Less is more.....

A long term investment strategy can be unbelievably simple. After all - there are better things to do with your time than babysitting your portfolio, unless you are one of the day trader types (no offence) - there's a lot of money to be made trading stocks, but its not my cup of tea - I'll be the first to admit it.

It was said of Mahatma Gandhi - the Greatness of the man was his simplicity. Well cheers to that! Here's a simple yet great 4 fund portfolio (credit for which should go to Taylor Larrimore over at the Vanguard Diehards forum on Morningstar)

Vanguard Prime Money Market (VMXXX) - put your emergency reserves here
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index (VBFMX) - put your bond allocation here (and hold it in a tax deferred account like a 401K/IRA)
Vanguard Total Stock Market Index (VTSMX) - put your US stock allocation here
Vanguard Total International Index (VGTSX) - put your international allocation here

Thats it - rebalance once a year and you're all set for life. Over the long term, this portfolio will beat a lot of "slice and dice" and complicated 15 fund portfolios.


You can always slice and dice along the way - maybe throw in some small cap, throw in some commodities, overweight emerging markets a little, but this 4 fund core portfolio will stand the test of time.

This portfolio gives you great diversification across the globe with the lowest possible expenses.