This blog is an attempt at a discussion about personal finance. It’s not a one way street, so I appreciate your comment. But please honor my choice of an open forum by respecting and understanding what kind of medium you’re in. This is a personal blog.

To say something “seems” one way doesn’t mean I’m making claims. I simply said it “seems” that way to me.

Why does it seem that way to me? I’ll elaborate:

1. Because I freakin’ love the US and our economy. You seem like a US hater to me. Sad. Regardless of a little downturn, we are living in the free-est, strongest, most-powerful nation is the world. I love the companies that are based here and like their future. Therefore, I invest in them.

2. Because I don’t know anything about other Countries, their economies, and their political systems. I don’t invest in what I don’t know or trust.

3. Because most of the financial advice I’ve run across in my 32 years tells me so. I suspect they tell me this because other countries experience more political unrest and inflation than we do and staying at home is more conservative. I invest for the long-term…this makes the most sense for me…and likely most of the readers of this blog.

So, there’s some good basis for my claims, Bob.

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So… why does that seem high to you?

Foreign equity accounts for over 60% of the world’s equities. If you hold less than 60% in foreign equities you’re essentially making a bet that the US markets will outperform the rest of the world… you’re choosing to concentrate your holdings in the US.

So the real question is this: Why would you bet on the US and against the rest of the world’s equities in this environment? The dollar is losing ground every day. The economy is being grossly mismanaged in the US… there are good reasons to favor foreign equities over US equities. A certain amount of “home-bias” makes sense, of course, but you seem not to have any basis whatsoever for your claim that 25% of equity holdings in foreign stocks is too much. It appears that you are making claims absent any knowledge whatsoever.

I have noticed that there seems to be an explosion of online financial blogs written by people who present themselves as quasi-experts, yet know little more than the last financial puff piece they read. And I say this as someone who has written for Money Magazine, the magazine quoted above.

Be careful folks! There is a great deal more bad information floating around than there is good information.

PS: The fact that the author of this piece moved his entire 401(k) to a load fund should tell you all you need to know. He/she could use some help and is in no position to be offering financial advice.