Balanced Asset Allocation: How to Profit in Any Economic Climate

Book description

The conventional portfolio is prone to frequent and potentially devastating losses because it is NOT balanced to different economic outcomes. In contrast, a truly balanced portfolio can help investors reduce risk and more reliably achieve their objectives. This simple fact would surprise most investors, from beginners to professionals. Investment consultant Alex Shahidi puts his 15 years of experience advising the most sophisticated investors in the world and managing multi-billion dollar portfolios to work in this important resource for investors. You will better understand why nearly every portfolio is poorly balanced and how to view the crucial asset allocation decision from a deeper, more thoughtful perspective. The concepts presented are simple, intuitive and easy to implement for every investor. Author Alex Shahidi will walk you through the logic behind the balanced portfolio framework and provide step-by-step instructions on how to build a truly balanced portfolio. No book has ever been written that discusses asset allocation in this light.

  • Provides insights from a top-ranked investment consultant using strategies from the industry's brightest minds

  • Proposes a balanced asset allocation that can achieve stable returns through various economic climates

  • Introduces sophisticated concepts in very simple terms

  • For those who want to better manage their investment portfolio and seek a more advanced approach to building a balanced portfolio, Balanced Asset Allocation: How to Profit in Any Economic Climate provides an in-depth treatment of the topic that can be put to use immediately.

    Table of contents

    1. Title Page
    2. Copyright
    3. Foreword
    4. Acknowledgments
    5. About the Author
    6. Introduction
    7. Chapter 1: The Economic Machine: Why Being Balanced Is So Important Today
      1. How the Economy Functions
      2. The Short-Term Business Cycle
      3. The Long-Term Debt Cycle
      4. The Importance of Balance Always, but Particularly Today
      5. Summary
    8. Chapter 2: Your Portfolio is Not Well Balanced
      1. What Is Good Balance?
      2. The Conventional Portfolio Is Not Balanced
      3. Why Is It Not Balanced?
      4. The Flaw in Conventional Thinking
      5. A New Lens
      6. Summary
    9. Chapter 3: The Fundamental Drivers of Asset Class Returns
      1. Breaking Down Returns into Cash Plus Excess Return
      2. The Return of Cash
      3. Excess Returns above Cash
      4. Putting It All Together
      5. Summary
    10. Chapter 4: Viewing Stocks through a Balanced Portfolio Lens
      1. Introduction
      2. The Conventional View: Why Investors Own a Lot of Stocks
      3. The Balanced Portfolio View: How to Think About Equities
      4. Summary
    11. Chapter 5: The High Value of Low-Yielding Treasuries within the Balanced Portfolio Framework
      1. Introduction
      2. The Conventional Perspective
      3. Considering Treasuries through a Balanced Portfolio Perspective
      4. The Role of Treasuries in the Balanced Portfolio
      5. Summary
    12. Chapter 6: Why TIPS Are Critical to Maintaining Balance (Despite Their Low Yield)
      1. What Are TIPS and How Do They Work?
      2. The Conventional View That the Yield of TIPS Is Too Low and Why It's Flawed
      3. TIPS Viewed Through a Balanced Perspective
      4. The Crucial Role of TIPS in the Balanced Portfolio
      5. Summary
    13. Chapter 7: Owning Commodities in a Balanced Portfolio
      1. What Are Commodities Investments?
      2. The Conventional View of Commodities
      3. Considering Commodities through a Balanced Portfolio Perspective
      4. The Role of Commodities in a Balanced Portfolio
      5. Summary
    14. Chapter 8: Even More Balance: Introduction to Other Asset Classes
      1. How to Deconstruct Other Asset Classes Using the Balanced Framework
      2. Additional Asset Classes
      3. Summary
    15. Chapter 9: How to Build a Balanced Portfolio: Conceptual Framework
      1. Introduction: Two Simple Questions
      2. Question One: Which Asset Classes?
      3. Question Two: How Do I Weight the Asset Classes?
      4. Summary
    16. Chapter 10: How to Build a Balanced Portfolio: The Step-by-Step Process
      1. The Logical Sequence behind Efficiently Weighting Asset Classes
      2. Analyzing 60/40 through the Same Lens
      3. Summary
    17. Chapter 11: The Balanced Portfolio: Historical Returns
      1. The Balanced Portfolio Has Achieved Steady Long-Term Returns
      2. The Balanced Portfolio Has Not Underperformed for Extended Periods
      3. The Balanced Portfolio Has Had Limited Major Drawdowns
      4. Summary
    18. Chapter 12: Implementation Strategies: Putting Theory into Practice
      1. The Balanced Portfolio as the Efficient Starting Point
      2. Implementing the Balanced Portfolio
      3. Trying to Improve upon the Balanced Portfolio
      4. Other Implementation Considerations
      5. Summary
    19. Chapter 13: Conclusion
    20. About the Website
    21. Index
    22. End User License Agreement

    Product information

    • Title: Balanced Asset Allocation: How to Profit in Any Economic Climate
    • Author(s): Alex Shahidi, Bill Lee
    • Release date: December 2014
    • Publisher(s): Wiley
    • ISBN: 9781118711941