Portfolio Allocation – Feb

First, let me say how said I am that I deleted my entire post on this by accident. As a result, I will have to do it over. Please forgive me if I don’t have quite the panache as in the first one (not that you would know the difference).

Some of you may recall that in the spring, I experimented with the Sell Stocks in May and Go Away? approach. Over the summer, I watched stocks continue to go up and then bounce up and down with wild volatility in the fall. At that time, I decided that although the approach was probably a good one, that I was probably not deft enough to fully leverage it OOF! Market Takes it on the Chin

Since then, I have been rebalancing my portfolio. However, as far as I recall, I haven’t really shared what I’ve actually done.

So, here is my portfolio as it stands today:

Ticker	Type	Weight %
PRWCX	Moderate Allocation	18.63%
DODGX	Large Value	15.93%
PRMSX	Diversified Emerging Mkts	14.70%
PRNEX	Natural Resources	10.92%
PIEQX	Foreign Large Blend	8.92%
PRFDX	Large Value	8.72%
PRSVX	Small Blend	8.41%
TRMCX	Mid-Cap Value	6.86%
PRGFX	Large Growth	6.50%
PRU	Prudential	0.39%
RPMGX	Mid-Cap Growth	0.02%

Some comments:

• PRWCX – This is my “anchor” fund as it has been solid…doesn’t soar with the highs and doesn’t crash with the lows. This is the fund I will tend to draw from when selecting a new fund such as my recent purchase of PRNEX (natural resources). I expect it will typically comprise 10-15% of my portfolio.

• DODGX – I think this is probably the maximum allocation for this fund. I also notice it may be somewhat redundant with PRFDX. I will have to go back and check on why I thought both made sense (assuming I did).

• PRMSX – this is my core international holding. This too is about where I want it (15%). However, I am thinking about adding one more fund, PRLAX which has a concentration in Latin America. Latin America is not quite as heavy in PRMSX, so a Latin America specific fund may round out my holdings there. I think it would comprise as much as 5% in my portfolio.

• PRNEX – This fund is mostly focused on energy. Ideally, I’d like to find something that would broaden the scope a bit as far as commodities are concerned, such as agriculture, timber…even water! I think this will be another staple in my portfolio as I just can’t see how this doesn’t keep performing without some serious changes in the world such as lower consumption (I don’t see it happening) or new technology (always hard to predict).

• PIEQX – this fund is mostly focused on Europe with a heavy weighting in the UK. The purpose of this fund is to grab a piece of the world not really included in my emerging markets fund (PRMSX). I’m probably slightly underweight here…should probably be between 10-15%

• PRFDX – as I mentioned, I need to check this one out again versus DODGX

• PRSVX – the obligatory small-cap. Ok with the weighting for now.

• TRMCX – mid-cap. Ok with the weighting for now.

• PRGFX – growth. I actually think I may need some more weight here. However, I am thinking of changing to a different growth fund for the purpose (RGAEX) and funding it with monies I had previously been directing toward DODGX. I think this could be as much as 10% of my portfolio.

• PRU – I received this stock when they de-mutualized. It has done nicely, but is such a negligible part of my portfolio, I will probably sell it at some point just to get it out of there (I don’t really invest in individual stocks).

• RPMGX – This fund is closed, so I keep a few bucks in there so I can invest there again if I choose to do so.

Pareto’s Principle (80/20 Rule) of Personal Finance

I’m still considering at least one other fund, which is a small/mid-cap international fund. The most obvious option is PRIDX from T Rowe Price (because that’s the fund family where I keep the majority of my portfolio). However, it seems a bit lackluster performance-wise, so I’m still undecided.

Also, I find myself having difficulty creating the weightings I want as it always has to add up to 100% (darn math always getting in the way). In general, however, I would like to have approximately 35% (maybe even 40%) of my allocation to be outside of the US. I expect that I’ll have everything more or less settled sometime in March.