Buy and Hold vs. Moving Average ETF Investing 2-5-10

Let's start with some good news... the market did close higher on Friday! Now back to reality. For the 4th week in a row, the S&P 500 closed down, this time losing just under 8 points for the week. 2010 is not off to a good start in the world of investing. The S&P 500 has lost 4.5% this year (~50 points).

Our two ETF investors lost money again this week. The buy and hold ETF investor lost about $154 in the balanced ETF portfolio. His total portfolio balance is now worth $14,293 for a total gain of 42.3% since we starting tracking this portfolio in March of 2009 (49 weeks ago).

The moving average ETF investor lost about $106 for the week. His portfolio is now valued at $10,461 (same balanced portfolio). He has gained 4.2% for the same 49 week period.

The most recent 12 week comparison is shown below.