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Open Thread: What Are You Buying, Selling or Pondering?

edited March 2016 in Off-Topic
Not sure what others might be doing or thinking; but, I thought I'd post what I have now begun to do.

I have now started to pare equities back within my portfolio as I was a buyer in equities during the recent selling stampede. Now, with their rebound over the past month or so I have become overweight in equities and above my target allocation to them. In addition, I feel equities as measured by the S&P 500 Index currently with a TTM P/E Ratio at 23.6 are richly priced and thus a rebalance was warranted in part just based upon their valuation plus I was overweight in them.

If equities continue their upward run and if earnings fail to catch up with valuation thus reducing their TTM P/E Ratio then I may sell some more off before summer arrives again reducing my allocation to equities and raising my allocation to cash while I await the next stock market pullback.

For those that would like to read what Jeffrey Saut has to say on the subject "Buying Stampede" I have provided a link to his weekly commentary below.

http://www.raymondjames.com/pointofview/ian-mcavity

I wish all ... "Good Investing."

Old_Skeet

Comments

  • Thanks so much for sharing Skeet. I appreciate your insights. I'm curious what your current equity allocation is and how much you are reducing it by? I'm currently 65-70% equities.
  • edited March 2016
    Hi @MikeW,

    Thank you for your question.

    My current allocation to equities ranges between a low of 45% to a high of 55% with the target weighting set at 50%. I was at about a 53% weighting when I started to trim based upon elevated equity valuations and also since I was above my traget weighting. Currently, I am at about 51% equity.

    I hope this insight helps.

    Old_Skeet
  • beebee
    edited March 2016
    @Old_Skeet,

    I believe I have asked you this question before, but was hoping you could help me re-remember.

    As you move in and out of these managed funds aren't you "managing the manager's" decisions to do exactly what you are attempting to doing...raising cash...de-risking...re-risking. Isn't the job of the manager of your funds (part of what you pay them for) to do exactly what you are doing?

    Re-allocating back to a target is one way of adding performance to a portfolio's target performance so I appreciate that part of your portfolio maintenance, but I guess my main question is:

    Do you attempt to find fund managers who can manage your funds through shorter periods of the market while you make a few portfolio reallocation decisions over longer periods?

    I guess all of this work on your behalf has come with a fair amount of success so I'm not trying to be dismissive of your strategy, but as one poster mentioned in a different thread:

    "...we all need to think about simplifying our portfolio decision making as we age."

    I have been attempting to find fund managers who make allocation decisions for me (PRWCX, BRUFX, VWINX, VTMFX). These funds often keep me out of the kitchen on a monthly / quarterly / yearly basis. I will spend time reviewing whether my fund choices have actually reduced overall downside risk while still achieving enough upside growth.
  • @MFO Members: Took the proceeds from FBTCX split 50/50 and increased my position in SPY and bought FRUSX for a steady income stream. If the Fed doesn't go crazy with rate increases, I think utilities will do well the remainder of 2016.
    Regards,
    Ted
  • @Ted, still holding my biotech and hc positions, although must say its a test of my patience. Today this sector for some reason is on a tear. More volatility to follow I'm sure. I hold all my health care positions in iras, a bit easier to cope with than taxable account. I hold FBTIX, PJP and PHSZX. Awaiting completion of transfer of regular ira to Fidelity, where I will be adding VWINX, which was unavailable to buy at ML where I still have my roth.
  • I have been attempting to find fund managers who make allocation decisions for me...
    Same with me Bee. I recently opened positions in SGENX and DSENX to go along witha substantial stake in PRWCX and LCORX. DSENX of course doesn't have a lot of history, so I'm hoping it just doesn't end up being, as Junkster says, another on a long list of group-think funds. SGENX at least has a pedigree.

    Also did a trend play on a bank loan ETF, BKLN. That's on close watch, but has trended nicely the last 2 months.
  • edited March 2016
    Ted, I think it's a safe bet the Fed won't "go crazy" with interest rates anytime soon. (To say more, however, might precipitate a political discussion which I will avoid.)
  • Value may well be in recovery mode. MOAT was a holding I sold about nine months ago because its methodology took it into energy. I also sold BFOR In the same time frame. Both holdings were nicely profitable. Since then, MOAT has clocked the Barron's index ETF, and I have re-entered MOAT. The fund is no longer over-weight energy. Quarterly re-constitution of the holdings has worked better than the six-month schedule of BFOR. Vast difference in number of stocks held, but I like to track the two of them to get a sense of the market.
  • Looking ahead to a new job with new retirement accounts/policies/options starting up in August, and trying to figure out how to position my funds accordingly. Also, trying to figure out what my options are with a 457b account after severing the old job. Mostly focused on what my plan is for PRHSX as I don't want to own a proliferation of funds after this and that specialty fund might be one I can cut. Also trying to figure out what a reasonable percentage of my portfolio ARTWX and GPMCX should be (turning 30 this year), currently it's 22% which seems too high.
  • Hi, JLev. Take a look at David's commentary from February in which he provides an overview of his portfolio breakdown... some helpful ideas there. David keeps it fairly simple. http://www.mutualfundobserver.com/2016/02/february-1-2016/
    Old Skeet also posts a detailed analysis of his portfolio in different discussion sections. I don't have that link here. I've also found the lifecycle funds for the Thrift Savings Plan to be quite helpful and try to emulate their asset allocation based on my own expected retirement date. https://www.tsp.gov/InvestmentFunds/FundOptions/index.html
  • MikeW: Thanks for your post. I forgot about TSP & would like to see how they made out for 2015.
    Derf
  • edited March 2016
    Hi @bee,

    Sorry for the delay in answering your question as I have been away from the board most of the day working on my wife's 'special' assignment she had for me.

    Thank you for your question. I don’t mind making comment again on how I govern within the portfolio.

    The hybrid funds which are found in the hybrid income sleeve located in the income area and the global hybrid and domestic hybrid sleeves located in the growth and income area make up about forty percent of the overall portfolio. I hold these funds for several reasons one being for their walking asset allocation as they pretty much can invest in a wide spectrum of investments and can make weighting adjustments from time-to-time as to how the fund manager is reading the market. I don’t tweak the funds weighting within these sleeves very often.

    During the selling stampede I added to select positions found in the global equity and domestic equity sleeves located in the growth and income area of the portfolio. After equities recovered and I became above my target weighting to them I just recently rebalanced my allocation in equities by eliminating several equity positions found in the growth area of the portfolio trimming it back to it's target allocation weighting of 15% while keeping the growth and income area at it’s target weighting of 35% making no adjustment there. Not to long ago my weighting targets were 30% for the growth and income area and 20% for the growth area. With this, there has been a weighting shift to hold more in value related funds while keeping the overall allocation to equities at its target weighting of 50%.

    Most of the funds that I make the most adjustments in are going to be in the equity sleeves found in both the growth and income area and growth area of the portfolio. These are the ones that I tweak more often as to how I am reading the markets. About thirty percent of the portfolio will be found in these sleeves.

    I hope this answers your question.

    Old_Skeet
  • Hi Skeet!
    Been selling everything that's not core.....50% cash now. Love rallies......they make me seem so smart for a week or so. Will wait for the oil talks next month to see what I will do. I think the pajama people will determine the next move in the market. JMO now.....
    God bless
    the Pudd

  • @Puddnhead: "50% cash now", you must be sleeping on a very thick mattress.
    Regards,
    Ted
  • I've been DCA'ing into VMVFX over the past few months. Also, I've been putting my near-cash proceeds into NEARX.
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