I have four mutual funds in my IRA account - a Total Market index fund, a Small-cap index fund, an International stock index fund, and a Bond index fund, and I'm trying to figure out how to allocate my assets between them. I've read a little bit about "Modern Portfolio Theory" and the "Efficient Frontier", but I'm struggling to understand some of the math. So, is there a simple way I can test whether a particular allocation is on the efficient frontier? Or, see all the possible allocations on the efficient frontier and choose between them? How do I figure this out? Ideally, I'd love to see a simple enough formula that, given the mean and standard deviation (and maybe correlation matrix), of my four funds, would tell me what allocation is on the efficient frontier. Or, some type of online tool, or an Excel spreadsheet or something. [more inside]
posted by stuehler on Feb 17, 2009 - 10 answers

Have I been wrong on my financial core beliefs? [more inside]
posted by MrMulan on Feb 11, 2009 - 22 answers

Investment timing: what do you think of the timing at the moment for dropping money into China funds, or BRICs? [more inside]
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken on Nov 13, 2007 - 24 answers

Are there books that explain, in great detail, the systems that clear trades (equities and options) on the markets and shuffle funds among banks in the U.S.? [more inside]
posted by qslack on Feb 10, 2006 - 2 answers

I'm a freelance web developer, and I've recently set up a PayPal business-level account to take payment from clients who prefer that method. But I'm growing more and more upset with the fact that it inevitably takes about a week from the day I get the notice of pending payment for the money to actually show up in my PayPal account, and another 4-5 days to get it out and into my bank account. What's the holdup? [more inside]
posted by ubernostrum on Sep 14, 2005 - 8 answers

I am presently working with a financial advisor to select mutual funds for my retirement plan. He has explained the differences between Class A, B, and C funds to me, and also suggested that Class A is probably the best option. Is he correct? [more inside] [more inside]
posted by ajr on Dec 30, 2004 - 13 answers