At the beginning of 2005 I began some hypothetical models based on my asset allocation assumptions and were built mostly with Exchange Traded Funds (ETF’s).
I used ETF’s so that I could gain access to areas of the market that it just wasn’t efficient to build a full portfolio of individual securities (think emerging market stocks and REIT’s). As many of the ETF’s have low expense ratio’s (some less than 25 basis points) I find it cheaper than using mutual funds.
I am running them like I would actual (read: real money) portfolio’s. I will buy and sell just like I would in a real portfolio and they will be rebalanced as needed.
| Holdings – as of 12.31.08 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 | Q4 | 1 Yr | Equity | ||
| iShares Russell 1000 Growth | IWF | -12.32 | -22.79 | -38.22 | |
| iShares Russell 1000 Value | IWD | -12.32 | -22.16 | -36.46 | |
| iShares Russell Mid Cap Growth | IWP | -17.45 | -27.39 | -44.56 | |
| iShares Russell Mid Cap Value | IWS | -7.44 | -27.12 | -37.99 | |
| iShares Russell 2000 Value | IWN | 4.97 | -24.72 | -28.73 | |
| iShares EAFE Index | EFA | -20.51 | -19.75 | -41.04 | |
| iShares Emerging Markets Index | EEM | -25.16 | -26.18 | -48.89 | Alternative |
| Vanguard REIT | VNQ | 5.32 | -38.07 | -36.91 | |
| PIMCO Commodity Real Return | PCRDX | -32.71 | -35.73 | -43.61 | |
| Nakoma | NARFX | 0.00 | 1.85 | -4.34 | |
| Hussman Growth | HSGFX | 3.43 | -12.93 | -9.02 | |
| Leuthold Core | LCORX | -13.39 | -14.71 | -27.44 | Fixed Income |
| iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Treasury Bond | SHY | 1.67 | 2.31 | 6.61 | |
| iShares Barclays 7-10 Year Treasury | IEF | 2.21 | 11.81 | 17.91 | |
| iShares Invest Grade Corp Bond | LQD | -7.78 | 8.53 | 2.46 |
Sources: Morningstar and iShares
| Model Performance - as of 12.31.08 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3-08 | Q4-08 | 1 Yr | 3 Yr | |
| Aggressive | -11.85 | -19.25% | -32.77% | -5.05% |
| Moderate | -9.36 | -13.89% | -24.86% | -2.61% |
| Conservative | -7.19 | -8.41% | -15.51% | 0.09% |