Two comments about your portfolio: 1) It appears to have zero
international exposure and 2) It is a bit heavy in tech stocks (they
are about 30% of your portfolio under a broad definition of tech that
includes IBB and IYX).

I'd lighten up on the tech, and add foreign holdings. This should
improve your diversification and give you some protection if U.S.
markets underperform over the next few decades. Vanguard's Total
International Stock Index Fund (VGTSX) would be a great way to do this.
The index's expense ratio is .31% and its holding includes stocks in
both developed and emerging markets.

good luck,

Tom B.

Thanks for the input. To answer your questions....I think I am reasonably
good at picking stocks but time is going to become an issue. I am not going
to have the time to babysit my holdings liek I would like to. Yes, this is
all that we own and it is in a combination of taxable accounts and
Roth/Regular IRA's.


"joe.spam.weinstein[at]gmail.com" <joe.weinstein[at]gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1110589324.696083.257970[at]z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
- quote -

Injun Joe wrote:
- quote -

How were the stocks and sector funds chosen? Where are the bonds and
other asset classes, like REITs? Is it a taxable or tax-deferred
account?

I suggest entering your portfolio in RiskGrades
http://www.riskgrades.com/ (it is free) to get an assessment of your
overall portfolio. Unless you have reason to believe that you are good
at investing at sector funds and individual stocks, or you are
practising "tax loss harvesting" in a taxable account, or you are
sitting on large unrealized short-term capital gains, it may be
advisable to sell all the sector funds and individual stocks and plunk
them in a Wilshire 5000 index fund.

It depends on why you bought all that stuff. Are you good at picking
stocks and sector funds that do better than SPY or VTI while you
hold them? One thing to ask is whether this stuff is being held in an
account that has low transaction fees. If you get advice or the yen
to move stuff around, make sure the moving is as cheap as possible.
It's not too badly over/underweighted as far as equities are
concerned
so I would just watch each of them and when you either cull a loser, or
take profits from a winner, I would suggest putting the money in VTI
and
leaving it as long as (and when) you want to be in the market.
The closer you are to a Buffett, the more you should concentrate on
a
few high-probability winners. The closer you are to not knowing
anything
(like me), the more you should diversify and then don't move it. SPY or
VTI
will efficiently give you market returns by definition. Most
professional fund
managers don't do as well as broad index funds over the long term...
Joe

PS: Is this in a taxable or tax-deferred account? Is this all for
long-term
growth, or would you have to tap this for emergency (or planned)
purposes
within 5 years or so? Is this *all* your investments?

I am looking for some constructive criticism of my current portfolio. I am
mid-40's, wife is on disability and have a son in college. We have large
medical bills and will not be able to add much to our current stash. Is
Consolidation a good idea? Overweighted/underweighted anywhere? I would
appreciate your suggestions/guidance/comments.

Thanks

15% S&P 500 Index Funds
8.0% Russell 2000 (IWO)
6.5% MidCap SPDR (MDY)
6.0% Rydex Leisure Fund (RYLIX)
5.5% Energy SPDR (XLE)
5.0% Financial SPDR (XLF)
4.5% Biotech SPDR (IBB)
4.5% Telecom SPDR (IYX)
4.5% Apple Computer (AAPL)
4.5% Growth Fund of America (AGTHX)
4.5% Nasdaq Index (QQQQ)
4.5% Anheuser Busch (BUD)
4.5% Home Depot (HD)
3.5% Applied Materials (AMAT)
3.5% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
3.5% Walgreens (WAG)
3.0% General Electric (GE)
3.0% Intel (INTC)
3.0% American Eagle (AEOS)
3.0% Microsoft (MSFT)

Injun Joe