VANGUARD 529 INDEX FUND PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE FOR JANUARY 2013
Posted on | March 8, 2013 | No Comments
Here is the performance of our Vanguard 529 portfolio for the month of January 2013. If you will recall, December’s monthly automatic contribution happened on January 2, 2013. January 2, 2013, was a great foreshadowing day for the month of January. It was a “gap-up” day. The market opened considerably higher than the close of the last day of December. The rest of January performed equally as well. Here is a link to a graph of Vanguard’s S&P 500 Index Fund ETF (ticker: VOO). You can see the performance for the month of January and the “gap open” on January 2, 2013.
Link: http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=VOO&p=D&st=2012-12-24&en=2013-01-31&id=p14054836099
The allocation on 31-Jan-2013 was as follows:
| 31-Jan-2013 | |
|
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Portfolio
|
37.91% |
|
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Portfolio
|
13.61% |
|
Vanguard High-Yield Bond Portfolio
|
15.46% |
|
Vanguard Small-Cap Index Portfolio
|
16.80% |
|
Vanguard Total Stock Market Portfolio
|
16.22% |
| Total | 100.00% |
Only a few months ago, I was about to rebalance, shifting more money into the international fund. But my rule of two straight months of 5% or greater deviation from the desired asset allocation was not satisfied. In hindsight, I kind of wish I did rebalance anyway. The international fund has made a nice comeback since then.
Below is the performance of the funds last month (Jan. 02, 2013–Jan. 31, 2013). The portfolio as a whole was up +1.57%.
|
+1.37% |
|
+2.86% |
|
+3.54% |
|
+0.43% |
|
-0.44% |
Here is the performance of our two benchmarks for the month of January 2013:
- Growth Fund of America (CGFAX): +2.06% (without fees)
- Oppenheimer Blended Age-Based 0–6 Years Portfolio: +2.29%
Here is how the overall market performed between Jan. 02, 2013, and Jan. 31, 2013. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the superstar during January 2013. At the time of this writing, the Dow Jones has passed its all-time high—not too shabby!
|
+2.30% |
|
+3.34% |
|
+0.96% |
I am going to start working on the annual performance update next and evaluate how we are performing to plan.
Check out the performance page; here is a link to the performance page.
Vanguard 529 Index Fund Portfolio Performance for Dec 2012 and Calendar Year 2012
Posted on | January 15, 2013 | 2 Comments
Here is the performance of our Vanguard 529 portfolio for the month of December 2012. The contribution to the 529 this month actually happened on Jan. 2, 2013, so I am using that as the end of Dec 2012 for all portfolios. December was an excellent month, especially in regard to total returns, but also we received another distribution from Upromise of $84, which is impressive considering our monthly contribution is $76. Also, we were lucky enough to receive some gift money, which is always welcome. The benchmarks have been updated with the Upromise amount and the gift money. As a reminder, the gift money is used in the cost basis calculation, whereas the Upromise contribution is not (it is considered “free” money).
The allocation on 02-Jan-2013 was as follows:
| 02-Jan-2013 | |
|
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Portfolio
|
37.96% |
|
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Portfolio
|
13.87% |
|
Vanguard High-Yield Bond Portfolio
|
15.64% |
|
Vanguard Small-Cap Index Portfolio
|
16.50% |
|
Vanguard Total Stock Market Portfolio
|
16.03% |
| Total | 100.00% |
Below is the performance of the funds last month (Nov. 30, 2012–Jan. 02, 2013). The portfolio as a whole was up +4.00%.
|
+6.10% |
|
+3.79% |
|
+5.85% |
|
-0.50% |
|
+1.54% |
Here is the performance of our two benchmarks for the month of December 2012:
- Growth Fund of America (CGFAX): +3.01% (without fees)
- Oppenheimer Blended Age-Based 0–6 Years Portfolio: +3.94%
Here is how the overall market performed between Nov. 30, 2012, and Jan. 02, 2013. The performances of the different indices were much more similar to each other (as opposed to the previous month, when each index had totally different returns).
|
+3.26% |
|
+2.97% |
|
+3.38% |
The Business Insider publishes charts of the day; this one caught my attention and explains some of the incredible equity performance for December 2012. Last month there was some serious money flowing in the stock mutual funds. Be sure to check the rest of the charts on that site as well.
Stock Mutual Fund Inflows
Even though our “year” ends in February, everyone (including myself) wants to know how the Vanguard Index Fund portfolio performed last year. I am not going to compare it with the market or any other fund, because all that matters is how our holdings did—not necessarily how well they did, but if they performed according to plan. Remember, we assumed 7% annual gain per year in order to meet our goal (without gift money or Upromise money). Just comparing the change in NAV (which includes dividends and capital gains for the trust) for each fund, the portfolio was up a very impressive +14.88%. Not too bad for a “moderate” portfolio—well ahead of our 7% per year goal.
| Jan. 2012 – Jan. 2013 | |
|
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Portfolio
|
16.67% |
|
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Portfolio
|
3.85% |
|
Vanguard High-Yield Bond Portfolio
|
13.93% |
|
Vanguard Small-Cap Index Portfolio
|
19.55% |
|
Vanguard Total Stock Market Portfolio
|
17.42% |
| Total Portfolio | 14.88% |
Check out the performance page; our Vanguard portfolio and the Oppenheimer Blended Age-Based portfolio still are essentially tied, but our Vanguard portfolio is pulling ahead. Also, note that for the CGFAX fund, the performance in the chart is after the 5.25% front-end load. CGFAX is closing ground also. I think CGFAX may be hard to beat in a strong bull market, especially with our position in government bonds, which may be under pressure in the future. Here is a link to the performance page.
Stock-Picking Contest for 2012: Outperformed the S&P 500
Posted on | January 6, 2013 | No Comments
I finally had a chance to review the end-of-year distributions for the ETFs I had selected for the stock-picking contest. Good news: my picks outperformed the S&P 500 by 0.36 percentage points. If I were an official contestant, I would have come in second! Here is a link to the results of the actual contestants: Best Stock Pick Competition Q4.
These are my results:
For some background on the rationale for the ETFs I chose, earlier results, and my suggested improvements for this year, see the following posts:
- Original Thesis: link
- First-Quarter Results: link
- Second-Quarter Results: link
- Third-Quarter Results: link
- Detailed Review of CY2012 and my CY2013 recommendations: Improvements To The Diversified ETF Portfolio That Beat The S&P 500 In 2012
The last link above lists my picks for this year and the logic behind them. I selected five ETFs. If I had to select only four, I would keep the equity holdings and give up on the bond holding. The four equity holdings for 2013 would be as follows:
Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight
- Ticker: RSP
- Expense Ratio: 0.4%
- Yield: 1.47%
Vanguard MSCI Emerging Market ETF
- Ticker: VWO
- Expense Ratio: 0.20%
- Yield: 3.39%
Vanguard REIT Index ETF Shares
- Ticker: VNQ
- Expense Ratio: 0.10%
- Yield: 3.41%
ETRACS Linked to the Wells Fargo Business Development Company Index
- Ticker: BDCS
- Expense Ratio: 0.85%
- Yield: 7.14% (variable)
Vanguard 529 Index Fund Portfolio Performance for November 2012
Posted on | December 30, 2012 | No Comments
Here is the performance of our Vanguard 529 portfolio for the month of November 2012.
The allocation on 30-Nov-2012 is as follows:
| 30-Nov-12 | |
|
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Portfolio
|
37.11% |
|
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Portfolio
|
14.46% |
|
Vanguard High-Yield Bond Portfolio
|
16.04% |
|
Vanguard Small-Cap Index Portfolio
|
16.29% |
|
Vanguard Total Stock Market Portfolio
|
16.10% |
| Total | 100.00% |
The bond funds are starting to lose ground, which means money is coming out of the bond funds and going into the equity funds. The international fund is up nicely, making its way back to 40% of the portfolio holdings.
Below is the performance of the funds last month (Oct. 31 – Nov. 30). The portfolio as a whole was up +1.09%.
|
+1.80% |
|
+0.72% |
|
+1.14% |
|
+0.63% |
|
+0.19% |
Here is the performance of our two benchmarks for the month of November 2012:
- Growth Fund of America (CGFAX): +2.08% (without fees)
- Oppenheimer Blended Age-Based 0–6 Years Portfolio: +1.15%
Here is how the overall market performed between Oct. 31, 2012, and Nov. 30, 2012. The performance of the different indices varied greatly last month.
|
+0.28% |
|
-0.54% |
|
+1.11% |
I think the market conditions helped CGFAX last month. When you see wide variations in index performance, you are usually in a “stock pickers” market. CGFAX had the right selection of stocks last month. Below is CGFAX’s top 10 holdings as of last September. YTD performance is as of Dec. 28, 2012.
Check out the performance page; our Vanguard portfolio and the Oppenheimer Blended Age-Based portfolio still are essentially tied, but our Vanguard has a slight lead. Here is a link to the performance page.
Tags: 529 Performance > Actively Managed > CGFAX > Vanguard
Vanguard 529 Index Fund Portfolio Performance for October 2012
Posted on | November 27, 2012 | No Comments
Here is the performance of our Vanguard 529 portfolio for the month of October 2012.
For the markets, October was relatively flat, with a drop in value as November grew closer. One news report would say how the market liked President Obama because of easy money, unlimited Federal Reserve money printing, and record deficit spending, all of which Governor Romney promised to correct. Then, in classic news hype, the market rallied going into November as pundits started discussing that Romney had a chance of winning the election. October ended with Hurricane Sandy, which closed the markets for two days. Shortly we will be able to see the post-election results and they will not be pretty.
The allocation on 31-Oct-2012 is as follows:
| 31-Oct-12 | |
|
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Portfolio
|
36.82% |
|
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Portfolio
|
14.59% |
|
Vanguard High Yield Bond Portfolio
|
16.13% |
|
Vanguard Small-Cap Index Portfolio
|
16.17% |
|
Vanguard Total Stock Market Portfolio
|
16.29% |
| Total | 100.00% |
Below is the performance of the funds last month (Sept. 28 – Oct. 31). The portfolio as a whole was down -0.15%.
|
+0.54% |
|
-1.77% |
|
-1.44% |
|
+0.13% |
|
+1.03% |
Here is the performance of our two benchmarks for the month of October 2012.
- Growth Fund of America (CGFAX): -1.22% (without fees)
- Oppenheimer Blended Age-Based 0–6 Years Portfolio: -0.63%
Check out the performance page; our Vanguard portfolio and the Oppenheimer Blended Age-Based portfolio still are essentially tied, but Oppenheimer has a slight lead. Here is a link to the performance page.
Tags: 529 > 529 Performance > Index Fund > Oppenheimer > Vanguard
Vanguard 529 Index Fund Portfolio Performance for September 2012
Posted on | November 25, 2012 | No Comments
Here is the performance of our Vanguard 529 portfolio for the month of September 2012.
I know I have been delinquent in providing updates here on the blog. I have been watching the asset allocation closely to see if a rebalance is required. For the month of September, the international fund has continued to correct itself, moving farther from our rebalance threshold of 5% from target.
The allocation on 28-Sept-2012 is as follows:
| 28-Sept-12 | |
|
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Portfolio
|
36.53% |
|
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Portfolio
|
14.54% |
|
Vanguard High Yield Bond Portfolio
|
15.95% |
|
Vanguard Small-Cap Index Portfolio
|
16.52% |
|
Vanguard Total Stock Market Portfolio
|
16.45% |
| Total | 99.99% |
Below is the performance of the funds last month (Aug. 31 – Sept. 28). The portfolio as a whole was up +2.37%. Another great month after August.
|
+3.61% |
|
+2.54% |
|
+2.71% |
|
+0.13% |
|
+1.14% |
Here is the performance of our two benchmarks for the month of September 2012.
- Growth Fund of America (CGFAX): +3.22% (without fees)
- Oppenheimer Blended Age-Based 0–6 Years Portfolio: +2.13%
Check out the performance page; our Vanguard portfolio and the Oppenheimer Blended Age-Based portfolio are tied, with Oppenheimer ahead by a couple dollars. Here is a link to the performance page.
Tags: 529 > 529 Performance > Index Fund > Oppenheimer > Vanguard
Vanguard 529 Index Fund Portfolio Performance for August 2012
Posted on | September 25, 2012 | No Comments
Here is the performance of our Vanguard 529 portfolio for the month of August-2012.
Been watching the asset allocation the last couple months. The three equity funds have been increasing at about the same rate, so overall allocation has not changed too much. Interesting point, back in June when we got the 1st signal to re-balance, that marked the low in the International Fund.
The allocation on 31-August-2012 is as follows:
| 31-Aug-12 | |
|
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Portfolio
|
36.05% |
|
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Portfolio
|
14.86% |
|
Vanguard High Yield Bond Portfolio
|
16.16% |
|
Vanguard Small-Cap Index Portfolio
|
16.48% |
|
Vanguard Total Stock Market Portfolio
|
16.44% |
| Subtotal | 99.99% |
Below is the performance of the funds last month (July 31 – Aug. 31). The portfolio as a whole was up +2.08%.
|
+2.69% |
|
+2.50% |
|
+3.47% |
|
+0.00% |
|
+0.85% |
Here is the performance of our two benchmarks for the month of August 2012.
- Growth Fund of America (CGFAX): +3.13% (without fees)
- Oppenheimer Blended Age-Based 0–6 Years Portfolio: +2.40%
Check out the performance page; our Vanguard portfolio and the Oppenheimer Blended Age-Based are tied, with Oppenheimer ahead by a couple dollars. Here is a link to the performance page.
Tags: 529 Performance > CGFAX > Index Fund > Oppenheimer > Vanguard
Options for Student Loan Debt
Posted on | August 28, 2012 | No Comments
Even with the best planning, student loans may be the only option for a lot of people. The best way to pay off a student loan is to put together an appropriate budget, that includes payments toward these debts. To make payments, this requires income, which usually means a job. Jobs are not all that easy to come by these days. Below is a guest post which highlights some options for dealing with student loans. I have not used nor endorse these services. Just want to make everyone aware of the options out there.
Read more
Updates: June-2012 Vanguard 529 Index Fund and More Free Money from Upromise
Posted on | July 24, 2012 | No Comments
Here are some quick updates for everyone.
The asset allocations for the five index funds were posted at the start of the month; we did not get a chance to rebalance, which is OK. I would rather have to rebalance because a fund has grown too large as opposed to the fund having lost too much value, even though the end effect is about the same (sell high, buy low).
Below is the performance of the funds last month. The portfolio as a whole was up +3.79%.
|
+5.94% |
|
+3.91% |
|
+4.49% |
|
+0.00% |
|
+2.03% |
Here is the performance of our two benchmarks for the month of June 2012.
- Growth Fund of America (CGFAX): +2.96% (without fees)
- Oppenheimer Blended Age-Based 0–6 Years Portfolio: +3.65%
Check out the performance page; our Vanguard portfolio is officially “winning.” Here is a link to the performance page.
We also got a Upromise deposit last month for $72. We did not spend any extra for this free money (just normal in-budget spending). When we add this to the $50 we got last year, it brings our free money from Upromise up to approximately $120. Our plan assumes a 7% return per year. When Genevieve turns 18, that $120 will potentially be worth $232 in today’s dollars (after adjusting for 3% inflation).
Tags: 529 Performance > Upromise > Vanguard
July-2012 Rebalancing Update
Posted on | July 2, 2012 | No Comments
Readers will recall from last month that we had our first month in which one of the funds reached its maximum allowable drift from the desired allocation. The International Index Fund was at 35% of the total portfolio (down 5% from the desired 40% allocation). The end of July marks the second month. If the International Index Fund is -5% or greater for 2 straight months, we will rebalance. Well, 29-June-2012 marked our automatic investment for the month, lets check the allocation real quick.
The allocation on 01-July-2012 is as follows:
| 1-Jul-12 | ||
|
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Portfolio
|
$2,153.59 | 35.90% |
|
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Portfolio
|
$903.39 | 15.06% |
|
Vanguard High Yield Bond Portfolio
|
$969.33 | 16.16% |
|
Vanguard Small-Cap Index Portfolio
|
$992.18 | 16.54% |
|
Vanguard Total Stock Market Portfolio
|
$980.64 | 16.35% |
| Subtotal | $5,999.13 | 100.00% |
Since the International Index Fund has regained some ground (almost a full percentage point), we will leave as is and see what next month brings. Interesting note, you can see where money has come out of bonds and went into the equity funds. The Small-Cap Index is back to being the fund with the largest percentage gain (1.54% from its desired allocation).
Tags: 529 Performance > Asset allocation > rebalancing
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