I am not an investment genius. I think I am a diligent saver.
My 401k is up 16% for the year. But last year it was down, some 37%.
Yes, the market has rebounded a bit, true. But saving regularly into a down stock market has produced these results.
I’m also exploring a more balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds. I’m now at 25% bonds in my 401k, to even out my lack of bonds in my IRA. I’ve even branched out to Long Term Corporate Bonds instead of US Treasuries. Mapgirl is growing up as an investor.
I am still a major risk monkey. I am holding 5 different international stock funds (but no international stocks because I sold off my TSM holding a few months ago). I need to consolidate those but I really dislike the way some of the funds are composed, which is why I hold too many. In particular I am holding onto a China fund and a Latin American fund because I wanted more exposure to emerging markets than I was getting in the broader international index funds. I think that many of them focus too much on Europe and Japan where there are established markets and international firms. It’s like investing in global firms from the US with the extra risk of currency fluctuation.
But either way, I’m happy that Warren Buffet bought Goldman Sachs warrants last year and the market is finally realizing their worth. ($2 billion as of GS’ stock price last week.) It’s pushed my IRA portfolio back over $20K, even though that’s still down 20% from last year.
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The bogleheads website (named after Vanguard founder John Bogle) is a useful source of advice on investing for retirement in a simple and effective manner: http://www.bogleheads.org/