Portfolio Allocation Advice needed

[umo]

Hi folks,

I was reading on fundadvice.com and looking at their ultimate buy-and-hold portfolios.

I was wondering if anybody knows what funds would closely match portfolio 6. ( http://www.fundadvice.com/articles/b...-strategy.html )

Basically it's:

International Large Cap 6%
International Large Cap Value 6%
International Small Cap 6%
International Small Cap Value 6%
Emerging Markets 6%
Short Term Bonds 40%
S&P 500 Index 7.50%
US Micro Cap 7.50%
US Small Value 7.50%
US Large Value 7.50%

I am with Fidelity, but if I could somehow match these allocations with a combination of no-load/low fee funds, that would be great.

I know the Fidelity S&P 500 is FUSEX, but not sure what other funds would match closely to those allocations... Mutuals or ETFs would be fine I think.

[umo]

Re: Portfolio Allocation Advice needed

I did some peeking around Fidelity and Morningstar to get the mutual/etf equivallent. I leaned towards Fidelity Mutual funds because my accounts are all with Fidelity right now.

I'm not sure how close it is to the allocation, but here's my first shot:

Mutual Funds:
International Large Cap 6% FIGRX, SWOIX
International Large Cap Value 6% ICEUX
International Small Cap 6% FISMX
International Small Cap Value 6% FSCOX
Emerging Markets 6% FEMKX
Short Term Bonds 40% FBIDX, FSBAX
S&P 500 Index 7.50% FUSEX
US Micro Cap 7.50% FDSCX (not sure if this is micro cap)
US Small Value 7.50% FCPVX
US Large Value 7.50% FSLVX

ETF:
International Large Cap 6% EFG
International Large Cap Value 6% EFV
International Small Cap 6% (need help here)
International Small Cap Value 6% (need help here)
Emerging Markets 6% VWO,ADRE
Short Term Bonds 40% AGG,SHY
S&P 500 Index 7.50% IVW
US Micro Cap 7.50% IWC
US Small Value 7.50% DSV
US Large Value 7.50% IVE


Any comments?

Thanks

[Fern]

Re: Portfolio Allocation Advice needed

It might be hard to find a single portfolio that contains those exact allocations. It might be easier to buy 2 or 3 different funds, such as:
* 1 diversified (small and large cap) interntational fund
* 1 bond fund
* 1 US equity fund, with small, mid and large cap

Just a comment, this looks like a fairly aggressive fund overall. Could be volatile.

[umo]

Re: Portfolio Allocation Advice needed

Thanks Fern,

Can you provide any ETFs or Mutuals (preferably in Fidelity) that would fit the bill you mentioned?

[sweeps]

Re: Portfolio Allocation Advice needed

umo, to add to what Fern was saying, what if you start with one of the Fidelity Freedom Funds as your base fund. For example, the Fidelity 2040 Fund is invested in 17 stock funds and 6 bond funds. Click on Holdings on the left side for details.

Then you can add in other Fidelity funds to get your allocation to where you need to be.

[Fern]

Re: Portfolio Allocation Advice needed

Probably would be easiest if you went to the website of the fund family you're leaning toward and peruse all their offerings. I'm a T. Rowe Price investor, so don't know about what Fidelity has.

https://www.troweprice.com

[TBH]

Re: Portfolio Allocation Advice needed

Umo,
I've been working on my asset allocations this week, too.

Along the top of the screen in your Fidelity account, click on Research. Then choose Mutual Funds or ETFs. There's a dropdown for asset class. If you want more limiters you can use the "advanced search" option.

I find Fidelity's research tool a little clunky, so I don't blame you for using Morningstar. I like MSN's tools, myself. But once you identify some funds or fund families, look 'em up in the Fidelity tool because there's a little icon that tells you whether there is a fee to buy the shares through Fidelity or not.

I'm with Fern--your allocation does look aggressive. I hope you have lots of nice boring cash and bonds and real estate in some other account that you're not telling us about, or that you can handle a wild ride.