4 Asset Allocation ETFs Your Broker Forgot to Mention (PERM, PCA)

Financial markets continue to evolve, but some portfolio managers and market theorists still place an emphasis on proper asset allocation. To be sure, there's something to be said for having a portfolio that stretches beyond the confines of just one asset class. Fortunately for investors that don't find the subject of proper asset allocation to be stimulating conversation, there are ETFs to help with the chore of ensuring one's portfolio has the look of being allocated the way some of the pros would recommend. Not surprisingly, asset allocation funds are another are of the exchange-traded products universe that ETF sponsors are looking to for future growth as more of these funds are seen coming to market. For now, we'll focus on the currently existing products starting with the... iShares S&P Conservative Allocation Fund AOK The iShares S&P Conservative Allocation Fund, which will turn four years old later this year, is really an ETF fund of funds as its top-10 holdings are all other iShares ETFs. Looking at the asset class breakdown, AOK is definitely conservative as U.S. fixed income funds account for almost 74% of the fund's weight. Domestic and global stocks account for the rest. The iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond Fund AGG by itself commands an allocation of nearly 30% in AOK. Other holdings include the iShares Barclays Short Treasury Bond Fund SHV and the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond Fund HYG. iShares S&P Growth Allocation Fund AOR The iShares S&P Growth Allocation Fund is also nearly four years old and it's one of the largest asset allocation ETFs on the market today with over $136 million in assets under management. Some investors might assume AOR is loaded with speculative fare because "growth" is in the ETF's name. That's not the case. The iShares S&P 500 Index Fund IVV accounts for 34.4% of AOR's weight while AGG chimes in at almost 20%. The fund also features exposure to the iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Index Fund IJR and the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund EEM. PowerShares RiverFront Tactical Growth & Income Portfolio PCA The PowerShares RiverFront Tactical Growth & Income Portfolio, which will turn four in a few weeks and is home to $17.3 million in AUM, uses a similar approach to AOK and AOR in that it's an ETF fund of funds. PCA current asset allocation breakdown is almost 41% fixed income, just over 40% to U.S. stock ETFs and 15.1% to international stock ETFs. Top-10 holdings include the PowerShares Fundamental High Yield Corporate Bond ETF PHB, the PowerShares Dividend Achievers ETF PFM and the PowerShares Hi-Yield Dividend Achievers ETFPEY. PCA also features iShares, SPDRs, Vanguard and WisdomTree ETFs among its holdings. Global X Permanent ETF PERM The Global X Permanent ETF debuted in February and has thus far done a fine job of attracting assets from investors as the fund is now home to $11.1 million in AUM. The ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares SGOL is PERM's top holding at almost 20% of the fund's weight and the ETFS Physical Silver Shares SIVR accounts for almost 5%. Long-term and short-term Treasuries each receive allocations of roughly 25%. The other quarter of PERM's weight goes to a mix of domestic and international equities, but unlike the other funds on this list, PERM does hold common stocks and ADRs such as Apple AAPL, Chevron CVX, Royal Dutch Shell RDS and Rio Tinto RIO. Two Vanguard ETFs are also found among PERM's equity holdings. For more on forgotten ETFs, please click HERE.