The Perfect Portfolio

Today's world of personal investing is not a friendly place. Individuals are assaulted with an unending barrage of financial news, "expert" advice, investing tools, trading systems, and more, to the point where they are overwhelmed. As a result, most people simply entrust their portfolios to third-party advisers and, in doing so, lose control of their financial security. Nobody is more familiar with this situation than author Leland Hevner. As President of the National Association of Online Investors (naoi.org) and a longtime educator in this field, he understands that to succeed in today's chaotic markets you don't need more news, advice, or analysis tools. Instead, you need a completely new and simpler approach to building an effective portfolio on your own—one that includes updated investing concepts and dramatically new ways of looking at the market. That's why he created The Perfect Portfolio. Written in a straightforward and accessible style, this reliable resource shows you, step by step, how to use a revolutionary approach to investing called the Perfect Portfolio Methodology (PPM). Developed by Hevner over the course of his successful career and based on input from hundreds of individual investors, the PPM allows you to capture incredible returns under any market condition without exposing yourself to unacceptable risk or requiring you to devote an extraordinary amount of time to the investing process. The journey to creating your unique Perfect Portfolio is divided into three parts: Part I reveals the problems faced by today's investors, outlines a new approach for solving them, and gets you started by showing how to design the Core Segment—or foundation—of your Perfect Portfolio Part II details how to "supercharge" your Perfect Portfolio's returns by adding a Target Market Segment consisting of five newly defined asset classes Part III illustrates how you can bring the Core and Target Market Segments together to form a Perfect Portfolio that meets your unique investing profile and current market conditions This is a book that financial advisers will not want you to read. Why? Because it takes them out of the loop by empowering you to make informed and profitable investing decisions on your own. The Perfect Portfolio places the power to control your wealth firmly in your hands, where it belongs. The Perfect Portfolio is more than just a book. It also includes a supplemental online component you can access via the Web at www.perfectportfoliobook.com. The use of this resource is not required to take full advantage of the book's content, but the information and tools presented in the online component can enhance your overall learning experience.

Foreword vii Preface ix Author’s Note xvi The Perfect Portfolio Online Supplement xviii Acknowledgments xxi Part I: The Problem, The Solution, and Getting Started Chapter 1 The Woeful State of Personal Investing and the Need for Change—A View from Main Street 3 Chapter 2 The Perfect Portfolio Methodology—A Revolutionary Approach to Creating a Superior Portfolio 21 Chapter 3 Building Your Portfolio’s Core Segment—Establishing a Firm Foundation 41 Part II: Supercharging Your Portfolio with Target Market Investing Chapter 4 Building Your Portfolio’s Target Market Segment—Five Asset Building Blocks that Will Supercharge Your Portfolio 63 Chapter 5 Adding Gold to Your Portfolio—An Investment with Intrinsic Value 89 Chapter 6 Adding an Energy Component to Your Portfolio—An Asset that Runs the World’s Economy 107 Chapter 7 Adding Agricultural Commodities to Your Portfolio—The Staples of Life as a Staple of Your Portfolio 121 Chapter 8 Adding a Real Estate Component to Your Portfolio—Considering a Truly Unique Asset 135 Chapter 9 Adding Emerging Market Stocks to Your Portfolio—Searching the World for Extraordinary Returns 157 Part III: Creating and Working with Your Perfect Portfolio Chapter 10 Designing Your Perfect Portfolio—Building a Powerful Portfolio that Meets Your Unique Needs 177 Chapter 11 Implementing, Monitoring, and Managing Your Perfect Portfolio—Keeping Your Portfolio on Course in Changing Conditions 207 Chapter 12 Maximizing the Potential of Your Perfect Portfolio—Transforming Your Personal Involvement into Wealth 229 The Perfect Portfolio Summary Reviewing, Teaching, and Experiencing the Perfect Portfolio Methodology 249 Appendix A Sample PPM Building Block Trading Plan 261 About the Author 269 Index 271