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I'm not convinced that M* is unbiased, as it does have advertisers who are generally mutual fund companies, and I have detailed questionable objectivity by M* in the past on their forums.
Even though ICRIX and FCNTX are in different categories, clearly ICRIX has outperformed FCNTX over the past 1- and 3-year periods, and since inception of ICRIX on 3/21/2007. Furthermore, ICRIX has had lower standard deviations and higher sharpe ratios over the past 1- and 3-year periods. If I had to invest in either of these funds, I would invest in ICRIX.
If you are interested in a fund which pays relatively high income and has potential for capital appreciation, I would favor Principal Global Dividend Income (PGDIX), JPMorgan Income Builder (JNBSX), and Thornburg Investment Income Builder (TIBIX) over ICRIX, in that order of preference. As discussed on the M* forums, these funds continue to be available for reasonable minimums at Wellstrade, Fidelity, or Thinkorswim.
As always, know what you're holding. An investment in the Principal Global Dividend Fund is A) not all that global and B) basically an investment in medium term bonds, energy MLP's and real estate. Many, many MLP's are priced to perfection or at least at their highs. A hit or pullback in energy or commodities in general could hurt this fund so be aware of what you are investing in. I own the MLP's outright, also a REIT and the Thornburg Income Builder Fund. To each their own.
I don't know much about this fund. Top 10 holdings look like a pretty vanilla dividend growth fund (which in some cases is a very good thing). Expenses look a little high for a large cap blue chip fund. Not very much AUM. I just haven't heard much about this fund. Appears to have decent returns. Load versions of this fund are probably pushed harder than the I class. Top 10 holdings make up 30% so this is a more concentrated fund than most in this space. In this dividend space my favorites are:
As for knowing what PGDIX holds, according to M*, 31% of this fund's FI exposure is foreign and 30% of the fund's equity exposure is foreign. Looks pretty global to my untrained eyes.
As for being an allocation fund, it is far more diversified than most World Allocation funds out there: EMD (11.09%), Global REITs (11.26%), Global Value Equities (7.4%), HYB (33.96%), MLPs (10.27%), and Preferred Securities (24.17%). This fund has a relatively low net expense ratio, and as for performance, this fund has done very well since inception, and has had very attractive upside/downside capture ratios. Furthermore, this fund has actually done very well despite fluctuations in the value of the dollar, energy, and commodities, largely due to its mix of assets which are poorly correlated to each other.
Comments
I'm not convinced that M* is unbiased, as it does have advertisers who are generally mutual fund companies, and I have detailed questionable objectivity by M* in the past on their forums.
Even though ICRIX and FCNTX are in different categories, clearly ICRIX has outperformed FCNTX over the past 1- and 3-year periods, and since inception of ICRIX on 3/21/2007. Furthermore, ICRIX has had lower standard deviations and higher sharpe ratios over the past 1- and 3-year periods. If I had to invest in either of these funds, I would invest in ICRIX.
If you are interested in a fund which pays relatively high income and has potential for capital appreciation, I would favor Principal Global Dividend Income (PGDIX), JPMorgan Income Builder (JNBSX), and Thornburg Investment Income Builder (TIBIX) over ICRIX, in that order of preference. As discussed on the M* forums, these funds continue to be available for reasonable minimums at Wellstrade, Fidelity, or Thinkorswim.
Kevin
AVEDX Ave Maria Rising Dividend
TILDX Tilson Dividend
VIGDX Vanguard Dividend Appreciation
As for being an allocation fund, it is far more diversified than most World Allocation funds out there: EMD (11.09%), Global REITs (11.26%), Global Value Equities (7.4%), HYB (33.96%), MLPs (10.27%), and Preferred Securities (24.17%). This fund has a relatively low net expense ratio, and as for performance, this fund has done very well since inception, and has had very attractive upside/downside capture ratios. Furthermore, this fund has actually done very well despite fluctuations in the value of the dollar, energy, and commodities, largely due to its mix of assets which are poorly correlated to each other.
Kevin