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"Think this through with me". (RPGAX)

edited March 2021 in Fund Discussions
"Let me know your mind." Uncle John's Band, The Grateful Dead. Enjoy the FULL album, HERE:


How much of my stuff should I transfer into RPGAX?
I want to keep a retired man's less risky portfolio. I'm 52% in bonds, and I like the monthly dividends--- though not needing them, yet. Those are being re-invested. Some of those bonds are in PRWCX, too. I do want a healthy amount in stocks, though--- with heirs in mind. I honestly cannot see me using the PRINCIPAL in the portfolio. With wife's income, I don't need to do it. The small chunks I take each year can certainly grow back through the following year. And if the Market goes South, I will just refrain from taking that annual chunk. That's as much of a strategy as I can describe.

Stocks are still 40% of portfolio. 11% is already in foreign stuff. And RPGAX holds just a bit more in foreign stuff than it does in US stuff. But bonds comprise the plurality. ...I don't want to be performance-chasing. I surely don't want to REPLACE PRWCX. I've got a small amount in foreign smid-caps, too, in PRIDX. (Both PRWCX and PRIDX are closed.) Or should I just wait and save $$$ in order to invest in RPGAX? Maybe that makes the most sense. But I just consolidated and concentrated my stuff, deliberately, before retiring here to live in the sun. (Wet season has been WET, though!)

I'd be glad for your input about this. RPGAX has drifted in and out of my attention for quite a while. Thank you.

Comments

  • Best Dead album of all time. Just my opinion. Perfect soother for these times.
  • @Catch: I have been pondering the same question, i.e., whether or not to put more ex-bond cash to work in an allocation fund. I have kept a relatively small percentage of the portfolio (whose earnings, like you, I do not need for living expenses) in RPGAX and a large slice of the pie in TMSRX. Even though I am long since retired, I am among those who believe in keeping more than 50% in equities. I am leaning towards a TRP target-date fund, using the "end" date with the equity percentage I desire. If I become more conservative, I can always exchange for a tamer version. These TDFs enjoy TRP's massive resources, sterling records, and the diversification of the fund-of-funds structure. I have shown myself to be a poor bond fund investor, so I'm willing to give up trying. RPGAX still appeals to me, so the debate continues.
  • Hi @BenWP
    Your reply would be for Crash, not Catch; but he should receive the notification of your reply.
    Side note: nice to see some song birds returning and the buds are swelling on the silver maple trees. Always a good sign for my old bones in Michigan.
  • edited March 2021
    @Crash and @BenWP,
    I think we are thinking along the same line. In order to simply our lives, we have been consolidate the holdings in our tax-deferred accounts. Our 401(K) accounts have moved to a Vanguard target date funds and the returns have been quite respectable as shown in 2020. Certainly we appreciate to consolidate from 10 funds to just one.

    Outside the 401(K), we are also considering to use TRP's target date funds as the core holding and complement it with our favorite funds such as PRWCX and TMSRX. Several things to like about TRP target date funds:
    1. Their flexible thinking on asset allocation and how to make the necessary changes in order for the investors to meet their future goals. In this low yield environment, traditional bond allocation may not work. See Sebastien Page's WealthTrack on Feb 20th, 2021.
    https://mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/54612/wealthtrack-weekly-investment-show-with-consuelo-mack#latest

    Vanguard takes on a more traditional asset allocation approach.

    2. Solid active-managed funds plus a small allocation of S&P500 index fund.

    3. Reasonable expense ratio (but not the lowest as in those of Vanguard)

    Note that TRP offers two series of target date funds (Retirement and Target date) and their glide path is slight different. Retirement series is a bit more aggressive one of the two. I think RPGAX is a reasonable choice but I prefer the bond funds used in the Retirement funds.
  • edited March 2021
    TMSRX doesn't appeal to me, at first glance. I don't even know what TRP lists as being contained in its portfolio. But M* (my handy go-to) shows a single item. Feels like a "black box" to me. I'm glad to hear from you all. Being a rank amateur, I don't like to get fancy. To my mind, the advantage to RPGAX is its global reach. Yet I see not much at all in the portfolio that will benefit from small-cap successes. I suppose I'm already certain to hold onto smid-international PRIDX. My small-cap exposure is 11% of total. In the US, it isn't even 3% of my total. PRDSX.

    I've always, since I started investing, managed to paint myself into a corner. What I mean is: I started with a small stake from an inheritance, but after that, my stuff grew minutely, in baby-steps over time, with each paycheck. Wanting the tax advantage, virtually all of it went into my 403b. (I was lucky to be able to self-direct that baby.). I never had any stash in a standard, taxable account that I could rearrange freely. For years, I've resisted using an agent that can very easily move money around for me, like Jones or Schwab or the others. Now I'm fully committed to the "KISS" Principle, while babysitting the portfolio myself.
  • Crash said:

    TMSRX doesn't appeal to me, at first glance. I don't even know what TRP lists as being contained in its portfolio.

    T Rowe Price lists complete holdings of each of its funds within in each quarter of a year on its website. This is a link to the last quarter of 2020 for TMSRX:

    https://individual.troweprice.com/staticFiles/gcFiles/pdf/phmsrq4.pdf

    If that doesn't work try this page and then select the fund. From the new page that appears select the quarter:

    https://www.troweprice.com/personal-investing/funds/mutual-funds/prospectuses-reports/portfolio-holdings.html

  • @Sven: thanks for reminding me about the two different types of TDFs at TRP. In my retirement account at TIAA, my former employer’s choices determine the funds I can use. The Vanguard funds you allude to are what I have chosen, while I use TIAA index funds for pure equity exposure. Harbor Capital Appreciation is the only actively managed stock fund I own in that account.

    @Catch: sorry for mistaking you for @Crash, or visa versa. One COVID activity we initiated is feeding the birds. After finally figuring out how to keep the deer and squirrels from stealing the birdseed, I still need to replenish the feeder daily because our place has become very popular. I wonder if feeding the woodpeckers will deter them from attacking our cedar siding.
  • @BenWP - Nope, not as long as the insects keep using the cedar siding for shelter. Hanging suet helps a lot.
  • Thanks, @Mark, for some reason we do have a suet hanger, so I have an errand to do.
  • edited March 2021
    All good. Makes me want to grab colored pen and start drawing circles.

    While most published model portfolios represent the broad basics like cash, bonds, stocks (foreign and domestic) you can get creative and construct your own model based on fund types. It’s the fund type that adds or decreases your risk profile and more often than not impacts your performance - nearer term anyway. Here’s some possible sleeves in a portfolio: Cash, Short Duration Bond, Intermediate term bond, international bond, conservative equity (like PRWCX), Aggressive Equity (like TRBCX), Balanced, Alternative Investments.

    While we tend to focus on TMSRX as the “alternative fund”, consider that things like real estate, natural resources, high yield, floating rate and “dynamic income” funds (which short bonds) are things you might also toss into your alternative camp. “Alternative” is a pretty poorly defined concept - so you are free to play around with ingredients a bit. The idea behind alternative investing is that those holdings tend to “zig” when other areas “zag” - providing a smoother ride.

    RE: RPGAX - good fund. I own it. Perhaps omitted in the discussion is that 10% is allocated to a Blackstone “Fund of Hedge Funds” - providing some of that moderating alternative impact and allowing the fund to cut its bond weighting from 40% to 30%. Generally the hedge fund holding’s been a drag on performance. Also adds somewhat to the ER. You’re paying big bucks to those hedge fund operators, albeit they represent just 10% of the fund.

    RE: TMSRX - Agree with @Crash that it’s something of a black box. But TRP hardly qualifies as such, and it’s their highly talented managers supported by Price’s deep global research that goes into the machinations of that complex fund. Owning a small bit of it for 6 months or so and comparing daily performance to your other funds is a good way to get to know it and at least partially understand it. The appeal of this fund has more to do with its stabilizing influence - especially on down days - than as a money maker.
  • edited March 2021
    Several years ago it was @msf who brought the difference to my attention.
    https://mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/comment/129057/#Comment_129057
    It would be instructive to compare the two equivalent funds of the same year and see the % difference. Also there is an institutional series of TDF that requires $1M minimum to invest. They are for business retirement accounts and pension fund.

    TIAA is a good company for teacher retirement accounts. We use Vanguard index funds to invest for our kids 529 college funds. It is the power of compounding of invested $ that help us to achieve our goal. Same goal here to invest for retirement using T. Rowe Price.

    As we age we would like to reduce the complexicity of managing the portfolio by embracing target dated funds. When our mental capacity is reduced at later part of our lives, TDF would be very helpful to achieve our goal.
  • Ben said:

    Crash said:

    TMSRX doesn't appeal to me, at first glance. I don't even know what TRP lists as being contained in its portfolio.

    T Rowe Price lists complete holdings of each of its funds within in each quarter of a year on its website. This is a link to the last quarter of 2020 for TMSRX:

    https://individual.troweprice.com/staticFiles/gcFiles/pdf/phmsrq4.pdf

    If that doesn't work try this page and then select the fund. From the new page that appears select the quarter:

    https://www.troweprice.com/personal-investing/funds/mutual-funds/prospectuses-reports/portfolio-holdings.html

    Ah, thanks very much for that! Almost too much information. But it's great to see it all, spelled-out in front of me.:)
  • @Sven: I have the largest slice of our assets with TIAA because of my employment. My current plan is to move what’s now with Schwab and TDA to a brokerage account at TIAA so that my family will have only one wealth manager to deal with when I can’t or don’t want to be involved. I’ve been with the same advisor there for some 20 years, so I feel comfortable my heirs will be in good hands. Our arrangement will resemble moving into a retirement community that provides various levels of care starting with fully independent living and ending with that stage I don’t want to contemplate.

    @hank’s comments on the various TRP funds/strategies are right on. At this point, I’m using TMSRX as an alternative to cash and to part of what might normally be bonds for me. PTIAX remains, IOFAX is gone, and the remaining non-equity money is destined for one or two allocation funds, surely with TRP. I doubt I’d know of these options without MFO and its skilled commentators for which I’m grateful.
  • grateful. Yes. +1. Indeed.
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