Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

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.
  • Secure 2.0: Retirement Portability
    Secure 2.0: Retirement Portability
    Secure 2.0 requires retirement plan (401k/403b) portability for small accounts ($1-7K; limit adjusted) into another job's plan or Safe Harbor IRAs (also, Automatic Rollover IRAs). Plan balances under $1K can still be cashed out – those can be rolled over into IRA or spent (paying 10% penalty & taxes). PSN enables auto-portability for fees (5% of balance up to max $30) & its current members include Alight, Vanguard, Fidelity, Empower, TIAA, and Principal.
    https://ybbpersonalfinance.proboards.com/thread/567/retirement-portability
    Edit/Add: The entire legislation isn't new. But Secure 2.0 changed the limits and provisions that make auto-portability possible.
  • MRFOX
    Here is the Schwab MRFOX data sheet:
    https://www.schwab.wallst.com/Prospect/Research/mutualfunds/Summary.asp?symbol=mrfox
    =======================================
    So @Graust makes a great point about what this fund actually may be, and that appears to be confirmed (to me at least) by the data sheet. MFROX has significantly outperformed the fund @Graust noted, PVCMX. And it ain't even close!
    But, FWIW, if it is misclassified and more of a long-short or tactical allocation fund, then that leaves me even LESS interested in it as I do not use either of those categories in my port as I KNOW that I can and do select other dedicated stock funds that will outperform them. I also don't want to have to open a Marshfield or Firstrade a/c just to own MRFOX.
    Bottom Line: ALWAYS good to know what we are BUYing BEFORE we BUY it, and thanks to @Graust for advancing the discussion on that critical issue. It makes a world of difference looking through the proper glasses and @Graust has assisted me on that plenty of times over the years!
    ========================================
    @finder, I accept your or anyone's comparison to VOO as the overall, general comparison I also do for ANY dedicated stock investment I make. Any yes, it has performed, as you noted, far better than VOO since its inception. FWIW, outperforming VOO/FXAIX is the hurdle I use for selection of ANY dedicated stock fund I plan to own or own, so MRFOX at least is over that hurdle.
    But I don't accept comparing it to PRWCX which routinely runs 70/30 to 60/40. One would need to gross up PRWCX's TR for a fairer comparison. Not going there.
    That said, If it's OK to compare it to PRWCX, then wouldn't it also be OK to compare it to at least another fund in its (arguably incorrect) M* LCG category, like BPTIX:
    MRFOX is 254% up since inception, BPTIX is up 384%, i.e. about 1.5x MORE than MRFOX.
    And If it's OK to compare it to PRWCX, then why not also compare it to arguably the best performing dedicated stock fund on the planet since its inception, FSELX? At least FSELX is a dedicated stock fund like MRFOX:
    MRFOX is 254% up since inception, FSELX is up 698%, i.e. about 1.75x MORE than MRFOX.
    ========================================
    Bottom Line: I now have a better appreciation of the fascination for this fund. But now have less than ZERO plans to own it! YMMV.
    Disclaimer: I am a LT holder of both PRWCX and FSELX, before the inception date of MFROX.
  • MRFOX
    I believe that a comparison of MRFOX with VOO (S&P 500) and the famous Giroux find PRWCX can be quite informative.
    Out of these 3 funds, MRFOX is the only one that has not had a single down year since its inception in Jan 2016. VOO is the most volatile of them.
    MRFOX is 253% up since inception, VOO is 184% up, and PRWCX is 134% up, i.e. almost 2 times less than MRFOX.
    5 year Sharpe ratio for MRFOX is 1, for VOO it is 0.71, and for PRWCX it is 0.74.
    Of course, this great 8-year-long performance may be just luck, but according to the managers, the longer-term performance of their separately managed accounts is similarly impressive.
  • MRFOX
    I've looked at this fund and commented on it on another thread. I'm just not sure what the fascination is with a (now) LCG fund that has these cat rankings since inception:
    LCB
    Year__Cat Rank
    2016__8
    2017__4
    LCG
    Year__Cat Rank

    2018__15
    2019__19
    2020__96
    2021__72
    2022__1**
    2023__96
    2024__89
    And its portfolio as of 11/30/23, Sectors and individual holdings that is, leaves a LOT to be desired.
    https://www.morningstar.com/funds/xnas/mrfox/portfolio
    ** = Noted that it did lead the pack in the downer year of 2022 with a 5.1% TR. Other than that, ugh!
    There are SO MANY great LCG OEFs. This one does NOT appear on my radar. YMMV.
  • Barron's on Funds & Retirement, 2/10/24
    +1 Nice summary Yogi. Loved the vinyl record used as Forsyth’s (CEF column) photo-piece, representing a type of investment that’s “out of style” today.
    ISTM Forsyth probably understands CEFs well. A bit over a year ago he recommended BCAT and GUG in a column - along with several others that were beaten down and heavily discounted. I bought those two & mentioned them in a post here about then. Made some $$ - but sold both way too soon. Rieder’s BCAT especially was helpful to the bottom line in ‘23. Being a scavenger, I wouldn’t buy them today. Forsyth’s 2 picks this week at GAMCO look interesting - but too dicey for myself.
    As utilities are mentioned in Yogi’s Barron’s recap, I’ll note that FSUTX (Fidelity Select Utilities) is down nearly 5% early in the year. I don’t own it, but curious what’s knocking the utilities sector down? Possibly related - Value and other safer-havens are having a tough time this year as money chases the Mag 7 higher and higher .
    image
  • 3 more Matthews Portfolio Managers exit
    Matthews Funds and Third Avenue are the two biggest failures in the last couple of decades, followed by Grandeur Peaks (damaged, but not fatally) and IVA (a sad case).
    TAVFX only has $733m new (per M*) - it once was > $5-7bn (?) when Marty Whitman ran it during its most successful period.
  • MRFOX
    Firstrade - $1K min, $100 additional.
    Fund Symbol: MRFOX View Prospectus
    Fund Type: No Load Open for Investment: Yes Settlement Period: 1 day
    NAV*: $29.65 Initial Minimum Amount: $1,000.00 Cut-Off Time: 4:00 PM
    NAV Change: -$0.04 Subsequent Amount: $100.00
  • The week that was, global etf's, various categories + heat map. Week ending May 17, 2024.
    The graphic is set for the 5 days ending February 9, Friday; for the best to worst % returns in select etf categories. One may then also select the one month column to align the one month return best to worst; or for the other listed time frame columns.
    ADD an etf performance of your choosing, if you desire.
    *** Requested ADD: For the week and YTD
    --- EWW = -.77% / -.63% (I Shares, Mexico)
    MMKT note: Fidelity mmkt's yields remained nominally steady this week, with core acct's yields at 4.96% (SPAXX) and 4.96% (FDRXX); although both had a drop in yield of .02 and .04% which continues a very slow downward move in yields.
    NOTE: Growth equity remains strongly positive, being the tech. area; as well as Blue Chip, quality/non-tech. Most U.S. bonds (funds) found higher yields this week, which, of course; results in lose of pricing performance.
    Remain curious,
    Catch
  • Barron's on Funds & Retirement, 2/10/24
    This ad-hoc feature returns this week with several related stories. LINK1 LINK2 BarronsLINK
    FORSYTH is a fan of CEFs at discount. He now likes muni MYD, VFL, LEO; options-writing equity GDV, ECF, AOD, AGD; term-trusts FTHY, BSL.
    FUNDS. Cash/cash-equivalents won’t be attractive for long. Consider extending maturities with ultra-, short- and intermediate- term bond funds (ICSH, MINT, JAAA; BSV; BND). Multisector bond funds (OSTIX, TSIAX), and dividend-stock funds (VYM, XLV).
    FUNDS. Thematic AI-ETFs are hot now, but those may include all sorts of related techs: BOTZ, AIQ, TECB, IGPT, CHAT, etc. Be aware that tech ETFs QQQ, XLK, etc have related tech exposures; SP500 (IVV, VOO, SPY) is also heavy in techs.
    Q&A/Interview. Alesia HAAS, Coinbase/COIN CFO. The US-based Coinbase has been very volatile. It ran up on the excitement related to the SEC approval of several physical/spot-Bitcoin ETFs (iShares IBIT, Fidelity FBTC, Grayscale GBTC, etc), but then sold off when investors became concerned that its new Bitcoin ETF custody business was a low-margin business that may hurt its retail business. COIN has diverse businesses – exchange, broker-dealer, custody; recent rate hikes helped with higher interest income. It has also increased its global presence. The legal fight with the SEC continues. These new Bitcoin ETFs will appeal to institutions, pension funds, RIAs. This will be a long-term positive for the industry, and for COIN, despite some short-term concerns. Congress needs to pass new crypto legislations, but it has been bogged down with other pressing matters.
    RETIREMENT. Homeowners may tap home-equity loans (HELOCs). Typical rates are variable, now around 9.27%. Beware of teaser rates and conditions that may trigger credit line reduction or cancellation. Of course, it’s a loan that has to be repaid, so discipline is required.
    Supplement GUIDE TO WEALTH
    In this expensive market, consider DIVIDEND-paying stocks. Only funds are mentioned below, but several stocks are also included in the article.
    US: VYM, SCHD
    Consumer-Staples: XLP
    Financials: XLF
    MLPs: SMAPX
    Real Estate: VNQ, XLRE
    Utilities: XLU, UTG
    Foreign: IEFA, IEMG
    Cash-Equivalents: in limited amounts.
    Variations of BENGEN’s (1994) 4% initial withdrawal with COLA are discussed. Bengen himself says that 4.7% w/COLA is fine now; some advisors say that 6% w/COLA but annual monitoring may work. Others say to skip COLA in down years. Another variation is to just take 4% of the yearend balances – it removes the SOR risk, but annual withdrawals may vary widely. Immediate-annuities transfer longevity risks to insurance companies for fees. Keep in mind that increasing RMDs are also required from T-IRA and 401k/403b; Roth Conversions will reduce the RMDs.
  • Buy Sell Why: ad infinitum.
    @stillers ...having a significant amount in a high-flyer can create a bit of anxiety. This certainly applies to holders of individual equities, but I'm wondering why folks with significant positions in SPY (or similar) aren't equally wary. They should be.
    "...a bit of anxiety" did NOT cause me to sell GOOGL. The speed at which I made 6% did!
    As noted in my BUY post, this was either going to be a ST trade of a LT holding. I met my hurdle for a ST trade and executed it. Simple as that.
    On your last point, I'd offer up one of Peter Lynch's infamous quotes: “Far more money has been lost by investors trying to anticipate corrections, than lost in the corrections themselves."
    To wit:
    https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/stock-market-investors-fear-megacap-133300544.html
  • Mohnish Pabrai's mutual fund for regular investors
    @mrc70, Well. If Turkish bottlers of soda and beer are what you're looking for in a mutual fund, 1.25 might seem cheap.
    I shouldn't be snotty about it. I pay 1.22 for GLOFX in my taxable. But everything I bought on March 18, 2020 looks lovely to me now.
    OTOH, QLTY is looking better and better at .50, if helping "regular" investors is the goal.
    I wonder how much Dodge and Cox and Albert Nicholas charged when they were getting started.
  • Mohnish Pabrai's mutual fund for regular investors
    @WABAC I think the expense ratio of 1.25 for a fund with less $7M is OK in my opinion.
    A fund like OAKIX with $20B assets is charging 1.05. There are many funds in the industry that charge exorbitant expense ratios even after accumulating billions of dollars. Comparatively, this is nothing in in my opinion. Let's see if he is also like them or reduce the fee as assets are increased. Of course, that scenario only happens in the first place, if he performs.
    IMO, a good manager with new a fund is great combo, so I went ahead and invested without a second thought. I got benefited with this philosophy by investing almost from inception in Akre fund AKREX and ARTYX (in spite of its fall during 2021-22 from parabolic move up before that).
  • Mag 7 Holdings - How Much You Got?
    Curious myself, so here goes. Since TRAIX and PRCFX make up 95% of our portfolio I'll just list the Mag 7 percentage from M* as of 12/31/23 for TRAIX, which while not perfect, will be pretty close.
    EDIT: I was able to come up with more accurate figures than my original post using M* Stock Intersection Tool as of 12/31/23.
    AAPL -1.88%
    AMZN - 2.03%
    GOOGL - 2.65%
    META - 1.02%
    MSFT - 4.41%
    NVDA - 1.28%
    TSLA - 0.00%
    LLY - .63%, just for kicks.
    13.9%, less than I expected, though Giroux did state recently they had trimmed some of the hot stocks.
  • Your Mutual Fund Stinks. Can This Wall Street Invention Change That.
    By Jason Zweig at the WSJ
    I was able to read it w/o a subscription although I do subscribe to Barrons.
    ARTICLE
  • Mag 7 Holdings - How Much You Got?
    @WABAC
    Doing a quick look-see, I get these respective allocations for you based on your data.
    I invite you or anyone to proof these calcs.
    AAPL 0.05%
    AMZN 0.00%
    GOOGL 0.40%
    META 0.00%
    MSFT 1.02%
    NVDA 0.00%
    TSLA 0.00%
    Total 1.47%
    If you are OK with my calc's, I'll use them in the next summary.
    I'm in no position to quibble. :)
    My allotment will be going up by the end of the month as I eye adding QLTY, FMIL, and AMAGX to the taxable. I could use some genuine growth for that portfolio. And, unlike the IRA, I don't feel a need to simplify it at this time.
  • frozen markets, range-bound
    My experience is similar to what others noted here....I am up in low single digits on a total return basis since start of 2022. My portfolio (70% stocks) is seriously underweight in the current market darlings. But, even so it has not fallen very far behind. Even the S&P500 is only up by single digits since the beginning of 2022.
    The increasingly narrow concentration of the upside part of the market is what most concerns me. How much longer can that go on? History suggests it will not be forever. And, then, what comes next? I am rooting for the inflation rate to continue to decline and for a soft landing for the economy in 2024. But I am not holding my breath!
    image
    SPY, RSP, EQAL COMPARED
  • Mag 7 Holdings - How Much You Got?
    Turns out just about every one of my LC funds holds some Mag 7, even CGDV. My biggest single-fund holding, MOAT, has managed to stay ahead of its bogey without loading up on the usual suspects, although it does have just less than 9% allocated to them. Van Eck blog entry touting LT and ST performance is linked here:
    http://tinyurl.com/452emtac
  • frozen markets, range-bound
    To add to @BenWP point:
    QLTY - GMO U.S. Quality ETF - holds 5 in their top10 positions
    CGDV - Capital Group Dividend Value ETF - holds one
    JQUA - Jpmorgan US Quality Factor ETF - holds 5
    And the discussion board honey
    TCAF - T. Rowe Price Capital Apprec Eq ETF - holds 6
  • Mag 7 Holdings - How Much You Got?
    Within fund holdings (I only looked at the top 10 and combined GOOG+GOOGL):
    AAPL 1.18%
    AMZN 0.32%
    GOOGL 0.36%
    META 0.25%
    MSFT 1.21%
    NVDA 0.59%
    TSLA 0.018%
    Total 4.09%
    I also own shares of AAPL (6.1% of total portfolio value) and GOOGL (3.1%) outright.
    QLTY owns 5 of these stocks in their top 10. JQUA also owns 5 and CGDV owns one.
  • frozen markets, range-bound
    I'm not much different @Crash. Up just slightly from the 2022 high, but on a positive note, up about 15% from the 2022 low. Bottom line, 2022 sucked.
    Up about 1.6% YTD with a similar to you combined 45% equity stake. I'd like to think 2024 will be decent. Good luck to all us old(er) guys.