Portfolio Management | ITA Wealth Management

The Skeptical Investor: Should I Follow An Active or Passive Management Model?

July 13, 2015 By Lowell Herr

What if you fall into the investor class who is not completely convinced of the benefits of the momentum model or active management? Is there a middle ground where one might combine the Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) model and the momentum model? It is easy to

The Elements of Investing: Burton G. Malkiel and Charles D. Ellis

September 3, 2015 By Lowell Herr

The Elements of Investing is a small investment book patterned after the very popular book on writing, The Elements of Style. There are five primary sections to this book and they are as follows. It All Starts With Saving Index Diversify Avoid Blunders Keep It Simple There are many

Revisiting The “Swensen Six” Portfolio

January 13, 2016 By Lowell Herr

Investors looking for a well-diversified and basic portfolio need look no further than the “Swensen Six.” Both HedgeHunter and I’ve written about David Swensen’s simple portfolio before. More references can be found by searching for Swensen on this blog. Here is the “Swensen Six” portfolio in its most basic form

Splitting Portfolio Into Multiple Parts

May 23, 2016 By Lowell Herr

Reducing portfolio risk is at the forefront of investor thinking after a flat market in 2015. Momentum principles, as laid out in the Kipling 2.5.1 spreadsheet, do not always work as well as preferred, due in part to the 33-day portfolio review waiting period. We see the rankings change

Portfolio Construction From Over 100 ETFs

July 19, 2016 By Lowell Herr

Building a portfolio from over 100 ETFs and 6800 stocks results in the following group of securities. Beginning with a base of over 100 commission free ETFs from TDAmeritrade and then adding in a few specialized, sector, and commodities plus several highly screen stocks, we narrow the list to the

Why Focus On Value and Momentum

October 21, 2016 By Lowell Herr

ITA followers know that even the passively managed portfolios are skewed toward the value side of a broad Strategic Asset Allocation plan. Here is an example from the Schrodinger portfolio Dashboard. Schrodinger Dashboard: Schrodinger’s Strategic Asset Allocation plan is laid out in the following Dashboard. Check the nine asset

Investing 101

January 24, 2017 By Lowell Herr

Beginning Investors It is not unusual to read or hear someone say – “I don’t understand what you are talking about.” When I pick up on these writings or statements I know it is about time to go back to a 100 level course and lay out some basic ideas

Sector Investing: A Simple Approach

January 30, 2017 By Lowell Herr

Occasionally, I’ll encounter an ITA reader who is interested in constructing a portfolio around sectors. Those who have read Gary Antonacci’s book, Dual Momentum Investing may recall him stating the following. “My favorite dual momentum strategy is one that rotates among the strongest U.S. stock market equity sectors.” This blog