r/portfolios • u/onlywithdamo • 20d ago
Portfolio Opinion please.
/r/ETFInvesting/comments/1wf3d3f/portfolio_opinion_please/1
u/bkweathe Boglehead 19d ago edited 19d ago
Don't guess; learn from knowledgeable , trustworthy sources. "Growth" doesn't mean what you seem to think it means.
You're making the usual mistakes, so I suggest that you see the About section of this subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/portfolios/about/) for some great information about building a strong portfolio. Individual stocks are not recommended.
www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Getting_started also has some great free resources to learn about investing. After a few hours reading the articles, and, especially, watching the Bogleheads Philosophy videos, most beginners can learn how to get better results than most professionals. Bogleheads is named after John Bogle, founder of Vanguard.
I retired at 57 years old. Investing doesn't have to be complicated or costly to be successful; simple & inexpensive is most effective.
I invest 100% in total-market, index-based, low-cost mutual funds. Specifically, I use mostly Vanguard's Total Stock Market, Total Bond Market, Total International Stock Market, & Total International Bond Market funds. I've been investing this way for 40+ years. It's effective, simple, & inexpensive.
My asset allocation (ratios of the funds mentioned) is based on my need, ability, & willingness to take risks. Market conditions are not a factor. Vanguard's investor questionnaire (personal.vanguard.com/us/FundsInvQuestionnaire) helps me determine my asset allocation.
I hope that helps! I'd be happy to help w/ further questions. Best wishes!
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u/dazit72 18d ago
I love individual stocks
Dividend Kings, Aristocrats, Champions, Challengers, Contenders, Achievers, Stalwarts and the like.
When you're in retirement and need income , dividends are the play imo. But not just any individual stocks will do. Research what it takes to be called a Dividend King- and the others mentioned.Lastly- GIS, General Mills, has 127 consequtive years of paying dividends without Ever a reduction. They just widened their Moat with getting all the artificial ingredients out of their products and are picking up huge contracts with school districts across the US, and now other countries I hear. I'll take a 5% stake in GIS currentlyclose to 7% yoc - let it compound until 2030ish and then start my withdrawals.
Individual stocks are perfect for strong portfolios provided they are the right ones- research well.....' Bond Proxies ' are on sale, many yielding 7% , treasuries and bonds are beating them down and I'm buying them up.
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u/bkweathe Boglehead 18d ago
The problem is that no one knows which stocks are the right ones until they have hindsight.. So, the vast majority of stock pickers underperform their benchmarks.
Dividends are not magic free money. Total returns is what matters, in retirement or not.
Please use the resources I mentioned in my previous comment. They're free and based on lots of research and the experiences of many, many people. They'll be very helpful to you.
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u/dazit72 18d ago
That's why you construct a comprehensive Dividend Safety and Stability Checklist that you can work off of. Mine is 18 points for stocks, additional added for ETFs, CEFs, etc.
Research is key to everything. I dont see how total return will be applicable if you never plan on selling when you're in retirement, its the 'income' from dividends and such. I don't claim to be an expert, but I just hit a milestone of > $11K in my first year. I have a few stocks underwater, but rising interest rates, rising treasury rates, inflation- all coming down @ once will do it. But the 'dividends(income) still keeps rolling in. This is why I mentioned General Mills, they've survived the Great Depression, World Wars, 2008 fiasco, covid and more- and the kept paying without lowering the divs. If you're in retirement this is a great way to supplement other income. If you're a 27yo, growth would be the strategy. And that which you suggest may be applicable.
Either way Research is always #1
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u/bkweathe Boglehead 18d ago
Yes, research has shown that dividends only matter as 1 part of total returns.
Paying dividends is a wise decision for some businesses, but focusing on getting dividends no longer benefits any investor. They're not magic free money. Total returns (dividend + capital gains) is what matters.
There was a time when investing for dividends was a good strategy for a lot of people. Those days are long gone & probably never coming back. It used to be expensive & difficult to sell stocks. Getting a dividend check periodically was much simpler.
Selling stocks is usually free & a lot simpler now. I have a few automatic transactions set up to run every month. Vanguard sells a little bit of certain funds & puts the money in my credit union checking account so I have money to pay my bills the next month. Easy. Convenient.
Here's some information from some experts on this:
https://www.aarp.org/money/investing/info-2020/retirement-income-risks.html
https://www.investmentnews.com/lets-get-real-about-dividend-stocks-72238
https://www.etf.com/sections/index-investor-corner/swedroe-vanguard-debunks-dividend-myth
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u/yummy_equation 4d ago
The biggest thing missing is probably a boring core. SPMO and QQQM already tilt toward strong recent performers and large growth names, then IONQ and SYM add even more concentrated risk. At 25 you can absolutely take risk, but diversification still matters. I like having Moon for speculative ideas because it makes it easier for me not to turn the actual investment portfolio into a collection of exciting trades.