ironist15

The Humble Arithmetic of Portfolio Management

A very intelligent article – thank you, Geoff. My own experience is that I have been able to beat the S&P 500 index handily for years now by investing in individual stocks and, recently, ETFs. I cannot say what my risk-adjusted return has been, but I suspect I have done better on this basis as well. IMHO, what it takes is constant attention to the portfolio and many sources of ideas, advice, and analysis. While I stay fully invested for the most part, I have used short index ETFs to stabilize my portfolio during this US down market, with some success. Otherwise, I have tried to identify longer term sector trends, e.g. energy for the past few years, base metals up until a year ago, agriculture this year, etc., in order to guide my stock selection. For those without the interest or temperament for investing, finding a good, fee-only advisor can certainly be worth the expense.