Username Colors

[AllexBancs]

Hey Tom,

Why is your username colored green and everyone else is black. Can we change our colors? BTW, Keep up the great work...awesome site. AB :cool:

[tsptalk]

AB -
I amable to change themoderator to one colorbutI believe I have tochange all of you, or none of you to one color since you all fall under registered members or unregistered guests. Right now I'm using black. I will look into it though in case I am wrong.

By the way, I know I have seen that green before, probably from my home computer. But right nowtheyare all black from the PC I am using now.

[TGA]

Tom

How do you insert a picture by your member name?

[tsptalk]

Go to "My Account" on top of the page. Then click on "avatar" on the menu bar.

Hope that helps,
Tom

[zbwmy]

AllexBancs wrote:
Hey Tom,

Why is your username colored green and everyone else is black. Can we change our colors? BTW, Keep up the great work...awesome site. AB :cool:



Bancs,

You should be worrying more about your allocations than the color of someone's name. Keep it real. Z:dude:

[AllexBancs]

zbwmy - a couple of points...

1. I like your catch phrase...but mine is better

2. my allocations are top notch in my book...take that Mr. 20% in the S fund.

3. I swear Tom's username was green this morning, or was that the market...next

4. what's with that character below your username in posts...I won't even say what it looks like...next

5. Any thoughts of gettinginto theI fund?

6. Let's keep it real. AB :cool:

[zbwmy]

I actually do think it is time to get into the I Fund. I will probably put 10 to 20 % in and then increase that after some research.

[AllexBancs]

zbwmy - welcome aboard. Use the I fund as a diversifier away from the C and S. You da man. Let's keep it real. AB:cool:

[zbwmy]

Sure diversify into the red

[AllexBancs]

zbwmy - past returnsmay not be indicative of future returns. Remember what happened in Japan...spread your risk around, you will most likely have a higher percentage return with less volatility. AB:cool:

[Wheels]

AB - Haven't you been paying attention. I thought we put to bed the notion that diversifying was the sure fire way to higher returns.

Dave

[zbwmy]

ouch

[AllexBancs]

wheels - you may have put it to bed, but me and several of my friends (Bogle, Bernstein, Swedroe, Fama and French, Ferri and Smith and Wesson) have proven that international diversification makes sense. Higher returns and less volatility. What's not to like? Keep that talk up and zbwmy will never move money around. Let's keep it real. AB:cool:

[Wheels]

"Higher returns and less volatility."

Except the returns aren't higher, we've shown that several times on this board.

Is that real enough for you.

Dave

[AllexBancs]

wheels - what type of data mining are you using? You show me a time period when international stocks didn't add to your portfolio precentage gain and I will show you a time period when they did. It depends on the time period that you are looking at. Do you at least agree that they lower the overall volatility of a portfolio? Remember nothings a guarantee...except the G fund. Let's keep it real. AB:cool:

[zbwmy]

Bancs,

Are you saying that a wide diversification even with 15 years to retirement is wise?

Won't that lower my overall yield?

Keep it real.

[Wheels]

I think we're talking about two different things here.

I've got no problem with putting some into the I fund once in a while. It's the F Fund and the G Fund that I wouldn't want my money sitting in for extended periods of time. Go back 60 or 70 years, pick any 10 year period, and you'll find that stocks outperformed bonds and securities every time. Is a diversified portfolio (including bonds and securities) less volatile? Yes, I absolutely agree. However the return will be lower. Now, if I had three years left to retire, I would gladly trade my higher returns for less volatility, but for now I will only be using the G and the F funds for occasional safe harbour.

Dave

[tsptalk]

How'd we go from Username Colors to diversified portfolios? ;)

[AllexBancs]

Tom,

I'm not sure how it happened but the convo is getting interesting so let's keep it rolling.

wheels -

1. Look at the time period of 1966-1990, a 25 year period. One month CD's returned 8.3% per annum and large cap stocks returned 8.2% per annum. This of course is for buy and hold investors. The traders may have done better. Since no one has mastered day trading it's unlikely.

2. Diversification is not used to specifically higher returns. I look at it as having 2 major purposes. Number 1 is to lower volatility, this allows you to stay the course and not get emotional when the stock portion of your portfolio is crashing. Number 2 I have no idea which asset class or sub group of that particular asset class will have the highest returns in the future. Meaning I don't know whether the C,S, I, F or G will have the highest return in the future. History tells me that stocks should have the highest return so my portfolio is heavily leaned towards that asset class. But I fully realize that that assumption can be wrong for very long periods of time. Also, within stocks I have no idea which group of stocks will lead the way. So I buy equal amounts of the C, S and I funds. If I wanted to buy just the highest performing stocks from the past I would just buy small cap value stocks and international small cap value stocks and hang on for the ride.

I gotta get back to work.

Let's keep it real. AB:cool:

[Wheels]

It's going to be difficult to debate this with youif you don't stick to a theme. In earlier threads you've pointed out how much you dislike the F fund. ("Is there ever any reason to invest in the F fund? From what I understand the F fund has higher risk than the G fund, but delivers the same low returns.") Now you seem to be touting putting at least some of your money in it. In a different thread you sang the praises of the G fund ("This acts like a short term bond fund but no principal risk. What's not to like"). In yet another thread you likened someone to Warren Buffet because they had moved some of their money into the S fund. In this thread you've stated that diversification is the way to go to reduce volatility and reap higher returns. ("spread your risk around, you will most likely have a higher percentage return with less volatility") Now you're saying it's the way to go reduce volatility but not reap higher returns. ("Diversification is not used to specifically higher return")

I'll agree with you on this last point. Volatility is reduced with diversification. The only point I am trying to make is over longer periods, 10 to 15 years, stocks reap higher returns than securities and bonds. I'll repost something Tom put up in one of those earlier threads.

1988 up through 2003. Of course the S and I funds were not available throughout this period butthe indices were.

G Fund F Fund C Fund S Fund I Fund20% Each Fund

185.28% 239.06% 524.42% 499.20% 116.15% 311.69%


Dave