Welcome! I am creating this blog to chronicle various facets relating to the financial markets and investing. Posts will relate to portfolio composition, asset allocation, generic stock picking advice, musings about current financial conditions, analysis of investing strategies, personal performance, retirement accounts, financial book reviews, personal finance, and anything else I feel like writing about on a particular day. Investing happens to be a passion of mine, and I thought it would be enjoyable to have an archive of my various thoughts about investing and the market and share it with the blogosphere.I subscribe to the Benjamin Graham/John Bogle philosophy of value index investing and recommend a low-cost passive approach to long-term financial growth for the vast majority of individuals. The three main tenets of this strategy being: 1.) Coming up with an appropriate asset allocation (stock/bonds, domestic/international, large-cap/small-cap, growth/value) based on your age, risk tolerance, and objectives, 2.) Holding your investments in the lowest-cost, most tax efficient manner possible, and 3.) Staying the course and not deviating from your initial plan.
Although this forms the basis of my investing recommendations, I am certainly not unequivocally opposed to individual stock picking and strategically making certain investing decisions based on current market conditions and macroeconomic factors at play for those individuals with the prerequisite time and knowledge. Those individuals who enjoy playing an active role in their portfolio management could certainly come up with a reasonable alternative to the all-index fund approach by investing in a diversified set of 5-10 undervalued companies with sound financial statements, acceptable growth prospects, and potential for dividend income, while supplementing these holdings with fixed income investments. Those who choose this route must be aware of the additional risks involved of having a more focused portfolio as well as have the necessary time and knowledge base to stay on top of their investments. Nobody can reliably outperform the market and going into and out of investments frequently may have negative tax ramifications and complicates accounting. Because of these reasons, 95% of the population is better served (and can expect better performance) by dollar cost averaging into a diversified set of low-cost index funds over the long-term.
I am not a financial adviser nor do I have formal training or certification. My posts should not be confused with sound financial advice from a planner who more accurately knows your personal preference for risk and investing objectives. I am still young and have many years before retirement - thus, my strategies may be more aggressive and inappropriate for many individuals. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy posting! Thanks for visiting!
