Buy and Hold vs. Moving Average ETF Investing 2-27-11

Buy and Hold vs. Moving Average ETF Investing
(past 12 weeks)

A down week for the markets with the Dow losing 260 points and the S&P 500 losing about 20. Our two investors made a very small gain since our last update.

Our Buy and Hold ETF investor made about $14 the balanced ETF portfolio. The Moving Average Investor made about $5 in his portfolio.

Here's the portfolio update:

	ETF Portfolio Value	% Gain
Buy and Hold	$17691.96	76.1
Moving Average	$12526.19	24.7

(Started in March 2009 with $10,000 in each portfolio)

Moving Average Update
Each week, the moving average investor compares the 50 day MA against the 200 day MA to see if he should sell (or buy) any of the 10 ETFs in the balanced ETF portfolio.

No changes are required this week although the iShares Barclays TIP, is indicating a weak sell signal. We'll wait another week to verify.

Invested:

SPDRs (SPY)
Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTI)
iShares Russell 2000 Index (IWM)
Vanguard SF REIT (VNQ)
Vanguard Emerging Markets (VWO)
iShares Barclays TIP (TIP)
iShares Barclays 1-3 Yr Credit Bond (CSJ)
Vanguard European Stock (VGK)
Vanguard Pacific ETF (VPL)

Not Invested:
iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond (AGG)

Buy and Hold vs. Moving Average ETF Investing 2-13-11

Buy and Hold vs. Moving Average ETF Investing
(past 12 weeks)

And so the rally continues. Markets were up again this week and as result so were the portfolios of our two ETF Investors.

Our Buy and Hold ETF investor made about $200 in the balanced ETF portfolio. The Moving Average Investor made about $134 in his portfolio.

Here's the portfolio update:

	ETF Portfolio Value	% Gain
Buy and Hold	$17,677.52	76
Moving Average	$12,521.09	24.7

(Started in March 2009 with $10,000 in each portfolio)

Moving Average Update
Each week, the moving average investor compares the 50 day MA against the 200 day MA to see if he should sell (or buy) any of the 10 ETFs in the balanced ETF portfolio.

No changes are required this week although the iShares Barclays TIP, is very close to a sell signal.

Invested:

SPDRs (SPY)
Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTI)
iShares Russell 2000 Index (IWM)
Vanguard SF REIT (VNQ)
Vanguard Emerging Markets (VWO)
iShares Barclays TIP (TIP)
iShares Barclays 1-3 Yr Credit Bond (CSJ)
Vanguard European Stock (VGK)
Vanguard Pacific ETF (VPL)

Not Invested:
iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond (AGG)

Buy and Hold vs. Moving Average ETF Investing 2-7-11

Buy and Hold vs. Moving Average ETF Investing
(past 12 weeks)

Another week of rising markets ETF investors. It has been quite a run since the beginning of September. This past week the S&P was up over 34 points and the Dow was up 268 points. Our Buy and Hold ETF investor made about $234 in the balanced ETF portfolio. The Moving Average Investor made about $165 in his portfolio.

Here's the portfolio update:

	ETF Portfolio Value	% Gain
Buy and Hold	$17477.86	74
Moving Average	$12386.91	23.3

(Started in March 2009 with $10,000 in each portfolio)

Moving Average Update
Each week, the moving average investor compares the 50 day MA against the 200 day MA to see if he should sell (or buy) any of the 10 ETFs in the balanced ETF portfolio.

No changes are required this week.

Invested:

SPDRs (SPY)
Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTI)
iShares Russell 2000 Index (IWM)
Vanguard SF REIT (VNQ)
Vanguard Emerging Markets (VWO)
iShares Barclays TIP (TIP)
iShares Barclays 1-3 Yr Credit Bond (CSJ)
Vanguard European Stock (VGK)
Vanguard Pacific ETF (VPL)

Not Invested:
iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond (AGG)

Buy and Hold vs. Moving Average ETF Investing 1-31-11

Buy and Hold vs. Moving Average ETF Investing
(past 12 weeks)

Since our last update, the markets have been relatively flat. The S&P 500 lost just over 7 points and the Dow gained 107. Our Buy and Hold ETF investor lost about $117 in the balanced ETF portfolio. The Moving Average Investor lost about $86 in his portfolio.

Here's the portfolio update:

	ETF Portfolio Value	% Gain
Buy and Hold	$17243.66	71.7
Moving Average	$12221.49	21.7

(Started in March 2009 with $10,000 in each portfolio)

Moving Average Update
Each week, the moving average investor compares the 50 day MA against the 200 day MA to see if he should sell (or buy) any of the 10 ETFs in the balanced ETF portfolio.

No changes are required this week.

Invested:

SPDRs (SPY)
Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTI)
iShares Russell 2000 Index (IWM)
Vanguard SF REIT (VNQ)
Vanguard Emerging Markets (VWO)
iShares Barclays TIP (TIP)
iShares Barclays 1-3 Yr Credit Bond (CSJ)
Vanguard European Stock (VGK)
Vanguard Pacific ETF (VPL)

Not Invested:
iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond (AGG)

Buy and Hold vs. Moving Average ETF Investing 1-17-11

Buy and Hold vs. Moving Average ETF Investing
(past 12 weeks)

Another week and another gain for the US markets. The Dow was up 115 and the S&P 500 was up 22 points. This has been quite a run since early September. The question is, how much longer can this last?

Our Buy and Hold ETF investor made over $321 for the week and the Moving Average ETF investor made over $211. They are both invested in the same balanced ETF portfolio.

Here's the weekly update:

	ETF Portfolio Value	% Gain
Buy and Hold	$17360.82	72.8
Moving Average	$12307.30	22.5

(Started in March 2009 with $10,000 in each portfolio)

Moving Average Update
Each week, the moving average investor compares the 50 day MA against the 200 day MA to see if he should sell (or buy) any of the 10 ETFs in the balanced ETF portfolio.

No changes are required this week.

Invested:

SPDRs (SPY)
Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTI)
iShares Russell 2000 Index (IWM)
Vanguard SF REIT (VNQ)
Vanguard Emerging Markets (VWO)
iShares Barclays TIP (TIP)
iShares Barclays 1-3 Yr Credit Bond (CSJ)
Vanguard European Stock (VGK)
Vanguard Pacific ETF (VPL)

Not Invested:
iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond (AGG)

Buy and Hold vs. Moving Average ETF Investing 1-10-11

Buy and Hold vs. Moving Average ETF Investing
(past 12 weeks)

Over the last 5 trading days the US markets have moved down. The Dow was down over 33 points and the S&P 500 was down over 3 points. The markets have moved higher quite significantly over the past month and more so a smaller move down is not a bad thing.

Our Buy and Hold ETF investor lost about $186 this past week and the moving average lost about $113. Overall though, the results are still quite impressive.

Here's the weekly update:

	ETF Portfolio Value	% Gain
Buy and Hold	$17039.08	69.6
Moving Average	$12095.69	20.4

(Started in March 2009 with $10,000 in each portfolio)

Moving Average Update
Each week, the moving average investor compares the 50 day MA against the 200 day MA to see if he should sell (or buy) any of the 10 ETFs in the balanced ETF portfolio.

The iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond (AGG) 50 day moving average is below the 200 day moving average so we need to sell this ETF. No other changes are required this week.

Invested:

SPDRs (SPY)
Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTI)
iShares Russell 2000 Index (IWM)
Vanguard SF REIT (VNQ)
Vanguard Emerging Markets (VWO)
iShares Barclays TIP (TIP)
iShares Barclays 1-3 Yr Credit Bond (CSJ)
Vanguard European Stock (VGK)
Vanguard Pacific ETF (VPL)

Not Invested:
iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond (AGG)

Buy and Hold vs. Moving Average ETF Investing 1-3-11

Buy and Hold vs. Moving Average ETF Investing
(past 12 weeks)

Happy New Year ETF Newsletter readers!

I usually post results based on the previous Friday but today my post includes results through Monday, January 3rd.

The markets were actually pretty flat last week but decided to start the New Year off with a bang. The Dow was up 93 points and the S&P 500 was up 14 today alone.

Out two ETF investors are doing very well. The buy and hold ETF investor gained over $260 in the balanced ETF portfolio. The moving average investor didn't do as well but still made over 170 for the past 6 trading days in a similar portfolio.

Here's the weekly update:

	ETF Portfolio Value	% Gain
Buy and Hold	$17224.78	71.5
Moving Average	$12208.44	21.5

(Started in March 2009 with $10,000 in each portfolio)

Moving Average Update
Each week, the moving average investor compares the 50 day MA against the 200 day MA to see if he should sell (or buy) any of the 10 ETFs in the balanced ETF portfolio.

No changes are required this week but the bonds are not doing well so we may be making some adjustments in the near future.

Invested:

SPDRs (SPY)
Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTI)
iShares Russell 2000 Index (IWM)
Vanguard SF REIT (VNQ)
Vanguard Emerging Markets (VWO)
iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond (AGG)
iShares Barclays TIP (TIP)
iShares Barclays 1-3 Yr Credit Bond (CSJ)
Vanguard European Stock (VGK)
Vanguard Pacific ETF (VPL)