Tags
asset allocation, Asta Funding, ATM fees, Colony Financial, corporate-media-retail complex, correlation, credit card debt, debt collectors, distressed assets, distressed consumers, distressed investing, Fortress Investment Group, hire purchase, pawn stores, payday loans, pre-paid debit cards, Rent-A-Center, rent-to-own, Sex and the City, student loans, stupidity, Tetragon Financial Group, unbanked, vice stocks
Continued from here.
Remember this series? Yep, I’m spending an unconscionable amount of time getting through it. FFS, I started last June, promising a closer look at my portfolio construction, allocation & metrics. [‘Hitting The Century‘ as it was my 100th post. And ‘Pretty Panties‘ because I was so bemused by the prior response to the phrase]. Instead, you get a bloody epic – like The Hobbit. Oh well, blog rules…how ’bout I try finish by next June?! 🙂
Honestly, I expected it to turn out like this. But I’m delighted at the great reader response – I guess I’ve been trying (ad nauseam) to pound the message home that portfolio construction/asset allocation is just as important as stock-picking. [Studies suggesting asset allocation accounts for 90% of returns have been debunked, but more recent studies certainly confirm an average/minimum 50% of returns are derived from this source]. Unfortunately, this is forgotten/ignored by a lot of investors, even great stock-pickers… Admittedly, they may (occasionally) practice some kind of ex-post allocation – better than nothing, but an ex-ante approach is vital if you really want to end up with a safer, more diversified & higher return portfolio.
OK, let’s trot on – here’s a familiar pie-chart as a quick reminder (sure, it’s a little out of date – but have you noticed my portfolio turnover?!):