, MWTRX, LSBDX, DODIX, FPNIX, Retirement Investing, Dividend Stock, Retirement Income, Portfolio Management
- 3 Ways to Manage Your Portfolios to Cope with World Wide Food Inflation
08/26/2011
The Google map from www.econmatters.com shows how serious the world wide food crisis has become.
Legends:
Fist = Overthrown Governments
Flames = Actual food / inflation riots
Police = Protests / other riots
$ = Price increase announcements / Price Controls / Stock market issues
! = Strike in inflation / food related industries
Phone = Internet/ Twitter /shutdownView Inflation Riots and Protests 2011 in a larger map
With global government monetary policies to stimulate economies and U.S. dollar devaluation, the problem can only become worse.For a retirement investiment account such as 401K, IRA or a retiree's portfolio, here are 3 ways to fortify your portfolios:- Consider having some exposure in commodities. This can be achieved by broad base commodity index ETFs or mutual funds such as PowerShares Commodity Index ETF (DBC). You can even go more specific to have some exposure in agriculture commodities by using Powershares agriculture ETF (DBA). Both of these ETFs have been relatively stable recently, even in a serious stock market stress (S&P 500 SPX down 6% year to date).
- Consider exposures in foreign currencies. The safest way is through U.S. dollar bearish ETFs such as UDN (U.S. dollar down) or some individual currency ETFs such as CurrencyShares Australia dollar (FXA) or Canadian dollar (FXC).
- Consider some exposures in inflation protected bonds such as TIP or WIP (international inflation protected bond ETF). However, given recent runup on these ETFs, one should wait for a better entry point.
However how meaningful an investing theory is, one should still put this under an overall portfolio asset allocation framework. The following are some related investment portfolios/plans:Six Core Asset ETFs: it gives exposures in commodities through DBC.MyPlanIQ Diversified Core Allocation ETF Plan: diversified portfolios allow exposures in commodities, gold (GLD) and TIP/WIP.Permanent Portfolio ETF Plan: Permanent portfolios that have exposures in gold, silver (SLV) and hard assets. - 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
- Target Date Funds, Balanced Funds or Your Own ETF/Index Fund Portfolios
06/23/2011
- Long Term Treasury Bonds ETF in David Swensen's Six ETF Plan
06/02/2011
- Appetite for US High Yield Bonds Remains High as Yields Tighten
05/11/2011
- JNK Beats WIP At the Top of The Fixed Income Table
05/10/2011
- Emerging Market Bonds Become Important Parts of Many Portfolios
05/04/2011
- How Are Morningstar's Best Bond Fund Managers Faring in These Trying Times
04/29/2011
- REIT and Commodities In Simple Six Fund Portfolio Shows Up Aronson's Lazy Portfolio
04/20/2011
- REIT and Commodities In Simple Six Fund Portfolio Shows Up Aronson's Lazy Portfolio
04/19/2011
- 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
- Glassman’s redemption: Find an investment safety net
03/26/2011
- Make inflation a personal fight
03/25/2011
- Accenture 401K Retirement Plan: High Quality and Low Cost Funds with Proper Diversification
03/25/2011
- Tactically Manage An Income Producing Portfolio With Commodity Exposure
03/25/2011
- Apartment Investment and Management Company 401(k) Retirement Plan Report On 12/03/2010
12/03/2010
This report reviews Apartment Investment and Management Company 401(k) Retirement Plan plan. We will discuss the investment choices and present the plan rating by MyPlanIQ. Current economic and market conditions are discussed in the context of the investment portfolios in the plan. We will then show how participants in Apartment Investment and Management Company 401(k) Retirement Plan can achieve reasonable investment results using asset allocation strategies.
Plan Review and Rating
Apartment Investment and Management Company 401(k) Retirement Plan's 401K plan consists of 22 funds. These funds enable participants to gain exposure to 4 major assets: US Equity, Foreign Equity, REITs, Fixed Income. The list of minor asset classes covered:
Foreign Large Growth: EFG
Inflation-protected Bond: TIP
Intermediate-term Bond: AGG, CIU, BIV, BND
Large Blend: IVV, IYY, IWV, VTI, VV, SPY, DLN, RSP, SCHX
Large Growth: IVW, IWZ, JKE, VUG, ELG, QQQQ, RPG, SCHG
Large Value: IVE, IWW, JKF, VTV, ELV, PWV, RPV, SCHV
Mid-cap Blend: IJH, IWR, JKG, VO, MDY, EMM, PJG, DON, EZM, MVV
Real Estate: IYR, ICF, VNQ
Retirement Income:
Small Blend: IJR, IWM, JKJ, VB, DSC, PJM, DES, SAA, UWM, SCHA
Small Growth: IJT, IWO, JKK, VBK, DSG, PWT, RZG, UKK
Small Value: IJS, IWN, JKL, VBR, DSV, PWY, RZV, UVT
Target Date 2000-2010: TZD
Target Date 2016-2020: TZG
Target Date 2026-2030: TZL
Target Date 2036-2040: TZV
Target Date 2050+:
As of Dec 2, 2010, this plan investment choice is rated as based on MyPlanIQ Plan Rating methodology that measures the effectiveness of a plan's available investment funds. It has the following detailed ratings:
Diversification -- Rated as (76%)
Fund Quality -- Rated as (36%)
Portfolio Building -- Rated as (87%)
Overall Rating: (68%)Current Economic and Market Conditions
We have experienced an uncertain 2010: plenty of worries on whether the US economy will climb out of the great recession and recover.
- The Federal Reserve embarked on Quantitative Easing II (QE2) to stimulate the economy.
- The housing market is still at its low but largely stabilized.
- The unemployment rate is stuck at 9%.
Americans continue to face an uncertain future, given (among others) the high unemployment rate, large federal and local government debts and global trade imbalance. With such an economic backdrop, the stock and debt markets are going to be volatile. Despite this, markets have been resilient and appear positioned to rebound.
In this market it is even more critical to properly diversify and respond market changes. MyPlanIQ offers two asset allocation strategies: strategic and tactical asset allocation strategies ( SAA and TAA for participants in Apartment Investment and Management Company 401(k) Retirement Plan).
Strategic Asset Allocation is based on well known modern portfolio theory and its key features include: diversification, proper fund selection and periodically re-balancing.
Tactical Asset Allocation works on a diversified array of assets provided by funds in a plan and adjusts asset mixes based on market conditions such as asset price momentum utilized by TAA.
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 4 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)
Fixed Income: (AGG or BND)
Performance chart (as of Dec 2, 2010)Performance table (as of Dec 2, 2010)
Portfolio Name 1Yr AR 1Yr Sharpe 3Yr AR 3Yr Sharpe 5Yr AR 5Yr Sharpe Apartment Investment and Management Company 401(k) Retirement Plan Tactical Asset Allocation Moderate 15% 97% 10% 84% 12% 98% Apartment Investment and Management Company 401(k) Retirement Plan Strategic Asset Allocation Moderate 13% 120% 4% 19% 6% 30% Four Core Asset Index Funds REITs Tactical Asset Allocation Moderate 8% 58% 6% 54% 9% 80% Four Core Asset Index Funds REITs Strategic Asset Allocation Moderate 11% 87% 2% 6% 5% 20% Currently, asset classes in US Equity (SPY,VTI), Foreign Equity (EFA,VEU) and REITs (IYR,VNQ,ICF) are doing relatively well. These asset classes are available to Apartment Investment and Management Company 401(k) Retirement Plan participants.
To summarize, Apartment Investment and Management Company 401(k) Retirement Plan plan participants can achieve reasonable investment returns by adopting asset allocation strategies that are tailored to their risk profiles.
Symbols: AIV , SPY , VTI , EFA , VEU , IYR , VNQ , ICF , AGG , BND , CIU , BIV , EFG , IVE , IWW , JKF , VTV , ELV , PWV , RPV , SCHV , TZD , TZG , TZL , TZV , IVV , IYY , IWV , VV , DLN , RSP , SCHX , IVW , IWZ , JKE , VUG , ELG , QQQQ , RPG , SCHG , 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 , IJT , IWO , JKK , VBK , DSG , PWT , RZG , UKK , TIP
- Allegheny Ludlum Corporation Personal Retirement and 401(k) Savings Account Plan Report On 12/03/2010
12/03/2010
- ALLEGHENY ENERGY EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP AND SAVINGS PLAN Report On 12/03/2010
12/03/2010
- TD Ameritrade Commission Free ETFs Report On 12/07/2010
12/07/2010
- Ford Motor 401K Report On 06/01/2011
06/01/2011
- David Swensen Six ETF Asset Individual Investor Plan Report On 06/02/2011
06/02/2011