Blog
|
Not a Member?
Categories
• About Our Weblog
• Christian Interest • College • Current Market Events • Economy • Family Finances • Giving and Stewardship • Health Care • Inflation Watch • Investing Principles • Mutual Funds • Retirement • SMI Advanced Strategies • SMI General Announcements • SMI Model Portfolios • Taxes
Archives
• May 2012
• April 2012 • March 2012 • February 2012 • January 2012 • December 2011 • November 2011 • October 2011 • September 2011 • August 2011 • July 2011 • June 2011 • May 2011 • April 2011 • March 2011 • February 2011 • January 2011 • December 2010 • November 2010 • October 2010 • September 2010 • August 2010 • July 2010 • June 2010 • May 2010 • April 2010 • March 2010 • February 2010 • January 2010 • December 2009 • November 2009 • October 2009 • September 2009 • August 2009 • July 2009 • June 2009 • May 2009 • April 2009 • March 2009 • February 2009 • January 2009 BLOGS WE READ
• Bible Money Matters
• Bucks (New York Times) • The Capital Spectator • Christian Personal Finance • CT's Money and Business • Debt Free Adventure • Free Money Finance • MarketBeat • Money Help for Christians • Money Rules, Debt Stinks • Real Time Economics • Redeeming Riches Social Bookmarking
Tag Cloud
family finances budget radio investing principles Personal Finance Friday christian financial contest winner money saving tips new issue savings money-saving tips christian investing economy stock market taxes bonds federal budget federal spending market volatility debt
SMI Visitor's Blog
     Welcome to the SMI Visitor's Blog where you'll find selected excerpts from our Member's Blog, plus occasional posts created especially for our visitors. For SMI Web Members, click here to go to the SMI Member Blog. September 19, 2011It's beaten the market by 185%: Fund Upgrading explainedIn Upgrading, each month we rank more than 1,500 mutual funds by type and determine which ones have been delivering the best recent performance. We recommend the purchase of the top funds in each of five SMI risk categories. These funds will be held until they stop outperforming. At that point, we recommend replacement funds that are showing stronger recent performance. Upgrading works because, market leadership rotates among different investment approaches and companies of different sizes as economic conditions change. But even though market conditions are constantly changing, fund managers rarely do. Managers who excel under one set of market conditions often are only average (or worse) under a different set of conditions. So, rather than buy a fund and hold it through both the periods that favor the manager's approach and the periods that don't, Upgrading continually guides us to funds that are in favor right now. This means we move in and out of funds more frequently than some people are used to, but it has helped us establish a track record of beating the market over an extended period of time, under both bullish and bearish market conditions. HOW HAS UPGRADING PERFORMED?
Fund Upgrading has achieved a consistent advantage over the market (as measured by the Wilshire 5000, the broadest measure of U.S. stocks)
The chart below shows the cumulative effect of this advantage, comparing the 11-year growth of a $25,000 Upgrading portfolio (dark shaded area) vs. the market return (light shaded area). The $25,000 invested in Upgrading at the beginning of 1999 grew to $71,250 while the market portfolio (as measured by the Wilshire 5000) increased to only $35,250. In other words, the Upgrading portfolio was worth almost twice as much after 12 years than a portfolio that earned the market's return. 
THE UPGRADING PROCESS
1. Sound Mind Investing's new subscriber materials will help you determine the appropriate amount to invest in each stock or bond group, which we call risk categories. These materials will guide you to the most appropriate column for you in our asset allocation chart (below).*
 2. The asset allocation chart shows you exactly what percentage of your portfolio we suggest be invested in each category of mutual fund. 3. SMI's monthly Recommended Funds page shows which funds are currently recommended. Choose one (or more) funds from among the four recommendations in each category.  4. Each month, you simply review the new Recommended Funds page to see if any of the funds you own have been replaced. If any have, the new funds are clearly noted, and you just sell the old fund and buy the new recommendation. Upgrading isn't complicated. It requires your attention only once per month, and its track record is exceptional. What are you waiting for? Order your subscription to Sound Mind Investing today!
Posted by Matthew at 1:08 PM
| Comments (2)
| TrackBack
Category(s): Investing Principles, SMI Model Portfolios Tag(s): beat the market, investing principles, proven strategy, upgrading, Wilshire  Email this post
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry: Email this post
Powered by Movable Type |
 Subscribe |  Email Updates |
|||||||||
This all sounds well and good for 40 year olds. I am almost 65 and I make about 1000 a month 8months of the year as an adjunct instructor. I put all of it in a 403b but have choices of allocation. I am in American Funds now and am hestitant at my age to do anothing risky because of the short time I can get lost money back. Are bond funds the way to go? or until this volitility settles down is there another place to put it?
Gayleen Nestor
Even at nearly 65, most people should still have some stock allocation. Lifespans have increased to the point where a new retiree needs to be thinking about how their money will last (and counter the effects of inflation) for at least two decades, if not three.
The first step of SMI's process (described briefly above) is to help each reader determine an appropriate stock/bond allocation given their own risk tolerance and age/season of life. This is the most important investing decision.
From there, SMI assists in choosing appropriate investments. But it all starts with getting the stock/bond allocation decision right. Our new reader materials are designed to walk you through that process.