ETF Monkey

I recently published the Q2 update for The ETF Monkey Vanguard Core Portfolio. As my readers may recall, I set up a variant of this portfolio that I called The ETF Monkey Vanguard Core + REIT Portfolio . This idea was based on my personal portfolio, in which I maintain a dedicated allocation to REITs. For those interested, the above-linked article explains the rationale for this, as well as features the fact that I set up this particular variant by removing a rather arbitrary 2.5% weighting from each of the asset classes in the "base" portfolio such that I ended up with an initial weighting of 7.5% for REITs. A commenter on one of my recent Seeking Alpha articles suggested that REITs are a useful addition to a diversified portfolio. It was this comment that led me to develop this quick update on my own variant of such a portfolio. Here, then, as of the market close on July 25, 2016, is the cumulative performance of The ETF Monkey Vanguard Core + REIT Portfolio: F...

I know I go on and on about disciplined rebalancing. In this article , I also address the concept that each asset class in your portfolio can be viewed as a form of "currency," and can be expensive or cheap. Today, I merely wanted to share a quick real-world example of how this worked in my personal portfolio. The picture below is a 6-month graph from Yahoo Finance. The blue line represents the Vanguard REIT ETF (VNQ), the red line the Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU) and the green line the S&P 500 average. You will quickly notice that both VNQ and, even more dramatically, VPU have outperformed the S&P. As a result, the "overweight" indicator recently flashed up for both of them in my portfolio, to the tune of about 7-8% overweight. The red arrows represent my two recent sales to bring them back in line; VNQ on 5/9 and VPU on 5/13. Want to know a little secret? As I write this, both are now slightly underweight in my portfolio. The sharp drop you see in...

In an article dated 7/22/15, I introduced the ETF Monkey Vanguard Core + REIT Portfolio . As outlined in that article, this is a variant of the ETF Monkey Vanguard Core Portfolio that I developed as a writer for Seeking Alpha . Following the various links provided, readers can trace the building blocks used to construct both portfolios as little or as much as desired. In each variant, the basic premise was that an investor can build a highly-diversified, low-cost, portfolio using a small number of ETFs. In the case of this portfolio, four ETFs are used. As outlined in the original article, this portfolio was "purchased" at the 6/30/15 closing prices. As a reference point, we will use the S&P 500 index, which closed at 2,063.12 on 6/30/15. Q3 Update

I recently wrote a series of articles for the Seeking Alpha website, for which I have the privilege of being a certified author . The initial articles covered, in detail, three ETFs from the Vanguard family which can be used very nicely to build a simple, yet incredibly well-diversified portfolio. These are the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF , the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF , and the Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF .  Ultimately, those articles culminated in a final article in which I presented The ETF Monkey Vanguard Core Portfolio . In that article, I developed several suggested weightings for each of the three components, based on an investor's age and risk tolerance. I accomplished this by working from the guidance available by reviewing the portfolio composition and weighting of various professionally-managed  Vanguard Target Date funds. Finally, I selected one and built a hypothetical $50,000 portfolio, the performance of which I will track going forward...

What Is a REIT? The initials REIT stand for  Real Estate Investment Trust . As one might quickly, and rightly, conclude from the name; a REIT is a corporate entity that invests in real estate. What makes REITs somewhat unique from other entities that might invest in real estate as part of their business is their tax status. To qualify as a REIT, a company must agree to distribute at least 90% of its earnings to its investors in the form of dividends. As a practical matter, many REITs distribute 100% of their income to investors such that they owe no corporate tax. Characteristics of REITs You might be surprised to discover that much of the real estate you see as you move about your daily life is owned by REITs. This can include everything from downtown Manhattan office buildings to suburban outlet malls to high-quality apartment complexes to mobile home parks. As you might imagine, REITs derive most of their income from  rents  on such properties. If they invest...