Government, emerging markets, and long term bond funds up over 7%. World and corporate bond funds up over 4%. Junk corps up 3.62% with some of the larger ones up over 5%. Even some of the stodgy bank loan funds are up in the 3% to 4% range and some of the steady eddie funds in this category have had but one or two down days in the past two months. The junk munis are trailing at 2.62% albeit some of the better ones are near 4%. Munis in general seem to be overloved. Never a good thing from a contrarian point of view. Entering today I was 41% bank loans, 29% junk corp, 26% junk munis, and 4% emerging markets. That could be subject to change (as it is almost everyday) as may exchange more out of my Nuveen junk muni (NHMRX) into more of my Nuveen junk corporate (NCOIX) This scattered and diversified approach is normally not my thing but it sure has been less stressful. Hopefully can incorporate more of that strategy as I continue to age. Up around 4.35% YTD (edit: 4.99% through 4/22) and would be thrilled to get 10% for the year - or whatever the market has to offer. I am always more concerned with a smooth ride upward in my account with as least volatility as possible than I am hitting it out of the ballpark Harper style.
Comments
The ride's been fun, but when normally less correlated stuff is headed in more or less the same direction, much of it on the expensive side, the yellow light starts flashing - especially with negative average seasonality for risk coming up.
Best was PRNEX +1%. Worst RPSIX with slight gain.
The commodity/NR sectors have been coming back for a few months now. Two steps forward & one step back, but gaining ground. Overlooked by most is nat gas which is rebounding from severely depressed prices. Not sure if that trend can persist, but interesting if you follow the energy markets.
Sold both of my spec investments in recent weeks (OPGSX, PRLAX) so a lot of the fun has gone out. Just watching paint dry nowadays, Nice post by Rono, who accurately called the hot silver market months ago. Both gold and most pm's on fire today.
(Sorry this is outside the thread - but I really don't do bonds. Just a tad in EM & international which are having a decent year.)
And Dick Strong could get yesterday's price !
Thanks for all the posts and continued success !
-- Not RSIVX = 0.67 YTD
Curiously, An agent at Strong was the only one ever to call into question my frequent exchanges (during a phoned-in exchange) over the 3-4 years I had money there. But no other actions were taken. Other houses haven't ever said a word. I do read their FT regs in the Prospectus and attempt to steer clear.
I worry a lot with T Rowe. Tends to be the one where 90% of my portfolio changes occur. In part due to their large selection of funds and in part because I tend to hold both a Roth and Traditional IRA with them. Taking a distribution from one usually involves some rebalancing in the other. But so far, no problems with them.
The other ones where I have money, such as D&C, there just isn't much reason to trade. Maybe one or two changes a year. I'd love to hear Junkster reveal what it takes to be banned from a fund house! God knows I've tried their patience over the years.
Edit: So are you including cash as part of your portfolio because if you are you must have some boffo equity funds YTD? As I recall you were a bit of a momentum investor so that would not surprise me at all.
The other ones where I have money, such as D&C, there just isn't much reason to trade. Maybe one or two changes a year. I'd love to hear Junkster reveal what it takes to be banned from a fund house! God knows I've tried their patience over the years.:)
T Rowe was the very first fund family I was banned from when I held an account there in the early to mid 90s.
Thanks for the insight. Back than Price's wording was more vague: "Round trips" (in/out/in again) within 90 days were deemed excessive. About a decade ago (maybe less) they went to the present 30-day hold (If you sell a fund you can't buy back in for 30 days). Also, the present 90-day redemption fees (on many of their funds) did not exist (to the best of my knowledge) in the 90s.
I'm probably one of the few here who still keeps money directly at the several houses rather than using a brokerage.. Without trying to defend this archaic practice, I will say that it does impose some badly needed discipline on me and eliminates a lot of second-guessing as to whether I'm in the very best performing fund in its class. I'm afraid such constant comparing of funds would drive me nuts.
But have left a number of houses over the past two decades when they failed to meet my needs. Among those were Calamos, Strong, TIAA-CREF.
-
*Forgive me! Almost forgot to note that I left Hussman several years ago. However ... That one's on a different planet. Check-out HSGFX. The guy can't even make money after the Dow plunges 2000 points to start the year.
Except when I am hiking, with my ladyfriend, and sleeping, every moment is spent strategizing. And yes, it drives me nuts!!!
Sorry I missed your above question. Thanks for the query to my mailbox.
The year-to-date investment return reported above comes from Morningstar portfolio manager. I believe, it excludes the cash that I hold as a separate asset eventhough it is listed as a cash holding within portfolio manager. I compute the year-to-date return with cash at 3.4%.
If getting a fund through a brokerage has no cost (or provides some benefit, such as access to cheaper shares), I'll use the brokerage. If there are reasons to own directly with the fund, I'll do that. So I've got quite a mix. Some families I own directly include:
Vanguard - cheaper to buy, easy to convert from Investor shares
T. Rowe Price - cheaper to buy, they were the first to offer a free individual 401(k) with a Roth option, they provide free M* membership (if you meet balance requirement)
Columbia - legacy Acorn funds that provide noload access into full family (and some fund Z shares are not available through brokerages)
Franklin Templeton - legacy Mutual Series (same reason as Columbia)
I don't hold Janus funds directly, but people who do are in good shape - they have access to cheaper D shares that are only sold directly. If you don't already have an account with Janus they won't let you open one.
Another reason to go direct is that some funds are only open if you purchase that way. At AC, there's ACMVX. At Vanguard, there's VWELX.
Buying direct isn't necessarily archaic. It can be cost effective, and may give access to some good funds that you can't get any other way.
@AndyJ, if you like JENSX you might want to look into the thus far outperforming LC etfs SPHD, NOBL, CAPE, and latterly OUSA.
I saw the opening was on Bonds, so I looked at my only 4 bond funds TGEIX, PIMIX MWTRX, TGBAX for 1yr and YTD. The leader YTD is TGEIX-Emerging Market Bond, for 1 yr.TGEIX. The worst TGBAX for both YTD and I yr. No changes planned. For 5 years none are loosers.
Through April 22 according to Morningstar Portfolio Manager my three best performing funds year-to-date are FDSAX (+8.9%) ... PGUAX (+8.9%) & PMDAX (+7.8%). My three worst performers ytd are SPECX (-3.3%) ... THOAX (-2.1%) and ANWPX (-0.4%). Overall the investment return on the portfolio as a whole is +3.5% and the ytd return factoring in cash held and profits taken computes to 3.1%. In comparison the Lipper Balanced Index is shown to have a ytd return of 2.8% according to the WSJ.
In addition, my income sleeve is shown to be up ytd @ 2.87% and the hybrid income sleeve is up 3.55% ytd. Last week they were reported at 2.75% and 3.25% respectively.
In review, while the income sleeves were up this past week other parts of the portfolio were down a little from last week reporting where my overall investment return was 4.1% (according to portfolio manager) and when factoring in cash held plus profits put me at 3.4% overall. Last week the Lipper Balanced Index had a ytd return of 3.1% according to the WSJ.
Nice work on your closed end funds. I use to dabble in them some years back; but, not anymore. I'd be interested in knowing how you continue to fair with them. I'd buy at good discounts and when they narrowed I'd sell collecting the dividends while I waited for the discount to narrow. Sometimes it worked ... and, sometimes it did not.
Old_Skeet
I've been using percent below the recent (usually 3m) high dividend-adjusted price as the main trigger, 2-3% depending on the price volatility of the fund, continuing with incremental sales if confirmed, somewhat balanced against relative premium/discount and any negative dividend or portfolio news. But I also like the current price vs. purchase price idea.
Is that a hard figure for you, what % do you typically use, and do you balance versus other factors?
I was in corp junk in Feb and March, but I went into bank loan funds since they were performing as well as corp junk funds. I want to see a few more days of corp junk outperformance before I start moving that direction.
Those are great year-to-date returns.
Thanks for posting what you are doing.
And, most of all I sincerely do enjoy reading about the success of others.
Old_Skeet