ETF Monkey

In response to some reader requests, I just finished up my latest article for Seeking Alpha. Here is a quick peek at my summary: Summary In a recent article, I explained my reasons for adding Wal-Mart to my ETF-anchored portfolio. I promised that, should that article prove popular, I would share my other individual stock holdings as well as my reasoning for their place in my portfolio. This article will discuss all 4 holdings in my portfolio at the time I made that promise, as well as one very recent addition. If this sounds intriguing, here's a link to the article. Author's Note:  If you find my work valuable, I would be greatly indebted if you would take a minute to follow me on  Twitter ,  Facebook , and/or  Google+ . My goal is for my work to remain entirely free of cost to my readers, and growing my following such that I generate an increasing number of page views will hopefully allow me to keep it this way.

In previous articles for both Seeking Alpha and this blog , I have analyzed the iShares Core S&P Total Market ETF ( ITOT ) . BlackRock, Inc . recently announced huge changes to this ETF, effective December 18, 2015. First, at least for a short time, it became the cheapest ETF ever offered to the public. Secondly, it will be tied to a much broader index going forward, one that in my view much more accurately reflects the total U.S. market. In a new article for Seeking Alpha, I take an in-depth look at all of these changes. Particularly if you are a Fidelity Brokerage client, I encourage you to check out my analysis. If you have ignored ITOT in the past in favor of competing ETFs, this article may encourage you to take a second look. Author's Note: If you find my work valuable, I would be greatly indebted if you would take a minute to follow me on Twitter , Facebook , and Google+ . My goal is for my work to remain entirely free of cost to my readers, and growing my follow...

I recently wrote an article on the topic of portfolio rebalancing that was selected as an Editors' Pick On Seeking Alpha. Here is an excerpt from the article: . . . Much like the landscape around your home, your asset allocation needs regular maintenance. When you landscaped your home (or started a garden, as the case may be), you likely worked with design and installation professionals to pick exactly the right plants for each location depending on your climate zone, the correct sun/shade mix and similar factors. No doubt, it all looked absolutely spectacular upon completion. However, left untended, your landscape or garden will not look nearly as good even weeks later, not to mention a year or more. In fact, it might ultimately look so bad that it would be hard for an impartial observer to discern that there had ever been a design or plan. People with a scientific mind call this entropy, one definition of which is "a gradual decline into disorder." Your asset allo...