30 Days 30 Ways To Build A Better Portfolio

Advisors look to alternative investments to diversify, hedge against inflation and decrease correlation, but should all clients have alts?

Over time, by angling a portfolio towards value-oriented stocks and small caps, investors will be compensated for taking on additional risk according to academic research.

ETFs let you maintain asset allocation while taking tax losses.

Can a different investment model create greater portfolio diversification than the traditional 60/40 asset allocation model?

The real estate market may have had its ups and downs in recent years, but REITs are holding their value and merit a place in client portfolios.

Gold is down from it's high of around $1890 in 2011, but some investors are still inquiring about including gold and other precious metals in their portfolios.

At its most basic, relative strength is a ratio of stock or index price-to-market average or other indices.

With a Roth IRA conversion and a precise recharacterization, a client can report the right amount of income to fill up a low tax bracket each year.

Higher taxes on long-term capital gains may revive interest in like-kind exchanges of investment property.

Rebalancing is simple, but not easy to do. With automated rebalanicing, little or no action is required to achieve even more consistent investment allocation.

Here’s the argument for talking your clients into taking less risk today to get higher returns in the future.

Here’s why these questionnaires don’t work -- and a better way to assess how much risk a client should take on.

Instead of converting a traditional IRA to one Roth IRA, convert to two or more Roth IRAs, by asset class or by individual securities.

Nearly all advisors include international equities in portfolio construction so why would we exclude the even larger asset class of international bonds?

Job insecurity has focused attention on the need for emergency cash.

Clients’ desire for principal protection plus profit potential has benchmark-based products booming.

As retail funds for alternative investments become more widespread, planners must explain their purpose in a portfolio.

MLPs offer high yields plus tax advantages, but advisors need to drill down to deliver those tax breaks without the headaches.

Muni bonds have substantial risk but here’s how you may be able to get a greater return and U.S. government guarantee.

A bond ladder can mitigate interest rate risk, but individual bonds require in-depth research. The diversification of a fund tempers credit risk, but be wary of extended duration.

But beware, moves made in a portfolio should always take into consideration the client’s risk tolerance and long-term goals.

Rolling redemptions offer reinvestment opportunities in longer-term, presumably higher-yielding bonds.

After selecting an asset allocation for clients, locating assets where they are most tax-efficient is critical.

There are many ways to tilt portfolios toward small cap and value. Here are three alternatives for portfolio construction.

With markets moving swiftly, advisors sometimes rebalance more than once a year.

Here’s how to build a diversified portfolio with just a few low-cost funds. It’s the ultimate conclusion from Modern Portfolio Theory.

High income can only come with high risk, a lesson investors learned painfully in 2008. Here’s a better way to think about fixed income.

Because excess capital losses can be carried forward to future tax returns, with no expiration date, clients can use this “bank” of losses to offset future net capital gains.

Using mostly passive strategies results in lower fees and better performance, but there are cases where active management can add value.

Investors chase performance because it feels good, but pain is a good sign we are helping our clients invest well.