Portfolio IQ: Advisor Balances ETFs, Stocks, Mutual Funds

Cyrus Amini of Helium Advisors rarely looks at or rebalances his portfolio.

When it comes to his personal investment portfolio, Cyrus Amini practices what he preaches.

The Charleston, S.C.-based chief investment officer at Helium Advisors shares his Roth IRA investments with etf.com for the latest installment of the Portfolio IQ series.

Amini is 40 years old and part of a double-income household. And his portfolio consists of a diversified mix of 24 positions that is roughly divided into 65% equities and 35% fixed income.

Across the portfolio, there is a little bit of everything, illustrating Amini’s tendency to test out new themes and concepts, and to let the portfolio run on autopilot while he makes regular contributions across the investments.

“Realistically, I’m probably aiming for a mix of 70% stocks and 30% bonds, and the current balance is a product of drifting over time,” he said. “I make it a point to touch my own portfolio very infrequently, which is a behavioral finance thing.”

Stock, ETF, Mutual Fund Positions & Allocation

Amini said the slight overweight in fixed income from his 30% target is the result of the recent strength of his bond allocations.

In general, Amini said he will rebalance at least annually and sometimes twice a year. But, for the most part, he takes a hands-off approach to his long-term investing.

“I try to ignore the red or green numbers in the portfolio because we are hard wired to see green as something positive and red as something not positive,” he said. “I try to remove myself from those emotions.”

Of the 24 positions, 12 are represented by exchanged-traded funds, seven are mutual funds and five are individual stock holdings.

Amini said he is migrating toward an increased use of ETFs, but that he still sees value in both the mutual fund and ETF wrapper, depending on the investment strategy.

“Historically I found that mutual funds provided myself and clients with greater degrees of freedom in terms of allocating risk, but over the past 10-to-15 years the ETF market has evolved in a good way,” he said. “It’s clear the answer to the question of ETF or mutual fund is actually and, not or.”

One unique characteristic of the portfolio is there is nothing that could be described as a core allocation in the way some financial advisors might build a foundation around a broad market index fund.

VOO, GLD ETFs Are Key Holdings

The single largest position, at slightly over 11%, is the Artisan High Income Advisor mutual fund (APDFX), which is paired with the CrossBridge Low Duration High Yield Institutional mutual fund (CBLDX) at 3.2% for a sizeable allocation to high-yield bonds.

In terms of broad market equity exposure, Amini’s largest position, at 5.8%, is the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), followed by a 3.9% weighting in the Vanguard Russell 1000 Value ETF (VONV).

One aspect of the portfolio that might say something about Amini’s investing personality is the trend towards thematic strategies, including a 5.5% weighting in the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD).

“Historically, gold has clearly played a part in acting as ballast and a safe haven,” he said. “I’m not a commodity trader, so I don’t trade it tactically. Gold is in my portfolio as a ballast.”

Thematic Tech and Crypto ETFs

Other more classic themes lean toward technology with small positions in the ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ), Global X Internet of Things ETF (SNSR), Global X Thematic Growth ETF (GXTG) and Global X Video Games Esports ETF (HERO).

Amini also has some exposure to cryptocurrencies through the Grayscale Bitcoin ETF (GBTC) and the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (BTC).

In terms of where Amini sees his portfolio evolving as he continues to move through his career, he doesn’t see any major adjustments.

“The fixed income percentage is likely to stay similar to where it is now,” he said. “And I might rotate into more beta equity exposure, but now is not the time to do that.”