Dashboard ETF Revision
April 21, 2012
Since Buy DON’T Hold was published in April 2010 there have been many additions to the ETF universe which now contain over 1,200 ETFs and ETNs valued at over $1.25 trillion. I have reviewed the existing list and made a number of deletions and additions based upon the latest information available. For example, the nine Morningstar Style Box ETFs (page 89 in book) were replaced with more liquid ETFs. The replacements have a much smaller bid-ask spreads and much higher daily volume, always a preferred situation. Additionally, the number of International–Country ETFs (page 90-91) was greatly reduced. The diverse holding of the existing MSCI EAFE (EFA) and the Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) are more than adequate. I also left a handful of other high volume ETFs that need separate coverage. The latest list is provided at the end of this document in Appendix 1.
A copy of this list will be sent to and so that they can update their information and also be ready for its implementation when the next buy signal is given.
As a manager of your own investments you can add or delete ETFs to this list to meet your individual preferences. You can also copy your ETF list into and save it for reviewing your own portfolio performance. Remember to make sure that you perform your due diligence on any ETFs that you purchase. This can be accomplished by reviewing the portfolio components, annual expense ratio, and other data on each ETF before you purchase it. Sites to consider obtaining the information are:
and your brokerage platforms.
Change in Number of Invested ETFs
I am also changing the number of recommended ETFs from 15 to 5. This change is based on other additional ETF research that I have performed over the past two years indicating that the performance deteriorates with large number of ETFs in the portfolio. The reason that I initially recommended 15 ETF was to allow investors to broadly diversify among the five asset classes (pages 86-87). Clearly, this is not an optimal approach as all these categories are not top-rated at the same time. Therefore, I will instruct to invest in only the top 5 ETFs going forward. The past performance results of the 15 ETF portfolio will still be kept on that website. You can also decide for yourself if you prefer to have 5 ETFs in your portfolio or if you prefer to reduce or expand this number. Tailor your portfolio to your needs, preferences and risk tolerance.
Fixed Income Investing
As far as the use of the Fixed Income ETFs are concerned, they can be used for investment during a Dashboard SELL signal and/or a core position that is not changed unless each ETF falls below its own 20-dma or falls below the stop LIMIT order that you decide on. Many conservative investors like to have a permanent 40%-60% position of fixed income. Remember that on a buy signal NO fixed income ETFs should be bought even if they are ranked high on the relative strength list, as they are defensive and will fall in price when equity ETFs rise. Refer to page 144 of text for a more complete explanation. Likewise, on a Dashboard Sell signal, the fixed income ETFs should not be sold.
Appendix 1. Dashboard V2 Revised List April 21, 2012
Fixed Income
iShares Barclay 7-10 Year Tsy IEF
iShares Barclay Aggregate Bond AGG
iShares Lehman 20+ Year Tsy TLT
iShares SP US Preferred PFF
Pimco Total Return BOND (New fund April 2012)
SPDR Barclay High Yield Bond JNK
Commodities
iShares Silver SLV
Market Vectors Gold Miners GDX
PowerShares DB Commodity Index DBC
PowerShares DB Agricultural Commodities DBA
Market Vector Agribusiness MOO
SPDR S&P Oil/Gas Exploration &Prod XOP
United States Gasoline UGA
International
iShares MSCI EAFE EFA
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets EEM
iShares MSCI Taiwan EWT
iShares MSCI Australia EWA
iShares MSCI Canada EWC
Market Vectors Brazil Small Cap BRF
WisdomTree India Earnings Fund EPI
PowerShares Int’l Dividend Achievers PID
SPDR DJ Wilshire Int’l Real Estate RWX
Sector/Industry
SPDR Consumer Discretionary XLY
SPDR Consumer Staples XLP
SPDR Healthcare XLV
SPDR Industrial XLI
PowerShares QQQ QQQ
SPDR DJIA Trust DIA
SPDR Utilities XLU
SPDR Energy XLE
SPDR Financial XLF
SPDR Homebuilders XHB
SPDR Materials XLB
SPDR Retail XRT
Vanguard U.S. REIT VNQ
Vanguard Information Technology VGT
iShares NASDAQ Biotech IBB
iShares DJ Transportation IYT
MarketVectors Semiconductor SMH
Guggenheim Zacks Sector Rotation XRO
PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy PBW
PowerShares Water Resources PHO
PowerShares DWA Technical Leaders PDP
Style
iShares Russell 1000 IWB
iShares Russell 2000 IWM
SPDR S&P Midcap 400 MDY
SPDR SP 500 SPY
Currency
CurrencyShares EuroTrust FXE
PowerShares DB U.S. Dollar Index Bullish UUP
Inverse (Short the Market with a long position)
ProShares Short QQQ PSQ
ProShares Short SP 500 Index SH
ProShares Short Dow 30 DOG
ProShares Short 20-year Treasury TBF