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Stock portfolio composition "strategy"?

#1
How have you assembled your portfolio? Index funds and set it and forget it? Do you follow a predetermined sector allocation for diversity and then attempt to maximize growth and dividends under that constraint? Do you just buy stocks you like, irrespective of sectors/diversity, trying to hit a predetermined target, ie., growth or dividend yield?  Maybe some hybrid methodology you learned in MBA school? What is YOUR style?
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#2
I don't have a set allocation or strategy.
 
I buy stocks that I can understand their industry and their direction.  TXN was my first purchase of an equity as they had new tech coming out in '95 that was explained to me in great detail and I understood it.  Paid off huge for me.
 
Also read about the us exporting lng to other countries.  That is now becoming a reality and starting to pay off as well.
 
Bought MO when it hit a low after the lawsuits were just about over and knew they would come back.
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#3
Nothing written in concrete!
Constantly monitoring.
Choices made mostly with IBD's charts and site information.
Losses taken at 5% unless negative news hastens a sale (analysts don't count).
Profit-taking not as defined as losses; it depends.
I pretty much leave my funds and muni CEF's alone, although I do check.
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#4
I use the same strategy for buying stocks as for buying anything else: If I see an item on discount which I know it is good, I buy it. I hold stocks for at least a year (tax purposes) and continue to hold them, if they continues to be a good value, if not I sell them.
 
If they are a good value but the  price fluctuates a lot, then I play the options game: Sell puts/calls OTM (never buy them). Closer to the money if I want to increase/decrease the stock position (puts/calls respectively). Farther away from the money if I want to just keep the premiums to generate income.
 
Since it is very difficult to determine value in mutual funds. I never use them.
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#5
I  now only use ETFs and mutual funds, mainly index funds. I set an overall top-down asset allocation plan when I retired 5+ years ago.  So much to equities, so much to fixed income. More important that the details of the allocation is that there is a plan, any plan.
 
Re-balancing can help you buy low and sell high over time. Re-balance too little and your mix will drift, and you will not see the "buy low / sell high benefit".  Re-balance too frequently and you will also see little benefit.
 
Some people re-balance on the basis of time. Say, once a quarter or once a year.  And doing it annually can be pretty easy to follow if you do it at the same time each year (birthday. year-end, etc.)
 
In my own account, I re-balance based on triggers I have set.  I have an overall dollar target for equities (which I escalate with CPI over time). And within equities, I have sub-categories (Large Caps, Small Caps, etc.) that add up to the total.  So, for each sub-category, there is then a dollar target and a tolerance.  If the actual dollars move up enough,  I then re-balance by selling a little to bring the total for the sub-category back to target.  If the actual dollars move down enough, I then re-balance by buying a little to bring the total for the sub-category back to target.
 
I determined the tolerances I use based on past history over varying time periods, trying to choose trigger points that would have done the best over time (made the most money). I also wanted the triggers to be relatively stable, so that if the trigger was a little off, it would not change the results dramatically. I specifically decided to use tolerances no lower than 5% and no higher than 30%.  I based the re-balancing trigger points solely on prices, as I generally do not automatically reinvest dividends.  For the S&P 500 the tolerance is +/-25%.
 
Note that I re-balance based on a DOLLAR target rather than a PERCENTAGE target. I  prefer the dollar target approach, because when prices go down, I do not mind owning a higher percentage of a given asset.  When they go up, I do not mind owning a lower percentage.  As an (extreme?) example, say I have $50 in equities and $50 in cash and then equities fall 50% to $25.  Re- balancing on a percentage basis gives $37.5 equities plus $37.5 cash.  Re-balancing to dollars give $50 in equities and $25 in cash (i.e., 67/33 vs 50/50).
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#6
I have 1 -3 positions in 10 of 11 sectors with extra in Tech and no energy.  My portfolio is closely in line with to the DOW.(used to have 43% in ETN)   A small number of positions (19) are easier to track. I'm up ~20.7% in the last 12 months.   I also have cash saved and recently started a CD Ladder with my emergency money.   Medical malpractice  forced me into early retirement...however, I have enough put away to last longer than I expect to!
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#7
My goal is to stay 90-95% individual stocks - currently at 95% and most of that is individual stocks. I am gradually selling profitable positions and often reinvest in another under-appreciated asset and sometimes in a dividend-focused ETF like VYM or DVY. I generally don't care about the sector, but I try to buy when a sector is out of favor. So I look for value and buy when others are rushing to the exit. I used to trade daily and sometimes multiple times per day. Now it is more like 1-3 trades per week.
 
I like dividend growth supported by growing earnings. Yield for any individual position is not a primary consideration, but my yield on current portfolio value is about 4%. I like to grow dividends by 15-25% per year just by buying good investments that I hold as long as they don't trigger one of my sell rules. That has worked for me and I turned off automatic dividend reinvestment for most positions so that I can pick the investments I want to buy with my dividends. If there is a bear market, I will flip on automatic dividend reinvestment.
 
The image shows my current sector weightings. Because I view "financials" and "real estate" more by the subsector, I don't view my current weightings as problematic. I have definitely added more health care as I sold some of my financials. I have also had great success adding energy stocks when everyone else was selling quality investments at bargain prices.
   
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#8
I use FUSVX and SCHD and CD's for fixed income part. ~60/40 and let it ride (KISS program works for me). buy a boat and drink cold beer. stay the course
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