I need a good Portfolio

[fta123]

I have tried investing before but didnt go so well.....can anyone recommend a good portfolio.....I am 42 years old....can invest about 1K monthly towards this portfolio....I have about 40K+ in a 401K which is not doing good.....should I keep my money there or try to roll to something else?

I have already 3 to 4 months of emergency cash in a MMA at 4.83%

any help would be great

Are you still employed at the place where your 401k is? If so, you won't be able to roll it over until you leave. If not, then take a look at Vanguard, Fidelity or T. Rowe Price. You can roll over your $40k to an IRA. Check out the lifecycle funds... you get instant diversification with just one fund.

You can't build much of a portfolio with $1,000. Once you've saved up, say, $4,000 or $5,000 you could open up a Roth IRA. Again, look at a lifecycle fund for that, or perhaps a straight S&P 500 fund.

Good job on the emergency fund.

[Scanner]

Everyone sort of has different beliefs on what constitutes a good porfolio.

The "Target" funds are a good start if you are not one to think about things.

I believe in precious metal exposure - others here wouldn't position themselves so heavily.

You have to kind of develop your own philosophy.

Remember, when you invest, you are part owner of whatever you are investing in.

Would you like to own small businesses? Then invest a good portion in small caps.

Would you like to own big businesses? Then go for large caps.

Do you beleive America is on the decline a bit? Then go international.

I hope this gets you thinking.

Scanner, you'd like to see Robert Kiyosaki's latest article.

I think if fta's portfolio was $400,000, he could do lots of fund specialization. But with a $40,000 portfolio, he needs a core diversified fund. There's not a lot left for things like commodities (which with all due respect have a dismal long-term record).

[Scanner]

Yeah, Mr. Kiyosaki is 8 months late. I have been 1/3rd of my portfolio in silver for 8 months now but I invested in it for all the reasons he outlined.

I am down about 15% on that part of my portfolio this year but holding firm.

This IS contrarian advice he gives and that's all one should realize before investing.

This is probably not appropriate for one "searching" for a good portfolio, in amounts over 5-10% anyway.

[Broken Arrow]

Robert Kiyosaki

.

Someone shoot me now.

Silver isn't a bad commodity so long as it is a part of (not the sole or primary form of) a well-constructed portfolio.

The thing that bothers me about Kiyosaki is that he's been a silver fanboy since... he was 10 years old apparently! Nothing wrong with having an investment preference of your choice, but I wish he would write it in fair context next to other investment vehicles out there... and I just haven't seen that from him yet.

Case in point, it doesn't help that he cited ONLY the high of the Hunt brother silver debacle. I mean, that thing was an absolute mess for speculators, and the Hunt brothers had to file for bankruptcy.

I've caught flak and will continue to catch flak for writing how I really feel about stuff like this, but... I just don't think this is the "silver bullet" of investing.... *drum roll* Thank you. I'm here all night.

[jIM_Ohio]

I have tried investing before but didnt go so well.....can anyone recommend a good portfolio.....I am 42 years old....can invest about 1K monthly towards this portfolio....I have about 40K+ in a 401K which is not doing good.....should I keep my money there or try to roll to something else?

I have already 3 to 4 months of emergency cash in a MMA at 4.83%

any help would be great

if you are still working, you may not be able to roll 401k over- check with your plan.

Most portfolio's are built with a core fund and several other smaller positions in more risky or different funds.

My portfolio is PRFDX, PRWCX, PRNHX, RPMGX, PRIDX, PREMX and PRIGX. PRFDX is my core, and I hold 3X as much of that as any other fund.

Everyone else here has something different.

[dreamweaver]

It is perhaps just my opinion that if you don't educate yourself on your available funds you will always have bad returns. My 401k has a bunch of funds to choose from...I am lucky. But if I was just to pick a small cap fund just because it invested in small caps I could do poorly. Different funds managers do different things in the same sector. Therefore, some funds perform better than others. So take your choices and go to morningstar and get familiar with them. Check out year to date performance. Look at 2002-2003. Look at life of fund. Get familiar with fees. Look at overturn. Look at specific companies. THEN you can make some choices. Until then you are just in the dark.

Someone shoot me now.

For the record, I agree. For me, Kiyosaki is a good negative indicator. If he's pushing an investment, you better get out.

It is perhaps just my opinion that if you don't educate yourself on your available funds you will always have bad returns.

I totally agree in theory, but I find this hard to do in practice. First, the information you can find about mutual funds is dated. When the prospectuses (prospecti?) and 3rd party reviews are released, the information can be up to 6 months old. A lot can and does change in that 6 months. Not to mention studies have shown that Morningstar's rating system is all but useless. Even long-term performance statistics are misleading because investing trends (domestic vs. international, value vs. growth, stocks vs. commodities) change over long stretches of time.

[humandraydel]

30% Vanguard Total Stock Market Index
30% Vanguard Total International Index
15% Vanguard Extended Market Index
15% Treasury Bonds
10% TIPS

[Snodog]

I agree that opening up a roth ira would be a good idea. Go with low cost index funds like the ones Vanguard offers. The easiest way to do this would be to go with one of their target retirement funds.

[Aleta]

Silver is not a bad thing to own. I once spoke with a financial consultant and he said that buying a bag full of silver is good enough. Most people don't know this, but you can buy silver by the bags. I've found too much of it in my change. It's basically the same thing. It's a little like pennies now. Each penny is worth 1 and 1/2 cents each because the price of copper is high now. I collect all of the pennies I can now.

[dreamweaver]

Hey DA...you are totally right. But here is what I do. I don't even get the prospectus. Yeah, I don't.

I look at year to date return. I am in the market long term, but the funds themselves are history if they can't perform in the existing market.

I look at the longevity of the fund manager. If the returns are good both current and historical is it THIS fund manager that made it so?

I look at overturn. Is the fund being watched? Are things being shifted, or is someone asleep at the wheel?

I look at fees.

I look at my world outside. For instance....look at all the articles on china. It is booming. So I have money there. Look at oil....and natural resources. I have money there. Look at the war. I have money there, too. My investments are not based what someone tell me...but what I know.

[kv968]

Hey DA...you are totally right. But here is what I do. I don't even get the prospectus. Yeah, I don't.

I look at year to date return. I am in the market long term, but the funds themselves are history if they can't perform in the existing market.

I look at the longevity of the fund manager. If the returns are good both current and historical is it THIS fund manager that made it so?

I look at overturn. Is the fund being watched? Are things being shifted, or is someone asleep at the wheel?

I look at fees.

I look at my world outside. For instance....look at all the articles on china. It is booming. So I have money there. Look at oil....and natural resources. I have money there. Look at the war. I have money there, too. My investments are not based what someone tell me...but what I know.

All good things to look at it, but you should look at the prospectus also to see exactly what it is that fund is trying to accomplish. For example, turnover...you may have a fund with a very low turnover but that doesn't necessarily mean that anyone's asleep at the wheel. It may be that it's following an index, designed for long term appreciation, being tax-efficient, etc...

I'd also pay attention to a little more than just YTD returns. Like you said, practically anyone can money in the recent market we've had. What you have to see is how they weather the bad times.