Asset allocation before this update as well as performance summary is here.
The model sold out $TLT, $EIS, bought some $IJH on May 10th/EoD. The 'risk on' state in the global markets calls for more exposure to stocks, however some cash and fixed income are always in order. Learn more and buy quarterly subscription here. Asset allocation before this update as well as performance summary is here. Add Comment Summary of actions on Friday April 5th/EoD: Sold out $FDX (after 10% sell-off, good stock but risk management first!); Bought some $TLT, $GLW. Check out performance history and asset allocation just before these actions here. Follow this link to start subscription for the weekly updates and commentary. See portfolio and performance as of end of March, before rebalancing/transactions for April. Stay tuned to the updates via Twitter, coming up later this week. Marathon portfolio update: sold out $DDD, bought some $VPL as of the close of last week. $DDD breached 200 day MA - so a pure risk management sell discipline. As for $VPL it is the strongest global market area, propelled by the continued Japanese market melt up (coupled with good valuation) and Australia's strength. The model continues to carry substantial amount of cash given that valuation and technical strength is not compelling for non-credit and duration bonds. I am adding to $EIS at the close of markets price of March 1st. And here is a recap of where the model stands before that (last week's close, after dividend reinvestment and before the rebalancing): An interesting trend - U.S. value stocks outperform U.S. growth stocks. I shared some perspective on Seeking Alpha. I sold out stakes in $RWX $ITB $TUR, bought some $DDD $FDX and $EIS. Do not think the rally is over. Happy to New Year! I am modifying the service to make it more open, interactive and easy to maintain. Open and free updates to the portfolio will be released via my English blogs (Marathoninvestor.com, SeekingAlfa.com) and twitter on a weekly basis in the following format:
I will continue to post previous quarter releases for everyone to see in the Archives section of Marathoninvestor.com. The newsletter subscribers will be getting weekly updates with all changes and details as they occur. Those will also include transaction details and portfolio weights, as provided by Morningstar portfolio tracker. Occasionally I may be including some commentary, but I want to keep it quick, concise and simple, as my basic methodology and approach are not changing. I will be adding some stock positions, on value and momentum ratings as well, but each individual stock name will be limited to 10% of the portfolio, and will not take more than 30% combined. As a reminder all transactions are accounted for at each week's last business day closing prices. To make the model more practical I am introducing brokerage commission expense USD 7 which will be deducted from the account after each transaction. Most importantly, the subscription price is slashed to USD 2 each quarter or USD 6 per year! This is commensurate with effort and is only 0.024% per annum for a 25K USD portfolio! I hope this makes the service more affordable and I welcome more subscribers this year. Click here to learn more and subscribe. Speaking of the portfolio, it stands at this rebalancing moment (Jan 11th) as follows (right-click on the pictures to view larger images): The returns are not impressing, as gold and U.S. Treasuries (more than 30% of the portfolio) lagged behind in H2. However the portfolio ended the year with the best sectors of 2012: financials ($XLF) and homebuilders ($ITB), the latter gaining almost 32% since purchase. Actions as of January 11th 2013:
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