Bohr Portfolio Examined

By Lowell Herr: This is the second piece in our Positioning for 2012 series. Readers can find all of Seeking Alpha's 2012 outlook articles here.

By Lowell Herr: Far too frequently portfolios are benchmarked against the S&P 500 even though the S&P may not be an appropriate benchmark due to the makeup of the portfolio. How might one go about setting up a customized benchmark without spending hundreds of dollars for software? There are several required steps to building a customized benchmark.

By Lowell Herr: Since the last update, shares of RWX, VOE, VEU, VTV,

By Lowell Herr: The old management adage, "You Can't Manage What You Don't Measure" is as accurate today as when first stated. I don't know the origin of the quote, but it is sometimes attributed to W. Edwards Deming. The adage is so fundamental, it likely goes back further than Deming. If I were to modify the quote, I would add something to the effect - and do it correctly'

Michael Johnston submits:The tremendous surge in ETF assets in recent years has been attributable not to equity funds, but rather to products offering exposure to other asset classes. The number of exchange-traded commodity products has surged, enabling investors to establish exposure to everything from copper to sugar through the exchange-traded structure. Another big growth area has focused around fixed income funds, as investors have become more comfortable with the idea of accessing bonds through ETFs.

By Lowell Herr: When investors populate their portfolios with stocks or equity ETFs, it is easy to forget just how exposed the portfolio is to risk. The following analysis is a reminder of the high risks we take when constructing portfolios. To know a little more about Risk Parity, check out this link.

By Lowell Herr: Over the past four years the following 12-ETF portfolio outperformed the S&P 500 by over 250 basis points per year with significantly less risk. Before looking at the 12-ETF make-up of the "ITA Dozen" let's examine the goals for this portfolio.