Foreign bonds led the way, with the American Century International Bond (BEGBX) up a sharp 2.4%. That funds strong performance was based largely on strength in bonds, but partially on a weakening dollar as our ongoing trade imbalances weighed on investor’s minds. ...read the rest of this article»

The Conservative portfolio was down .45% in July. We’d like to have seen this fund up last month given the positive returns for bonds, but the small stock stake wiped our bond gains. ...read the rest of this article»

The Conservative portfolio climbed just over 1% in June. Two of the funds in the portfolio were flat; American Century International Bond didn’t budge, while low risk Vanguard Short Term Corporate moved up less than one tenth of one percent. ...read the rest of this article»

The biggest hit to the portfolio was a 1.6% fall in Vanguard High Yield Corporate (VWEHX) as junk bonds took a beating in May. The fund is down to just 5% of the Conservative portfolio, so the total effect was muted. ...read the rest of this article»

The SSgA Tuckerman Active REIT (SSREX) fund is no longer in this portfolio – we cashed out of funds that invest in REITs (real estate investment trusts) last summer. While we missed some upside in the fund, we also missed last months 15% fall. Given that stocks are more expensive then last year, if REITs fall another 15% or so we may add a small stake again. ...read the rest of this article»

Our recent spring cleaning seemed to help the Conservative portfolio. For the month it was up .29%, which may not sound like much, but given the stock market’s decline and our shorter duration bond holdings we’ll take it with a smile. ...read the rest of this article»

For the conservative portfolio we sold our 5% position in the Northern Income Equity (NOIEX) fund. We originally added this fund in April 2002 and the fund was up 13.5% over that time period. Convertible bonds benefit from upward movements in stock prices as the value of the conversion feature increases. Convertible bonds yield less then comparable risk corporate bonds because of this upside potential. As stock prices are back to fully valued, we think the below average yield will hold back portfolios going forward. ...read the rest of this article»

With a larger equity stake then the safety portfolio, the conservative portfolio was up 1.42% in January. Utility stocks were strong, as they usually are when interest rates fall. The American Century Utility Income fund (BULIX) was up 1.8% for the month. ...read the rest of this article»

In December the Conservative portfolio climbed 3.45% to end the year up 19.2%. More conservative stocks were hot in December, of the ilk found in the Vanguard Dividend Growth fund (VDIGX) – the fund was the best performer in the portfolio, up just over 6%. ...read the rest of this article»

Japan was weak in November as a category, giving back a little of its strong recent gains. The Growth Portfolio’s T. Rowe Price Japan fund was down just under 5%. One question in the great recovery in long downtrodden Japanese equities is this: how well can a primarily export driven society do if our dollar keeps falling making their goods more expensive? ...read the rest of this article»