2012 was at times a turbulent year for investors. Significant sell-offs in April/May and October/November were spurred by continued disturbances to European debt markets, persistent economic headwinds at home and uncertainty over whether political leaders across the party divide will display the wisdom and leadership necessary to resolve the fiscal cliff. These issues - and many others - continue to weigh on markets as 2012 becomes 2013.
Yet, investors have had much to cheer in 2012. The S&P is up nearly 15% YTD (as of 12/20/12), the Nasdaq 100 is up an even more robust 17% YTD despite a recent 25% sell-off in top component Apple (AAPL), international equities registered strong gains (the MSCI EAFE index is up more than 14% YTD), widespread muni bond market fears proved unfounded, and a range of economic issues from the housing market to unemployment flashed positive signs.
Still, as investors look towards 2013, uncertainty reigns supreme. Here at Seeking Alpha we recognize just how difficult it is for investors to construct intelligent portfolios against the current market backdrop and we'd like to do our part to help.
This year we have taken a slightly different approach with our Positioning for 2013 series, asking experts on a range of different asset classes and investing strategies to offer their vision for the coming year - and how investors can act on that vision. As always, the focus is on an overall approach to portfolio construction, but with a more granular focus on each topic covered. We hope this gets our readers thinking about the issues - large and small - they will face in reaching their financial goals in 2013 and beyond.
Here's wishing all of our readers health, happiness and success in the new year.
Below you will find the series, listed alphabetically according to topic, with new articles added as soon as they appear on the site.
- Alternative ETF Strategies: Gary Gordon Positions For 2013: Alternative ETF Strategies For Everyday Portfolios
- Bonds: The Financial Lexicon Positions For 2013: Limited Bond Market Opportunities Mean Patience Is Key
- Broad Portfolio Construction Strategy: Jeff Miller Positions For 2013: Current Risk/Reward Favors Stocks Over Bonds
- Dividend Growth Investing: Dave Van Knapp Positions For 2013: Tuning Out Market 'Noise' With Dividend Growth Investing
- Fixed Income: Larry Swedroe Positions For 2013: Resist The Temptation To Stretch For Yield
- Forex: Marc Chandler Positions For 2013: A Global View Of Forex Catalysts And Potential Headwinds
- Global Equities: Roger Nusbaum Positions For 2013: Think Long Term, Invest Globally
- Gold Within A Broad Portfolio Strategy: Eric Parnell Positions For 2013: Gold's An Essential Diversifier In Any Portfolio
- Latin America: Caiman Valores Positions For 2013: Colombia, Chile Offer Best Upside In Latin America
- Momentum/Trend-Following: Tom Lydon Positions For 2013: An ETF Trend-Following Strategy For All Seasons
- Passive Asset Allocation With ETFs: Casey Smith Positions For 2013: Passively Allocating To Long-Term Healthy Asset Classes
- Precious Metals: Tim Iacono Positions For 2013: Most Investors Seriously Underweight Precious Metals
- Stock Picking: Arne Alsin Positions For 2013: A Stock Picker's Market, Par Excellence
