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I should probably just sit still...

Hey, all. I'm sitting on way too much MAPIX. Ya, I got in years ago, and it's no secret the fund has done well. The original share purchase was one big chunk, getting myself 100% out of TAVIX in early 2009....... I took a chunk and put it in MJFOX, and it went nowhere. I moved that chunk (with a small "paper" loss) and moved it to their FOCUSED fund with not many different equity positions. It moves, but at a snail's pace. Am I going to move it to MEASX? (Frontier/emerging Asia.) I don't want to go performance chasing, and I don't like the ER. But if it's good, it's good. It's already had a good rise, ytd and going back 1-year. This would be 6% of portfolio. And I own other frontier stuff in TRAMX, but it's just 2.8% of portfolio. Thanks.

Comments

  • Is this money for EM or a specific part of the market?

    As for MAPIX, I would not sell it all. What percentage of you portfolio does this fund hold? If it's a lot, I might pare back but keep some money in it.
  • edited August 2014
    MAPIX tonight (down .06 cents today) stands at 29.78% of portfolio. You can understand why I'm itching. I just wanna
    1. keep it at Matthews
    2. reduce the proportion of MAPIX in the portfolio, and
    3. not shoot myself in the foot.:)
    .......So, if I take X amount from MAPIX and put it in MEASX, is that a worthy destination for the money? Thanks for your thoughts, above.
  • @Crash,

    29.78% is a lot in my opinion. My shares of MAPIX= 9.02% of my portfolio. It is a good fund though and it is closed to new investors so I would not sell it all. If you decide to sell, just pare it back a bit. The bigger question is where to go with that money? MEASX I'm sure is a good fund but it has a high ER. Also, and this again is my opinion, it does not include Hong Kong, Singapore as well as Japan. Japan may not be the fastest growing economy but the other two are pretty important in this region. I am getting the impression you want to be in emerging markets or in Asia with your comments. EM funds in this region have been slow as of late. It depends on what your impression of the future is and how countries like India and other countries will grow with the economy. It will be a rough ride and if you don't like volatility then you have more to think on. I would keep my asset allocations on these funds a bit lower. Depending on your asset size, 5-10% might be a good start.

    A simple way would be to keep 10% in MAPIX and maybe another 5% in MAPTX. You still have TRAMX from your comment above and that is a good one for a small amount too. As for the rest if any, there are many funds that might fit for you but wit the markets at this stage, you might be chasing performance.

    I am just one person and one opinion. I hope others will give some recommendations or suggestions. What works for me may not be for you. But I do believe your almost 30% in MAPIX is too much.

    Hope this helps.
  • Thanks. man. I'm approx. 50/50 domestic/international. That includes EM and Frontier. MAPIX is the biggest chunk. Next biggest chunk is PRWCX at 18.77% of portf followed by PRESX at 14.85% and MAPOX at 9.02% of total. The others are much smaller. I like my selections, but the proportions here just happened, always playing catch-up, if you know what I mean.

    MAPTX sounds good, too. But I'm already sitting on 13 different funds. Some of them, ostensibly the "hot" ones--- serve as feeders for more tame, core funds in the portfolio: PRWCX and MAPOX.

    I will indeed move some money, but keep a big chunk in MAPIX. Thanks again. I've already decided that I want to keep this all in Matthews.
  • Oops, MAPTX is closed. OK, then..... Moving right along.....
  • edited August 2014
    Just moved a bunch from MAPIX to MEASX. It's not a very big amount, a bit more than 6% of my portfolio. And I'm betting on the strategy as advertized: outsized possibilities in very young Markets.
  • MAPOX is a decent fund. I don't know its history during bear markets but it's been around for a while. I had forgotten that MAPTX was closed.

    Matthews is a great company. I have MAINX as well as MAPIX. MAINX is around 5% of my portfolio. But, they are Asia centric. That's their business and they are good at it. Having exposure to Europe is good too.

    You may have more moves to make but take it slow and use opportunities to make changes. My favorite visual for my $cost avg method was the water hose and bucket. The water was my money going into investments. The hose directed that money. The buckets were my investments. As some investments fell out of favor and I still believed in them I would point that hose and fill that bucket more than the others. It's a value type $cost avg method. On the other hand if a fund had a big year I would sweep profits in one or more of the others. My big year was the year TWCUX had a 80% +/- return. I swept the profits. The next couple of years were not that good. Typical after a big return.

    I think you will be happy with MEASX.
  • @Crash: a few observations..

    "It's not a very big amount, a bit more than 6% of my portfolio." in professional asset management, this is a very big trade -- have no doubt. plus you're redeeming the more stable exposure to fund the frontier one....

    on the other hand, 30% in one fund that is not a target-date or otherwise multi-asset fund is obscene, i agree. but your asset allocation and decision making seem a bit rushed. hope you have checked your portfolio composition via morning* or otherwise and are satisfied that it will meet your retirement or alternatively specified goals. good luck.
  • Thanks, fundalarm. I've been chewing on this for a long time. It certainly is not a rush-job. I REALLY didn't want to add a 14th fund. My portfolio is just not THAT big, to need 14 different funds: $128,000.00. But MAPIX was getting to be a victim of its own success for me. It was a very nice problem to have. I was simply getting too nervous about its growing size. It was 30% of total, while others I own are under 3% of total. I have, over the years, found ways to make some strategic moves, using "hot" funds to feed more tame core, balanced funds, as mentioned above. I'm growing my MAPOX stake with new IRA money this year that will bring it from $11,000 to maybe $16,000.00 by the end of 2014.
    You've confirmed what I had known, deep down--- that my MAPIX was becoming a behemoth. Too risky to have such an amount in one basket. I expect I'll be too late to grab huge profits right away in MEASX. I'll have to be patient with it. But it is certainly making money!
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • edited August 2014
    I suppose the thought becomes:

    1. You have about 30% in one fund at Matthews.

    2. If you go to a different Matthews fund, you're still Asia-focused. Diversifying your holdings in Asia-related, but not diversifying more broadly. Pretty much what Maurice said.

    3. Still not getting the invest directly with fund companies thing (if they sold shares at 5% less than NAV if you invested directly like how some companies give you a 5% discount if you DRIP - yeah, absolutely, but I'm not seeing the benefits as is.)
  • Crash had stated that he wanted to keep that money at Matthews so I took it that he knew of the Asia buildup in his portfolio.

    @Crash, for future movements, since you have funds at TRowe and Mairs and Power, perhaps some of their funds would help diversify your portfolio?
  • Thanks for the help, guys. Yes, MAPOX will be growing. New IRA money is earmarked for that fund. I'm retired, but early. I'm 60. Wife works. Bless her, she works her tail off. I can do the IRA thing as a spousal IRA. We could start one for her, but her taxable income will be severely reduced, coming up. I plan to be able to begin investing again, slowly but surely, once SS kicks-in at 62. Pension is small, but helpful. I'm already drawing that. COLAs are given depending on how the denomination's investment portfolio does, each year. The move has been made to MEASX. We can retire this thread, I guess. Overall, I'm quite pleased with my fund selections.:)
  • I think fundalarm and Scott really pin point the problem. You have a dangerously concentrate portfolio, especially at 60. Just moving out of one asia fund into another doesn't help the problem. I'd take that $ that's in Mathews and move it to a brokerage for easier and better diversification.

  • >> once SS kicks-in at 62.

    crash, none of my, or our, business, but can you possibly wait?
  • edited August 2014
    Crash, your situation sounds remarkably similar, if not virtually identical, to another fellow who hasn't posted here in a long while... by the name of Max Bialystock.
  • beebee
    edited August 2014
    @Old_Joe,
    Great, now he has to come up with another profile name...I suggest MAX_PI. A combination of his former self, his affinity for a particular Matthew's fund, and a great dessert.
  • i would say - identical.

    the porfolio balance is now slightly better than 70% in PREMX in the past and probably warrants the new handle, but still not diversified enough. for someone counting days to a reduced SS check, investing like a 20 year old is not appropriate. whatever your real name is, we care about your investment results and that's why we've commented over the years. did you wake up one day and decided that MEASX is the way to go just because you don't want to deal with setting up a brokerage account or with paperwork transfer from matthews to another custodian? these should not be investment considerations in this century.

    still, best of luck to you.
    Old_Joe said:

    Crash, your situation sounds remarkably similar, if not virtually identical, to another fellow who hasn't posted here in a long while... by the name of Max Bialystock.

  • edited August 2014
    Hello, everyone. I promised an update. Here's my total run-down, after the change, tonight:
    1. MAPIX 23.57% of portfolio Matthews Asia Div.
    2. PRWCX 18.74 TRP Cap. Apprec.
    3. PRESX 14.87 TRP Developed Europe
    4. MAPOX 9.01 Mairs & Power Balanced
    5. MEASX 6.2 Matthews Emerging Asia
    6. MAFSX 6.19 Matthews Focused
    7. PREMX 3.94 TRP Emerg. Mkt Bonds
    8. MAINX 3.54 Matthews mostly Asia bonds
    9. SFGIX 2.82 Seafarer EM
    10. TRAMX 2.81 TRP Africa-Middle East
    11. MACSX 2.63 Matthews Growth & Income
    12. DLFNX 2.46 DoubleLine bonds
    13. MSCFX 2.45 Mairs & Power Small-cap.
    14. NAESX 0.76 (wife's 403b) Vanguard Small-cap Index Fund
    *****************************
    M* Instant X-Ray:
    Cash 4%
    US 20
    Foreign 56
    -Europe Developed 14.63
    -Europe Emerg. 0.46
    -Asia Dev. 11.63
    -Asia Emerg. 23.99
    -Japan 7.76
    -UK 7.56
    -Canada 6.74
    -Ausralasia 3.83
    -Africa/Middle East 2.79
    -Latin America 0.61

    BONDS: 17
    "Other:" 3

    ++++++++++++++
    Thanks for all the support, everyone. As I suppose it is for the rest of you, this thing is always a work in progress. I mentioned that I'll be growing MAPOX, and also my bond funds, particularly DLFNX. An intense, focused, lengthy conversation with a financial pro last year was enlightening. Wholesale changes were made. I want it to be truly worldwide. It is that. But it's still, as I say, a work in progress. Like myself.






  • edited August 2014
    @DavidMoran, No, waiting for SS beyond 62 is just not going to happen. Many different considerations went into that decision. Your question is valid, good and obvious. @Maurice, the sort of ongoing, constant, step-by-step reallocating you describe is just what I have in mind. And anyhow, I don't plan to use this money. I intend it for wifey, son, family.
  • @Crash --- roger. Since I was obnoxious (also obvious:) ) enough to ask about that, let me continue by pointing out that you have too many funds and an odd somewhat skewed mix for someone who has to take SS at 62. Have you run this by anyone with expertise other than this august forum?
  • @Crash, regarding:

    M* Instant X-Ray:

    Cash 4%
    US 20
    Foreign 56
    -Europe Developed 14.63
    -Europe Emerg. 0.46
    -Asia Dev. 11.63
    -Asia Emerg. 23.99
    -Japan 7.76
    -UK 7.56
    -Canada 6.74
    -Ausralasia 3.83
    -Africa/Middle East 2.79
    -Latin America 0.61

    BONDS: 17
    "Other:" 3

    I haven't used that tool personally........I'm not getting a clear picture:

    % US bonds vs. % foreign bonds?

    Looks like you have fixed income: 17% "bonds", 4% cash= 21% fixed income
    Can't tell what "other" is, I don't like when Morningstar uses that term.

    56% foreign stocks, 20% US stocks?

    Just wondering what made you want to be 56% foreign stocks and only 20% US stocks.
    Looks like 74% of your stock allocation [56/76] is foreign stocks.
    A "total world market weighting" would be closer to 50/50, which is close to the allocation in the Vanguard Total World Stock Index fund

    Nothing wrong with being heavily in foreign stocks.
    One day the performance of foreign stocks will trounce the performance of US stocks, and at that time you would be glad you were not 50/50.

    Most US investors have a "home bias" and are weighted/skewed towards US stocks.

  • Hello. About my bonds:
    DLFNX is domestic bonds, at 2.46% of portf.
    MAINX is at 3.54% "World Bond" category at Morningstar.
    PREMX is EM bonds, at 3.94%

    Domestic funds PRWCX and MAPOX are "balanced" and hold bonds with equities, too.
    :)

    In the "other" category, my best guess is that it's some Treasury "shorts" in MAINX and convertible bonds in MACSX.
  • @DavidMoran: My very different-looking previous portfolio is what I discussed with a Merrill Lynch guy here who handles a friend's money, so he came recommended. The current portfolio is NOT the same at all. I've lightened-up on bonds, and deliberately added Europe. The region which barely gets an afterthought from me is still Latin America. As mentioned already, my USA stake will be growing. I've not sent this year's IRA money to its destination, yet. (MAPOX)
  • edited August 2014
    BTW, M* X-ray is notoriously useless for classifying bond fund holdings at the portfolio level.
  • Agree. I taken that "others" can be anything that cannot be easily fit into their boxes.

  • Hi crash. I don't want to come off as obnoxious or irritating with personal questions, but the comment about 'a work in progress'; this doesn't need to be a work in progress IMHO (opps, used that terrible term). You have well over 50% in one area of the world, Asia. Should Asia be weighted above average in a portfolio? That is debatable. So why would you wait years to get the balance to a more appropriate mix for a 60 year old? I guess I just don't get it. By the way, I'm 60 also and this portfolio would keep me up at night.

    If you were to move your portfolio to a brokerage, say Schwab, they will give advice and answer questions for you for free. You don't have to except the advice but they would be able to lay out different risk scenarios for you. If you have a brick-and-mortar brokerage in your area where you can sit face to face with someone that's even better. I just think you could assemble a much better risk-reward portfolio now, not waiting for new contributions to get it there. That would probably take many years. Waiting could be hazardous to your wealth.
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