Because the domestic market has been doing well for so long now, advisors and their clients tend to want to stick to domestic investments, but this is a mistake, says Dana D’Auria, director of research at Symmetry Partners, a financial advisory firm based in Glastonbury, Conn.

Financial Advisor Magazine

What matters most is the total return for the entire portfolio, says Philip R. McDonald, director of investments at Symmetry Partners in Glastonbury, Connecticut. "It's not in an investor's best interest to scrutinize the individual line items of their portfolio based on asset classes, funds or securities," he says. A broadly diversified portfolio will always have winners and losers, so your ideal asset allocation should reflect your long term expectations and priorities, "not short term predictions," McDonald says.

US News & World Report

Dana D’Auria, director of research at Symmetry Partners, said bonds serve as a stabilizing force in a portfolio, when asset allocation is done right. “The reason people have a 60/40 portfolio, in which 60% is allocated to stocks and 40% is allocated to bonds, is to make sure they can sleep well during major drawdowns,” said D’Auria.

MarketWatch

Patrick Sweeny, founding partner of Symmetry Partners, says advisors need to employ due diligence on ETF strategies and the provider or sponsor. Due diligence also comes down to studying its liquidity, bearing a simple thesis in mind: “Do the due diligence on ‘is it liquid enough for them to move clients into this product and get them out of this product when they need to,’” he says.

Financial Advisor IQ