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Hot Fund Takes Wrong Turn: Marketfield Fund

TedTed
edited December 2014 in Fund Discussions
FYI: (Click On Article Title At Top Of Google Search)
The money-management industry’s push to bring hedge-fund-style trading to the masses has suffered a setback.

Investors yanked more than $5 billion so far this year from the largest and most popular “liquid-alternative” mutual fund as losses mounted on bad bets tied to the global economy, according to fund-research firm Morningstar Inc. Assets in the MainStay Marketfield fund have fallen 45% from a February peak of $21.5 billion.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&site=&source=hp&q=hot+funds+take+wrong+turns++qsj&oq=hot+funds+take+wrong+turns++qsj&gs_l=hp.3...1711.13190.0.13531.31.31.0.0.0.0.76.1725.31.31.0.msedr...0...1c.1.60.hp..13.18.1048.ibd_QpaCRa4

M* Snapshot Of MFADX: http://quotes.morningstar.com/fund/f?t=MFADX&region=usa&culture=en-US

Lipper Snapshot Of MFADX: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/fund/mfadx

MFADX Is Unranked the The (L/S E) Fund Category By U.S. News & World Report:
http://money.usnews.com/funds/mutual-funds/long-short-equity/mainstay-marketfield-fund/mfadx

Mutual Fund Wire.Com Slant; http://www.mfwire.com/common/artprint2007.asp?storyID=50446&wireid=2

Bloomberg Slant: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-12-29/mainstay-marketfield-suffers-eighth-month-of-redemptions.html

Comments

  • The lesson I learned from "go anywhere" global macro funds (such as MFLDX and PAUDX) is that I should go somewhere myself...as far away from them as possible.
  • edited December 2014
    BINGO!

    Among alternative strategy funds, HSGFX may boast the most consistent performance. 9% annual losses 3 years running. Negative for 10+ years. Try funding your retirement on that.

    Definition of Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over - and expecting different results.
  • edited December 2014
    Thus far, I am glad I boot scooted from this fund back in the summer. Seems, many others voted with their feet and left too.

  • edited December 2014
    @Skeeter:

    Good call Skeet. I remember it. I hope I gave no advice back than. It would have been wrong - in the near-term anyway.

    My thinking remains that, as alternative strategies go, these guys have a good longer term track record and should be given some slack. I don't like or invest in these go-anywhere funds - but if I wanted one as a longer term hold (measured in decades not years) I'd select this one. When money washes out in torrents, as it has with this fund, it distorts the investing process for the managers and amplifies the losses. In the end, the blame falls on the managers for not restricting inflows. I wish there was a way to quantify the degree of impact on a fund such "hot" money has both on the incoming side and the outgoing side. I'd think it's a substantial impact.
    -
    BTW: The board represents a wide variety of investing styles and philosophies. I learn from all. We're much more focused on not losing $$ than on making it. We're nearly 20 years into retirement and pull distributions directly from our "mishmash" of mutual funds. Over the years we've gravitated more and more to the conservative hybrids like TRRIX- but still make occasional small sector bets as I've done on energy/natural resources this year. Stability is very important and we view diversification as key to protecting our nest egg - though it sometimes means sacrificing near term performance.
    -
    Thanks for all your great contributions over the year Old Skeet. I very much respect that you have a plan founded on fundamentals that works for you and are willing to share with the rest of us.
    My New Year's Resolution? ..... Not to give any investment advice!
    :)
  • In the meantime the management company keeps collecting their fees while laughing all the way to the bank. Good gig!
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