POWERFUND PORTFOLIOS Since 2002
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Conservative PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE - VALUE OF $10,000

This chart shows the performance of the Conservative model portfolio model portfolio since inception (3/31/02) compared to the S&P 500 (including dividends) as represented by the Vanguard 500 fund (VFINX) based on an initial investment of $10,000.

Chart
Conservative
Aggressive
S&P500

Conservative PORTFOLIO QUICK FACTS

Average Expense Ratio 0.28%
Minimum Investment Reg/IRA $9.0K/$4.0K
Number of Holdings 13
% Stock Funds 39%
% Bond/Cash 37%
% Alt/Other 24%
Current % Risk of S&P 500 57%
Portfolio Standard Deviation 12.3
Average Holding Period 35 months
Average Stock Fund Turnover 17%
Portfolio Inception 03/31/2002
Last Trade 08/22/2023

Conservative PORTFOLIO ALLOCATION

Broad Allocation
Categories

Conservative PORTFOLIO VERSION HISTORY

The Conservative Powerfund Portfolo has been around since early 2002, and in that time it's gone through lots of changes. You can see each version of this portfolio in the chart below. Click on the double arrows by the dates at the top of the chart to navigate.

3/28/2002 - 5/30/2002
Still believing U.S. stocks were overpriced relative to other global asset choices, even in March 2002, two years into a stock slide, we launched our portfolios heavy in foreign, value, smaller-cap and bonds.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
15% Harbor Bond (HABDX) Investment Grade Bond 2.01%
25% BlackRock International Bond (CIFIX) Global Bond 1.02%
5% Columbia Real Estate (CREEX) Real Estate 0.73%
15% FMI Sasco Contrarian Value (FMIVX) Mid Cap Value 0.65%
10% Northern Income Equity (NOIEX) U.S. Balanced 0.30%
10% Columbia High Yield (CMHYX) High Yield Bond 0.27%
10% SSgA Yield Plus (SSYPX) Investment Grade Bond 0.05%
10% Strong Dividend Growth (SDVIX) Large Cap Value -4.49%
Period Portfolio Return: 0.27%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: 7.27%
5/31/2002 - 7/30/2002
BlackRock closed our no-load international bond fund, CIFIX, to new investors, leaving only sales load options. We still thought the U.S. dollar had a long way to slide (and boy, did it!), so our replacement was the cheap and un-hedged BEGBX. This fund became one of our key areas of outperformance in conservative accounts.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
25% American Century International (BEGBX) Global Bond 6.75%
5% Columbia Real Estate (CREEX) Real Estate 0.53%
15% Harbor Bond (HABDX) Investment Grade Bond 0.25%
10% SSgA Yield Plus (SSYPX) Investment Grade Bond 0.05%
10% Columbia High Yield (CMHYX) High Yield Bond -4.20%
10% Strong Dividend Growth (SDVIX) Large Cap Value -5.39%
15% FMI Sasco Contrarian Value (FMIVX) Mid Cap Value -6.38%
10% Northern Income Equity (NOIEX) U.S. Balanced -9.03%
Period Portfolio Return: -0.25%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: 14.90%
7/31/2002 - 10/30/2002
Stocks continued their virtually straight -down drop since we launched the Powerfunds in March, so it was time to move out of short-term bonds and more into stocks, where we could take advantage of those lower valuations. We took 10% out of SSYPX and added VDIGX. In the summer of 2002, Vanguard Dividend Growth was still a utility fund, Vanguard Utilities Income (VGSUX,) but Vanguard later morphed it into a dividend income fund (VDIGX) due to lack of demand in utility-focused funds. This was the buying opportunity of the decade for lower-risk investors - a 5% yield back then.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
25% American Century International (BEGBX) Global Bond 3.29%
15% Harbor Bond (HABDX) Investment Grade Bond 2.94%
10% Columbia High Yield (CMHYX) High Yield Bond 2.19%
10% Northern Income Equity (NOIEX) U.S. Balanced -2.92%
5% Columbia Real Estate (CREEX) Real Estate -4.93%
15% FMI Sasco Contrarian Value (FMIVX) Mid Cap Value -6.37%
10% Vanguard Dividend Growth (VDIGX) Large Cap Value -7.78%
10% Strong Dividend Growth (SDVIX) Large Cap Value -10.99%
Period Portfolio Return: -1.90%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -0.01%
10/31/2002 - 2/27/2003
High-yield bonds remained out of favor, as they typically do during market slides. We switched from CMHYX to VWEHX in October 2002, because fund family mergers made Columbia no-load funds a poor choice going forward. We switched our real estate pick from CREEX to SSREX for the same reason. Besides, when you go bond fund, you want to go ultra-low fee. We lost a little here (although not as much as stocks). No biggie - junk bonds were about to turn. VWEHX went up 14% in the next six months.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
25% American Century International (BEGBX) Global Bond 10.23%
10% Vanguard Hi-Yld Corp (VWEHX) High Yield Bond 7.14%
10% Northern Income Equity (NOIEX) U.S. Balanced 3.30%
15% Harbor Bond (HABDX) Investment Grade Bond 3.23%
5% SSgA Tuckerman Active REIT (SSREX) Real Estate 2.59%
15% FMI Sasco Contrarian Value (FMIVX) Mid Cap Value -2.54%
10% Strong Dividend Growth (SDVIX) Large Cap Value -2.77%
10% Vanguard Dividend Growth (VDIGX) Large Cap Value -6.07%
Period Portfolio Return: 3.02%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: 7.91%
2/28/2003 - 7/30/2003
Our February 2003 trade saw us sell SDVIX and move into BULIX to regain the utility exposure we lost when VGSUX became a dividend-focused fund. SDVIX was down 26.35% during the time we held it, within a single percentage point of the S&P 500's slide during this period, and we effectively replaced it with VDIGX. We've been enjoying great returns in the fund that became VDIGX for much of the portfolios' ten-year-plus history. Later, investors went overboard on value and income, as they did with growth in the late 1990s.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
10% American Century Utility Incom (BULIX) Utilities 19.84%
10% Vanguard Dividend Growth (VDIGX) Large Cap Value 17.22%
15% FMI Sasco Contrarian Value (FMIVX) Mid Cap Value 16.45%
5% SSgA Tuckerman Active REIT (SSREX) Real Estate 13.87%
10% Northern Income Equity (NOIEX) U.S. Balanced 9.45%
10% Vanguard Hi-Yld Corp (VWEHX) High Yield Bond 7.41%
25% American Century International (BEGBX) Global Bond 6.28%
15% Harbor Bond (HABDX) Investment Grade Bond 2.77%
Period Portfolio Return: 10.42%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -7.74%
7/31/2003 - 2/26/2004
After a nice rebound off the 2003 stock market lows, we decided to cut back on risk in our portfolios. We reduced our NOIEX allocation, sold FMIVX for a 9.67% loss (better than S&P by 2.47%) and added short-term bonds in VFSTX. We also got out of real estate by selling REIT fund SSREX for a 23.19% gain, 9.35% over the S&P. With overall risk down, we decided to add some foreign flavor with a new 10% stake in PISRX. Overall, we went from 40-60% stocks/bonds in version five of the Conservative portfolio to 35-65% in version six. We were a little early as it turned out; the stock market (and real estate) had higher to go, but small-cap, foreign-focused PISRX got so hot we almost kept pace while having less portfolio risk.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
10% Forward International Sm Co (PISRX) International Diversified 40.03%
10% Vanguard Dividend Growth (VDIGX) Large Cap Value 16.79%
10% American Century Utility Income (BULIX) Utilities 15.13%
5% Northern Income Equity (NOIEX) U.S. Balanced 13.34%
20% American Century International (BEGBX) Global Bond 12.65%
5% Vanguard Hi-Yld Corp (VWEHX) High Yield Bond 8.79%
15% Harbor Bond (HABDX) Investment Grade Bond 4.81%
25% Vanguard Short Term Investment (VFSTX) Shorter Term Bond 2.06%
Period Portfolio Return: 11.68%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -5.02%
2/27/2004 - 4/28/2005
Markets were up across the board, and we used that strength to cut back again. We left convertible bonds (which can be stock-like in behavior) by selling NOIEX, cutting PISRX in half, adding BRBPX, and increasing our stake in VFSTX. We even cut back on foreign bond BEGBX after a huge run of 43% since we'd added it to our portfolio. Our trade was a little early again, but better early than during a 50% slide in global markets. This trade slightly reduced our stock allocation, down to about 33%, with bonds up to about 67%, but the new mix also contained generally lower-risk funds.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
10% American Century Utility Income (BULIX) Utilities 22.48%
5% Forward International Sm Co (PISRX) International Diversified 19.69%
10% American Century International (BEGBX) Global Bond 8.52%
10% Vanguard Dividend Growth (VDIGX) Large Cap Value 6.14%
15% Bridgeway Balanced (BRBPX) U.S. Balanced 6.13%
5% Vanguard Hi-Yld Corp (VWEHX) High Yield Bond 5.40%
15% Harbor Bond (HABDX) Investment Grade Bond 3.17%
30% Vanguard Short Term Investment (VFSTX) Shorter Term Bond 0.66%
Period Portfolio Return: 6.48%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: 4.74%
4/29/2005 - 2/27/2006
Everything we owned in version seven, (except short-term bonds) beat the S&P 500 during the year leading up to this trade. We cut back on some winners and moved into more attractively valued areas. This meant another cut to still-hot BEGBX, total sale of PISRX, cut to BRBPX, cut to white-hot BULIX, a new healthcare holding (XLV), and a move from smaller-cap value to larger-cap growth fund SINGX after years of relative underperformance. We're now down to just 30% stocks and generally less aggressive than previous allocations. As stocks continued going up, we were left in the dust a bit. But markets don't go straight up forever.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
5% SSgA International Growth Oppo (SINGX) International Diversified 27.87%
5% American Century Utility Income (BULIX) Utilities 13.16%
10% Bridgeway Balanced (BRBPX) U.S. Balanced 9.79%
10% Vanguard Dividend Growth (VDIGX) Large Cap Value 8.99%
5% Health Care Select SPDR (XLV) Healthcare 7.57%
5% Vanguard Hi-Yld Corp (VWEHX) High Yield Bond 6.08%
30% Vanguard Short Term Investment (VFSTX) Shorter Term Bond 2.16%
25% Harbor Bond (HABDX) Investment Grade Bond 1.74%
5% American Century International (BEGBX) Global Bond -4.73%
Period Portfolio Return: 5.23%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -8.31%
2/28/2006 - 10/30/2006
With continued strong markets, we shifted out of outperforming funds into less popular areas. We sold VDIGX (it was attracting way too much attention during the whole dividend craze that was sweeping the nation), and BULIX (for outsized performance and inflows of money), and bought VOX and VUVLX. We kept the broad stock/bond mix at 30/70. VUVLX underperformed for much of the next year.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
5% Vanguard Telecom VIPER (VOX) Telecom 14.57%
5% SSgA International Growth Oppo (SINGX) International Diversified 5.21%
5% American Century International (BEGBX) Global Bond 4.74%
10% Vanguard U.S. Value (VUVLX) Large Cap Value 4.38%
5% Health Care Select SPDR (XLV) Healthcare 3.96%
30% Vanguard Short Term Investment (VFSTX) Shorter Term Bond 3.20%
5% Vanguard Hi-Yld Corp (VWEHX) High Yield Bond 2.94%
25% Harbor Bond (HABDX) Investment Grade Bond 2.35%
10% Bridgeway Balanced (BRBPX) U.S. Balanced 2.34%
Period Portfolio Return: 3.77%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -5.01%
10/31/2006 - 6/28/2007
Ah, 2007 - the edge of the global financial collapse. We underperformed the stock market during the time period leading up to the crash, but only by about half (not a bad upside tradeoff for just a 30% stock allocation) Our only trade here was selling VOX and buying JARFX on 10/31/06, which initially seemed like a good idea. JARFX rocketed up 20% in the last gasps of foreign stock fund outperformance.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
5% Janus Global Research (JARFX) Global 21.79%
5% SSgA International Growth Oppo (SINGX) International Diversified 15.07%
10% Vanguard U.S. Value (VUVLX) Large Cap Value 11.27%
5% Health Care Select SPDR (XLV) Healthcare 7.69%
5% Vanguard Hi-Yld Corp (VWEHX) High Yield Bond 6.76%
10% Bridgeway Balanced (BRBPX) U.S. Balanced 5.44%
30% Vanguard Short Term Investment (VFSTX) Shorter Term Bond 2.62%
5% American Century International (BEGBX) Global Bond 1.30%
25% Harbor Bond (HABDX) Investment Grade Bond 0.72%
Period Portfolio Return: 5.35%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -5.24%
6/29/2007 - 8/30/2007
The great slide really began in October 2007, but during the life of Conservative Portfolio, version 11, we saw some weakness. Our 6/30/07 trade got us out of high-yield bond VWEHX just in time to avoid tough times for that category. We cut back on foreign stocks by selling SINGX, added U.S. growth stocks with VUG, and cut back on value. Expecting market chaos, we added long/short fund ALHIX and increased our investment-grade bond holdings. We could have used U.S. government bond funds, but in general, this trade put us in a reasonably good position to weather the very rough seas ahead.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
5% American Century International (BEGBX) Global Bond 2.78%
5% AmCent Long-Short Equity (ALHIX) Long/Short 1.34%
25% Harbor Bond (HABDX) Investment Grade Bond 1.24%
35% Dreyfus Bond Market Index Basi (DBIRX) Investment Grade Bond 0.84%
5% Janus Global Research (JARFX) Global 0.07%
10% Bridgeway Balanced (BRBPX) U.S. Balanced -0.46%
5% Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG) Large Cap Growth -1.56%
5% Health Care Select SPDR (XLV) Healthcare -3.03%
5% Vanguard U.S. Value (VUVLX) Large Cap Value -4.81%
Period Portfolio Return: 0.23%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: 2.96%
8/31/2007 - 12/28/2007
In the early stages of the great pullback, foreign markets did well, largely because investors incorrectly believed the U.S. was the problem, when almost the opposite proved true. JARFX tacked on another 9.1% gain in four months, and we added to this position by selling our long/short fund after a strange and ominous short-term plunge in value. This was an early sign of trouble in the fancy finance world of leverage, shorting, subprime debt, etc. We should have gone with more bonds, but rates were too low already - or so we thought.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
10% Janus Global Research (JARFX) Global 8.40%
5% American Century International (BEGBX) Global Bond 7.37%
25% Harbor Bond (HABDX) Investment Grade Bond 5.35%
5% Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG) Large Cap Growth 4.06%
5% Health Care Select SPDR (XLV) Healthcare 3.76%
35% Dreyfus Bond Market Index Basi (DBIRX) Investment Grade Bond 3.61%
10% Bridgeway Balanced (BRBPX) U.S. Balanced 1.69%
5% Vanguard U.S. Value (VUVLX) Large Cap Value -3.06%
Period Portfolio Return: 4.38%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: 3.45%
12/31/2007 - 6/27/2008
We dumped international bonds on 12/31/07 after BEGBX rose another 6.8% in a few short months for an over 70% total return since we'd added it. We put the proceeds of that sale into another long/short fund, NARFX. In theory, this fund raised our stock allocation up to 35%, but in reality, our net stock exposure going into 2008 was at its lowest in the history of the portfolio. We now had only one fund with foreign holdings, a 10% stake in JARFX, and that was a global fund that was about 50% U.S. stocks. The next five years would prove the opposite of the previous: U.S. stocks beat foreign stocks.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
25% Harbor Bond (HABDX) Investment Grade Bond 2.84%
35% Dreyfus Bond Market Index Basi (DBIRX) Investment Grade Bond 1.06%
10% Janus Global Research (JARFX) Global -0.96%
5% Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG) Large Cap Growth -1.19%
10% Bridgeway Balanced (BRBPX) U.S. Balanced -1.83%
5% Vanguard U.S. Value (VUVLX) Large Cap Value -2.20%
5% Nakoma Absolute Return (NARFX) Long/Short -8.16%
5% Health Care Select SPDR (XLV) Healthcare -13.55%
Period Portfolio Return: -0.11%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: 11.97%
6/30/2008 - 10/30/2008
By June of 2008, the poop had officially hit the fan in the stock market, but the Conservative Portfolio was falling quite a bit less than the stock market, despite the fact that new long/short pick NARFX was its only positive gainer. We could have really used a Treasury bond fund. The big hurt was formerly hot JARFX, which was down 37% in four short months. At the end of June, we used the market weakness to get back into junk bonds with a 10% MWHYX stake. We also bought back into VOX and cut safer DBIRX down. We were now 40% stocks, although 5% of that was going up while stocks were going down. Still, a little too early to be buying.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
5% Nakoma Absolute Return (NARFX) Long/Short 0.01%
20% Dreyfus Bond Market Index Basi (DBIRX) Investment Grade Bond -0.38%
25% Harbor Bond (HABDX) Investment Grade Bond -3.56%
10% Metropolitan West High Yield B (MWHYX) High Yield Bond -6.29%
10% Bridgeway Balanced (BRBPX) U.S. Balanced -6.91%
5% Vanguard U.S. Value (VUVLX) Large Cap Value -7.96%
5% Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG) Large Cap Growth -12.00%
5% Health Care Select SPDR (XLV) Healthcare -12.67%
10% Janus Global Research (JARFX) Global -19.65%
5% Vanguard Telecom Serv ETF (VOX) Telecom -29.05%
Period Portfolio Return: -6.00%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: 18.90%
10/31/2008 - 2/26/2009
At the end of October 2008, we went in for more risk, upping our stock allocation to 45%. Closed-end funds were collapsing, partially due to debt problems related to the leverage they employ. It was an opportunity to buy relatively safe assets (muni bonds) at a discount. We put 15% into MUA, increased our VOX allocation, cut back further on safer DBIRX, and made a cut to HABDX. We were a few months early for the bottom, but it was working. Conservative Portfolio version 15 marked our best relative performance period, with a 20% gain over S&P (despite being down 2.78% overall). MUA gained nearly 15% during this time, and telecom fell less than half the S&P.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
10% Dreyfus Bond Market Index Basi (DBIRX) Investment Grade Bond 6.45%
15% BlackRock MuniAssets Fund (MUA (MUA) Municipal Bond 5.04%
15% Harbor Bond (HABDX) Investment Grade Bond 4.60%
10% Metropolitan West High Yield B (MWHYX) High Yield Bond 0.28%
5% Nakoma Absolute Return (NARFX) Long/Short -0.32%
10% Bridgeway Balanced (BRBPX) U.S. Balanced -6.62%
10% Vanguard Telecom Serv ETF (VOX) Telecom -7.49%
5% Health Care Select SPDR (XLV) Healthcare -9.46%
10% Janus Global Research (JARFX) Global -9.53%
5% Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG) Large Cap Growth -12.04%
5% Vanguard U.S. Value (VUVLX) Large Cap Value -14.95%
Period Portfolio Return: -0.92%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: 20.46%
2/27/2009 - 6/29/2009
What were we doing near the very bottom? Buying financials. We added a 5% stake to XLF, and we wish we'd bought more. This ETF went up nearly 60% in four months. We got rid of MUA after the big pop. We also doubled up on NARFX for a little protection in case the bottom was deeper than we'd thought, and we added some back to HARBX. It's easy to say now, but that may have been the buying opportunity of the last two decades. The 16.85% portfolio gain was short of the S&P 500, but a better ratio than we had on the way down, and the key to long-term outperformance.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
5% Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) Financial Services 62.46%
10% Janus Global Research (JARFX) Global 36.52%
5% Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG) Large Cap Growth 24.11%
10% Vanguard Telecom Serv ETF (VOX) Telecom 23.70%
5% Vanguard U.S. Value (VUVLX) Large Cap Value 22.15%
10% Metropolitan West High Yield B (MWHYX) High Yield Bond 20.16%
5% Health Care Select SPDR (XLV) Healthcare 16.72%
10% Bridgeway Balanced (BRBPX) U.S. Balanced 9.02%
20% Harbor Bond (HABDX) Investment Grade Bond 8.27%
10% Dreyfus Bond Market Index Basi (DBIRX) Investment Grade Bond 2.15%
10% Nakoma Absolute Return (NARFX) Long/Short -2.91%
Period Portfolio Return: 15.63%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -11.57%
6/30/2009 - 5/27/2010
After such a fast move up in financials, we dumped XLF on 6/30/09 for a quick 59.55% gain and were back down to 50% stocks, 50% bonds. Sure, we missed some solid gains by cutting back at this time, but it's a conservative portfolio, and we can't run an elevated stock allocation forever, since the higher and more expensive stocks get, the riskier they become. Our replacement was PIASX, a near-money-market type fund. We were up only about half the market's return during this period, since our more conservative picks didn't keep up with the S&P.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
5% Vanguard U.S. Value (VUVLX) Large Cap Value 31.84%
5% Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG) Large Cap Growth 31.21%
10% Janus Global Research (JARFX) Global 29.59%
10% Metropolitan West High Yield B (MWHYX) High Yield Bond 25.71%
10% Vanguard Telecom Services ETF (VOX) Telecom 12.74%
5% Health Care Select SPDR (XLV) Healthcare 11.74%
20% Harbor Bond (HABDX) Investment Grade Bond 10.24%
10% Bridgeway Balanced (BRBPX) U.S. Balanced 9.22%
10% Dreyfus Bond Market Index Basi (DBIRX) Investment Grade Bond 6.19%
5% PIA Short Term Securities (PIASX) Mortgage Bond 0.84%
10% Nakoma Absolute Return (NARFX) Long/Short -10.41%
Period Portfolio Return: 13.57%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -8.60%
5/28/2010 - 6/29/2010
Conservative Portfolio version 18, we hardly knew ye. During 18's scant one-month existence, the market slid, and the portfolio was nearly flat as all but one of our funds fared better than the S&P. We got out of VUVLX for tepid performance and cut back on JARFX, which fortunately rebounded from severe losses in the crash. We were now down to 45% stocks/55% bonds. We also added safer BULIX back to the mix after some underperformance on the way up.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
20% Harbor Bond (HABDX) Investment Grade Bond 0%
5% PIA Short Term Securities (PIASX) Mortgage Bond 0%
5% Metropolitan West High Yield B (MWHYX) High Yield Bond 0%
10% Nakoma Absolute Return (NARFX) Long/Short 0%
5% Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG) Large Cap Growth 0%
20% Dreyfus Bond Market Index Basi (DBIRX) Investment Grade Bond 0%
5% Janus Global Research (JARFX) Global 0%
10% Bridgeway Balanced (BRBPX) U.S. Balanced 0%
5% Amer Centry Utility Income (BULIX) Utilities -0.49%
10% Vanguard Telecom Serv ETF (VOX) Telecom -0.81%
5% Health Care Select SPDR (XLV) Healthcare -1.00%
Period Portfolio Return: 126.91%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -457.83%
6/30/2010 - 9/16/2011
Time for a major portfolio makeover. We went down to 40% stocks/60% bonds as the crisis ended and stocks were no longer the bargain they had been. If bonds had yielded more, we'd have moved even more heavily into debt. Our biggest mistake here was getting back too heavily into foreign markets. We liked the underperformance (U.S. markets have been beating foreign markets since the crash) but should have waited, because too many fund investors are still favoring foreign. Strong utilities, telecom, and healthcare have kept us competitive versus the S&P.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
5% American Century Utility Income (BULIX) Utilities 27.38%
5% Vanguard Telecom Serv ETF (VOX) Telecom 23.53%
5% Health Care Select SPDR (XLV) Healthcare 19.38%
5% PRIMECAP Odyssey Stock (POSKX) Large Cap Growth 17.89%
5% Jensen Value J (JNVSX) Blend 16.02%
5% Homestead Value Fund (HOVLX) Large Cap Value 14.10%
5% Vanguard European ETF (VGK) Europe 12.53%
5% UMB Scout Worldwide (UMBWX) International Diversified 11.28%
20% American Century Core Plus (ACCNX) Investment Grade Bond 7.09%
15% American Century Government Bond (CPTNX) Government Bond 6.44%
20% Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (BSV) Very Short Term Bond 3.83%
5% PowerShares DB US Dollar Index (UUP) Alternative -13.25%
Period Portfolio Return: 9.56%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -11.15%
9/19/2011 - 8/14/2013
Sharp drops in equities led us to increase our stock allocation marginally, now up to 41%. We increased VGK and added EWJ. The new longer-term bond picks, BLV and EDV, should protect this portfolio in case of another recession. It's going to be difficult delivering low risk and high return as stocks rise and bond yields plummet. We don't expect much more foreign exposure until investors bail after years of underpeformance.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
5% Health Care Select SPDR (XLV) Healthcare 60.68%
5% Homestead Value Fund (HOVLX) Large Cap Value 52.04%
5% Jensen Value J (JNVSX) Blend 43.91%
10% Vanguard European ETF (VGK) Europe 40.84%
5% Vanguard Telecom Services ETF (VOX) Telecom 37.50%
5% American Century Utility Income (BULIX) Utilities 27.62%
6% iShares MSCI Japan Index (EWJ) Japan 24.34%
20% American Century Core Plus (ACCNX) Investment Grade Bond 4.04%
15% Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index ETF (BLV) Government Bond 2.37%
5% PowerShares DB US Dollar Index (UUP) Alternative 1.05%
15% American Century Government Bond (CPTNX) Government Bond 0.14%
4% Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury (EDV) Government Bond -5.20%
Period Portfolio Return: 18.61%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -27.01%
8/15/2013 - 9/26/2014
This late summer trade was a major one as we moved into more out-of-favor funds and categories. The Conservative portfolio was also overdue for a rebalancing. As stocks have raced up in recent years our real money allocation to stocks in the Conservative portfolio was over 50%. This trade brought that number down to 41%.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
10% Vanguard MegaCap Growth (MGK) Large Cap Growth 25.20%
4% Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury (EDV) Government Bond 24.23%
20% Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index ETF (BLV) Government Bond 15.72%
6% American Century Utility Income (BULIX) Utilities 12.95%
6% Vanguard Telecom Services ETF (VOX) Telecom 12.58%
5% Artisan Global Equity (ARTHX) Global 9.78%
9% Vanguard European ETF (VGK) Europe 9.39%
5% Wasatch Long/Short (FMLSX) Long/Short 7.30%
10% PIMCO Mortgage Opportunities D (PMZDX) Mortgage Bond 6.58%
15% PIMCO BOND ETF (BOND) Investment Grade Bond 6.38%
10% DoubleLine Floating Rate N (DLFRX) Shorter Term Bond 2.18%
Period Portfolio Return: 11.64%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -10.24%
9/29/2014 - 3/12/2015
We've performed a radical PIMCO-dectomy. Could the sudden departure of PIMCO "Bond King" Bill Gross spell trouble for the firm's funds? While the chances of a full-fledged meltdown might be remote, when it comes to bond funds we like to keep the drama to a minimum.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
4% Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury (EDV) Government Bond 15.04%
5% Artisan Global Equity (ARTHX) Global 7.94%
10% Vanguard MegaCap Growth (MGK) Large Cap Growth 7.75%
20% Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index ETF (BLV) Government Bond 6.86%
6% American Century Utility Income (BULIX) Utilities 2.64%
10% DoubleLine Floating Rate N (DLFRX) Shorter Term Bond 2.48%
25% Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities (VMBS) Mortgage Bond 2.05%
6% Vanguard Telecom Services ETF (VOX) Telecom 1.96%
9% Vanguard European ETF (VGK) Europe -1.73%
5% Wasatch Long/Short (FMLSX) Long/Short -4.61%
Period Portfolio Return: 3.97%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -1.43%
3/13/2015 - 1/06/2016
On the buy side, the Euro has sunk and it's a good time to start adding investment grade, un-hedged foreign bond funds in the guise of SPDR Barclays Intl Treasury Bond ETF (BWX). On the sell side, utilities have become too popular recently and hence we're saying goodbye to BULIX. We're also down on Junk bonds, which means no more DLFRX
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
25% Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities (VMBS) Mortgage Bond 1.49%
6% Vanguard Telecom Services ETF (VOX) Telecom 0.54%
16% SPDR Barclays Intl. Treasury (BWX) Foreign Bond -0.21%
10% Vanguard MegaCap Growth (MGK) Large Cap Growth -1.26%
4% Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury (EDV) Government Bond -2.71%
20% Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index ETF (BLV) Government Bond -3.50%
5% Artisan Global Equity (ARTHX) Global -6.18%
9% Vanguard European ETF (VGK) Europe -7.24%
5% Wasatch Long/Short (FMLSX) Long/Short -16.29%
Period Portfolio Return: -2.38%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -0.87%
1/07/2016 - 6/28/2018
Adding some riskier yield after a bad year. Adding a risky oil related short for rising default protection. ARTFX growing assets helping performance. More large cap value, less large cap growth after good year. Dumping FMLSX after manager's bad calls on energy. Taking lots of interest rate risk.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
6% Artisan Global Equity (ARTHX) Global 80.73%
6% Homestead Value (HOVLX) Large Cap Value 41.63%
5% iShares Mortgage REIT (REM) Alternative 39.85%
6% Vanguard Utilities (VPU) Utilities 33.12%
8% Vanguard European ETF (VGK) Europe 28.59%
6% Artisan High Income Fund (ARTFX) High Yield Bond 27.30%
20% Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index ETF (BLV) Government Bond 10.83%
5% Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury (EDV) Government Bond 8.30%
20% SPDR Barclays Intl. Treasury (BWX) Foreign Bond 7.54%
14% Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities (VMBS) Mortgage Bond 2.24%
4% ETRACS 1xMonthly Short Alerian MLP (MLPS) Long/Short -24.15%
Period Portfolio Return: 16.40%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -30.19%
6/29/2018 - 2/27/2020
At the end of June we made some trades in the Conservative portfolio largely because one of our holdings, ETRACS 1xMonthly Short Alerian MLP (MLPS), was liquidated for lack of investor interest.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
5% Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury (EDV) Government Bond 39.07%
19% Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index ETF (BLV) Government Bond 29.18%
6% Vanguard Utilities (VPU) Utilities 28.62%
30% Dodge & Cox Global Bond Fund (DODLX) Foreign Bond 13.81%
13% iShares Global Telecom ETF (IXP) Telecom 12.27%
7% Homestead Value (HOVLX) Large Cap Value 10.19%
12% Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities (VMBS) Mortgage Bond 9.49%
8% Vanguard European ETF (VGK) Europe -1.88%
Period Portfolio Return: 16.69%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: 3.61%
2/28/2020 - 4/02/2020
Our trades here are not only because of the Coronavirus-crash - several of these positions were already on the docket to be sold. The more significant factor was actually the sharp drop in rates related to the plummeting market.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
6% VANGUARD LONG-TERM BOND (BLV) Government Bond 5.20%
15% VANGUARD SHORT-TERM BOND (BSV) Very Short Term Bond 0.84%
6% VANGUARD MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES (VMBS) Mortgage Bond 0.67%
30% DODGE & COX GLOBAL BOND (DODLX) Foreign Bond -2.61%
7% iSHARES JP MORGAN EM BOND (LEMB) Foreign Bond -4.68%
7% FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY (FLGR) Europe -8.19%
7% HOMESTEAD VALUE (HOVLX) Large Cap Value -9.01%
12% VANGUARD FTSE EUROPE (VGK) Europe -9.18%
10% VANGUARD ENERGY (VDE) Natural Resources -26.37%
Period Portfolio Return: -11.78%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: 2.52%
4/03/2020 - 9/10/2020
We executed trades in both portfolios on April 3rd (just over one month after our previous trades on February 28th) to cut way back on corporate bonds and deal with the cash from a liquidated inverse 3x oil ETF that the fund company shut down on March 27.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
6% FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY (FLGR) International Diversified 47.18%
5% Franklin FTSE South Korea (FLKR) International Diversified 43.08%
5% iSHARES EDGE QUALITY FACTOR (QUAL) Blend 32.02%
10% VANGUARD FTSE EUROPE (VGK) Europe 30.98%
6% Homestead Value Fund (HOVLX) Large Cap Value 28.83%
7% iSHARES JP MORGAN EM BOND (LEMB) Foreign Bond 17.39%
8% VANGUARD ENERGY (VDE) Natural Resources 12.56%
26% Schwab US TIPS (SCHP) Government Bond 4.80%
27% VANGUARD ST INFLATION PROTECTED (VTIP) Government Bond 3.03%
Period Portfolio Return: 15.75%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -19.48%
9/11/2020 - 2/26/2021
These relatively minor changes were primarily to shift us out of some areas that had been hot and to add some lagging stock categories.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
8% Vanguard Energy (VDE) Natural Resources 62.11%
5% Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF (FLKR) International Diversified 38.88%
6% Homestead Value Fund (HOVLX) Large Cap Value 20.90%
10% Vanguard FTSE Europe (VGK) Europe 15.70%
6% Franklin FTSE Germany ETF (FLGR) International Diversified 6.55%
5% Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU) Utilities 4.17%
7% iShares JP Morgan Em. Bond (LEMB) Foreign Bond 3.91%
27% Vanguard Short Term Inflation Prote (VTIP) Government Bond 1.60%
26% Schwab US TIPS (SCHP) Government Bond -0.80%
Period Portfolio Return: 10.49%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -4.96%
2/26/2021 - 11/26/2021
We really thought these trades could be put off until a year after our buying during the COVID crash. Unfortunately there is just too much speculation going on these days not to make some changes.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
8% Vanguard Energy (VDE) Natural Resources 26.09%
5% Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU) Utilities 18.54%
6% Homestead Value Fund (HOVLX) Large Cap Value 18.15%
10% Vanguard FTSE Europe (VGK) Europe 12.04%
5% VanEck Vectors Pharmaceutical (PPH) Healthcare 11.28%
10% Vanguard Extended Duration Trs ETF (EDV) Government Bond 5.23%
27% Vanguard Short Term Inflation Prote (VTIP) Government Bond 4.63%
8% Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF (BLV) Investment Grade Bond 3.41%
6% Franklin FTSE Germany ETF (FLGR) International Diversified 2.73%
10% Invesco CurrencyShares Euro Currenc (FXE) Alternative -7.82%
5% Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF (FLKR) International Diversified -9.74%
Period Portfolio Return: 6.95%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -17.65%
11/26/2021 - 6/30/2022
These trades are to reduce our stock allocations and exposure to inflation oriented investments made in 2020.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
5% VanEck Vectors Pharma. (PPH) Healthcare 6.31%
10% Vanguard Utilities (VPU) Utilities 5.29%
10% Invesco CurrencyShares Euro (FXE) Alternative -8.18%
30% Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities (VMBS) Mortgage Bond -9.45%
6% Homestead Value Fund (HOVLX) Large Cap Value -10.56%
10% Vanguard FTSE Europe (VGK) Europe -16.36%
8% Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index ETF (BLV) Investment Grade Bond -22.26%
5% Franklin FTSE South Korea (FLKR) International Diversified -22.31%
6% Franklin FTSE Germany (FLGR) International Diversified -27.41%
10% Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury (EDV) Government Bond -30.13%
Period Portfolio Return: -12.52%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: 3.65%
6/30/2022 - 8/15/2023
We made some changes to both model portfolios at the end of June. The end result was a slight increase in stock exposure and an increase in our exposure to interest rates by moving from shorter-term to longer-term bonds. We also made some tweaks to our hedging strategy to protect the portfolios from an increasingly likely drop in high risk debt.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
6% Franklin FTSE Germany (FLGR) International Diversified 22.13%
10% Vanguard FTSE Europe (VGK) Europe 20.53%
6% Homestead Value Fund (HOVLX) Large Cap Value 16.27%
5% VanEck Vectors Pharma. (PPH) Healthcare 10.61%
5% Vangaurd All-World Small-Cap (VSS) International Diversified 10.60%
7% Franklin FTSE South Korea (FLKR) International Diversified 8.02%
12% Invesco CurrencyShares Euro (FXE) Alternative 4.70%
5% LeatherBack L/S Alt. Yld. (LBAY) Long/Short -0.17%
7% Proshares Short High Yld (SJB) Long/Short -5.53%
10% Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index ETF (BLV) Investment Grade Bond -7.11%
5% NightShares 2000 (NIWM) Small Cap Growth -7.32%
8% Vangaurd L/T Treasury (VGLT) Government Bond -12.61%
14% Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury (EDV) Government Bond -19.46%
Period Portfolio Return: 1.97%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -18.81%
8/15/2023 - Present

One of the ETF holdings in our Conservative portfolio, the NightShares 2000 ETF (NIVM), was liquidated last week. For now, we're shifting the 5% allocation to cash via an ETF specializing in 6-month T-bills. This means we're transitioning from a no-yield cash position to an actual cash-like fund with a much higher yield.
% Name/Ticker Category Per. Ret.
6% Homestead Value Fund (HOVLX) Large Cap Value 27.78%
6% Franklin FTSE Germany (FLGR) International Diversified 21.45%
10% Vanguard FTSE Europe (VGK) Europe 20.37%
5% Vangaurd All-World Small-Cap (VSS) International Diversified 19.47%
5% VanEck Vectors Pharma. (PPH) Healthcare 16.53%
10% Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index ETF (BLV) Investment Grade Bond 11.73%
5% LeatherBack L/S Alt. Yld. (LBAY) Long/Short 8.99%
8% Vangaurd L/T Treasury (VGLT) Government Bond 8.15%
14% Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury (EDV) Government Bond 6.97%
7% Franklin FTSE South Korea (FLKR) International Diversified 6.93%
5% BondBloxx Six Month Treasury ETF (XHLF) Shorter Term Bond 6.15%
12% Invesco CurrencyShares Euro (FXE) Alternative 3.61%
7% Proshares Short High Yld (SJB) Long/Short -6.53%
Period Portfolio Return: 10.88%
Period Portfolio vs. S&P: -22.32%