In his book “Unconventional Success: A Fundamental Approach to Personal Investing,” David Swensen prescribes for retail investors an asset allocation markedly different from his management of Yale Endowment.

• Domestic Equity (30 percent) – Stocks in U.S.-based companies listed on U.S. exchanges.
• Emerging Market Equity (5 percent) – Stocks from emerging markets across the globe. Brazil, Russia, India, China, etc.
• Foreign Developed Equity (15 percent) – Stocks listed on major foreign markets in developed countries, such as the UK, Germany, France, and Japan.
• REITs or Real Estate Investment Trusts (20 percent) – Stocks of companies that invest directly in real estate through ownership of property.
• U.S. Treasury Notes and Bonds (15 percent) – These are fixed-interest U.S. government debt securities that mature in more than one year. Notes and bonds pay interest semi-annually. The income is only taxed at the federal level.
• TIPs or U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protection Securities (15 percent) – These are special types of Treasury notes that offer protection from inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. They pay interest every six months and the principal when the security matures.

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