Vanguard ETF: | 7.4%* | ||
Diversified Core: | 8.1%* | ||
Six Core Asset ETFs: | 7.3%* |
Articles on DODFX
- Adobe Systems 401K Can Benefit from More Diversified Funds in Emerging Market Stocks and REITs
06/22/2011
Retirement investing is a long term process. This report reviews Adobe Systems Inc 401K Retirement Savings 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 Adobe Systems Inc 401K Retirement Savings Plan can achieve reasonable investment results using asset allocation strategies.
Plan Review and Rating
Adobe Systems Incorporated operates as a diversified software company in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It offers a line of creative, business, Web, and mobile software and services used by creative professionals, knowledge workers, consumers, original equipment manufacturers, developers, and enterprises. Adobe is famous for its Acrobat PDF suite of tools, Photoshops and Flash products.
Adobe Systems Inc 401K Retirement Savings Plan's 401K plan consists of 25 funds. These funds enable participants to gain exposure to 3 major assets: US Equity, Foreign Equity, Fixed Income.
The following is the list of funds available in the plan.
Asset Class Ticker Name SMALL VALUE DFSVX DFA U.S. Small Cap Value I Foreign Large Value DODFX Dodge & Cox International Stock Intermediate-Term Bond PTTRX PIMCO Total Return Instl Small Growth VEXPX Vanguard Explorer MID-CAP BLEND VIEIX Vanguard Extended Market Idx Instl Foreign Large Blend VFWIX Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Inv LARGE GROWTH VFTNX Vanguard FTSE Social Index Instl Inflation-Protected Bond VIPSX Vanguard Inflation-Protected Secs LARGE BLEND VINIX Vanguard Institutional Index LARGE GROWTH VMRAX Vanguard Morgan Growth Adm ROOT CASH CASH Target Date 2000-2010 VTOVX Vanguard Target Retirement 2005 Target Date 2000-2010 VTENX Vanguard Target Retirement 2010 Target Date 2011-2015 VTXVX Vanguard Target Retirement 2015 Target Date 2016-2020 VTWNX Vanguard Target Retirement 2020 Target Date 2021-2025 VTTVX Vanguard Target Retirement 2025 Target Date 2026-2030 VTHRX Vanguard Target Retirement 2030 Target Date 2031-2035 VTTHX Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Target Date 2036-2040 VFORX Vanguard Target Retirement 2040 Target Date 2041-2045 VTIVX Vanguard Target Retirement 2045 Target Date 2050+ VFIFX Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 Retirement Income VTINX Vanguard Target Retirement Income Intermediate-Term Bond VBTIX Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Inst Moderate Allocation VWELX Vanguard Wellington LARGE VALUE VWNFX Vanguard Windsor II As of Jun 20, 2011, this plan investment choice is rated as average 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 average (46%)
Fund Quality -- Rated as average (64%)
Portfolio Building -- Rated as average (59%)
Overall Rating: average (56%)Current Economic and Market Conditions
Last week markets were somewhat stabilized a bit. Key observations are
-
Commodities (DBC) had a negative week while gold (GLD) was again strong. Gold is now ranked on top among all major asset trend scores.
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U.S. REITs (VNQ) recovered and now stood on number 2 position.
- Fixed income continued to be strong, especially long term government bonds (IEF) or (TLT).
Overall, markets are still struggling to decipher various economic indicators and figure out where global economy is heading.
For more information on how these assets are ranked, please see here.
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 3 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
Fixed Income: AGG or BND
Performance chart (as of Jun 20, 2011)Performance table (as of Jun 20, 2011)
Portfolio Name 1Yr AR 1Yr Sharpe 3Yr AR 3Yr Sharpe 5Yr AR 5Yr Sharpe Adobe Systems Inc 401K Retirement Savings Plan Tactical Asset Allocation Moderate 8% 85% 9% 87% 9% 87% Adobe Systems Inc 401K Retirement Savings Plan Strategic Asset Allocation Moderate 10% 129% 4% 26% 6% 41% Three Core Asset ETF Benchmark Tactical Asset Allocation Moderate 4% 22% 3% 23% 5% 38% Three Core Asset ETF Benchmark Strategic Asset Allocation Moderate 17% 126% 4% 12% 5% 20% Currently REITs and Commodities are doing well. But these asset classes are not available to Adobe Systems Inc 401K Retirement Savings Plan participants.
To summarize, Adobe's 401k plan has low cost Vanguard funds and several solid long term funds such as PIMCO Total Return Instl (PTTRX) and Dodge & Cox International Stocks (DODFX). This plan is again a developed country and U.S. centric with no exposure in emerging market stocks and real estate investment trusts (REITs). Adding funds to allow exposure in these two asset classes can increase diversification effect dramatically.
Symbols: ADBE, EEM, IYR, DODFX, PTTRX, VWELX, VWNFX
Exchange Tickers: (ADBE), (CASH), (VTI), (VEU), (BND), (DFSVX), (DODFX), (PTTRX), (VEXPX), (VIEIX), (VFWIX), (VFTNX), (VIPSX), (VINIX), (VMRAX), (VTOVX), (VTENX), (VTXVX), (VTWNX), (VTTVX), (VTHRX), (VTTHX), (VFORX), (VTIVX), (VFIFX), (VTINX), (VBTIX), (VWELX), (VWNFX) -
- Oracle Corporation 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan Report On 06/13/2011
06/13/2011
Retirement investing is a long term process. This report reviews Oracle Corporation 401(k) Savings and Investment 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 investors in Oracle Corporation 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan can achieve reasonable investment results using asset allocation strategies.
Plan Review and Rating
Oracle Corporation 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan consists of 30 funds. These funds enable participants to gain exposure to 4 major assets: US Equity, Foreign Equity, Emerging Market Equity, Fixed Income.
The plan has many high quality funds including Dodge & Cox stock (DODGX), Fidelity Contra (FCNTX), Lazard Emerign Markets (LZEMX), Fidelity Low Priced Stocks (FLPKX). Additionaly, Pimco's total return bond fund (PTTRX), managed by Bill Gross gives participants a solid choice in fixed income.
As of Jun 10, 2011, this plan investment choice is rated as above average 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 average (52%)
Fund Quality -- Rated as above average (75%)
Portfolio Building -- Rated as great (92%)
Overall Rating: above average (75%)Current Economic and Market Conditions
Last week marked the sixth week of losses in the U.S. stock market. Investors are now clearly in a risk off mode. Key observations include
- U.S. stock market index (Vanguard Total Stock Market Index (VTI)), for example, is now ranked below U.S. 7-10 long term treasury bonds (IEF) and just a notch above credit bond index (CFT) in our major trend table.
- For the time being, commodities (DBC) and Gold (GLD) are still holding first places, with international REITs (RWX) is still strong.
- On the fixed income side, long bonds (TLT) (LQD) are now trending higher while emerging market bonds (PCY) is still holding a higher place.
This shows investors' strong risk aversion but it is still not water shed flight to safety moment yet.
For more information on how these assets are ranked, please see here.
The following lists how major assets are ranked.
Major Asset Classes Trend
06/10/2011
Description Symbol 1 Week 4 Weeks 13 Weeks 26 Weeks 52 Weeks Trend Score US Stocks VTI -2.43% -5.02% -1.96% 4.63% 21.2% 3.28% International Developed Stks EFA -2.95% -2.44% -0.35% 3.57% 22.03% 3.97% Emerging Market Stks VWO -2.69% -0.43% 1.82% 3.41% 26.05% 5.63% Frontier Market Stks FRN 0.66% 1.19% 3.58% -5.35% 20.94% 4.21% US Equity REITs VNQ -4.25% -4.01% 1.18% 9.64% 20.52% 4.61% International REITs RWX -2.82% -0.55% 2.46% 6.52% 34.29% 7.98% Commodities DBC 0.1% 4.27% 2.68% 15.4% 37.95% 12.08% Gold GLD -0.65% 2.48% 7.97% 10.21% 24.36% 8.87% Total US Bonds BND 0.15% 1.01% 2.67% 4.0% 5.68% 2.7% International Treasury Bonds BWX -1.2% 1.93% 4.36% 10.12% 19.92% 7.03% Emerging Mkt Bonds PCY 0.18% 0.85% 4.25% 3.64% 12.83% 4.35% US Credit Bonds CFT 0.02% 0.37% 2.41% 4.69% 8.06% 3.11% US High Yield Bonds JNK -1.32% -2.13% -0.03% 6.5% 19.11% 4.43% Mortgage Back Bonds MBB -0.03% 0.78% 2.33% 3.48% 4.18% 2.15% Municipal Bonds MUB -0.51% 0.28% 4.31% 6.03% 2.98% 2.62% Intermediate Treasuries IEF 0.26% 2.14% 4.8% 5.55% 7.24% 4.0% Treasury Bills SHV -0.02% -0.04% 0.02% 0.07% 0.1% 0.03% 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
Emerging Market Equity: EEM or VWO
Fixed Income: AGG or BND
Performance chart (as of Jun 10, 2011)Performance table (as of Jun 10, 2011)
Portfolio Name 1Yr AR 1Yr Sharpe 3Yr AR 3Yr Sharpe 5Yr AR 5Yr Sharpe Oracle Corporation 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan Tactical Asset Allocation Moderate 10% 121% 10% 109% 13% 121% Oracle Corporation 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan Strategic Asset Allocation Moderate 16% 202% 7% 47% 8% 60% Four Core Asset ETF (EM) Benchmark Tactical Asset Allocation Moderate 4% 44% 6% 53% 10% 69% Four Core Asset ETF (EM) Benchmark Strategic Asset Allocation Moderate 18% 151% 3% 12% 6% 26% From the above table, one can see that Oracle's plan does deliver extra returns over the simple four core asset ETF portfolios. It shows high quality funds can indeed add value.
To summarize, investors adopting Oracle Corporation 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan plan can achieve reasonable investment returns by adopting asset allocation strategies that are tailored to their risk profiles.
Symbols: ORCL, VTI, VEU, VWO, BND, FLPKX, DODGX, FCNKX,LZEMX, PTTRX
Exchange Tickers: (ORCL), (VTI), (VEU), (VWO), (BND), (VTIVX), (VFORX), (VTTHX), (VTHRX), (VTTVX), (VTWNX), (VTXVX), (VTENX), (VTOVX), (VTINX), (VFIFX), (FSIIX), (VIEIX), (VIIIX), (VBMPX), (FLPKX), (DODGX), (FGCKX), (FCNKX), (FWWFX), (DODFX), (ARTKX), (ARTVX), (LZEMX), (JMVAX), (TCMMX), (FBAKX), (PTTRX) - Hewlett Packard 401K Report On 06/13/2011
06/13/2011
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