First Trade of the Year

It isn't a particularly interesting one but it adds some nice international flare to the core funds section of my portfolio.  I do hate moving money into an international fund when the dollar is so weak but wanted to add some diversity to my international holdings.  This fund is 5* everything and should round out my core funds well.

I bought Manning & Napier's World Opportunities Fund at 8.68 a share.  The trade was a straight up exchange taking from Perkins Mid Cap Value Fund which sold at 22.76 a share.   It was executed at COB January 3.

As of the writing of this post the weighting of the funds are as follows:

Manning & Napier's World Opportunities Fund (EXWAX) - 4.06%
Perkins Mid Cap Value Fund (JMCVX) - 4.81% (down from 8.96% at last portfolio publishing)

End of Year 2010 Portfolio

At the end of the year 2010 the portfolio looks like this:

Stocks: 23.96%

General Electric (GE:NYSE) – 9.82% - The cornerstone of my portfolio.  No plans in the near future to touch this one.  I expect it to be a leader of the post recovery boom.  It may be a while off but in the meantime I will collect a decent dividend and wait as they continue to position themselves to save the world for a small fee on top of expenses.

CSX Corp (CSX:NYSE) – 5.98% - A great play over the course of the last year for me.  To avoid short term taxes, I’m holding this as is for a little while, but plan to take profits on this in the near future and bring allocation down to my original investment, about 4%.

Verizon Communications Inc (VZ: NYSE) – 4.88% - Verizon has enjoyed a nice rally lately.  The coming rush for the Verizon iPhone has been building into the price.  What may not be there is the impact of rolling out the 4^th generation network.  It pays a nice dividend and seems to be headed for nothing but good news in the first quarter.   Just as was the case with AT&T, peddling the iPhone may cost more than it brings in, but having the iPhone has to mean new subscribers and increased market share.  I’m cautious as to what the iPhone will do to the bottom line and as a result I’m on hold with my VZ right now. 

Lightbridge Corp (LTBR:NASDAQ) – 3.28% - Lightbridge is the only individual stock that I’m currently losing on.  Lightbridge provides consulting services to the nuclear power industry and is developing non proliferative nuclear fuels.  Obviously this is a long shot growth prospect, but I believe in what they are doing.  May end up being a mistake in the long run, but if you are going to lose on a bet, it’s always nicer to have lost on the good guys fighting the good fight.  I also take a fair amount of comfort in the short interest on this thing being pretty low.  By and large the hedge funds are not betting against it. 

Core Funds: 36.36%

These guys spread me around the Morningstar box pretty well and keep my imagination from sabotaging my entire portfolio.  That said, they are also a little boring.  I’ll be reducing their stake in the portfolio over the next few months but as of January 1, 2011 this is where they stand. (I’ll spare you the commentary)

Buffalo Mid Cap Fund (BUFMX) – 4.50%
The Delafield Fund (DEFIX) – 4.65%
Perkins Mid Cap Value Fund (JMCVX) – 8.96%
The Oakmark Fund (OAKMX) – 6.83%
Parnassus Small Cap Fund (PARSX) – 4.62%
Wells Fargo Small Cap Value Fund (SSMVX) – 6.80%

Sector Specific Funds: 23.42%

These are my guilty pleasure, and often the anchor holding my portfolio back.  However, overweighting my portfolio in Energy is my fundamental strategy.  I expect some shifting here in January but will give the fund managers a chance to change my mind in their annual reports. 

Schwab Financial Services Fund (SWFFX) – 5.09% - Bought this as a sure thing back when the banks were starting their recovery.  It’s done well for me but is a bigger chunk of my portfolio than I like right now.  I will probably take some profits off of it after the annual report is published.

Powershares DB Oil Fund (DBO) – 4.08% - These guys transition between buying short term and long term oil futures.  They don’t use a general rules based approach like other Oil ETFs and they have tended to outperform them as a result.   It has had a nice little run lately and I may be dropping it as a result.  I’m a bit disappointed to be letting it go because I still believe $150 a barrel oil is coming back, possibly for an extended stay, but I’m not convinced it is imminent.  If it disappears from the portfolio it will stay on the watch list. 

Market Vectors Nuclear Energy Fund (NLR) – 5.24% - This thing has been on a tear lately.  I love the long term prospects and am a firm believer in the nuclear energy industry; however, I’m not expecting the industry to boom all of a sudden.  I’m going to hold on to a nice chunk of this but take the recent profits off the table. 

Icon Energy Fund (ICENX) – 5.16% - Also on a tear lately, but this one I’m not planning to touch.  I waited patiently as it lagged the recovery, now I’m going to sit back and watch as the demand for energy drives this guy through the roof.  

Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy Fund (GAAEX) – 3.85% - This is perhaps the most ill advised play in my portfolio.  Funds get 1* ratings for a reason.  I think Morningstar put it best when they said this thing was to hot to handle.  I like what this fund will be someday, but the alt energy industry is just so volatile right now.  Real interested to hear what they have to say in their annual report, but this one may be disappearing from my portfolio for a while.  I may replace with an ETF that focuses on energy efficiency. 

Country Specific Funds: 16.02%

Matthews China Fund (MCHFX) – 11.02% - If you can’t beat em, profit off of em.  This thing is a powerhouse in my portfolio and even though I will be reducing a bit, I’m still going to keep this as what I’ll call a double standard position. 

World Third Millennium Russia (TMRFX) – 5.01% - Russia has vast natural resources and will profit as scarcity comes into play.  Might take some play money off the top of this one but expect it to be a mainstay in my portfolio for some time. 

CASH: 0.24%