I’ve got $200,000 ready to invest and want to improve my portfolio strategy.
Background:
36 years old, married, newborn
Pre-pandemic mortgage, no other debt, emergency fund is set
Freelance income around $100K/year, spouse earns ~$88K
Current Investments ($650K total, including $200K in cash):
Individual ($300K total)
Stocks (selling some losers and bubble tech)
VOO, SPY
Cash/MMKT: $130,000 (ready to invest)
ROTH IRA ($128K total)
Stocks, VOO, SPY, FXAIX
Cash/MMKT: $20,000 (ready to invest)
Traditional IRA ($146K total)
VOO, SPY
Cash/MMKT: $50,000 (ready to invest)
SEP IRA ($60K total)
VOO
529 Plan ($10K)
Not sure if I should add more now?
I started investing about 10 years ago but didn’t realize VOO, SPY, and FXAIX are pretty much the same thing. Trying to be more strategic now.
My Questions:
Diversification & Rebalancing: I’m comfortable being aggressive now but need to start thinking about rebalancing as I get older. Should I start buying Bond ETFs (BND, TLT, etc.)?
Index Funds Strategy: Should I just keep adding VOO/SPY, or would it be smarter to separate them by account type?
Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA):
I was thinking of investing $1-2K per week in index funds. That would deploy the $100K in my taxable account within a year.
Should I scale it down to $500-1K per week in case we see a recession in 2026?
529 Plan: Should I dump more in now while my kid is young?
You’re in a solid spot with strong investments. Since you’re heavily weighted in equities (VOO, SPY, FXAIX), adding some bond ETFs (BND, TLT) might help balance volatility.
Consider a 90/10 or 80/20 stock/bond split based on risk tolerance.
DCA $1-2K per week into VOO/SPY is a safe play. If you’re worried about a 2026 recession, $500-1K per week would slow things down.
Keeping VOO and SPY separate by account doesn’t matter much—focus on tax efficiency (bonds in tax-advantaged accounts).
529 Plan: Since your child is young, adding more now maximizes tax-free growth.
Also, for cash, check out Banktruth to find the best high-yield savings accounts.