Monday, March 20, 2017

What is my investment strategy





What is my investment strategy?  I have none. I have no formal financial education - I am a cancer researcher! So, I gobble up any piece of reasonable advice on my favorite personal finance blogs. 


Let me give you an example of how erratic my financial decisions are.

It was just yesterday when I posted my decision that at present, I would not buy anything else but bonds in the pre-tax account, and pile up cash with whatever is left from my paycheck.

The bonds (VBTLX in my pre-tax portfolio) are still a target, at least until I meet our HR-provided financial advisor (I will be meeting him soon). So, stay tuned for this "change of heart".

The cash, however, is another story. I just deployed some of it to the stock market. Again.

What made me change my mind? 


Today I found an interesting blog, Lyn Alden. I was reading her post 3 Bubbles Growing in the US Economy and the author's analysis of what caves the U.S. middle class and what our investment options are, resonated with me.
 

Read the post, and you will find out in detail what three investment options Lyn proposes. From the three possibilities, I do not have cash-secured puts to sell (I did not even know that such existed 🙍), and I would not invest abroad these days (I am acquainted with the volatility of the situation abroad). So, two of the solutions provided in the post were of no interest to me.
 

However, the third option of buying real estate and REITs was of interest. I have been accumulating VNQ shares since last year, and the last time I bought some was this past summer, when the ETF's price was at its peak ( > $90). 

Ever since the VNQ price started going down, I have been considering another investment in the ETF.  So, Lyn Alden’s post was the final push I needed to plunge another $3,000 into VNQ. 

I did put a VNQ trade order, but my "buy" price is lower than the current price, so it may take some time for the order to be executed. In other words, my erratic financial decision might be overturned if I do not get the desired price.
 

What are your solutions in dealing with the overheated market?

P.S. I am going back to Lyn's blog to read all her long-long posts. 

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