Posted: 8/16/2007 11:17:51 AM EDT
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I'm in the process of moving my IRA money from mutual funds to ETFs. I like the lower expenses and the ability to sell without waiting until the market closes. I'm going to do a split something like this 60% domestic stocks probably S&P 500 SPDRs 10% high tech probably qqqq 10% international 20% bonds I won't need this money for 25 to 30 years, so based on this time line how do these percentages look, and what are some good international and bond ETFs? Thanks |
| Why not the VGEmergingMarkets Mutual fund and the VG S&P500 Mutual FUND I believe their ER's are lower and you do not need a broker and brokerage account to buy the ETF which willl cost you I imagine.They are sold as fast (taxable or not) and IIRC have less of a cost. FWIW |
Go to the site......I dont recall, but IIRC both have cheaper ER's although IIRC the EM has a .5% entrance fee(a load)? and .5% exhit cost (another load IMO?) These are both LOADS IMO but VG does not call them that, Cl B shares are the only ones offered. Thats the way it is now, after their ""proxy"" votes!! >> 10/15yrs ago it was a true NO LOAD. Your EM thoughts might better be directed toward Total international Stock mkt index position since it also includes BRIC/EAFE/europe/london/pacific rim/etc areas. EM is =(BRIC) ONLY and is kinda spectulative and much more volitile IMO. Good Luck.......Go to the site!
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mags, please. if you don't know what an ETF is, and what the cost structure is, then don't post as if you do. there is no load (in the mutual fund sense) associated with an ETF, any ETF. however, there is a transaction cost, as an ETF trades just like a stock. so, to buy shares in an ETF, you pay anywhere from $0 to $49 for the transaction, depending on the cost structure of your brokerage account. it is no different from buying a stock. for example, in my case, i can buy 1M shares of the EM ETF VWO for $8.95 -- if you consider that 0.0000104% cost a load, well so be it. but it has nothing to with a 0.5% "entrance fee" or an "exit fee". summary: the cost structure of an ETF is not the same as a mutual fund. one uses ETF's because they are more attractive from a tax standpoint, and they generally have a lower ER than an indexed mutual fund of similar composition. one uses mutual funds because they are less expensive to DCA into (and out of); that is, with a no-load fund there is ZERO transactional costs associated with adding small incremental amounts (like you may do monthly or quarterly). ps: as i recall you and i had this discussion before. --> ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=133&t=565067&page=2 ar-jedi |
i would consider this a "barbell" portfolio. US large caps at one end, emerging markets at the other end, and nothing in the middle. moreover, it is actually short of international exposure. yes, it has an attractive ER; however, it is not a diversified portfolio. below are the Instant Xray results. how to improve? i'd suggest that you add some EFA, or EFV to the mix, and perhaps IWJ. e.g. 45% SPY 25% IWS 15% EFA 15% VWO run that through Instant Xray... portfolio.morningstar.com/NewPort/Free/InstantXRayDEntry.aspx?tsection=toolsxray&dt=0.7055475 it is still somewhat LC-heavy but you'll have a better asset balance. ar-jedi   |
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Thanks for the suggestions. I'm looking at some of the midcap value ETFs and saw some from Vanguard with a low ER of .11. Vanguard uses the MSCI indexes for their ETFs. Have you ever heard of these indexes? here's a link www.mscibarra.com/products/indices/us/annualReturns.jsp |
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Thanks for the link to the xray tool. I've decided on the following, which looks much more balanced. SPY 50% ER of .09 S&P 500 mostly large cap stocks VO 30% ER of .13 Vanguard MSCI Mid Cap 450 index VEA 20% ER of .15 Vanguard Europe Pacific Large Caps This gives me a 23 22 21 10 11 12 00 00 00 With 80% domestic stocks and 20% foreign stocks. How does this look? I'm not 100% sure about how much my foreign percentage should be. |
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