What is the Lazy 3 fund portfolio?
So, a "three-fund portfolio" might consist of 42% Total Stock Market Index, 18% Total International Stock Index, and 40% Total Bond Market fund. For example, Taylor Larimore's "Lazy Portfolio" consists of these three funds based on the investor's desired asset allocation.
A three-fund portfolio could be all you need to reach your long-term investment goals. While diversification with more funds can be tempting, there's often overlap when comparing large mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Here's a look at a few approaches you can take to create a three-fund portfolio.
A 60/40 portfolio is another option for lazy investing. With a 60/40 portfolio, 60% of your portfolio is held in stocks and the other 40% consists of bonds. You can invest in individual stocks or bonds or buy mutual funds, index funds or ETFs. A 60/40 portfolio can be easy to maintain through regular rebalancing.
Example of a Solid Three-ETF Portfolio
One option for a solid three-ETF portfolio could be to include the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD), the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ).
I put my personal 401(k) and a lot of my mutual fund investing in four types of mutual funds: growth, growth and income, aggressive growth, and international. I personally spread mine in 25% of those four. And I look for mutual funds that have long track records that have outperformed the S&P.
A lazy portfolio is a diversified portfolio of low-cost index funds that allows you to…well, be lazy. That means no active trading, no checking your stocks every day, and no paying some hedge fund manager (who won't beat the market anyway) to handle your money. It just gives you results.
This investment strategy seeks total return through exposure to a diversified portfolio of primarily equity, and to a lesser extent, fixed income asset classes with a target allocation of 70% equities and 30% fixed income. Target allocations can vary +/-5%.
Both have the same expense ratio and similar dividend yield, so you should choose whichever one you prefer based on the fund's strategy. If you only want to own the biggest and safest companies, choose VOO. If you want broader exposure and more diversification, choose VTI.
Bogle recommended allocating between stocks and bonds based on an investors age and risk tolerance. Younger investors may favor a higher stock allocation, while older investors closer to retirement may shift more assets to bonds. Bogle suggested a reasonable starting point is allocating 60% to stocks and 40% to bonds.
Lazy portfolios can be a good option for investors who want to invest for the long term but don't have a lot of time to spend on their investments. They are easy to set up and maintain, and they can provide a diversified portfolio with low costs.
Which portfolio is riskier?
Investments with higher expected returns (and higher volatility), like stocks, tend to be riskier than a more conservative portfolio that is made up of less volatile investments, like bonds and cash.
Here are a few popular options: An 80/20 three-fund portfolio with 64% U.S. stocks, 16% international stocks, and 20% bonds. This option prioritizes growth and is good for investors with high risk tolerance. An equally weighted three-fund portfolio with 33% to 34% in each asset.
A three-fund portfolio isn't complex. It just means choosing one representative fund to include in your portfolio from the domestic stock, international stock and bond categories. These funds can all belong to the same family or come from different mutual fund companies.
SPY, VOO and IVV are among the most popular S&P 500 ETFs. These three S&P 500 ETFs are quite similar, but may sometimes diverge in terms of costs or daily returns. Investors generally only need one S&P 500 ETF.
And to go one step further, we recommend dividing your mutual fund investments equally between four types of funds: growth and income, growth, aggressive growth, and international.
According to Standard and Poor's, the average annualized return of the S&P index, which later became the S&P 500, from 1926 to 2020 was 10%. 1 At 10%, you could double your initial investment every seven years (72 divided by 10).
One of the biggest reasons Ramsey cautions investors about ETFs is that they are so easy to move in and out of. Unlike traditional mutual funds, which can only be bought or sold once per day, you can buy or sell an ETF on the open market just like an individual stock at any time the market is open.
A three-fund portfolio is based on the fundamental asset classes, stocks and bonds. It is assumed that cash is not counted within the investment portfolio, so it is not included. On the other hand, it is assumed that every investor should hold both domestic and international stocks.
A lazy portfolio is a set it and forget it collection of stock and bond mutual funds or ETFs, invested in percentages that fit with your personal risk profile. The idea behind this concept is that most investors do not beat the investment returns of the major market indexes.
Warren Buffet's 2013 letter explains the 90/10 rule—put 90% of assets in S&P 500 index funds and the other 10% in short-term government bonds.
What did Warren Buffett tell his wife to invest in?
The percentage may shock you.
Part of the cash would go directly to his wife and part to a trustee. He told the trustee to put 10% of the cash in short-term government bonds and 90% in a low-cost S&P 500 index fund.
Specifically, a fund is prohibited from: acquiring more than 3% of a registered investment company's shares (the “3% Limit”); investing more than 5% of its assets in a single registered investment company (the “5% Limit”); or. investing more than 10% of its assets in registered investment companies (the “10% Limit”).
Investor Preferences: VOO is ideal for those seeking alignment with the performance of large-cap companies in the S&P 500, while VTI suits investors looking for more comprehensive market exposure, including smaller companies with potential for growth.
Average Return
Over the past 10 years, VOO has had annualized average returns of 12.29% , compared to 11.65% for VTI. These numbers are adjusted for stock splits and include dividends.
The performance of an investment option is often one of the most critical aspects investors consider. The performance of these two ETFs will be highly dependent on the performance of the information technology sector. If information technology significantly outperforms other sectors, then QQQ will outperform VOO.
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