ITA Wealth Management

Premium Content readers have access to the spreadsheet that tracks the Jane Portfolio (was GLW Portfolio), a small portfolio under construction.  Today, JNJ was added to this portfolio, one of three slots open for individual stocks.  The core holdings will come from a variety of ETFs so we have a well balanced portfolio.  The Dashboard inside the SS gives a clear picture of the target percentages and the current positions.

Here is a “movie” of the initial asset allocation plan.  Note the improvements in this portfolio asset allocation plan vs. the sample portfolio offered earlier in the day.  These portfolio plans are normally reserved for Premium readers, but I wanted to give readers here on the free side a taste of how we go about planning and building a portfolio.

Note the importance placed on asset allocation.  The core ETFs cover the “Big Six” equity asset classes.  In addition, we have bonds, commodities, REITs, developed international, and emerging markets as part of the overall plan.  In this AA plan, Brazil and Malaysia will be included in the emerging market asset class.  In future AA plans, there will be some adjustments in emerging markets as we do not want to overweight that class.

For more information on Asset Allocation, move over to the right-hand edge of the page and under Categories, click on Asset Allocation (AA).  This is such an important concept in investing, one should read as much as possible on the research surrounding AA.

Lowell Herr

Photograph:  Amsterdam, The Netherlands

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In the process of reading a forum message this morning, I ran across this recommended portfolio.  For several reasons, it is not one I would recommend completely to users, but it is a portfolio one could use as a sample or springboard portfolio.  Here is a short “movie” illustrating the ingredients that make up this sample portfolio.

This portfolio includes a retail holder, and I am not a fan of HOLDRs.  Stick with ETFs or in some cases, ETNs rather than use HOLDRs.  I also would not hold a treasury fund.

Lowell Herr

Photograph:  Easy