Sample Workspaces
Introduction
These workspaces are provided as samples that you can use to learn more about how the Portfolio Workbench can be applied for various requirements.
You need to download each file and put the file into the Bloomberg working directory. This is usually located at “C:\blp\data”. Then after starting the Portfolio Workbench App, select “Open a Saved Workspace” from the “File” menu and you should be able to open the files.
All workspaces load 2600 trading days of data by default so some larger workspaces will be loading a lot of data. For example, the S&P 500 Portfolio will be loading 1.3 million days of data. This could take about 10 minutes the first time you load it. Once the data is loaded, it is kept in a local database on your computer so the next time you open the workspace, you will usually have to load only any new data.
If you try to open several of the workspace on the same day, you may run into data limits at Bloomberg. If that occurs, try opening a few each day until everything you might need has been opened and loaded at least once.
Sample Portfolios
These sample portfolios include all of the stocks in each index with some of the best stocks selected to form an effective portfolio as of the time the portfolio was last revised. They are not investment recommendations and are provided for educational purposes only and as starting points for you to study and modify as required by your personal requirements:
Improving Existing Portfolios
Most existing portfolios can be improved by simply allocating all the assets to those securities in the portfolio that are currently out-performing the market. These allocations change over time so must be rebalanced periodically.
Ivy Portfolios
“Track and mimic the investment strategies of the highly successful Harvard and Yale endowments. Using the endowment Policy Portfolios as a guide, the authors illustrate how an investor can develop a strategic asset allocation using an ETF-based investment approach.” http://www.theivyportfolio.com/
AAII Portfolios
“AAII’s model portfolios are real investments with real dollars that are managed as if by an individual investor.” Some key points:
- There are two model portfolios: a Model Shadow Stock portfolio and a Model Fund portfolio
- Two-fold goal: to both educate individual investors and to inspire investing success
- Investment decisions are published here on AAII.com for members to follow
Fidelity Sector Funds Portfolio
“Sector funds offer targeted exposure to different segments of the economy, helping you achieve a variety of strategic and tactical investment goals. We offer one of the largest selections of sector funds in the industry, including 44 funds that are actively managed by Fidelity.” https://www.fidelity.com/mutual-funds/sector-funds/overview
The 7Twelve® Portfolio
“7Twelve is a multi-asset balanced portfolio developed by Craig L. Israelsen, Ph.D. in 2008. Unlike a traditional two-asset 60/40 balanced fund, the 7Twelve balanced strategy utilizes multiple asset classes to enhance performance and reduce risk.
The 7 of 7Twelve represents the suggested number of asset classes to include in your portfolio. The Twelve represents the 12 separate mutual funds or exchange traded products to fully represent the 7 asset classes in your 7Twelve portfolio. Our portfolio has approximately a 65/35 allocation: approximately 65% of the portfolio is invested in equity and diversifying assets and about 35% invested in bonds and cash.”
http://www.7twelveportfolio.com/
The Morningstar Gold Medalists Funds
“Medalist funds–those that receive Gold, Silver, and Bronze Analyst Ratings–are likely to outperform their category peers and benchmarks on a risk-adjusted basis over market cycles of at least five years.”
http://www.morningstar.com/cover/videocenter.aspx?id=591905
Typical IRA Mutual Fund Portfolio
This portfolio was provided by an investment advisory firm for a client’s Individual Retirement Account. We are using it as an example of how most portfolios can be improved by the Portfolio Workbench.
Rainbow Charts
The Rainbow Chart shows up to 20 different MinusMarket indicators on one chart so that we can easily compare different securities.
Spreads
Long-short spreads are also very useful portfolio components.
If two securities are highly correlated and one is out-performing the other, the optimal long/short spread can provided many opportunities for profit. This application provides several tools for designing and measuring the characteristics of such spreads.