There may be some confusion because I write two different, but related, newsletters.
#1 "Kirk Lindstrom's Investment Letter" is $155 a year and uses the "core and explore" method to invest. It has two core portfolios plus an explore portfolio of individual stocks. My aggressive core portfolio has 80% equities while my "conservative" core portfolio has 50% in equities. My core portfolios are made of index funds and ETFs for the very lowest expenses.
I recommend people start by getting their proper core portfolio created THEN add individual stocks I cover in my explore portfolio to build your own explore portfolio for 5 to 20% of your investment portfolio total. I have target prices to buy and sell my explore stocks so I find I almost look forward to market declines to get really great prices for stocks I can sell later at higher prices. Of course, following this explore portfolio is more work than buying index funds and rebalancing once a year that I recommend for my core portfolios. Compared to "other newsletters" costing more, my core portfolios and general stock market coverage in the first 11 pages of the 35 page monthly letter offer significant value even for those who don't dabble in individual stocks.
#2 I write "The Retirement Advisor" with David Korn. We sell this for a very modest $99. We offer three model portfolios. We do not recommend individual stocks but we have articles that discuss current financial events such as economic data and Social Security COLAs. We also have articles to help you save money plus we find CDs with FDIC paying the highest rates. Our most aggressive portfolio has 50% in equities. Our most conservative portfolio contains no equity exposure.
Difference: The conservative (50:50) core portfolio in "Kirk Lindstrom's Investment Letter" is slightly more aggressive than the aggressive model portfolio #1 in "The Retirement Advisor." Over the very long term, you should expect the most aggressive portfolio to have the highest returns but at a price of higher volatility. When we started the "The Retirement Advisor" in 2007 we thought people like Bob Brinker were far too aggressive with equity exposure recommendations for retired people at such a risky time for the markets. If you recall, Brinker's Model Portfolio #3 was nearly 2/3rds in equities when the markets peaked. As our great returns show, we were right.
From 1/1/1999 Through 11/15/09
As of December 8, 2009, "Kirk's Newsletter Explore Portfolio" is up 32.5% YTD vs. DJIA up 17.2% YTD
#1 "Kirk Lindstrom's Investment Letter" is $155 a year and uses the "core and explore" method to invest. It has two core portfolios plus an explore portfolio of individual stocks. My aggressive core portfolio has 80% equities while my "conservative" core portfolio has 50% in equities. My core portfolios are made of index funds and ETFs for the very lowest expenses.
I recommend people start by getting their proper core portfolio created THEN add individual stocks I cover in my explore portfolio to build your own explore portfolio for 5 to 20% of your investment portfolio total. I have target prices to buy and sell my explore stocks so I find I almost look forward to market declines to get really great prices for stocks I can sell later at higher prices. Of course, following this explore portfolio is more work than buying index funds and rebalancing once a year that I recommend for my core portfolios. Compared to "other newsletters" costing more, my core portfolios and general stock market coverage in the first 11 pages of the 35 page monthly letter offer significant value even for those who don't dabble in individual stocks.
#2 I write "The Retirement Advisor" with David Korn. We sell this for a very modest $99. We offer three model portfolios. We do not recommend individual stocks but we have articles that discuss current financial events such as economic data and Social Security COLAs. We also have articles to help you save money plus we find CDs with FDIC paying the highest rates. Our most aggressive portfolio has 50% in equities. Our most conservative portfolio contains no equity exposure.
Difference: The conservative (50:50) core portfolio in "Kirk Lindstrom's Investment Letter" is slightly more aggressive than the aggressive model portfolio #1 in "The Retirement Advisor." Over the very long term, you should expect the most aggressive portfolio to have the highest returns but at a price of higher volatility. When we started the "The Retirement Advisor" in 2007 we thought people like Bob Brinker were far too aggressive with equity exposure recommendations for retired people at such a risky time for the markets. If you recall, Brinker's Model Portfolio #3 was nearly 2/3rds in equities when the markets peaked. As our great returns show, we were right.
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From 1/1/1999 Through 11/15/09
Kirk's 80:20 Aggressive Core Portfolio is up 50.8%YTD through 11/15/09
Kirk's 50:50 Conservative Core Portfolio is up 67.3%
Kirk's 70:30 Explore Portfolio is up 146.1%
80% Core Aggressive plus 20% Explore is up 69.8%
90% Core Conservative plus 10% Explore is up 75.1%
100% Total Stock Market (VTSMX) is up 18.2%
100% Total Bond Market (VBMFX) is up 78.2%
80% VTSMX and 20% VBMFX is up 30.2%
50% VTSMX and 50% VBMFX is up 48.2%
Kirk's 80:20 Aggressive Core Portfolio is up 23.0%12/8/09 update:
Kirk's 50:50 Conservative Core Portfolio is up 16.4%
Kirk's typically 70:30 Explore Portfolio is up 26.7%
100% in VTSMX is up 25.1%
100% in VFINX (S&P500) is up 23.7%
100% in VBMFX (Total Bond) is up 6.6%
80% VTSMX and 20% VBMFX is up 21.4%
50% VTSMX and 50% VBMFX is up 15.9%
As of December 8, 2009, "Kirk's Newsletter Explore Portfolio" is up 32.5% YTD vs. DJIA up 17.2% YTD
"Kirk Lindstrom's Investment Letter"
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The Retirement Advisor Model Portfolios all began with $200,000 on 1/1/2007
| The Retirement Advisor Portfolios | Dollar Value on 10/31/09 | Change |
| Model Portfolio 1 | $205,877 | 2.9% |
| Model Portfolio 2 | $218,720 | 9.4% |
| Model Portfolio 3 | $237,182 | 18.6% |
| DJIA 12,501.52 on 1/1/2007 | $9,712 | (24.0%) |
| S&P500 1,418.30 on 1/1/2007 | $1,057.08 | (28.0%) |
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Website for more information and our annual Performance Data
Website for more information and our annual Performance Data