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.
We tried to offer a light, low-stress issue in celebration of mid-summer.
Ed reflects a bit on the Morningstar conference and its billionaire founder
Charles, after months of conversation with Venk Reddy & co., offers a profile of the new and improved Zeo Short Duration Income Fund (ZEOIX)
Dennis Baran, reacting to the Board's curiosity, dives into Holbrook Income (HOBIX)
In celebration of the three-year anniversary of Prospector Partner's management of the fund, I renewed our profile of LS Opportunity (LSOFX). Profiles of the long/short offerings from RiverPark and 361 Capital are in the pipeline.
Beyond that, I offer a precis of our various Morningstar meetings. Grantham was grim, most of the other keynotes are B's. The Matthews Asia Value manager came across as incredibly sharp, as did Sam Lee. As Ed notes, the conference increasingly feels like its shifting from talking about investing to talking about running an advisory firm with specific reference to marketing Morningstar's services to those firms. On Day One, for example, 18 of the 20 people on stage were Morningstar employees. Day Two offered the meat of the conference, which Morningstar seems to acknowledge with two access options: $900 for 3 days or $600 for one day. Since Monday is marketing and Wednesday is a half-day, the message seems to be: $600 for the one-day Morningstar investment conference.
Fifty funds were liquidated, or filed for imminent liquidation. We've seen a slow unwinding of the industry's commitment to liquid alt funds; managed futures funds have been dropping like flies and now five "absolute return" funds surrendered in the same month. Relatively few manager changes and several interesting new funds in the pipeline.
And thanks! I mention three at the end of my publisher's letter: we'll revisit RLSFX and LSOFX, then add AGAQX. Beyond that, I'm spending a lot of time at MFO Premium, trying to make sure that I'm thinking as clearly as the data and narrative allows.
@rforno- Good Lord! You've been dredging through the Sargasso Sea of Lost Links all this time? Years ago we (read: David and Chip) spent months finding a decent way to evade the dreaded Sea of Lost Links without edging into the even more dangerous waters ("Here There Be Dragons") of censorship.
(Something seems to be prompting me to nautical images this morning. Might be lack of coffee- I'm off to have mine now. )
@rforno- Good Lord! You've been dredging through the Sargasso Sea of Lost Links all this time? Years ago we (read: David and Chip) spent months finding a decent way to evade the dreaded Sea of Lost Links without edging into the even more dangerous waters ("Here There Be Dragons") of censorship.
(Something seems to be prompting me to nautical images this morning. Might be lack of coffee- I'm off to have mine now. )
Comments
We tried to offer a light, low-stress issue in celebration of mid-summer.
Ed reflects a bit on the Morningstar conference and its billionaire founder
Charles, after months of conversation with Venk Reddy & co., offers a profile of the new and improved Zeo Short Duration Income Fund (ZEOIX)
Dennis Baran, reacting to the Board's curiosity, dives into Holbrook Income (HOBIX)
In celebration of the three-year anniversary of Prospector Partner's management of the fund, I renewed our profile of LS Opportunity (LSOFX). Profiles of the long/short offerings from RiverPark and 361 Capital are in the pipeline.
Beyond that, I offer a precis of our various Morningstar meetings. Grantham was grim, most of the other keynotes are B's. The Matthews Asia Value manager came across as incredibly sharp, as did Sam Lee. As Ed notes, the conference increasingly feels like its shifting from talking about investing to talking about running an advisory firm with specific reference to marketing Morningstar's services to those firms. On Day One, for example, 18 of the 20 people on stage were Morningstar employees. Day Two offered the meat of the conference, which Morningstar seems to acknowledge with two access options: $900 for 3 days or $600 for one day. Since Monday is marketing and Wednesday is a half-day, the message seems to be: $600 for the one-day Morningstar investment conference.
Fifty funds were liquidated, or filed for imminent liquidation. We've seen a slow unwinding of the industry's commitment to liquid alt funds; managed futures funds have been dropping like flies and now five "absolute return" funds surrendered in the same month. Relatively few manager changes and several interesting new funds in the pipeline.
Wishing you all the best,
David
Looking forward to your 5yr update/review of RPGAX ... your initial writeup put it on my radar but I haven't bought into it yet.
Derf
Hindsight is always 20/20 for us investors!
You have profiled several others over the years, but dont mention them in the article.
Can you list the funds that met your three criteria?
And thanks! I mention three at the end of my publisher's letter: we'll revisit RLSFX and LSOFX, then add AGAQX. Beyond that, I'm spending a lot of time at MFO Premium, trying to make sure that I'm thinking as clearly as the data and narrative allows.
David
I didn't know about the Discussions+ but I like it and have updated my bookmarks accordingly. Thanks for the pointer!
(Something seems to be prompting me to nautical images this morning. Might be lack of coffee- I'm off to have mine now.
Y'aaaar, matey, eye been doin' just that, me bucko. Eye've since learrrrrrrned me lesson!
Fair winds an' followin' seas to yew fer th' weekend, matey!