i have a little bit of a broader question. based on max's mainx-holding size, i calculate max's total portfolio size to be around $120k. for some of us, that's a small amount; for others, quite large. my question is, does or should portfolio size have any bearing on portfolio composition?

You guys!!! :)
I remember very well getting recommendations from some of you in here, and I'm grateful. I just needed to feel more pain, I suppose--- and then also to have someone FACE TO FACE confirm what you all had told me. Then I moved pretty quickly. He suggested I hold up to 70% equities, in light of the prospect that I might NEVER cash-in and just leave my whole stash to loved ones. And, I should reduce my EM exposure. I do not think I'll reduce my EM quite as much as he suggested. My wife and I do have a legal will. Her brothers and my son (first marriage) are part of that picture.
I had been grossly overweight PREMX. It was up to about 35% of total porfolio. I stayed with it for several months too long, after the environment in the late Spring turned sour for bonds. And I'm sick of filling out forms, so I was bound and determined to find suitable funds WITHIN TRP. I chose PRWCX and PRESX. (And I own TRAMX at TRP, too.) All of these are Rollover IRAs.
After the New Year gets here, a substantial chunk of my MAPIX (Trad. IRA) will be fed to MAPOX (Trad. IRA.) The amount I'll be moving will be just less than one-third of my current MAPIX total.
(Sorry, but at the moment, I cannot be very precise, until I see the actual dollar amounts on statements and transaction confirmations.)
I'm taking some goodly profit from Mairs & Power small-cap MSCFX and feeding it to MAPOX, as well. MAPOX and PRWCX will be my twin domestic core anchors. And I'm taking TRAMX profit and feeding that to PRWCX.
Here's the picture right now, before making the "MAPIX to MAPOX" move, and the other steps I've just mentioned:
1. DLFNX 2.49% of total (Just treading water. I'm down literally only -$10.00 there, but that will be given back to me with the monthly distribution. That's the way it's been since I bought-in, at the Market top. Regular, taxable acct.)
2. MAPOX 8.09% Trad. IRA
3. MSCFX 3.33% Trad. IRA
(Both of these will be distributing nice year-end pay-outs, very late, as of next Monday, 30th December.)
4. MAPIX 36.27% of total. That will shortly be substantially smaller, about 22% of total. (Trad. IRA.)
5. MAINX 3.6% of total. It's treated me well. I added $1,000 lately, so it's up from $3000 invested to $4,000 invested. It's grown to $4,316.53 exactly. That extra $1,000 hasn't had much time to grow, yet. (Trad. IRA.)
6. MACSX. Held since 2003. I think it was my very first mutual fund investment. Regular, taxable account. It's 2.58% of total. This is the fund we "raid" as need be. But rarely.
7. SFGIX 2.76% Regular, taxable.
8. TRAMX 3.22% I bought it just when it stopped sinking and started growing, after watching it for years. Good luck, there. (Rollover IRA.)
9. PRWCX 17.81% (Rollover IRA.)
10. PREMX (Rollover IRA) 3.88%, down from 35%.
11. PRESX (Rollover IRA.) 15.97%.
ELEVEN funds. Too many. But it is prudent not to have too much in one place. The smaller holdings will remain, even SFGIX, which I was lately whining about. But I have learned, I think, not to be "married" to my choices forever. The PREMX move was late, but there was no disaster involved at all, by any means. I missed out on several months' profit in those other TRP funds, but caught the year-end pay-outs. Did I "buy" the dividends? I suppose. PRESX has been surging, even since the December pay-out. And since I made the changes in November, the portfolio is up nicely. Live and learn. :)

Sold HYS & last of PIMIX; bought PMHIX, NCOAX.LW, and a starter kit in RSIVX. Also traded out most of MAINX for GBOAX.LW.

What an interesting thread. Thanks Mike for starting it. Because of this site I've bought over the last 2 years SUBFX, RPHYX, RSIVX, RNCOX, GPIOX, HUSIX, MAINX, ARIVX and SFGIX -- half my fund portfolio. (My other, older positions, mostly due to M*, are ARTKX, FAIRX, FAAFX, MPACX, BRAGX, BRUSX, CIPSX and VPCCX -- all great funds.) I dropped ARIVX after six months and replaced it with half HUSIX and half RPHYX, a decision I feel has both increased my returns and lowered my risk. Aside from ARIVX, about which I've posted a few times already (I lost faith not because of poor performance, but because his management reports convinced me he was a tea partier, convinced that government debt was going to smother the recovery before it started and that the thing to do was load up on miners and precious metals) I've been happy with all these funds. Sure, MAINX is down a few points since I bought it, but it's way overperformed its category, and I do think you need to give a fund at least 3 years if its management seems talented.
In retrospect, like Mike I probably didn't need an Asian bond fund, but the excitement/groupthink about MAINX drove me into it. But MAINX is doing what it is supposed to (not its fault that I chose to buy right before mon pol tightening in the U.S. came into view), it is a small position, and I will probably hold on to it at least through the next cycle of irrational exuberance about Asia.

I've been thinking about the Junkster coined term,

MFO Group Think Funds

. I believe he is absolutely right with that phrase. But I don't think it is necessarily a bad thing. Some really good funds appear here on MFO that I may not have heard of any place else. But I have bought into funds that didn't feel right after I brought them into my line-up. At least they didn't feel right as long term holdings after purchase.
So, I thought I would list the GTF (group think funds) that have been talked about here on MFO over the years, the ones I've tried that worked and the ones that didn't fit so well.
My GTF's that worked out well:
YAFFX, MACSX, FPACX, PRHSX, FAAFX, LSBRX, ODVYX,
And though I only bought into these funds this year, GPGOX and RGHVX are becoming favorites.
Some that didn't work out:
ARIVX, yes, all managers miscalculate at times, but this one felt Hussman-esk
USAGX, TGLDX, worst buys I ever made. not for a buy and hold portfolio imho, Vegas betting only
MAINX, why? it fills such a small nitch
HSTRX, HSGFX, huge alkaloids before and after 2008. but the manager's (lack of) skills became evident.
PAUIX, just wasn't right for me. In fact PIMCO's derivative games just don't set well with me.
PRPFX, great when gold and long treasuries were strong, but that static portfolio for the next 10 years?
Anyone else want to give there best and worst

Group Think Funds

Moved some $ out of MAINX into GBOAX.lw, plan to pick up a chunk of PMHIX after the cap gain distribution, and added NCOAX.lw with some former PIMIX $ that'd been sitting around for a while. The continuing theme is moving assets toward the middle of the stock-currency/credit-interest rate risk spectrum.

Reply to @hank: I remained fully invested through the '08-'09 Crash, and kept adding to my portfolio, every single month. (Stopped---at retirement, in 2011.) So I'm not among those who missed the substantial gains when the Market took off again later in '09, after having pulled out. But I was, particularly after this past summer, swimming upstream, trying to grow my monthly bond dividend (and reinvest it all) in a stinky environment for bonds and bond funds.
I'm very much aware of the mistake made by those "chasing profits," who get onto the bandwagon late. I've used information gained here at MFO to very beneficial effect, in choosing my mutual funds. I am learning that one can get OUT too late, though. And it's ONE thing to switch from one fund to another while the Market is at or near all-time highs. It's ANOTHER to switch from bond funds to equity funds when the numbers have already been run-up. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but I cannot dwell on NOT having exited sooner. ...At this point, the end-of-year December pay-outs are something to look forward to. At this moment, my.........
-EM bond stake is down to 3.89% of holdings; (PREMX)
-"global" bonds (MAINX) 3.64% (And I notice the biggest holding is Cayman Islands stuff. This fund is going nowhere in terms of share price, but the quarterly divs. are nice. I take that as a good thing in the current negative environment. It's not fallen nearly as much as some other global and/or EM bond funds. And overall, I have indeed made money with it: +7.58%, actually.)
-.....domestic bonds (DLFNX) 2.51%
-That's 10.04% in bonds, so far....
MACSX and SFGIX holds some convertibles, I do believe; and MAPOX and PRWCX hold bonds, too.
MACSX 2.62% of portfolio.
MAPOX 8.02%
PRWCX 17.65%
TRAMX 3.14%
MSCFX 3.24%
SFGIX 2.83%
PRESX 15.34% (developed Europe. I looked. Not a thing "emerging.")
MAPIX 37.11% (I plan to move some of that to MPACX and some to MPGFX.)
Thanks to all. It's one thing to learn. Another to execute. And maybe sometimes, the only way to learn is by executing. "Break a leg," everyone.

Reply to @Old_Joe: Any reason you didn't consider RSIVX for the same management, a little more risk, and a little more yield? (And I'm still holding MAINX, but considering...)

Decided we didn't really need MAINX, sold small position. Added substantially to RHYPX, as they seem to continue tightening on taking new money.

I looked up GBOAX (also load-waived at Fido), and it looks like an interesting global fund. Looks to be pretty actively managed, & not that they're especially comparable, but it did better than MAINX during the taper tantrum.

Reply to @MaxBialystock: I think it's M* that says it's a "world" bond fund; I don't think they have categories for foreign regional bond funds.
Willmatt, it's not an EM bond fund either ... Asia includes a slug of developed markets/economies too, and those are strongly represented in the broadly invested Matthews funds, including MAINX.

Ballast in my portfolio yesterday came from the same funds that provided ballast during 2008-2009: VWELX and TBGVX. MAINX, too, this time (though my position is tiny). ARIVX and MFLDX provided slightly less ballast, so I am getting some answers for my own portfolio.
ARTMX took it on the chin, VEXMX almost as much.

There's interesting stuff here, yet enough of it is sufficiently contradictory so as to leave the reader simply wondering if doing nothing is the best option. I just used M* Instant X-Ray on my portfolio, which I do every once in a while:
Cash 2%
US 9%
Foreign 43%
(TOTAL equities--- all in mutual funds = 52%)
Bonds 44%
The plurality of my stock funds (28%) lands within Morningstar's LARGE VALUE box.
My EXPENSES come to 1.04%, better than the M* hypothetical, similar portfolio, at 1.40%.
Further break-down and dissection:
US equities: 9%
Canada: 7.55%
Latin Amer. 0.86%
UK 3.23%
Dev. Eur 0.21%
Emerg Eur 0.72%
Africa/Middle East 5.11%
Japan 15.55%
Ausralia, NZ 8.40%
Dev. Asia 21.64%
Emerg Asia 27.73%
Japan is always singled-out, but if you combine all Asian/Australian/NZ positions, it comes to 73.32% of stocks owned.)
I'm barbelling with PREMX and MAPIX at each end, the others are much smaller. I did just add $1,000 to MAINX lately, so it shows up with $4,000+ rather than in the $3,000+ neighborhood, where all the others are. USA bonds are with DLFNX, and whatever MAPOX (balanced fund) is holding.
I believe I will harvest profits from MSCFX after year-end pay-outs and deposit it into MAPOX. I may do the same with profits from TRAMX, depositing those profits into PREMX. Still thinking about starting a new position in PRWCX. But my MAPOX covers that base, already, no?

Only two here (31st October, 2013:)
MAINX +.01 cent or 0.09% Matthews Asia Strategic Income
TRAMX +.03 cents or 0.34% TRP Africa/Middle East

Reply to @robertwells: Others make some good suggestions below. Off the top of my head for total return the two obvious suspects are FPACX and PAUDX. Both will hold most anything and will short. SGENX is a global allocator with a traditionally large gold stake. APPLX and GRSPX are traditional allocators that have a bit of a conservative bent as well. Outside the box, some Matthews Asia funds tend to hold REITs and convertable bonds as well as giving some currency diversity. MAINX is reviewed at MFO.
For inflation, PRAFX is reviewed by MFO. It holds equities related to natural resources and REITs. FSRRX holds TIPs, REITs and commodity futures, but in fixed allocations. PCRDX/HACMX holds TIPs and commodity futures throuh derivatives.

That's cause to smile and be glad, for a change. I own a lot of bonds, and mostly of poor quality. PREMX, MAINX, DLFNX -----and MAPOX is a balanced fund with both equities and bonds.
DLFNX = 2.49% of my total portfolio. It is just a hair away now from breaking even again, after a long period of many months, sinking in value. (YTD: down -1.15%)
MAPOX = 7.82% of portf. +15.12% ytd.
PREMX = 37.16% of portf. -5.34%
MAINX = 3.59% of portf. -0.33%

Seafarer still has not risen to a level some might have expected and been waiting to see. It is worldwide, not limited to EM, though. SFGIX.
ALSO: EM debt. It will rise out of its doldrums so long as worldwide equities are not in a swoon. MAINX. I recently added to that one. It amounted to a 33% increase in the dollar-amount I had invested there, originally. Still not a big player in my portfolio.

I'd be interested to know, too! I'm invested in MAINX. Anyone able to shake that around and find out? Thanks, ahead of time.

Speaking of Ms. Kong, anybody have a guess why the MAINX distribution was so small yesterday? .027 per share is around 1/4 of what it has normally been.

CORRECTION: DLFNX +.03 cents or 0.28%...... Double Line always reports late.
BONDS: DODIX + .02 cents, or 0.15%......... MAINX +.06 cents, or 0.59%....
PREMX +.09 cents, or 0.72%.......FNMIX + .10 cents, or 0.64%...... BOND +.35 cents, or 0.34%.