Ted Aronson is an asset manager. His family taxable account portfolio has been featured and tracked by MarketWatch.com's lazy portfolios, maintained by Paul Farrel. The lazy portfolio has done very well prior to 2008-2009 crash.
The portfolio consists of the following index funds and their ETF substitutes:
- 20% in Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index (VEIEX) --- ETF: VWO
- 15% in Vanguard 500 Index (VFINX) --- ETF: VOO
- 15% in Vanguard Pacific Stock Index (VPACX) -- ETF: VPL
- 10% in Vanguard Extended Market Index (VEXMX) -- ETF: VXF
- 10% in Vanguard Inflation-Protected Securities (VIPSX) -- ETF: TIP
- 5% in Vanguard European Stock Index (VEURX) --- ETF: VGK
- 5% in Vanguard High-Yield Corporate (VWEHX) --- ETF: JNK
- 5% in Vanguard Long-Term U.S. Treasury (VUSTX) -- ETF: VGLT
- 5% in Vanguard Small Cap Growth (VISGX) --- ETF: VBK
- 5% in Vanguard Small Cap Value Index (VISVX) --- ETF: VBR
- 5% in Vanguard Total Stock Market Index (VTSMX) --- ETF: VTI
Asset Class | Ticker | Name |
---|---|---|
DIVERSIFIED EMERGING MKTS | VWO | Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock ETF |
LARGE BLEND | VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF |
DIVERSIFIED PACIFIC/ASIA | VPL | Vanguard Pacific Stock ETF |
MID-CAP BLEND | VXF | Vanguard Extended Market Index ETF |
Inflation-Protected Bond | TIP | iShares Barclays TIPS Bond |
EUROPE STOCK | VGK | Vanguard European ETF |
High Yield Bond | JNK | SPDR Barclays Capital High Yield Bond |
LONG GOVERNMENT | VGLT | Vanguard Long-Term Govt Bd Idx ETF |
Small Growth | VBK | Vanguard Small Cap Growth ETF |
SMALL VALUE | VBR | Vanguard Small Cap Value ETF |
LARGE BLEND | VTI | Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF |
'The total return on a portfolio of investments takes into account not only the capital appreciation on the portfolio, but also the income received on the portfolio. The income typically consists of interest, dividends, and securities lending fees. This contrasts with the price return, which takes into account only the capital gain on an investment.'
Using this definition on our asset we see for example:'The compound annual growth rate isn't a true return rate, but rather a representational figure. It is essentially a number that describes the rate at which an investment would have grown if it had grown the same rate every year and the profits were reinvested at the end of each year. In reality, this sort of performance is unlikely. However, CAGR can be used to smooth returns so that they may be more easily understood when compared to alternative investments.'
Using this definition on our asset we see for example:'Volatility is a statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index. Volatility can either be measured by using the standard deviation or variance between returns from that same security or market index. Commonly, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security. In the securities markets, volatility is often associated with big swings in either direction. For example, when the stock market rises and falls more than one percent over a sustained period of time, it is called a 'volatile' market.'
Which means for our asset as example:'Risk measures typically quantify the downside risk, whereas the standard deviation (an example of a deviation risk measure) measures both the upside and downside risk. Specifically, downside risk in our definition is the semi-deviation, that is the standard deviation of all negative returns.'
Using this definition on our asset we see for example:'The Sharpe ratio (also known as the Sharpe index, the Sharpe measure, and the reward-to-variability ratio) is a way to examine the performance of an investment by adjusting for its risk. The ratio measures the excess return (or risk premium) per unit of deviation in an investment asset or a trading strategy, typically referred to as risk, named after William F. Sharpe.'
Using this definition on our asset we see for example:'The Sortino ratio improves upon the Sharpe ratio by isolating downside volatility from total volatility by dividing excess return by the downside deviation. The Sortino ratio is a variation of the Sharpe ratio that differentiates harmful volatility from total overall volatility by using the asset's standard deviation of negative asset returns, called downside deviation. The Sortino ratio takes the asset's return and subtracts the risk-free rate, and then divides that amount by the asset's downside deviation. The ratio was named after Frank A. Sortino.'
Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:'The Ulcer Index is a technical indicator that measures downside risk, in terms of both the depth and duration of price declines. The index increases in value as the price moves farther away from a recent high and falls as the price rises to new highs. The indicator is usually calculated over a 14-day period, with the Ulcer Index showing the percentage drawdown a trader can expect from the high over that period. The greater the value of the Ulcer Index, the longer it takes for a stock to get back to the former high.'
Which means for our asset as example:'Maximum drawdown measures the loss in any losing period during a fund’s investment record. It is defined as the percent retrenchment from a fund’s peak value to the fund’s valley value. The drawdown is in effect from the time the fund’s retrenchment begins until a new fund high is reached. The maximum drawdown encompasses both the period from the fund’s peak to the fund’s valley (length), and the time from the fund’s valley to a new fund high (recovery). It measures the largest percentage drawdown that has occurred in any fund’s data record.'
Which means for our asset as example:'The Drawdown Duration is the length of any peak to peak period, or the time between new equity highs. The Max Drawdown Duration is the worst (the maximum/longest) amount of time an investment has seen between peaks (equity highs) in days.'
Which means for our asset as example:'The Drawdown Duration is the length of any peak to peak period, or the time between new equity highs. The Avg Drawdown Duration is the average amount of time an investment has seen between peaks (equity highs), or in other terms the average of time under water of all drawdowns. So in contrast to the Maximum duration it does not measure only one drawdown event but calculates the average of all.'
Using this definition on our asset we see for example: