Someone suggested you hold U.S. Total Market (VTI) separately from the S&P 500 (VOO)? And even more strangely, hold both S&P 500 value and S&P 500 growth?
That doesn't add up well: VOOV and VOOG are two halves of the same index. And that suggestion seems to be almost all U.S. stocks with no international. The fact you posted it instead of rejecting it suggests you have some reading/learning to do.
Have you read the "Bogleheads Guide to Investing"? The S&P 500 index was championed by John Bogle, founder of Vanguard, and Bogleheads follow a simple but powerful approach to diversification. You get U.S. stocks, international stocks, and bonds... that's it. Not every Boglehead agrees, but they all agree it works as a starting portfolio until you learn more.
I'd suggest something more like:
60% U.S. Total Stock ("VTI")
30% Total International ("VXUS")
10% Bonds ("BND")
If you have a 401(k) plan with company match, invest there (up to the match) before you invest in a Roth IRA. Depending on your tax bracket, a Roth IRA might not be as good as a Traditional IRA.
Hey thanks for the post. Im glad to see your spread is so close to my original.
Now, as to why I didnt reject. Im trying to look at all the faces of the coin, so to speak, and i wanted to run it by everyone. His approach contradicts what everyone else tells me, but the funny thing is it works for him. He's 31 and almost retired. I asked him, "Why all the same stock, they are so similiar?" and he said that if the US market goes down that that doesnt magically mean the rest of the world is going to compensate, that international is also dependent on US dollars as well. He told me that sometimes people tend to ignore the big losses on international. And While I DO want international, just not so much in my roth.
Now, He's the only person I've met to say that, so It kind of rustled the pot because it worked well for him. Do you think theres any merit to this form of thinking?
And yep, I do have a company IRA with Match. I'm doing 3% (Because of the Company match) and the rest into Brokerage and IRA). Vanguard just hasnt cleared my funds, yet, so I'm getting my last bits of doubt out of the way before I invest. Thanks for all your help, by the way, I appreciate it!
