Author Archives: Dave Taft

About Dave Taft

Traveler, optimist, dreamer, fiscally conservative, socially moderate, amateur photographer, social media junkie, doer of stuff. Day job: Corporate Compliance.

Murals of Barranco and Miraflores

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On my 2019 Christmas trip I wandered through the Barranco and Miraflores neighborhoods of Lima, Peru in search of murals and street art. They were everywhere and I wasn’t disappointed.

Brixen Water Light Festival

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I was fortunate to be in Brixen Italy during their Water Light Festival. The festival ran from May 9 – 25, 2019 and each night from 9 – 12 PM there were various displays throughout the city center. While they had a map, they also strung green fiber cable above the streets that you could follow from display to display. The highlight were the colorful flying fish that moved to music in front of the Brixen Cathedral.

Target Date Funds

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For the average investor target date funds have become a popular auto-invest, set-it and forget-it option for retirement saving in their 401(k) plans or IRA’s. That’s actually a good thing in my mind if the investor sticks to the program. The funds include a mix of stocks and bonds that are automatically re-balanced and become more conservative as they move toward the target retirement date. Some argue they might become too conservative for retirees, but that’s a separate discussion.

What many don’t realize is there’s no “industry standard” for the asset allocation in these funds; that’s left to the fund companies. Below is a list of widely held target date 2030 funds. As you can see, they have a huge range of asset allocations ranging from 75/25 Stocks to Bonds/Cash/Short-Term down to 55/45.

Wow! To me 55/45 is awfully conservative for someone 12 years from a planned retirement.

This “risk tolerance” spread is something individual investors should be aware of, and comfortable with, particularly as they approach retirement.

Just remember, target date funds are not created equally.

  • Fidelity Freedom® 2030 Fund (FFFEX) – 75.41% Stocks (domestic and int’l); 23% Bonds; 1.59% Sort-term reserves
  • Fidelity Freedom® Index 2030 Fund (FXIFX) – 73.1% Stocks (domestic and int’l); 24.8% Bonds (domestic and int’l); 2.1% Cash/Other
  • Vanguard Target Retirement 2030 Fund (VTHRX) – 70.28% Stocks (domestic and int’l); 29.7% Bonds(domestic and int’l); 0.02% Short-term reserves
  • BlackRock LifePath Index 2030 Fund (LINKX) – 69.22% Stocks (domestic and int’l); 30.29% Bonds (domestic and int’l); 0.48 Cash/Short-term
  • Schwab Target 2030 Index Fund (SWYEX) 68.35% Stocks (domestic and int’l); 27.4% Bonds (domestic and int’l); 4.25% Cash/Other
  • PIMCO RealPath Blend 2030 Fund (PBPAX) – 61.69% Stocks (domestic and int’l); 36.34% Bonds (domestic and int’l); Commodities 1.95%; 0.01 Short-term
  • American Century One Choice 2030 (ARCVX) 55.5% Stocks (domestic and int’l); 39.5% Bonds (domestic and int’l); 5% Cash/Money Market

Note: Fund data as of 9/19/2018

Glasgow City Centre Mural Trail

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On my recent trip to Glasgow I spent some time wandering the city to look at the wonderful murals they have. Here is a selection covering many of them.

The Mural Trail website with map is found at: https://www.citycentremuraltrail.co.uk/

Hip Hop Marionettes
St. Mungo
Fellow Glasgow Residents
Strathclyde University
Badminton
Fellow Glasgow Residents
St. Mungo
Fellow Glasgow Residents
Wind Power
Hand Puppets
Honey…I shrunk the kids
The Clutha
The Clutha
Dr. Connolly, I Presume?
Hand Puppets
Hand Puppets
The World’s Most Economical Taxi
Glasgow’s Panda
Glasgow’s Tiger
The Musician
Spaceman

Tombs of the Nobles

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Images on the walls of the Tombs of the Nobles at the Thebean Necropolis near Luxor. The colors were just amazing. Guides were allowed to accompany us in these Tombs. The tomb guardians were so funny. NO PHOTOS ALLOWED signs were posted. The minute we got in they “suggested” we take a few pic…but don’t tell our guide…and give them some backsheesh (tips). A good time was had by all.