| In 2021, I wrote a revised and updated edition with a new Foreword by long-time subscriber Bill O'Reilly. It was also well received. The strategy, in a nutshell, required that readers invest in an unorthodox asset allocation using 10 Vanguard index funds or ETFs. After that, the investor simply needed to spend a few minutes a year to rebalance the portfolio, bringing the funds back to their original allocation. Last year the portfolio returned 23.4% vs 17.9% for the S&P 500. Not bad, especially since this is a conservative strategy. (Thirty percent of the portfolio is in various types of bonds.) An investor who put $100,000 in the strategy at its inception in 2003 would have had $809,055 at the end of last year. The portfolio protects investors from five major investment risks: - The risk of being so conservative that your net worth doesn't grow fast enough to exceed inflation or meet your investment goals.
- The risk of being too aggressive, where a substantial part of your portfolio goes up in flames.
- The risk of trying and failing to time the market (by being in for the corrections and/or out for the rallies).
- The risk of using expensive managers who underperform their benchmarks, as a majority do each year.
- And the risk of unwise delegation. (Bernie Madoff and his ilk can't run off with your money.)
The strategy is time-tested and, as you can see from the returns, works well. I've gotten a lot of reader feedback over the years. And most of it falls into one of two broad categories. It's either "I never realized that sophisticated investing could be made this simple"... or, surprisingly, "This is still way too complicated for me." It seems that calculating fractions is too troublesome for some Americans, even when their financial future is on the line. (And that's required to rebalance the portfolio each year.) It's for these folks that I'm going to suggest something different today. I call it "The World's Simplest Portfolio." Why? Because it is just a single investment. There are no commissions. (In fact, there is no for-profit company handling your funds.) The investment minimum is low. It requires just $1,000 to invest. And you can add to it in any amount, even as little as $1. While the Gone Fishin' strategy was a "set-it-and-don't-forget-it" portfolio - since I recommend rebalancing once a year - this is a true "set-it-and-completely-forget-it" portfolio. You simply plunk some money in - and have the distributions automatically reinvested. (Or take them if you need them.) You can add to your holdings periodically. (Or not.) The portfolio is completely liquid, asset allocated, broadly diversified, regularly rebalanced, professionally managed, carries no commissions or sales charges, and has annual operating expenses of less than 0.1%. I can't imagine how smart investing could be made any simpler, regardless of whether you are planning for retirement... or already retired. I'll reveal this portfolio - and how to invest in it - in my next column. Good investing, Alex | 
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