Late morning has Dow up half percent and NASDAQ off about the same. A bit uncommon for the 2 to diverge that much. S&P flat. Europe started strong, but ended mixed. Some Asian markets closed. Japan down substantially. 10-year Treasury back at 1.95% Never woulda thunk. (Catch - you've been right all along - but won't convince me there ain't a hellova bubble brewing there.)
Linked article "A funny thing happened on the way to the death of the traditional mutual fund ..."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/09/us-funds-etfs-fight-idUSBRE8380GA20120409
Comments
The etf's vs trad. mutual funds....always a head scratcher at this house. The one ultimate benefit of the etf is the buy or sell through the day when one chooses. The down side as I see this today, is that the etf's have become trading units for some many, including hedge funds. Folks really need to know why they want a particular etf and the hazards of tight sectors.
As to the "versus". I had put this list together for a funds boat write, but have not posted. I don't know that it shows anything extra special, other than a view against active managed funds vs passive; and to know that the mix of holdings and other criteria is not the same for HYG and JNK. I recall one of the other reworked their methods about 2 years ago.
---HY/HI bond funds (can't make the list layout pretty)
2008 2009 2010 2011 YTD
FAGIX *** - 32 +72 +17 -1.9 +7.2
SPHIX -24 +51 +14 +3.4 +5.3
FHIIX.LW -26 +51 +14 +4.6 +5.2
DIHYX -29 +57 +16 +4.6 +4.7
HYG -17 +29 +12 +6.8 +3.8
JNK -26 +39 +14 +4.8 +3.4
***This fund can not be a direct relate to the other funds, as it usually holds 15-20% in equity positions. Overall, FAGIX has a most decent long term record, regardless of what sector it is matched against. We do hold and have held this fund off and on for many years.
As to the bond things.........I have the bubble machine loaded; and plugged into the power source. All I have to do is flip the power switch to "on".
And yes, an interesting market start today. Scott's note does point to part of the Nasdaq move....Apple and Google; and likely profit taking, too.
Sidenote: Morel mushrooms were drawing a price of $178/pound last week in the Ann Arbor area.
Take care up there in the great north country.
Catch
A Crazy Rotation Day
Monday was one of the crazier days in recent memory. At first glance it's hard to see it with the S&P nearly breakeven on the day. Yet it becomes more apparent when you note the extreme difference between the Dow's gain of +0.56% versus the Nasdaq's hefty decline of -0.76%.
How the heck did this happen?
It's called a rotation day. Some groups were in favor (retail and banks). And other groups (like tech) got slaughtered.
What should you do about it?
Nothing. You can't chase a rotating market because you will never catch it. Kind of like a dog chasing its tail.
have a good 1, Derf