ITA Wealth Management

We made no trades over the last few days, although I do have one ETF limit order set in one portfolio.  If that trade is triggered, I will report the results over on Premium Content.

Again, this is a time to remain calm, stick with the asset allocation plan, and let the markets work.

Lowell Herr

With all the market volatility over the last few days, now is a good time to check the asset allocations of your portfolio.  If the asset classes were close to target a week ago, there likely will not be any changes.  However, value and REIT asset classes are holding up better than growth and international so some shifting in the portfolio is likely.  The +/- 35% band provides considerable cushion against rebalancing.  Nevertheless, make a quick check using the Thomas/Lalla/Herr spreadsheet.

If any rebalancing is required, make every attempt to do it with an infusion of new cash or dividends rather than selling off any ETFs, stocks, or index funds.

If you happen to have more than one asset class below the 35% lower limit, take a look at StockCharts to see if the technicals are of any help.  I’ve discussed this in more detail over on Premium Content over the last few weeks.  If you have access to PC, click on the Technical Analysis link.

The StockCharts graph is set to view the Mid-Cap Growth ETF, VOT.  Type in the ticker of each asset class you are holding to see if any are showing RSI values below the 30% level.  Then look to see if the MACD is negative or positive.  Last, check the Chaikin graph to see if it is positive or negative.

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Lowell Herr

Photograph:  Alpenrose Velodrome Time Trials

Carefully check your broker accounts this month.  Take particular care to see what is happening with the money market or cash portion of the account as there are a few money market funds that are in “Bust-The-Buck” mode.  This means they are paying $0.97 on the dollar instead of the assumed $1.00 per share.

You can read more about this problem here.  I was assured TDAmeritrade accounts are not affected, but you might examine your account to see if any cash was held in Reserve Primary Fund, Reserve Yield Plus Fund, or Reserve International Liquidity Fund.  If you have exposure, it is likely to be one of the first two mentioned.

Lowell Herr

Photograph:  Alpenrose Velodrome, highest banked curves in the U.S.

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