The 2010 IRA portfolio Bad few weeks update.

Fund picks for 2010
The 2010 portfolio is presently almost five months into the year. The S&P 500 index has had a rough month in May and is now down 2.5% For the year. The 2010 portfolio is down less than 1 percent.
The funds in the portfolio are:
JAOSX Janus overseas fund
RYLPX Royce Low-Priced Stock Fund
PLDDX PIMCO Low Duration Bond Fund
WTSLX Westcore Select Fund
LZOEX. Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Fund
AKREX Akre Focus Fund
GOLDX. GAMCO (Gabelli) Gold fund
YAFFX Yacktman Focus Fund
WGRNX Wintergreen Fund
BJBHX Artio Global High Income
CGMRX CGM Realty fund

All of the funds with international exposure are weak. The bond funds and the CGM Realty fund are gainers for the year as well as the Westcore select fund which continues to do well.



Fund picks for 2010

Market timing 5/10/2010

Well Friday I did buy back at a brisk pace. I even loaded up on mutual funds which traded at the closing price. The NASDAQ closed at 2266. It closed today at 2375. I did not expect such handsome gains in one day. Sometimes you just get lucky.

Market timing signal May 6, 2010

Yesterday 5/5/10 and today 5/6/10 my model gave a buy signal. Since it has been only two weeks since the market peaked I am going to suggest the market may have a few days to go before it bottoms. That said the market is trading below my sell post of March 23 when the NASDAQ was about 2400. Today the NASDAQ closed near 2320 which is significantly below the 2400 where much of my long interest was sold or hedged. Any weakness below today’s close provides a buying opportunity. Do I think the markets will trade lower than today? Yes. We could be heading down significantly more. That said I think the long term trend is up. Selling at 2400 and buying back at 2300 is a four percent gain. I sold out higher than 2400 and hope to buy back less than 2300. Unless the market gaps up strongly on 5/7/2010 I will be buying back at a brisk pace. You will never sell the tops and seldom buy the bottoms but as long as you make money on your trades who cares? Market timing is about beating buy and hold.

The 2010 IRA portfolio April update.

Fund picks for 2010
The 2010 portfolio is presently four months into the year. The S&P 500 index had a positive month in April and is now up 6.4% the 2010 portfolio is up 7.7 percent.
The funds in the portfolio are:
JAOSX Janus overseas fund
RYLPX Royce Low-Priced Stock Fund
PLDDX PIMCO Low Duration Bond Fund
WTSLX Westcore Select Fund
LZOEX. Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Fund
AKREX Akre Focus Fund
GOLDX. GAMCO (Gabelli) Gold fund
YAFFX Yacktman Focus Fund
WGRNX Wintergreen Fund
BJBHX Artio Global High Income
CGMRX CGM Realty fund

The Janus Overseas Fund which had been leading the pack suffered a setback in April, as did the Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Fund and the Wintergreen Fund. These funds have significant holdings in nations which did not perform as well as the United States markets in April. Making up for the lack luster performance of the overseas funds were the funds which invest primarily in domestic stocks. The CGM Realty fund is now up 16.5% for the year and the Westcore Select Fund is up 14%. The GAMCO (Gabelli) Gold fund which had been lagging is now up 7.6% about even with the total portfolio. The performance differences from month to month underscore the importance of diversification in your portfolio.



Fund picks for 2010