‘Lazy Portfolios:’ Beating The Same Old Drum

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A few days ago, MarketWatch featured another update of their so called ‘Lazy Portfolios.’

If you missed my previous blog on it (http://thewallstreetbully.blogspot.com/2007/01/beyond-ridiculous-portfolio-for-all.html), it’s a selection of various Vanguard low-cost, no load (good idea) index funds. In various configurations, it has outperformed the benchmark S&P; 500 index over 1, 3 and 5 years.

The repeated chest bumping every quarter is all about the fact that no timing and no trading is necessary. That’s good; I am all for limited trading and holding on to investments that are going up.

I am just wondering why a longer performance period was not included. For example, how about looking at a 7-year period, which would include the last bear market? Could it be that the downturn in the market from 2000 to 20003 took such a huge bite out of that portfolio that it’s better not to report?

That’s what the numbers say. As I reported before, the ‘Lazy Portfolio’ only lost 30% vs. the S&P;’s 33%. If I had owned the lazy portfolio, and not the S&P; 500, I would have felt so much better, how about you?

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