Replies to post #28149 on A.I.M. Users Bulletin Board (AIMUSERS)

[slow lane]

Hi Tom, 10 more general sectors

Thanks for the explaination. I hadn't seen your change away from the sector funds.

So far I still have three different Accounts each on their own AIM program with a few funds in each. Most are open-end mutual funds but there are also a couple of ETFs.

A calculation of approximate internal allocations is kept just for tracking and awareness, broken into;

LargeCap US
Mid&SmallCap US
International
RealEstate
FixedIncome (cash reserve).

Commodities (DBC or DJP) could be added someday, if there is ever a good buy point (no time like the present?).

When I first reconfigured the 401k account after a few years of stuff-it-in-there dollar cost averaging I did the allocation breakout to get a snapshot of where the account was ... fully expecting it to be overweight LargeCap. I was surprised to learn it was actually about 44% Mid&SmallCap and only about 20% LargeCap! We fixed that.

There's the perception and then there's the 'rithmetic. :)

Happy investing,
-sl

[AIMster]

Hi, Tom,

Re: Retirement account rebalancing........

Good article there! Perhaps you should contact the author and suggest adding AIM as an overall management tool, rather than just the strictly buy-and-hold idea he's advocating. His point, "In order to understand the attractiveness of the Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy, what you need to know is that a lower standard deviation is better, indicating a portfolio that is more predictable and less volatile." (emphasis added). Since AIM as a methodology uses volatility as the primary "engine" of activity, making something "less" volatile would seem, on the surface at least, to be counterintuitive. Of course this is just one aspect mentioned whilst dramatizing the benefits of diversification via asset class management, which is the primary thrust of the article. It would be interesting to see what fund(s) (or proxies) were used to obtain the results. It would be also of interest to backtest via AIM those same funds and see were B&H would out or under perform AIM.


BTW I love all of these "what-if" articles that start from an assumed base of $100,000 or so. For many people caught up in recession/forclosure and so on, keeping, let alone getting to that first $100K seems to be the biggest hurdle. Pocket change, right!

Best,

AIMster

[coach g]

Tom:

I have also been impressed with the "Ultimate Buy and Hold" system....Maybe we could tweek it to " The Ultimate Retirement Aim" Method.

In your retirement fund, what percentage of stocks to bonds did you start this portfolio with?

Best wishes

Coach G