portfolio help

[madinvest]

What do you think about my portfolio - consider that I'm picking ETF from 100 free-trade-ETF from TD Ameritrade:

10% - iShares Barclays TIPS Bond Fund;
20% - Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF;
30% - Vanguard Small Cap ETF;
30% - FTSE All-World ex-US Small Cap ETF;
10% - Vanguard REIT index ETF;


-> This next portfolio is for a friend of mine, that is now 55 years old, so, what do you think about this one?

60% - iShares Barclays 7-10 year treasury Bond fund;
30% - Vanguard Total World Stock index ETF;
10% - Vanguard REIT index ETF;


I'm not sure about 2 things:
-> Asset alocation is correct? (Am I diversified?)
-> This 2 portfolios maybe to expose to US...I prefer maybe be expose to the world and not so much to a particular country...

 

[Sanz]

Backtest. Backtest. Backtest.
Listen to but don't trust people's opinions.
Backtest it yourself.

It won't tell you how it WILL perform but it will give you an idea of what to expect.

If you don't have backtesting software go to http://www.etfreplay.com/combine.aspx
It will take you 5 min to see what to expect.

Keep in mind that US and German bonds have done exceptionally well. They might not continue to do so in the next 10 years. Consider PCY, EMB and other foreign bond funds.

 

[nursebee]

You should go to the Bogleheads forums, read how they like data to be presented, present the data to them. There you will get good answers for this kind of investing.

 

[trade2live]

Your first portfolio equity allocation is all small cap, small cap should generally be seen as an extra diversifier not a core holding which would be large caps.

The second portfolio is super heavy in govt bonds, the worst possible asset class to invest in if you listen to many experts today. Yieds are near zero and if they ever go up , these funds will be killed.