About to start a small portfolio, quick tips on where to put it.

So I have some money in a schwab account not doing anything. It's time to do something with it. This is going to be a short term investment, about a year, maybe a bit more. But primarily it is a learning tool. I can take quarterly loss and am a moderate risk person.

The plan is to put 83% of the investment in a mid cap blend or value mutual fund, and about 16% in large cap stocks. Like I said this is a learning tool and the money will probably be used for school in the next 2 years. So if I saw a 10% return on stocks at any point I would probably sell those, and invest a smaller amount back. The mutual fund (thinking about doing an index to avoid higher fees) would hang out until my year to year and a half approaches and just be sold off or reinvested in something with lower risk if it wasnt needed.

At the present I'm shopping around for stocks and funds, so my question is what flavor of investments do you experts see doing well? What sector/industry are you looking at short term? Tech? Industrial? Chemical?

Any other tips I should consider?

Thanks guys.

 

biotech mutual funds are doing INCREDIBLE right now

 

Tech has been doing pretty good for me lately, but where I've really been killing it has been my international funds. Not necessarily emerging markets, but the more developed countries have been doing awesome for me. I can get more specific if you want, I just have to pull it up.

 

Good to hear! Will compare some of those. Thanks!

Really? Hmm. Wasn't totally keen on investing international but if it's stable might look into it. What countries have you been doing well in?

 

bitcoin and like companies

 

Uuhhh ya how about no? I am not going to touch p2p and crowd sourcing companies.

 

Asia particularly. I'm 100% in funds, so no specific investment, but let me do some research on what my funds are comprised of and let you know.

 

next your going to suggest the iraq denar

 

The Zimbabwe financial market is a better investment than that crap

 

guarantee there is multiple financial advisors that are members here. not saying they are any good.

 

Haha there are some pretty knowledgeable people here. And you can tell who knows what they are taking about. I'm just looking for tips on what sectors people have done well in. I'll pick my own funds from there.

 

Yup. Got all the basics and principles covered, just looking for what specifically to put my money in.

Diversifying in assets without correlation lessen the overall risk of your portfolio. defanitely if your time span is 25 years you can take some huge risks and paper losses. Most long term investments are like 90 10 stocks and mutual funds. Only within 3 to 5 years do you want to dial back an reinvest in more funds and less stocks

 

If you have a Schwab account you should be able to trade market-cap index ETFs for free.

Assuming that is true, here is what I would do (this is more complex than I like but it is based off of the schwab offerings)-

10% SCHH. In the US, REITS must pay 90% of their income as dividends. Best held in a tax sheltered account though (IRA, 401k).

30% SCHB. Broad based total US stock market.

20% SCHC. Broad based international equities

10% SCHE. Emerging market international equities. Compliments SCHC.

I like to keep 30% bonds. Some people hate bonds. I view them as an important tool for portfolio diversification. Your horizon is very short, so it shouldn't matter if you pick SCHZ or SCHO.

My advice- if you need the money in a year don't invest. 10% return is unrealistic. Long term you should invest in broad based market index funds with LOW fees. Don't "chase" the next hot thing, it is already too late. I don't believe in sectors, I believe you are better served with asset class diversification (i.e. bonds, US equities, international equities). If you own a broad based market fund you own the sectors. Stay away from individual stocks, too much specific risk.

Good luck!

 

If you do decide to go for sectors Vanguard has some good ETFs, you can buy from schwab and pay trade commission or open a brokerage account at Vanguard (might be a $20 a year fee unless you go paperless, you should ask beforehand).

The sector ETFs are nice because you can buy just one share or as many as you want. The mutual fund equivalents generally require an initial investment of $100,000.

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/etf/all?assetclass=ss&assetclass=ss

As I said before I don't mess with sectors, but there are lots of sector opportunities if you so choose to pursue them.

 

http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Investment_policy_statement

Maybe think about starting out with a personal IPS?

Lots of people took their money out of the market after 08 and lost huge returns. A personal IPS is something to look at during those times.

 

CVRR and ALDW should put up a big earnings surprise in Feb...analysts don't know how to analyze these dern refiners.


My biggest holdings are SDRL, VALE, ALDW, NYMT, ENPH, EPD, KMP+KMR


Etc...

 

My 2 cents:

If you're seriously investing for the future, don't dabble with individual stocks. Stick with proven funds. If you're playing/gambling, knock yourself out with stocks. Question you should ask yourself: If this money were gone tomorrow, would you care? You want to use it for school, so I'm guessing that's a no.

Schwab has some good funds. I have my money with Vanguard (401K, Roth IRA, and a brokerage account), they have a great selection of funds with very low expense ratios. These are two of my favorite holdings:

• Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSMX or VTSAX) - Provides a way to invest in essentially the entire US stock market since it has holdings in almost every stock on the exchange, amount of holding is based on the size of the stock. Top 5 holdings are Apple, Exxon, Google, GE, and Microsoft.
• Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund (VGTSX or VTIAX) - The international version of the above stock, tracks most global stock exchanges, great way to have international exposure.

When you invest into one of these funds, you're part of a very, very large pool. VTSMX's total net assets are $307 billion, and VGTSX is $113 billion.

I'm "down" 3.24% compared to the beginning of the year, but I just shrug my shoulders because it's a short-term thing. That's where the power of dollar-cost averaging comes into play. By continuously investing through the year, I'm buying into investments at cheaper prices, getting more for my money, and reducing my average price. Takes the worry out of timing the market. I care more about the growth, like the $4,500 in dividends at the end of December.

To be honest, if you're only going to invest for a year, it's not really worth the trouble. True investing is pretty boring... you want stable growth, and are concerned with 5-10 year spans, not what your investment is now compared to last week. Since you'll be using the money for school, I'd recommend a CD. 1 year rates are 1% right now. Yes, it's boring, yes, it's only 1%, but do you want to gamble your school money?

 

CVRR shit a brick on earnings ... Their hedging messed up an opportunity to enjoy a profitable 4Q

Still hoping for a good 4Q for SDRL

 

Ammo, Silver, Gold (bullion), Land!!! Have ya read about all the banksters leaping to their deaths recently, Only fools re-invest into the system, Just sayin

 

Does silver & gold even keep up witb inflation in the past 3 years?