DIY Personal & Retirement Financial Planning
Do-It-Yourself financial and investment planning Excel spreadsheet software
Industry rules-of-thumb often state that 15 to 30 stocks are enough for a well-diversified portfolio. This can be very misleading. Recent studies point out that industry rules-of-thumb on the number of stocks needed for a well-diversified portfolio are simply not adequate. These rules-of-thumb most often state that 15 to 30 stocks are enough. “The Truth […]
The table below in this article presents The Skilled Investor’s Fund Authority Score and other information for the SSgA S & P 500 Index Fund (SVSPX). The Skilled Investor has also published an article about lower cost S&P 500 index mutual funds that you can read, which is entitled: Low Cost S&P 500 Index Mutual […]
The diversified investment fund strategy of the Fidelity Contrafund (FCNTX) According to its prospectus filing on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR system, the investment strategy of the Fidelity Contrafund is to invest primarily in common stocks and particularly in the “securities of companies whose value Fidelity Management & Research Company believes is not […]
Fund Authority Scores rate mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs) on the most important economic factors that influence individual investors’ net long term diversified investment fund performance. The Skilled Investor developed the Fund Authority Score system to provide individual investors with concise and objective summaries of mutual funds and ETFs for comparisons within investment […]
The diversified investment fund strategy of American Funds’ EuroPacific Growth Fund According to American Funds’ Annual Report for the EuroPacific Growth Fund, the fund “seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in the securities of companies based in Europe and the Pacific Basin.” American Fund’s 497 filing on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR […]
During the last twenty-five years of the 20th century, mutual fund and exchange traded fund portfolio assembly costs declined dramatically. Brokerage commissions were deregulated in 1975, and transaction costs have fallen very dramatically since then. Furthermore, well-diversified, low-cost index mutual funds have now become commonplace, while none existed in 1968. The mutual fund industry was […]
Pay lower investment expenses to get higher investment returns While financial services industry sales people tell you that you need to pay more to get more, the correct answer is the opposite. Excessive investment costs are a plague on your personal financial planning. Excessive investment expenses are one of the most significant barriers to lifelong […]
Screening mutual funds on-line with Morningstar.com Summary: In this article, The Skilled Investor discusses how to screen mutual funds on-line using our seven scientifically based mutual fund screening criteria. This article focuses on using the free mutual fund screener and database available at Morningstar.com. Personal Financial Planning Software In a previous article, The Skilled Investor […]
Scientific mutual fund and ETF screening criteria: a summary Scientifically based selection criteria are rational methods to screen mutual funds and ETFs. Recently, The Skilled Investor Blog published a series of articles on scientifically based selection criteria for mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs). These screening rules help you to winnow down the thousands […]
Avoid very large actively managed mutual funds Big actively managed mutual fund portfolio positions and higher percentage ownership of any company’s bonds or common stock are not good things for actively managed mutual funds. Nor, are these big positions and high percentages good for you. Large portfolio size constrains how efficiently an actively managed mutual […]