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.
@ted I have to agree with you on this one. I come from the corporate world and we were taught that you need to get your main points across on the first page of a memo or you will lose the reader.
I continue to like the monthly pieces and think they've gotten better over time. It's nice to sit and read someone's detailed thoughts in a world where people are reduced to 140 characters and writing has become lol omg wtf.
Additionally, I continue to think that Winters is wasting his time.
I actually enjoy the length of the piece. It's only a monthly commentary but it is very apparent that David puts a lot of time in preparing to write each month. I appreciate that.
Oooo ... I love Lake Champlain (and its chocolates). When last I was there I bought a collection of seconds which was still better than most anything you can buy locally.
I don't comment much. but I can't fathom why anyone would complain about the length of a well-though-out presentation and interpretation of hard-to-access facts. I shudder to think that Prof. Snowball might be influenced by the twitter crowd. I don't consider these monthly letters to be "corporate memos" that have to be read at one sitting, but articles that one reads, thinks about, and then reads again. But, perhaps in today's times such Aristotelian ways are forgotten. 6 lines, 84 words
There are several discrete sections of the monthly commentary, and for the most part, the author and/or theme of each repeats each month. Skim or skip the parts that aren't of interest. There's no law that says you have to read every word of every section.
And thanks for the kind words. I'm unfazed by fussing in the peanut gallery. That's why they're in the peanut gallery, after all. I am torn by my inability to answer the questions "is this the best we could be?" and, if not, "what moves us toward greatness?" My general goal is that each month and each season should be better than the one(s) that preceded it. The improvement needn't be dramatic, but I'm hopeful that it's steady. Achieving that requires an odd mix of self-doubt and self-confidence.
Do you remember the exchange in Amadeus (1984), the movie?
Emperor Joseph II: My dear young man, don't take it too hard. Your work is ingenious. It's quality work. And there are simply too many notes, that's all. Just cut a few and it will be perfect.
Mozart: Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?
It feels like that sometimes. We asked folks, in our January survey, about what they wanted more of and what they could live with less of. The short answer was "more of everything, please." It's certainly not the case that any one respondent said "more" to each item but, in the aggregate, there was no clear surplus item. While the most popular feature is the fund profiles, a bunch wasn't far behind.
Then, too, month end brings a bunch of 3- and 4-hour nights. I'll go crash now and think when my brain's more suited to the task.
I agree the commentary is worth more than one pays for it, but the Gross and Double-Line sections could have been covered by a link to one of the many articles in the past month covering the issues, although I did check out the Disneyland employee link. I suppose I should have skimmed them, as suggested above, but I assumed if it was worth writing, it presumably was worth reading.
HOWEVER, a listing of the 17 5* funds for the past 1-10 years would have been appreciated, perhaps even worth a subscription. Did Ted link this when I wasn't looking? (Or did I miss the link in the commentary?)
I have found that the talks I spend more time preparing are shorter than the rush jobs, and the audience is more likely to stay awake. Suggesting tighter construction is not a personal attack.
MFO: Members: I guess I should have used quotation marks, "Dear David: I really love your writing. I just wish there weren’t so much of it. Perhaps you could consider paring back a bit? " These are not my words, but come from the commentary itself. Many of the jerks that commented in this thread were the same ones who insisted that a sentence or two be added instead of just the link. You can't have it both ways
David, first of all thank you and the others for all of the effort you put into this every month. It is much appreciated as are all the opinions and ideas on the discussion boards. I subscribe to M* and a few daily/monthly newsletters and I look forward to reading MFO more than any other. The combination of useful information, insights, sarcastic humor and genuine thoughtfulness are fantastic. Contrary to some others, I don't follow many links in anything I read because I mostly expect the author will have provided any details that are "important" to the point their making. Ted posts lots of links to articles on the discussion boards and while I'm grateful for his effort and the things I choose to read, I think your commentary isn't just about reiterating the news but about interpreting it, having an opinion and sharing insights. My humble point of view is that you achieve greatness by continuing to come up with perspectives and insights that are valuable/interesting to readers. Considering the frequency at which people like Bill Gross and opinion sites like M* say things that don't make much sense, or contradict themselves, or fail to see the forest for the tress, I guess there is a good collection of ideas to choose from.
It's not Marketwatch where writers throw in a topic and the computer vomits out a generic article about the topic of the day ("Why a mortgage is super-duper!", "Fad tech stocks with 10000 p/e's are the place to be!") in a few paragraphs.
Andy said: "Skim or skip the parts that aren't of interest. There's no law that says you have to read every word of every section."
Agree with that.
The MFO commentary is once a month and basically is a collection of insights that I'm guessing is compiled over a month. Given that, the length is MORE than reasonable.
Thanks David for lots of great comments and highlights.
Thanks also to Charles who took one of my discussion board ramblings and turn it into something actionable. Wow! "Fund Recovery Time" has a nice ring to it. I was also thinking of sending my fund managers "get well soon" cards.
If Charles and Edward's work the balcony than David must work the orchestra...thanks for all the great monthly mutual fund performances...part variety show, part opera, and part standup comedy. The best part...all the seats are the "cheap seats". One way to thanks all their work is to remember to walk through the amazon portal (door) when you leave the theater for popcorn or a cold beverage at intermissions.
If you missed the discussion thread that Charles was referring to, here's the present iteration:
Dear Prof. Snowball: change a thing and I'll drop you faster than my ex-wife. Each month I ask myself "How is he going to top this?" So far you have never failed to do so. Party on Garth.
“It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche “I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter." ― Blaise Pascal,
“Be sincere, Be brief, Be seated.” ― Franklin D. Roosevelt
I've done an extensive Monte Carlo simulation using time series convolutions of non-linear regression of key transfer functions in a simple analog neural network of three interconnected layers. The result is that Ted is an outlier in a set of real data under the usual assumptions used in models of this type.
@David_Snowball ditto what Anna says "Snowball rocks with his roll."
from the commentary by Ed S.
I will close by saying that I strongly suggest Michael Lewis’ book as must-reading. It makes you wonder how an industry got to the point where it has become so hard for so many to not see the difference between right and wrong.
I second that, last month I read the book (Flash boys) Excellent, easy to read, informative, page-turner.
Your mention of chocolate seconds brought back some wonderful memories as a kid. I grew up in Tacoma WA., the home of Brown and Haley who makes the Mountain Bar. They had a outlet store next to the factory and there one could purchase seconds. The best rejects were the Mountain Bars that somehow didn't get the cream filling inside so it ended up a solid chunk of chocolate with the peanuts. Yummy.
Sadly, as with many things from the past, those same Mountain Bars are about half the size they used to be back then at way more than double the price.
I agree with your Ben and Jerry comment. Haagen Daz is not the same either after Nestle bought them out. Why large corporate entities mess around with proven success is one of the worlds biggest mysteries.
Comments
I have to agree with you on this one.
I come from the corporate world and we were taught that you need to get your main points across on the first page of a memo or you will lose the reader.
It might need more then just a table of contents.
Additionally, I continue to think that Winters is wasting his time.
Thanks for the happy recollection!
David
length of a well-though-out presentation and interpretation of hard-to-access facts. I shudder to think that Prof. Snowball might be influenced by the twitter crowd. I don't consider these monthly letters to be "corporate memos" that have to be read at one sitting, but articles that one reads, thinks about, and then reads again. But, perhaps in today's times such Aristotelian ways are forgotten.
6 lines, 84 words
And thanks for the kind words. I'm unfazed by fussing in the peanut gallery. That's why they're in the peanut gallery, after all. I am torn by my inability to answer the questions "is this the best we could be?" and, if not, "what moves us toward greatness?" My general goal is that each month and each season should be better than the one(s) that preceded it. The improvement needn't be dramatic, but I'm hopeful that it's steady. Achieving that requires an odd mix of self-doubt and self-confidence.
Do you remember the exchange in Amadeus (1984), the movie?
Emperor Joseph II: My dear young man, don't take it too hard. Your work is ingenious. It's quality work. And there are simply too many notes, that's all. Just cut a few and it will be perfect.
Mozart: Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?
It feels like that sometimes. We asked folks, in our January survey, about what they wanted more of and what they could live with less of. The short answer was "more of everything, please." It's certainly not the case that any one respondent said "more" to each item but, in the aggregate, there was no clear surplus item. While the most popular feature is the fund profiles, a bunch wasn't far behind.
Then, too, month end brings a bunch of 3- and 4-hour nights. I'll go crash now and think when my brain's more suited to the task.
As ever,
David
HOWEVER, a listing of the 17 5* funds for the past 1-10 years would have been appreciated, perhaps even worth a subscription. Did Ted link this when I wasn't looking? (Or did I miss the link in the commentary?)
I have found that the talks I spend more time preparing are shorter than the rush jobs, and the audience is more likely to stay awake. Suggesting tighter construction is not a personal attack.
Andy said:
"Skim or skip the parts that aren't of interest. There's no law that says you have to read every word of every section."
Agree with that.
The MFO commentary is once a month and basically is a collection of insights that I'm guessing is compiled over a month. Given that, the length is MORE than reasonable.
Thanks also to Charles who took one of my discussion board ramblings and turn it into something actionable. Wow! "Fund Recovery Time" has a nice ring to it. I was also thinking of sending my fund managers "get well soon" cards.
If Charles and Edward's work the balcony than David must work the orchestra...thanks for all the great monthly mutual fund performances...part variety show, part opera, and part standup comedy. The best part...all the seats are the "cheap seats". One way to thanks all their work is to remember to walk through the amazon portal (door) when you leave the theater for popcorn or a cold beverage at intermissions.
If you missed the discussion thread that Charles was referring to, here's the present iteration:
mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/14523/duration-as-an-added-component-to-mutual-fund-maxdd-draw-down#latest
― Friedrich Nietzsche
“I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter."
― Blaise Pascal,
“Be sincere, Be brief, Be seated.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt
Snowball rocks with his roll.
lol
@David_Snowball ditto what Anna says "Snowball rocks with his roll."
from the commentary by Ed S.
I second that, last month I read the book (Flash boys) Excellent, easy to read, informative, page-turner.
Your mention of chocolate seconds brought back some wonderful memories as a kid. I grew up in Tacoma WA., the home of Brown and Haley who makes the Mountain Bar. They had a outlet store next to the factory and there one could purchase seconds. The best rejects were the Mountain Bars that somehow didn't get the cream filling inside so it ended up a solid chunk of chocolate with the peanuts. Yummy.
Sadly, as with many things from the past, those same Mountain Bars are about half the size they used to be back then at way more than double the price.
I agree with your Ben and Jerry comment. Haagen Daz is not the same either after Nestle bought them out. Why large corporate entities mess around with proven success is one of the worlds biggest mysteries.