BlackRock: Your Core Portfolio: Sample Strategies for the Long Haul

Sample allocations shown for illustrative and educational purposes only. This is not meant as a guarantee of any future result or experience. This information should not be relied upon as research, investment advice or a recommendation regarding the iShares Funds, and does not represent the actual current, past or future holdings or portfolio of any BlackRock client.

Source: iShares Core Builder Tool

I’d like to point out that my colleagues Russ Koesterich and Rick Rieder advise caution toward short-term bonds with maturities of 2- to 5-year years and they prefer bonds with shorter or longer durations. However, in this scenario, ISTB is included because of the shorter term time horizon and hypothetical income needs in retirement.

Only after your core is established should you begin to think about getting tactical. This means adding exposures to capture opportunities based on shorter-term investment views, such as individual country funds. ETFs can be a useful vehicle to express these views because of their flexibility and tradability. The key is not to forget to stay disciplined to your overall goals, referring back to your personal investment policy statement, and ensuring your short-term views don’t interfere with your long-term needs.

You can start to better understand how to build your core portfolio with the iShares Core Builder Tool.

¹According to BlackRock and Market Strategies International

Daniel Gamba, CFA, is Managing Director and head of BlackRock’s iShares Americas Institutional Business. He is also a member of BlackRock’s Global Operating Committee. He is a regular contributor to The Blog and you can read more of his posts here.