Published: May 10, 2026 • By Rick Allison, CFP®
With the recent run up in the stock market, now may be an excellent time for many St. Johns County and Jacksonville retirees to consider reviewing their investment strategy.
The typical financial advisor uses firm designed Model Portfolios. There is limited change in these ETF portfolios. In other words, it is a cookie-cutter approach. Further, they all tend to be based on Modern Portfolio Theory, or MPT. MPT was a thesis written in the 1950s and was very impactful at the time. However, today it is simply outdated.
We are more tactical and nimble with our ETF portfolios. For example, we do not just automatically invest in International and Emerging Market ETFs like Model Portfolios based on MPT do.
We are always looking towards the future when we have new money to invest. For example, in the last couple of years, we looked for two S&P 500® sectors that we felt would outperform in the future and we used those instead.
In 2025, we used Technology and Communications. The top two S&P 500® sectors in 2025 were precisely Technology and Communications. Even though International and Emerging Markets rebounded in 2025 after dismal performances in years prior, we did not really miss out on potenial returns, because our two S&P 500® sector choices essentially offset the missing International and Emerging Markets rebounds in performance.
There are mulitple ways to in invest in stocks and be successful. However, you need a sound investment strategy. You cannot just invest in stocks in a willy-nilly manner.
The way to do this is to determine a investment style first. Is now a good time to invest in Equal Weight? Or Growth? Or Momentum? Or Value? Once you know the answer to this question, then you build your stock strategy to align with your choice of Equal Weight, Growth, Momentum or Value.
We recomend a stock portfolio of around 33 stocks. More specifically, three (3) chosen from each of the eleven (11) S&P 500® sectors based on the chosen portfolio: Equal Weight, Growth, Momentum or Value. Other variations that we use in this investment strategy is to choose two (2) U.S. Large Cap stocks and one (1) Small Cap, Mid Cap, or International Stock. This is an example of having an investment strategy as opposed to picking stocks willy-nilly without a cohesive plan.
Do you have an Emergency Fund? If not, then you should. After calculating the amount needed for your Emergency Fund, we invest it in CDs and Money Market funds, so it is always available in a short time period when needed. We recommend having a totally separate brokerage account with your Emergency Funds.
Important: Every situation is different. We analyze potential portfolio needs for each client to determine what makes the most sense.
Would you like to discuss how we can design an investment strategy for you? Call Rick at (904) 460-2700.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, personalized investment or tax advice. Please consult with your legal or tax professional before making any decisions.