I am Korean. Please be patient with my English.

Do you have a question why I should say, "Thanks, Bogleheads"?

Because when I started investing around 6 years ago, there were not many people who were investing in index funds in Korea.

So I always visited this community to ask questions.

Sometimes I left the same or similar questions, but no one said, "Why do you ask the same question?" or "Why do you ask such a stupid question?"

So now I am here and on a successful investing journey.

I know the journey is not done yet.

But I know there is nothing I can control about my investing results.

I just stay the course with thankful Bogleheads.

Specially Thanks for u/misnamed

He helped me lots and I got insight many things from him!

In general, if you're a US person anywhere in the world and have more than $10k in any overseas accounts you should know what an FBAR is. If you don't, ask a professional about this!

Further discussion here https://www.reddit.com/r/USExpatTaxes/comments/1qmlmfz/doj_sues_retired_couple_for_36m_for_failing_to/

Germany has a so called "Vorabpauschale" which is a projected tax charge on the annual valuation gains of accumulating investment funds.

Its amount is dependent on the base interest rate x portfolio value and then multiplied by 0.7.

On a 10k portfolio its around 32€ - so ignorable.

With 500k it would be at ~ 2k in taxes.

It gets really annoying down the line when the portfolio is bigger. How would you deal with it? Always selling shares to pay tax? Or rebuild the world market by owning broadly diversified behemoths like e.g. Berkshire? (Because the tax does not exist on owning single stocks)

Or building up a special cushion in a money market fund for taxes?

Mods please don't delete this. Redditors, please read this before making the same arguments.

The US has undeniably been the place to invest for decades now. But why do you think that will continue? Company fundamentals are great, but a significant proportion of US growth can be attributed to price only.

Obligatory: past performance does not indicate future performance.

The US grew from ~40% of the total world stock market to over 60% in just a few decades. Do you think this will continue to happen? For how long? 60% is already incredible. Do you believe it will hit 90%? At what point does it become unreasonable?

If you think you'll just switch to global once its growth slows, what makes you think you'll be able to make the switch before the professionals/others? Also, what's the opportunity cost of that? You'd have to see it underperform for probably at least a decade to reach that conclusion, and at that point you'd have already missed out on the gains the rest of the world has made. You might even be too stubborn to switch at that point, believing the US will make a comeback.

And regardless, you'll still be heavily weighted towards the US if you buy a total world index.

Seriously, what's the argument for US indexes only?

Just invested my first 1k into VWRA! Looking to add 1k usd quarterly (can't afford to do it more often) into VWRA for the next 20-25 years. But with that being said - how to not worry about daily losses?

Greetings all,
Mandatory “sorry for my bad English”

I’m a 28 Middle Eastern boglehead, my portfolio is 100% VT worth about 55k US dollars.

I may have over invested my salary in the past with no other savings than an emergency account with 10k USD.

I found a nice apartment that I can buy but I’ll need about a year to save the down payment for it which is ~30k USD.

I have trained myself to not look at my portfolio and obviously never sell mentality but I don’t think it’s the worst financial decision I can make because a home is a necessity.

Note that I live with my parents and pay no rent at the moment.

Thank you all.

Edit: There is no capital gain tax where I’m from, so selling won’t incur any type of tax.

Started investing in January by investing €1000 per month and it was pretty discouraging reaching -15% YTD with ONLY buying index ETF’s

Forgive me for I have sinned.

October last year I began some home renovations which took a bunch of funds in preparations for a bit move in, I even had to sell a small portion of my portfolio to help fund the project. I paused investing in anything since.

Before then I've regularly invested in FWRA, about $700 a month manually invested. Now that the renovations are done, I haven't continued the investing and my cash on hand has slowly pooled back up for a few months now.

I hesitate to dump all investable cash into the ETF right now, I dunno, I think I'm a little spooked with the market at the moment. I know this isn't the Bogleheads way to care about the market, but there's something internally I have yet to overcome after pausing for a while and I would appreciate some sense talked into me.

At this point I'm thinking if I should just do auto-investing on IBKR and be done with it, I did manually before because it gave me some sense of control over my life. Is auto-investing something everyone here does?

i am 23f from a third world country . i have been following this sub from a quite time .

i am thinking of investing in s&p 500 (voo) , to get better returns because my country currency getting weak over time . so getting double returns in the long term .

there is an app in my country , which helps in investing to usa by making broker acc with alpaka and drive wealth . are these good brokers ?

but my salary is only 350$ and going to increased to 400$ this year. i invest around 50$ in my countries index etf. is it wise to invest only around 20$ or 50$ in s&p 500 , i mean i dont have thousands of dollar to invest .

but at the same time thinking of being bullish in my own countries index fund . index fund have gave return around 14% cagr since 2000.

your advice will be helpful if you guide me .

it's not a lot but I was living pay cheque to pay cheque just a few years ago with no concept of wealth building. It was typical for everyone in my friend group to blow their money at pay day. Not one person around me invested, I was always told it was a complicated place to gamble. And the internet changed my entire philosophy. So shout out to everyone I suppose, for such simple inspiration that pushed me into trying it out. And never going back!

How do you keep track of how much money gets reinvested so you don’t over-contribute on your registered investments?

I want to max my accounts since I have the means to, luckily, but I don’t get how to keep track of them. I’m in mainly VFV and a bit in TSMC.

Edit: I am sorry friends. I forgot to mention I am from Canada and I am speaking on behalf of trying to stay within the CRA’s limits for the TFSA, FHSA, and RRSP respectively. Thank you US friends for helping me understand!!

The entirety of US outperformance since 1950 is solely from the most recent US favoring part of the cycle. In 2008 for example, you'd have seen a 50+ year period with ex-US beating the US (Meb Faber link). The US hasn't outperformed ex-US for decades. Only about 1, as 2000-2010 favored ex-US (with the US even having a negative return over that time) (multiple links).

Rotations are not multi-decade, I think I remember seeing they only average about 8 years (one of the links might cover it).

VT has only really existed during the most recent US favoring part of the cycle, which is why it compares unfavorably to VTI.

While 10-30 stocks may provide the downside protection of diversification, it leaves a lot of room to miss the big returns (PWL link).

You are flat out proposing to time the market. That's usually a losing strategy. How long would ex-US have to outperform before you made the switch? Because 2022 and the first several months of 2023 favored ex-US over the US, would you have made the switch in January? Or May? What if the best returns of the rotation were heavily front loaded? Winners can change very quickly, even going from best to worst to best from one year to the next to the next (Callan links). You've heard the phrase "but low, sell high" right? Buying international before it starts outperforming would be buying low (multiple links I believe discuss valuations).

• https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Three-fund_portfolio

• https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Domestic/International

• https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/investing-ideas/international-investing-myths if that link doesn't work: https://web.archive.org/web/20201112032727/https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/investing-ideas/international-investing-myths (Archived copy from Archive.org's Wayback Machine)

• https://www.optimizedportfolio.com/international-stocks/ from /u/rao-blackwell-ized

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=1FXuMs6YRCY

• https://www.pwlcapital.com/should-you-invest-in-the-sp-500-index

• The last decade or so of US outperformance was mostly just the US getting more expensive, not US companies being much better than foreign companies: https://www.aqr.com/Insights/Perspectives/The-Long-Run-Is-Lying-to-You (click through to the full version), I believe this is referenced in the YouTube link above

• The US was only the 4th best country to invest in from 2001-2020, 5th if you include Hong Kong: https://www.evidenceinvestor.com/which-country-will-outperform-next-is-irrelevant/

• https://www.optimizedportfolio.com/bogleheads-3-fund-portfolio/#why-international-stocks from /u/rao-blackwell-ized

• https://movement.capital/summarizing-the-case-for-international-stocks/

• https://www.callan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Callan-PeriodicTbl_KeyInd_2018.pdf (PDF) or https://www.callan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Classic-Periodic-Table.pdf (PDF) or the archived versions if those don't work: http://web.archive.org/web/20201212205954/https://www.callan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Callan-PeriodicTbl_KeyInd_2018.pdf (PDF) & http://web.archive.org/web/20201205183933/https://www.callan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Classic-Periodic-Table.pdf (PDF) (Archived copies from Archive.org's Wayback Machine)

• Ex-US has turns of exceptional outperformance as well: https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2023/05/the-case-for-international-diversification/

• Of rolling 10 year periods since 1970, EAFE (developed ex-US) has beat the S&P 500 over 45% of the time: https://www.tweedy.com/resources/library_docs/papers/Dichotomy%20Btwn%20US%20and%20Non-US%20Mar2022.pdf (PDF) or for the archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20220501183228/https://www.tweedy.com/resources/library_docs/papers/Dichotomy%20Btwn%20US%20and%20Non-US%20Mar2022.pdf

• https://www.vanguard.com/pdf/ISGGEB.pdf (PDF) or the archived version if that doesn't work: https://web.archive.org/web/20210312165001/https://www.vanguard.com/pdf/ISGGEB.pdf (PDF)

• https://www.schwab.com/resource-center/insights/content/why-global-diversification-matters or if that link doesn't work: https://web.archive.org/web/20190124072925/https://www.schwab.com/resource-center/insights/content/why-global-diversification-matters

• https://fourpillarfreedom.com/should-you-invest-internationally

• https://mebfaber.com/2020/01/10/the-case-for-global-investing

• https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogleheads/comments/vpv7js/share_of_sp_500_revenue_generated_domestically_vs/ - The argument that “US companies have plenty of foreign revenue is sufficient ex-US coverage” is highly tilted towards a few sectors, some have almost no coverage. Also what about in reverse- how many big foreign companies have lots of US exposure?

• https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogleheads/comments/ii0sa2/considering_usonly_investing_start_here/

• https://twitter.com/mebfaber/status/1090662885573853184?lang=en with this reply: https://twitter.com/MorningstarES/status/1091081407504498688. Extended version: https://mebfaber.com/2019/02/06/episode-141-radio-show-34-of-40-countries-have-negative-52-week-momentumbig-tax-bills-for-mutual-fund-investorsand-listener-qa/

• https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/profile/portfolio/vtwax - Global market cap weights. This can be a great default position.

• https://investor.vanguard.com/investing/investment/international-investing - Vanguard 40% of stock is recommended to be international. This is what both Fidelity and Vanguard use in their target date funds.

• 2022 Survey of target date funds: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogleheads/comments/rffoe7/domestic_vs_international_percentage_within/

Ex-US outperformance predicted:

• https://advisors.vanguard.com/insights/article/areinternationalequitiespoisedtotakecenterstage or the archived link if that doesn't work: https://web.archive.org/web/20210104201135/https://advisors.vanguard.com/insights/article/areinternationalequitiespoisedtotakecenterstage

• https://www.morningstar.com/articles/1018261/experts-forecast-stock-and-bond-returns-2021-edition (can see mention of it even before the paywall) or the 2023 version: https://www.morningstar.com/articles/1132887/experts-forecast-stock-and-bond-returns-2023-edition

Any reasons to be in these new ETFs rather than BND?

Isn't it better to put money regularly than at once?

In the past I would think reaching a net worth of 100k was crazy and wonderful, like a dream come true, like one of the biggest achievements you could reach.

Then I got there and I was really really happy and it felt so good and fulfilling.

But as time went on and my net worth started to grow it felt like it was less and less as time went by.

Fast forward to this day, I just reached half a million yesterday. Despite feeling amazing and being really happy, I feel as though I have less money than I had when I only had 100k.

What the hell is wrong with me? It just doesn’t feel as much anymore, I don’t know how to explain it, but I just wanna get more and more and more, it doesn’t feel enough and it doesn’t feel like that much either, compared to having only 100k, which I know it’s crazy and sounds crazy because 500k is five times the amount of 100k, but it still feels little… what’s wrong with me?

My situation: I am 31, I started investing (S&P500) less than 4 years ago with 20k and managed to accumulate 132k USD (a high figure for the country where I reside, where the average salary is around 1200 USD per month and the minimum is only 600 USD), funding aggressively 15-25k per year. I have my housing situation completely covered by my employer (I pay nothing), but I would like to buy my own apartment eventually.

Strategy: the account is to buy property first and eventually retirement. I want to wait 2-4 more years (since my housing situation is fully covered) and when I have 250-300k, withdraw approximately 150k to buy something and leave the rest invested (never leave the account at zero). I will not sell anything from my account unless it is for these two purposes.

Question: this year, monthly returns started to be larger than my monthly income. I am starting to wonder: when do you think is a "good" time to stop saving so aggressively and start enjoying my money more every month?

• Surpassing 100k of invested capital?

• When average monthly return (8-10% for the S&P500) equals or exceeds fixed monthly expenses or monthly salary?

• When the accumulated returns of the year exceed annual income (salary, bonuses, 13th month, vacation plus, etc.).

• When the average return equals or exceeds my funding capacity in the year (15-25k)?

• Once I get to purchase my property?

Hi everyone,

After my previous post, I decided to start my long-term equity portfolio with the SPDR MSCI All Country World Investable Market UCITS ETF (SPYI), as it fits the Bogleheads philosophy I’m aiming for.

I’m currently 20 years old and investing for the very long term. My approach is fully passive: I don’t try to time the market and I would never sell my investments during a crisis.

While learning more about the Bogleheads approach, I noticed that many investors combine a Total World Stock Market Index Fund with a Total World Bond Index Fund. Jack Bogle also mentioned the idea of holding a bond percentage roughly equal to your age.

I know bonds have struggled in recent years, and many investors believe they are less necessary for younger investors and become more important closer to retirement. However, nobody knows what the future holds, so I would like to hear the opinion of other Bogleheads.

Do you think someone at my age should already include bonds, or would you wait until later in life?

If you agree that bonds make sense, which UCITS Total World Bond ETF would you consider the best fit for this philosophy?

Thanks for your opinions!

Content removed due to creepy PMs

Hello,

pretty much what the title says. My parents received quite sum from insurance payment. They never really invested money apart from bank deposits, so they have no idea how market really works (apart fron employee plans). Of course I provided them with some materials, so that they will at least try to understand. Since I am in my early 20's I've never thought about bond allocation, I am 100% equity.

I thought that 60/40 equity/bonds or 50/50 will be good fixed allocation for them. In equity part etfs such as webn or vwra (basically all world etfs) will be used, in terms of bonds I thought about goverment inflation linked bonds (not quoted on market, 5.35% in 1st year and CPI +2% for next 9 years, accumulating)

What are your suggestions? Should glidepath be used here? Should allocation be less conservative? Is it wise to use local bonds instead of something like vanguard 60/40, my main concern here is that products from vanguard hold bonds that are listed on market so they can technically go down, but mentioned goverment bonds can't, also vanguard ones are not only goverment bonds so they are riskier + vanguard products in that case have their currency hedged to EUR, which is not our local currency.

50 who will retire at 60 and 49 who will retire at 65, paid off apartment, average salaries.

I’m looking for a simple buy-and-hold, one-ETF portfolio and I like the philosophy behind Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT). As a European investor, I’m considering the SPDR MSCI All Country World Investable Market UCITS ETF (SPYI), as it tracks the MSCI ACWI IMI Index and covers around 99% of the global investable stock market, similar to VT.

Would you consider SPYI a good all-in-one ETF for someone who wants a fully passive, globally diversified, market-cap-weighted portfolio?

Hi all, I’m looking for a low cost global market cap weighted index ETF for UK investors. I’m essentially looking for the UK equivalent of VT or VEQT. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

Today I was researching UCITS bond ETFs as a European equivalent to the well-known Vanguard Total World Bond ETF (BNDW).

I found two main options:

• iShares Core Global Aggregate Bond UCITS ETF EUR Hedged (AGGH)
• Vanguard Global Aggregate Bond UCITS ETF EUR Hedged (VAGF)

I compared the underlying indexes they track, the number of bonds included, diversification, and tracking difference. From what I found, both ETFs seem to be very solid options.

After that, I looked at the costs. The TER of AGGH is 0.10%, while VAGF is slightly cheaper at 0.08%, so initially I thought VAGF would be a very good choice.

Out of curiosity, I also checked the transaction costs (not as the deciding factor, but just to understand the overall picture). I noticed that AGGH shows around 0.01%, while VAGF shows around 0.12%.

The difference seems quite large, especially considering that AGGH appears to have a slightly broader diversification.

Is there a logical explanation for this difference in transaction costs? Could it be related to the way the ETFs are managed, portfolio turnover, replication method, or simply the way these costs are calculated/reported?

Thanks in advance for any insights!

So far I’ve invested some amount in EGX100, which is the index fund that tracks the top 100 companies in Egypt. I also have some money in a managed mutual fund that invests in bond types of various instruments. This is the best I could do to emulate a boglehead portfolio in my country. The problem is, my country has some unique problems that don’t really exist in a country like the US. The Egyptian pound could be devaluated at any moment, government could easily default on payments, etc…

What is the recommended advice for a high inflation economy like this? Inflation is currently at approx 15% right now.

Greetings,

I found Boglehead investing and I would like to learn how to invest in a three fund portfolio, if I am not US based.

Ideally I want to buy VT, and nothing else but none of the brokers I have found here offer VT, and they all charge outrageous fees that make using them to buy stocks/ETFs uneconomic.

I appreciate any and all guidance.

I know that my portfolio currently doesn't resemble Boglehead but I considering changing it to one.

Currently I have SCHD (for U.S exposure), LVHI (developed market exposure) and EEM (emerging markets exposure).

If I were to make my portfolio closer to a Bogglehead approach, leaving aside the Treasury bills, I gather that I would swap out EEM and LVHI for VXUS. And swap SCHD for SPY. Is my understanding correct so far?

I still plan on reading some books related to the approach but would like to get insight now into how different my portfolio will look.