It's been a while since I posted my last update. Work was extremely busy, working 60 to 70 hours per week in a highly stressed environment, then switched my job in mid July. My new job isn't any easier in terms of the amount of work, at least initially.
March to July performance:
Cash & Savings: $87,194 => $105,322 (20.79%)
Foreign Currency: $37,717 => $37,717 (0%)
Domestic Brokerage: $223,675 => $219,837 (-1.72%)
International Brokerage: $229,632 => $234,918 (2.30%)
401(k): $125,620 => $130,807 (4.13%)
IRA: $42,534 > $43,022 (1.15%)
Roth IRA: $104,359 => $105,873 (1.45%)
Total Assets: $850,731 => $877,496 (3.15%)
The big jump in cash position is due to 3 factors - 1) my friend paid me back a $10,000 load I lent him a few years back; 2) signing bonus from my new job; 3) unused PTO days paid off by my previous employer.
In the last few months I also deployed cash in various accounts into a few mutual funds. My long term goal is to get out of stocks except the blue chips I bought years ago and just invest in funds but I may have gone into another extreme because now I have 17 stocks but 24 funds!
In August my old 401(k) account will be transferred to a brokerage firm that I already have several accounts with so there's some review I need to do after the transfer is over.. Also it just happened that my new company's 401(k) plan is also with the same brokerage firm so now I have an individual account, Rollover IRA, Roth IRA, old 401(k), and new 401(k) all with the same firm. Maybe this will make me one of their top once everything is said and done.
July 2014
August 9th, 2014 at 06:49 pm
August 9th, 2014 at 06:55 pm 1407610547
August 9th, 2014 at 08:25 pm 1407615912
In your shoes I'd see an independent CFP for an evaluation of holdings. Do you see a turnaround likely in losers or are the stocks down more than 7%? If there is a loss, can you take it against gains for income tax or is it in a retirement account? If it helps, we all have losers and it's best to forgive yourself, cut the loss and put the remaining sums in a MF that is making profit and will get you back your sum loss over time. Even Blue chips go down, do you have stop loss markers?
August 16th, 2014 at 04:03 am 1408161819
With all the decisions I do think seeking professional help is the right thing to do but wonder where to find a good one.
August 16th, 2014 at 01:54 pm 1408197265
Start with the fund with the largest value in your portfolio and see if the top holding are repeated in each category. Use a highlighter to emphasis the MER , The Wealthy Barber [Chilton] or any often mentioned on SA. Many of us follow the 'Couch Potato' theory buying units of Index Funds allocated by type suitable to our age and risk comfort zone.
August 16th, 2014 at 01:58 pm 1408197504
We keep touting Vanguard because it has such low MERs and once you meet it's criteria there is no fee. They have advisors and you need to ask the individual you speak to to outline their credentials. They can handle a transfer of your holdings so that your retirement portfolio doesn't accidentally get cashed out to cause tax and penalty headaches with IRS.
It could be helpful to look at a couple of easy read books like The Automatic Millionaire or any often mentioned on SA. Many of us follow the 'Couch Potato' theory buying units of Index Funds allocated by type suitable to our age and risk comfort zone.
September 4th, 2014 at 03:13 pm 1409843635
The adviser is also going to make a proposal to me to see if I'm interested in using their managed account service. I don't think I will do it if the fee is 1%, that is just too much.