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I'm not a professional money manager. That is, I'm not paid to manage other people's money. I do however invest my own money. This site reflects my thoughts and ideas about investing with ETFs.
I'm a fan of the passive nature of ETFs. I, like many others, believe that beating the market is nearly impossible even for the professionals. It's even harder if you're trying to hold down a "real" job, enjoy life, and raise a family. So if beating the market is not going to happen, then the next best thing is matching it. And that's where ETFs in general and index ETFs in particular come in.
With index ETFs I target different sectors, assets, and regions. Once purchased, my plan is always to hold on to the ETF. If my portfolio becomes unbalanced, then future purchases are directed to the funds that are below their nominal portfolio share. Here's the breakdown of my portfolio.
| US | 40% |
| Micro Cap (IWC) | 5% |
| Small Cap (IJR) | 10% |
| Mid Cap (IJH) | 10% |
| Large Cap (SPY and IVV) | 15% |
| International | 35% |
| Large Emerging Markets (EEM) | 15% |
| International Large Cap (EFA) | 15% |
| Canada Large Cap (XIU) | 5% |
| Bonds | 10% |
| Broad Investment Grade (AGG) | 5% |
| Corporate (LQD) | 5% |
| Specialty | 15% |
| Commodities (DBC) | 5% |
| REIT (ICF) | 10% |
Entries (RSS)
August 30th, 2006 at 3:52 pm
I try to keep my eye on the transaction fees. I use a discount brokerage which helps. I also make sure to buy in relatively large blocks so that the transaction fee amounts to 1% or less. I also don't sell much and just buy more of something to rebalance.
In addition, by being able to place my own trades when I want, I can get in on days or weeks when there's a big drop thus offsetting the transaction costs. With a fund I wouldn't have this flexibility since trades happen on the fund's schedule.
In the end it's all probably a wash since over the long-haul an initial hit of 1% won't make much difference.
August 30th, 2006 at 3:22 pm
Neat portfolio. I am indexing most of my portfolio as well, but using mostly Vanguard mutual funds. Are transaction costs an issue for you with this many ETFs?