I've already made max contribution to my Roth electronically, though I am sure it won't actually settle until maybe another day or two.
I don't really have any particular New Years Eve resolutions other than the usual, which is to keep pushing to stay fit, stay frugal, and stay as happy as I can.
That last one, perhaps it's a bit vague and may run contrary to the first two resolutions. I don't know; we shall see.
In any case, I'm just glad the holiday season is over and hopefully the roads will quiet down so I drive and park again haha.
Anyways, how was your New Years Eve? And what are your resolutions if any?
Happy New Years everyone!
January 1st, 2015 at 01:22 pm
January 1st, 2015 at 04:22 pm 1420129365
January 1st, 2015 at 05:23 pm 1420132992
I had a very nice NYE - pizza and a movie, then sparkling juice at midnight.
January 1st, 2015 at 09:47 pm 1420148867
January 1st, 2015 at 11:22 pm 1420154577
January 1st, 2015 at 11:42 pm 1420155753
My entire Roth is 100% index bond fund for the usual reasons that I am sure many of you are already aware of:
* It is a Roth, and therefore, no more taxes on any dividends earned.
* Maintaining per my overall asset allocation. (The other types of funds are held in other accounts.)
* The index funds has one of the lowest expense ratios out there.
* Besides asset allocation, I am not very active at all in managing my portfolio.
* I like the simplicity.
January 2nd, 2015 at 12:14 am 1420157679
January 3rd, 2015 at 06:38 pm 1420310326
January 5th, 2015 at 03:56 pm 1420473392
This is the fund I have in my Roth.
It should contain only domestic bonds. I don't have anything against international bond exposure per se, but I was mostly looking at expense ratios when I picked this, and at 0.1%, it is among the lowest.
However, I don't think any of its major holdings has anything in there that would cause me alarm.
Past performances are available in that link, though as you well know, the US domestic market has been under... extraordinary conditions for the past several years. However, what I personally see is a buyer's market if you really want to look at it from an active management perspective.
I really don't know what I anticipate for 2015, although the Fed interest rate can not be this low forever, which to me is a bullish sign to keep buying into bonds while interest rates are still low.
As for volatility, I am not sure what levels you are looking for exactly, but even in these extraordinary times, I don't think it's been all that bad.
However, if you want to lower volatility, well this is a crazy idea but we are talking about bonds here... but why not buy individual bonds? That way, you will know exactly what you bought into, for how much, and know what your return rate is going. Again, we are talking about bonds here, not stocks.
If you want to simplify even more, why not bank CDs? Anyways, just tossing around some ideas for you. You don't have to deal with fund volatility if you really don't want to.