Trade Like My Mom, a Year Later

It's never too late to start planning your financial future.

A year ago, I wrote about a retirement portfolio I was setting up for my mother, who had recently retired after a 43-year career in the computer software industry. The main question I had to ask myself was what sort of portfolio would be ideal for someone like her.

My mom wanted a return of about 8%-10% annually, which is more than a traditional money manager could get. Additionally, she wanted liquidity (the ability to take money out), which rules out all hedge funds. And she also wanted transparency, the ability to look at her portfolio on a daily or (Heaven forbid) hourly basis. And finally, she wanted low volatility. ...