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Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
  • safe haven?
    Couldn't read the article. It says not available. But I'm sitting here at about 90% in cash for the last couple weeks, all because I'm in the middle of a 401k to IRA roll-over. Perfect time for me if the market decides to correct. I've been conservative at about 40-50% equities the last couple years.
    I have my new fund portfolio set up on paper and I plan to invest again with an aim of 50-60% equities by October with a tilt towards balance/allocation fund managers and large caps. I'll sprinkle in maybe end-of- (bull market) cycle sectors like technology and energy for alpha.
  • Use of Three Buttons When Posting
    you have to option to edit your own posts - just start a practice post and type ignore in the title in the off-topic section.
    C is for computer code you don't want formatted of fixed space tabs.
    <?php
    echo "this is a test";
    or
    col1 col2 col3
    1 2 3
    second red arrow is image thread
    click on it and post an http link to your image
    image
    the third button above with red arrow is the url button - to add urls
    hightlight the text as in "this is a test link pointing to your post"
    below is test link pointing to your post
    this is a test link pointing to your post
    the fourth button is a quote

    the fourth button is a block quote
    >
  • How can you find out a fund's historical AUM?
    Check out fundmojo.com. Not perfect, but not bad for a free web site.
    I've attached a link for PTTRX.
    http://www.fundmojo.com/mutualfund/fund_netasset_report/mutualfund/PTTRX
    Check out fundmojo.com. Not perfect, but not bad for a free web site.
    I've attached a link for PTTRX.
    http://www.fundmojo.com/mutualfund/fund_netasset_report/mutualfund/PTTRX
    MOZART325, that's not a bad website at all. Glad you pointed that out. Has some interesting information. I'll be visiting that website more often.
    AUM data was very good but limited to about one year.
    image
  • How can you find out a fund's historical AUM?
    Paul, in the past I've used the Wellstrade site for this information:
    Enter Symbol
    Select "Get Mutual Fund Profile"
    Total Net Assets By Year
    Kevin
    Kevin, for the fund I looked up, here's what I saw under Total Net Assets By Year
    image
    I wasn't able to tell what the actual AUM were. Just a general idea whether they were increasing or decreasing.
    This was with Internet Explorer. Maybe with Chrome or Firefox you see something different.
    Perhaps I missed a link that you saw?
  • How can you find out a fund's historical AUM?
    David-
    I think the OP wanted historical assets under management, not historical prices.
    George..
    Yes, that's certainly what I'm interested in, historical AUM.
    I've known about the Yahoo Finance historical prices for quite some time.
  • Use of Three Buttons When Posting
    Can someone please post a brief tutorial on how to use the below three buttons (red arrows) when posting? [Code; Image; URL buttons]
    I have seen a couple of message boards that have "practice threads." On the practice threads, posters can practice using some of the tools, such as the three buttons above, attaching graphic images like the one I'm about to attach, etc. Might be good to have a practice thread at MFO.
    image
    Also, today I saw a post where the following words (in quotations) were a clickable link, "Japan, monetary policy and recession?" I've posted words as clickable links on another message board using HTML code. I have a feeling that the C button above can do that, but don't want to "practice" and mess up a post. Is that done by using standard HTML code, or the C button?
    thanks
  • safe haven?
    A bit more conservative this year: 50% stock (20% EM), 30% bond, 20% cash.
  • Vanguard Demonstrates When Active Management Pays, with the author's justifiably angry response
    Jlev,
    Vanguard does have performance-based fees for its active funds, but these adjustments are usually relatively small in either direction so that Vanguard still has the edge over many ETFs. Also, it is in most cases a win-win situations because the fees only go up if a fund is beating its benchmark, which is usually the benchmarks the ETFs are tracking--so either the fund has a performance advantage if fees are higher or a fee advantage if performance is lower. The only way investors would lose out in such a situation would be to buy the active fund aftera hot streak when fees are higher and then sell too soon as performance cools, thus paying the higher fee and missing the performance edge. With these funds it makes sense to buy and hold or if you're more of a risk taker to buy after the funds lag and get the lowest fees, hoping the fund will bounce back.
    I don't have an opinion really on the law suit yet as I haven't read the brief. But in my experience law suits against fund companies even when they have merit rarely go anywhere. The industry has very good, powerful lawyers. It also seems doubtful that that the argyment that charging consumers less for management services is a form of tax evasion will hold up in court in a lengthy appeal process. Where Vanguard does seem more vulnerable is in the $1.5 billion cash reserve, which could appear as a slush fund to the right judge. Although I haven't read the brief, I think it's high time Vanguard's bonus system for its executives be examined more closely as evidence that the firm really isn's a "non-profit" as it often claims. But that is another story....
  • WealthTrack: Q&A With Jason Trennent
    Interesting interview.
    He said something that caught me off guard, at the 8 minute mark.
    Something to the effect that since 10 year Treasury bonds have a yield of 2.5%, that is equivalent to a stock with a P/E ratio of 37.5, and he said Apple has a P/E of only 14 and the S&P 500 has a P/E of about 16.5 in comparison, so bonds are very expensive.
    Do you buy into that line of reasoning that bonds yielding about 2.5% are equivalent to stocks with P/Es of 37.5, and therefore bonds are very expensive?
    Not sure where he got that 37.5 P/E figure.
    Any idea?
    2.5 x 37.5 = 93.75, so that's not it.
    Do you ever equate the 10-year Treasury yield to a given P/E?
    I just viewed that segment a couple of more times, and am now convinced that he just made a mistake on his math. He said 37.5 P/E, but should have calculated it to be a P/E of 40. But I'm not sure I buy into this idea that a 10-year Treasury yield equates to a P/E of 40 in a stock.
    Is that a logical way to look at it?
    I know people will look at the inverse of the P/E: the E/P is the earnings yield, and people compare that to a bond. So if a stock has a P/E of 20, it's earnings yield is 5, and they then compare that to the yield on bonds
  • Vanguard Demonstrates When Active Management Pays, with the author's justifiably angry response
    Book link:
    The House that Bogle Built
    @LewisBraham It has been my understanding that some number of the Vanguard actively managed funds have ER's that depend on performance, does that affect these calculations? do these not apply to these sector funds? or if it does do the ER's always remain below comparable ETF's? Also, any thoughts on their recent law suit?
  • safe haven?
    My Portfolio Is 55% Stocks - 33% Bonds - 12% Cash
  • assume most saw this (passive vs active, yet again)
    As a sidebar, I have a question for you. Is your Mrdarcy moniker a reference to the Mr. Darcy character in Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” book? If so, do you see yourself in the dual roles that characterized Mr. Darcy’s overarching behavior, initially a charming cad and later a romantic hero, on this panel? Yours is a puzzling name choice for these MFO discussions. Please respond.
    I'm a little unclear if this is an honest question or backhanded. I'll assume the former.
    There is nothing particularly insidious or deep, it just happens to be my own name (hence the different spelling). Any romanticism or feigned arrogance is entirely a joke (well, sometimes), as is the ridiculous picture. I really don't even like Austin, though Thug Notes has a pretty funny take:
  • John Waggoner: These Junk Funds Got Trashed Last Week
    Andy,
    JW was corrected. Fairholme was down 0.1% last week while most of high yield bond funds were down 1.5 - 2.0%.
    Eaton Vance Bond fund was down 2.0%, but it also hold higher stock allocation that were also down even more. Dan Fuss's Loomis Sayles bond fared much better with only 1% loss. Also notice that the cash position has been increasing over the last 3 months.
  • safe haven?
    I plan to stay diversified but I have gone conservative this year going from 80/20 stocks and fixed income to 65/35 at the moment. If the situation gets dire I may shift more to fixed.
  • assume most saw this (passive vs active, yet again)
    @MikeM After some years of purchasing mutual funds during periods that a manager is outperforming his benchmarks then being indecisive during the often inevitable underperfomance, I've decided that, rather than worry about whether my fund will deliver downside protection just because it did last time, I'll just settle for the mean (more and more ETFs).
    In another thread, I saw a lot of familiar places; I'm off route 250
  • David Snowball's Commentary For August
    @mrdarcey
    Finger Lakes? you're joking right. (straight from Ithaca :)
    the Catskills supplies much of the water. e.g. Schoharie Reservoir. Ashokan, etc.
    I remember pizza for 10 cents a slice in the south bronx and 15 cents in manhattan, equal to the subway fare. Most of the best pizza places then were run by Greeks. And then there was Rays. I don't know if its water or the knowledge of making good sauce, good mozarella, and good crust, as well as getting good ingredients vs. cutting corners and cost.
    Bagels went down hill when they started adding eggs and storing them in plastic bags and trying to extend shelf life.
  • David Snowball's Commentary For August
    I look forward to David's commentary every month. I love good content even if it is long. Thank you, David and the other authors.
    Having a Table of Contents at the top with links to the topics discussed in the commentary will help those who don't want to browse through the entire commentary.
    About the "Flash Boys" book mentioned in this month's commentary...
    Do read the 50+, 1 star reviews (and dozens of comments for each review) that are quite well written, insightful and point out multiple issues with the author's understanding of the system and raise counterpoints to provide the other side of the story:
    http://www.amazon.com/Flash-Boys-Michael-Lewis/product-reviews/0393244660/ref=cm_cr_dp_qt_hist_one/175-7024129-0346416?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addOneStar&showViewpoints=0
  • Just thinking.....
    Hi Scott!
    The buy was made because of thoughts of .... get this!....inflation! Yep! How 'bout that? Because the Fed will be behind the curve....yep! That's why. And I believe that now as then. How long will it take to bite, who knows? But we've thrown everything at this economy we have, and we're not going to make a mistake now (my view). To the dump point, I have very little cash....can't take advantage of declines.....I'm all in. I also thought I was cutting edge with this infrastructure stuff......silly me. Sometimes, I amaze myself.
    the Pudd
    You're not going to find someone on this board (probably) who agrees with you more in regards to inflation.
    I think it's going to vary with the specifics, but I do think that sectors of infrastructure provide fine inflation hedges.
    "Global infrastructure includes securities of companies that own, operate, or build
    infrastructure assets, such as toll roads, energy distribution, ports, or water
    utilities. As with real estate, the replacement value of the infrastructure assets
    increases with inflation. Moreover, because many global infrastructure companies
    are highly regulated, the contracts they sign often call for adjustments to prices in
    response to changes in the local inflation rate. Since global infrastructure covers
    many sectors, it can help position a portfolio to target specific sources of inflation,
    such as rising energy prices." (http://www.nuveen.com/Home/Documents/Viewer.aspx?fileId=51014)
    In terms of replacement value, think of an Archer Daniels Midland and the amount of grain/transport infrastructure/assets, which includes 26,000 railcars - a number comparable to class 1 railroads. Add to that port facilities, terminals, storage, silos and more. You have one of the largest logistics companies in the world and that doesn't begin to take into account all of the other aspects of ADM's business. Whatever one thinks about ADM, how could one begin to replace the supply chain network they've created and at what astronomical cost?
    Kinder Morgan has something like 70,000 miles of pipeline in the US and delivers something like a third of the consumed nat gas.
    Of course, there's also energy and real estate, among other things.