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 BND

  • Case Study: Hewlett Packard's 401K Plan

    10/09/2010

    Retirement investing is an integral part of American personal finance. With $8.9 trillion parked in over 800 thousand retirement plans [401K], millions of Americans will increasingly rely on their 401K accounts to fund their future retirement needs. This article is part of a series of case studies we are conducting for various 401K plans. In this article, we will discuss how participants in Hewlett Packard's 401K plan can achieve reasonable investment results using asset allocation strategies. We will also discuss how those portfolios are positioned in today’s market environment.

    Hewlett Packard (HP) (NYSE: HPQ) is one of the largest IT companies. Founded by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard in Palo Alto, California, HP was the earliest technology company that eventually led to the formation of Silicon Valley. Today Hewlett-Packard has over 300 thousands employees world wide.

    HP is known to be employee friendly. It has been named several times as one of the best companies to work for. Its 401k plan provides a well diversified array of high quality funds.

    Hewlett Packard's 401K plan consists of 29 funds. These funds enable participants to gain exposure to 5 major assets: US Equity, Foreign Equity, Emerging Market Equity, REITs and Fixed Income. The the list of minor asset classes covered:

    Large Blend: SPY, VTI
    Large Value: IWD, VTV
    Large Growth: IWF, VUG
    Mid-Cap Blend: MDY, IWR
    Foreign Large Blend: EFA
    Foreign Large Growth: EFG
    Foreign Large Value: EFV
    Foreign Small/Mid Growth: SCZ
    Diversified Emerging Mkts: EEM, VWO
    Real Estate: IYR, ICF, VNQ
    World Bond: BWX
    Emerging Markets Bond: PCY, EMB
    Inflation-Protected Bond: TIP
    Intermediate-Term Bond: AGG, BND
    Long Government: IEF, TLT
    UltraShort Bond: BSV
    Muni National Long: MUB
    High Yield Bond: HYG, JNK

    As of 9/13/2010, this plan 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:

    Diversification – Rated as great (score: 89%)

    Fund Quality – Rated as above average (score: 76%)

    Portfolio Building -- Rated as above average (score: 72%)

    Overall Rating: above average (score: 78%)

    The chart and table below show the historical performance of moderate model portfolios employing strategic and tactical asset allocation strategies (SAA and TAA, both provided by MyPlanIQ). For comparison purpose, we also include the moderate model portfolios of a typical five 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)
    Emerging Market Equity (EEM or VWO)
    REITs (IYR or VNQ or ICF)
    Fixed Income (AGG or BND)

    Performance chart (as of 9/13/2010)

    Performance table (as of 9/13/2010)

    1 Yr AR (%) 1 Yr Sharpe (%) 3 Yr AR (%) 3 Yr Sharpe(%) 5 Yr AR (%) 5 YR Sharpe (%)
    Plan SAA 15.95 145.83 2.34 10.27 5.76 29.43
    5 SIB SAA 13.09 96.52 2.49 8.77 6.74 29.02
    Plan TAA 15.53 103.28 9.35 73.75 11.43 88.56
    5 SIB TAA 9.99 68.82 8.11 66.77 11.62 92.08

    Currently, asset classes in emerging market stocks (EEM, VWO), REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) (VNQ, IYR, ICF) and fixed income (AGG, BND) are doing relatively well. These asset classes are available to HP 401k participants.

    To summarize, Hewlett Packard 401K plan participants can achieve reasonable investment returns by adopting asset allocation strategies that are tailored to their risk profiles. Currently, the tactical asset allocation strategy indicates overweighing on emerging market stocks, REITs and fixed income funds.

     

    labels:investment,

    Symbols:BND,BSV,BWX,EFA,EFG,EFV,EMB,HPQ,HYG,ICF,IEF,IWD,IWF,IWR,IYR,JNK,MDY,MUB,PCY,PHB,SCZ,SPY,TLT,VEU,VNQ,VTI,VTV,VUG,Fixed,Income,Asset,Allocation,Bonds,Dollar/Currencies,Earnings,


    comments(0)  Share/Bookmark

  • Dow Theory Revisited, Reviewed, Compared

    10/08/2010

    In this article we are going to revisit Dow Theory -- the grand-daddy of all portfolio strategies and then compare it with more modern approaches. We will look at Shiller, a long term but newer approach and then modern portfolio theory which is based on asset allocation.

    The Dow Theory is one of the most venerable strategies. It uses the price trends of the Dow Jones Industrial index (^DJI) and the Dow Jones Transportation Index (^DJT) to decide whether to invest in the stock market.

    The Dow Theory has been around for almost 100 years, yet even in today’s volatile and technology-driven markets, the basic components of Dow theory still remain valid. Developed by Charles Dow, refined by William Hamilton and articulated by Robert Rhea, the Dow Theory addresses not only technical analysis and price action, but also market philosophy. Many of the ideas and comments put forth by Dow and Hamilton became axioms of Wall Street. 

    Today, there are a variety of strategies

    There are multiple interpretations of the original Dow Theory. This strategy represents a typical version: all the buy and sell signals are confirmed by both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Dow Jones Transportation Average.

    The Dow Jones Transportation Average is used to triangulate the Dow Jones Industrial Average to ensure that an upward or downward trend is not just a localized phenomenon.

    The buy signal
    • A primary low is established
    • A secondary bounce
    • A pullback of around 3% but above previous lows
    • Both averages hold above the prior lows
    • Both averages exceed the secondary bounce

    The sell signal
    • A primary high is established
    • A secondary drop
    • A rally of over 3% but falls short of the previous high
    • A drop of both averages below the previous drop
     
    The funds in the portfolio are (ETF alternatives):                   
    • Wilshire 5000 total return index ^DWC (VTI, SPY, IWM)       
    • Cash (BND)
    This is a long established strategy and should be reviewed to see how it performs in more recent operating conditions. To achieve this, we will compare results with another long term plan – Shiller, a modern portfolio (a 6 asset SIB with tactical asset allocation) and the total market (^DWC).  



    Click here for the interactive graph


    Historical Returns for Dow Theory, Shiller and 6SIB TAA
    Annual Returns 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years
    Dow Theory -14% -12% -2%
    Shiller      8% 16% 11%
    6 SIB TAA 9% 10% 13%


    The Dow Theory has not been effective in the last ten years given the prevailing market conditions. It is possible that a different investment portfolio would perform better but given that Shiller is using similar funds, Shiller appears to be a better choice.

    Today, Dow Theory is signalling
    Takeaways:
    • Both the Dow Theory and Shiller are based on long term indices and both of them outperform the market
    • Shiller performs better as we recover from the nightmare of the last few years
    • Modern portfolio theory based on diversification and tactical asset allocation consistently outperforms the other strategies – within the measurement timeframe

     

    labels:investment,

    Symbols:VTI,SPY,IWM,BND,AGG,DBC,EEM,EFA,GSG,IYR,LQD,SHY,TLT,Bonds,Dollar/Currencies,Earnings,Economy,Hedge,Funds,

     

    comments(0)  Share/Bookmark

  • Bernstein's No Brainer and Smart Money Portfolios Reviewed

    10/08/2010

    Dr. William Bernstein is the author of the "Intelligent Asset Allocator" and "The Four Pillars of Investing." He's also a physician, neurologist and financial adviser to high-net-worth individuals. 
     
    He has proposed a number of lazy portfolios. There are two that will be examined today.
     
     
    The no-brainer portfolio comprises the following fund allocation
    • 25% in Vanguard 500 Index VFINX                                     (IVW)
    • 25% in Vanguard Small Cap NAESX or VTMSX                 (VB)
    • 25% in Vanguard Total International VGTSX or VTMGX     (EFA, VEA)
    • 25% in Vanguard Total Bond VBMFX or VBISX                  (BND)
     
    Things to note about the portfolio:
    • Heavily weighted towards domestic equities
    • Similar to a three asset SIB with domestic, international and fixed income 
    • It would be better to have some REIT or emerging markets exposure
    • We will compare the no brainer portfolio to a three and four asset SIB

    Annual returns 1 year 3 years 5 years
    Bernstein No Brainer 10 -1 4
    Bernstein Tactical Asset Allocation
    -3 0 6
    Four SIB Strategic Asset Allocation
    14 -1 5
    Three SIB Strategic Asset Allocation 8 -4 4
    Three SIB Tactical Asset Allocation -5 0 6

    The Bernstein no-brainer tracks very closely with the four asset SIB. It’s interesting to note that the three asset Bernstein tracks closer to the four asset SIB than expected. So as a lazy portfolio, it performs satisfactorily. Year to date, however, the four asset SIB has better performance. 

    The tactical asset allocation strategies deliver better results with higher returns and lower volatility. The no brainer funds outperform the 3 asset SIB but underperform the 4 asset SIB which is to be expected.

     
    The smart money portfolio comprises the following fund allocation
    • 40% Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade VFSTX                (SCJ, SHY)
    • 15% Vanguard Total Stock Market VTSMX                                  (VTI)
    • 10% Vanguard Small Cap Value VISVX                                          (VBR)
    • 10% Vanguard Value Index VIVAX                                                (VTV)
    • 5% Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock VEIEX                              (VWO)
    • 5% Vanguard European Stock VEURX                                           (VEU)
    • 5% Vanguard Pacific Stock VPACX                                                (VPL)
    • 5% Vanguard REIT Index VGSIX                                                      (RWX, VNQ)
    • 5% Vanguard Small Cap Value NAESX or VTMSX                        (VB) 
    To summarize:
    • 40% in US equities
    • 10% in international equities
    • 5% in emerging market equities
    • 5% in REIT
    • 40% in fixed income
     

    Annual returns 1 year 3 years 5 years
    Smart Money 10 -1 4
    Smart Money Tactical Asset Allocation -3 0 6
    Five SIB Strategic Asset Allocation
    14 -1 5
    Five SIB Tactical Asset Allocation 8 -4 4
    Four SIB Tactical Asset Allocation
    -5 0 6

    Although the smart money portfolio has five asset classes, international, emerging markets and real estate are so under-weighted that they act as if they are a single class so, again, it’s more like a three asset class portfolio. The five asset SIB with strategic asset allocation has similar behavioral properties but clearly delivers better results based on superior diversification.

    One the strategy is moved over to tactical asset allocation, there are enough asset classes in the Bernstein portfolio for the Larger Chart
    results to be clearly superior than a four asset SIB and close to the five asset SIB
     
    We look at the two portfolios as a final comparison
     

    Annual returns 1 year 3 years 5 years
    Bernstein No Brainer 10 -1 4
    Bernstein Smart Money 10 -1 4

    They are remarkably close to each other full comparison

    Takeaways
    • Tactical Asset Allocation reduces downside risk and that wins in the current uncertain environment
    • Both Bernstein portfolios perform satisfactorily for a lazy portfolio – it is surprising that the no-brainer performs so well against it’s more diversified smart-money cousin
    • ETF’s can readily be used to implement these portfolios with good performance

     

    labels:investment,

    Symbols:BND,BWX,CIU,CSJ,DBC,DVY,EFA,EFG,EFV,EMB,GLD,HYG,IEF,IEI,IJJ,IJK,LQD,MBB,QQQQ,RWX,SCZ,SHY,TIP,VB,VBK,VBR,VEA,VNQ,VO,VTI,VTV,VUG,VWO,WIP,Portfolio-Building,with,ETFs,Closed-End,Funds,Commodity,ETFs,Currency,ETFs,Developed,Market,ETFs,


    comments(0)  Share/Bookmark

  • Diversification, Style AND Asset Rotation Improve Portfolio Performance without Incurring Extra Risk

    10/08/2010

    In a previous article we compared the results of a highly diversified ETF portfolio with strategic asset allocation that permitted style rotation against strategic asset allocation without style rotation. We did this by restricting the other portfolios to one fund per asset class. We saw that style rotation squeezes out a little more in return for more trading. Putting this together with a “one-click” execution capability that Folio Investing offers offsets some of the effort.

     A snapshot of the results graph is shown above with summary data in the table below.

    Annual returns 1 year 3 years 5 years
    Folio SAA Moderate 12.43 3.26 8.15
    6 SIB ETF SAA Moderate 11.53 2.51 7.89
    6 SIB Index SAA Moderate 10.63 1.66 6.72
    5 SIB Index SAA Moderate 12.44 2.16 7.00


    In this article, we are going to step up to the next level and take the same portfolio and deploy strategic asset allocation – allowing the portfolio to flow with asset momentum and review what additional risk adjusted returns are delivered. 

    Strategic Asset Allocation will move funds in asset classes but each asset class will always have the same weighting in the overall portfolio.

    Tactical Asset Allocation takes this one step further, enabling asset classes with poor market momentum to be swapped out for another class. Note that fixed income will never be swapped out but may have an increased percentage of the overall portfolio in turbulent times. This approach seeks to limit the downside while participating in the upside.

    Intuitively we would expect higher returns offset against more trading activity.
    We are going to compare the Folio SAA moderate that delivered the best performance in the SAA category with a tactical asset allocation of the same portfolio and a 6 Asset SIB with both ETF’s and Index funds. This will enable us to compare
    • Tactical versus strategic asset allocation
    • The benefit of multiple ETF’s per class versus a single ETF per class
    • How ETF’s compare against market indices.

     

    A snapshot of the results graph is shown above with summary data in the table below.

     Returns Table of the Different Portfolios

    Annual returns 1 year 3 years 5 years
    Folio SAA Moderate 12.43 3.26 8.15
    Folio TAA Moderate 11.74 9.24 11.26
    6SIBETF TAA Moderate 9.57 9.62 15.68
    6SIBIndex TAA Moderate 8.41 9.22 13.43


    The first thing to note is that tactical asset allocation performs better by mitigating downside risk. The strategic asset allocation has performed well as we recover from the sharp drops of recent years but with continuing uncertainty, minimizing downside risk. Again, the benefit of having one-click execution relieves much of the mechanical overhead in pursuing a tactical asset allocation strategy.

     
    It is also interesting to note that in this simulation, the best performance comes from the six asset class SIB with fewer fund choices than the Folio portfolio. The reason is that the Folio portfolio used more conservative bond choices that limited the downside but also, slightly reduced the upside. This is a tradeoff that each investor has to make as to whether they want to limit the risk at the cost of a little bit of upside.
     
    Finally, both ETF portfolios perform very well against market index funds.
     
    Takeaways
    • Tactical Asset Allocation reduces downside risk and that wins in the current uncertain environment
    • ETF’s perform very well against market index funds in both tactical and strategic asset allocation strategies
    • Having a simple and low means of executing the trades is an essential part of a hybrid approach to make it easy on the investor

     

    labels:investment,

    Symbols:BND,BWX,CIU,CSJ,DBC,DVY,EFA,EFG,EFV,EMB,GLD,HYG,IEF,IEI,IJJ,IJK,LQD,MBB,QQQQ,RWX,SCZ,SHY,TIP,VB,VBK,VBR,VEA,VNQ,VO,VTI,VTV,VUG,VWO,WIP,Portfolio-Building,with,ETFs,Closed-End,Funds,Commodity,ETFs,Currency,ETFs,Developed,Market,ETFs,


    comments(0)  Share/Bookmark

  • Three Asset Class Lazy Portfolios Reviewed

    09/29/2010

    Three luminaries presented three very similar (two identical) lazy portfolios.
    • Bill Schulthe, a former Smith Barney broker and author of "The Coffeehouse Investor
    • Andrew Tobias, a Harvard alum and writer of 12 books including The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need.
    • Scott Burns has covered personal finance and investments for nearly 40 years and ranks as one of the most widely read personal finance writers in the country


    Bill Schultheis' Coffeehouse Portfolios

    % Allocation Description Ticker ETF
    34% Total US Equities VTSMX VTI
    33% Total International Equities VGTSX VEU
    33% Total Bond Market VBMFX BND

    Scott Burns' Margarita

    % Allocation Description Ticker ETF
    34% Total US Equities VTSMX VTI
    33% Total International Equities VGTSX VEU
    33% Vanguard Inflation-Protected Securities Fund VIPSX TIP

    Tobias’ 3 Fund Portfolio

    % Allocation Description Ticker ETF
    34% Total US Equities VTSMX VTI
    33% Total International Equities VGTSX VEU
    33% Vanguard Inflation-Protected Securities Fund VIPSX TIP

    These are all easy to understand and easy to follow portfolios. They only require annual rebalancing and so it is not onerous to build and manage this portfolio.

    Note that Tobias and Burns portfolios are identical so we combine them henceforth.

    We will test the results in three dimensions:

    Firstly, how does performance compare with a buy and hold strategy for a similar portfolio with monthly rebalancing. For this, we will compare the two portfolios against a 3 asset SIB and measure results.

    From this graph, it is clear that the portfolios have similar performance although the lazy portfolios perform slightly better than the monthly rebalancing. This is consistent with other research that says too frequent rebalancing can limit returns. All the portfolios suffer from the big drop around 2008/2009.
     
    Secondly, what impact does adding asset classes have on performance. Three asset classes would be considered insufficient diversification today and we will compare it with a 6 asset SIB with strategic asset allocation.



    Here we can clearly see the benefits of adding extra asset classes. Note that the 6SIB portfolio was rebalanced monthly so there is probably more juice that can be extracted from this portfolio. This is not surprising and if you are looking to invest for the long term and rebalance infrequently, having the extra asset classes is not onerous and delivers significant benefit.
     
    The final test is to compare strategic and tactical asset allocation. For this test we will compare the lazy portfolios with a 3 asset SIB with tactical asset allocation, we will also include a 6asset SIB with tactical asset allocation to see what best in class performance looks like.
     


    As the lazy portfolios have similar performance characteristics, we have removed one of them to make the graph easier to understand. To get more details, use the full graph.
     
    Tactical asset allocation clearly delivers superior results. While it may not get the highest returns in bull markets, it limits the downturn in bear markets and reduces losses and personal stress. The tactical portfolios are altered monthly so there is extra effort required but the returns are worth it.
     
    Results of the Three and Six Asset Class Portfolios with SAA and TAA
    Annual Returns 1 year 3 Years 5 Years
    Tobias/Burns 7.4 -1.69 3.5
    Schulthe                6.78 -2.34 3.87
    3 SIB SAA 7.4 -1.69 3.5
    3 SIB TAA -2.86 0.67 4.14
    6 SIB SAA 10.63 1.66 6.72
    6 SIB TAA 9.0 10.0 13.0


    Takeaways

    • If you want a lazy portfolio, go for five or six asset classes – you won’t rebalance that often so having the extra classes isn’t a big overhead
    • If you want to maximize returns, look for tactical asset allocation – it may be a compromise to have four or five asset classes with tactical asset allocation – historically that has delivered higher returns that buy and hold
    • Consider using an on-line broker that allows on-click execution of trades at a fixed price – that makes the time and cost overhead low. 

    labels:investment,

    Symbols:TIP,VTI,SPY,IWM,BND,AGG,DBC,EEM,EFA,GSG,IYR,LQD,SHY,TLT,ETF,ETF,Portfolio,Building,Asset,Allocation,Bonds,Dollar/Currencies,Earnings,Economy,Hedge,Funds,

     

    comments(0)  Share/Bookmark

  • Google’s 401K Plan: Another Good Employee Benefit

    09/26/2010

  • Armstrong Index Based Lazy Portfolio Returns Study

    09/17/2010

  • Getting Most out of Your Retirement Plan: A Case Study on Hewlett Packard 401K Plan

    09/16/2010

  • How Does Your Garden Grow?

    09/16/2010

  • John Wasik’s Nano Portfolio Performance Scrutinized

    09/14/2010

  • Schwab ETFs Review

    07/27/2010

  • Investing with Styles Can Pay off

    07/09/2010

  • Understanding and Building Your ETF Portfolio

    06/27/2010

  • The Mystery Advisers

    06/09/2010

  • David Swensen's Six Asset Investment Plan

    06/09/2010

  • Selecting Candidate ETFs for Effective Portfolio Building

    06/03/2010

First   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   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.