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Open Thread: What Are You Buying/Selling/Pondering
Sold 20% of WAAEX, PRNHX and FSCRX to reduce exposure to small caps. Sold 25% of MAPIX to rotate into hedged exposure to Japan. Sold 10% of HQL to take a little profit, essentially rebalancing.
Bought HEDJ and DXJ just before the ECB announcement but just small initial positions so hoping to add significantly over time on pullbacks. Bought a very small position in EKSO (thanks @John_Chisum for the discussion) and added to IWIRX, OBIOX and MEASX based on defined DCA programs.
I'm interested in buying SBIO and DXJS but waiting/hoping for better prices.
Buying Guinness Atkinson Global Innovators (IWIRX) and Mairs and Powers Small Cap (MSCFX). Also pondering if International Investing is really worth it...currently in Wasatch Frontier (WAFMX), Oberweis International Opportunities (OBIOX) and Matthews Emerging Asia (MEASX).
BCCHoosier, wow! I also hold WAFMX but I haven't sold any and don't have any plans to buy either. MSCFX is a fund I've been watching but I have so much small cap exposure, and in funds that I really like, so it's just not something I've been willing to make room for.
FWIW, I think international investing is well worth it. As you can see, I'm working to build USD hedged positions in Europe and Japan because I've had very small exposure there but I think all the QE will benefit the stock market for years and maybe similar to what's happened in the last 5 years in the US. I think emerging and frontier markets will deliver higher returns with higher volatility over time and I believe all the liquidity being created in Europe and Japan will keep a bid in emerging markets even when rates start to rise in the US and a lot of money comes home. I don't think it will necessarily be without some pain, but I'm not as concerned as some that emerging markets will suffer badly.
tampabay: that was a somewhat less than useful post. but thanks for letting us know anyway.
i've continued consolidating my funds. last year at this time, i had 10 or 11 of them. today i sold all but $100 of ARTGX and a week or two ago, I did the same with GPROX. much of that money, including more money today, went into the global infrastructure fund GLFOX. as of right now, i am 25% in cash. the rest is more or less evenly spread among GLFOX, FPACX, VWINX, PRWCX and PRHSX. that's three balanced funds, one int'l fund, and one big flier on health care. god speed, little portfolio, god speed.
May add to Agrium (AGU). Looking at Alexander and Baldwin (ALEX), not as something that's done exceedingly well, but from an underlying value (4th largest landowner in Hawaii) long-term standpoint. Will revisit Qualcomm (QCOM) if it falls under $60, also on valuation and the idea that the company may become pressured to do something to unlock value (it has a lot of cash and no debt) if it continues to seem to not be able to fix its recent issues.
Will be interesting to see oil earnings (COP, RDS, OXY) this morning. The pipelines continue to do okay (EPD just announced a record 2014 and an okay quarter.)
Will add to GAINX. I've also pondered IWIRX (mentioned above) run by same managers, but dividends currently have priority. Still, may consider the other fund, too. May add to RIT Capital Partners in London at some point. Added to QSPNX.
As part of my investment planning I have a buy list on hand just in case a good dip (up to five percent decline) in the market becomes a pullback (a decline form five to ten percent). This would put the S&P 500 Index around 1990 for me to give consideration to any serious buying although I have been buying, a little, around the edges in certain assets classes (emerging markets, precious metals, commodities, plus a little thrown towards Europe).
As of my last Instant Xray analysis my asset allocation bubbles (rounded) at about 20% cash, 30% domestic equity, 20% foreign equity, 20% income, and 10% other.
As of Wednesday evening, I was up about 0.2% year-to-date while the Lipper Balanced Index was down -0.5%. Seems my portfolio's positioning of late is paying off.
On good weakness I am thinking of adding a fourth fund to my small/mid cap sleeve possibly HSMAX or FSCDX. My current holdings in this sleeve are IIVAX, PCVAX, and PMDAX.
My three best performing funds y-t-d are SGGDX +15.04% ... FRINX + 2.58% ... and DEMAX + 1.67%.
I've added to longtime holdings BAC and AA on recent weakness. BAC some 15% off multi-year high, below 10 mo SMA. AA off but still above SMA.
Initiated new position with AIG, also below recent highs.
Exited oil for now at buy-in points. Just could not sustain gains. Will wait for the knife to stop falling. Ditto for energy proxy GE. And, ditto for the heavily shorted SAFM. Like OXY, APA (new chairman and cfo), HES.
Remain long across portfolio, including DODGX, SIGIX, FAAFX, HCP, OAK.
Disappointment continues with FAAFX. Sigh. But this will be the year .
Exited SCHN, another freefall...got burned on that one. Seems to have stabilized in $16 range. Perhaps company starting to buy back. At 10-year low with 4.5% div. Question will be whether they can sustain that div. Still like the business, though currently has to be one of most hated stocks.
Remain cautiously optimistic our bull will weather on through 2015 and beyond.
Although I must admit the oil free fall has me a bit spooked.
Exited SCHN, another freefall...got burned on that one.
Go Yanks!
Sorry to hear about SCHN. I don't really have a view on the industry or anything, but it's selling for about half of book value, which - in terms of that metric, is lower than 2008, where it was trading slightly over book. I am not sure how sustainable a 4.5% dividend is at all, but when you're selling at about half of book value, I'd say do buybacks if possible.
I think there's a lot of hated industries whose stocks are technically cheap, but it becomes how much time do you have to wait and how much can you allocate to that in a way that you're comfortable with if it continues to underperform. There's a lot of ideas I'd like to invest in, but it becomes what is higher up on the shopping list.
Have my hands full enough with energy and related in terms of disliked sectors.
Converted IRA at Oppenheimer to Roth. Currentlty 8% of my holdings - 100% invested in their commodities fund QRAAX. At 100 mil AUM it's become an unpopular place to be. Share price at conversion was $2.20 (closed yesterday @ $2.18). Speculative move. Will dollar-average into their more conservative funds like OIBAX if/when price recovers. Offered similar advice in Scott's previous thread. Decided to eat own cooking.
Against the grain of some here, I sold my MAINX and switched the proceeds into DLFNX.
I sold MACSX and am stashing it into DLFNX. My MAINX and MAPIX and MEASX will soon be redistributed into a number of TRP funds. That transaction is still in-process.
Stealth bull market in junk corporates? I hope! 10% there but adding, albeit still mostly all in junk munis with less than 3% in RIMIX. Everything as always on a tight leash. In Max Gunther's The Luck Factor one of his five key precepts is " The lucky have the capacity to get out of deteriorating situations quickly. They know how to discard bad luck before it becomes worse luck."
@Crash and @JohnChisum, are your moves based on moving to funds that you feel better address your asset allocation desires/mix, an opinion being expressed about Asia or an opinion being expressed about Matthews specifically? Thanks!!
30% in SNTIX, 30% in VWALX, 30% in VLGSX. A tiny stake in VHT.
Junkster: What junk corporate fund looks good to you? You used to like WHIYX, but it hasn't done well since the management change a year or so ago. I sold VWEHX a month ago as oil was crashing--probably a mistake, as it has held up well and I can't re-buy it at Vanguard until March.
30% in SNTIX, 30% in VWALX, 30% in VLGSX. A tiny stake in VHT.
Junkster: What junk corporate fund looks good to you? You used to like WHIYX, but it hasn't done well since the management change a year or so ago. I sold VWEHX a month ago as oil was crashing--probably a mistake, as it has held up well and I can't re-buy it at Vanguard until March.
Nice portfolio!! Looks like you are interested in making money and not worrying about meaningless "am I well diversified" Yes, WHIYX is completely off my radar screen due to the management change. And a lot of the better junk funds from 2014 ala BHYSX are under performing in 2015. I am mostly in PHYDX and a little in VWEHX. Tried to get into CIOZX but apparently my ban there is a lifetime one. Lots to worry about with the junk corporates such as oil and also if we are going into a bear market in the overall market. But it has been acting strangely well as of late so maybe it knows something we don't. Still at 10% (15% after today) I am hardly overweight there. Will get real overweight real quick if it keeps plodding up and the junk munis give up the ghost.
@Crash and @JohnChisum, are your moves based on moving to funds that you feel better address your asset allocation desires/mix, an opinion being expressed about Asia or an opinion being expressed about Matthews specifically? Thanks!!
Matthews has served me very well, going back to my very first mutual fund investment in 2003, which was MACSX. It's time to move the money because I don't like the way I've been treated. Contributing to my decision, to a great degree, is the non-dividend that didn't happen in MAPIX at year-end, 2014. When I found out WHY it didn't happen, (PFICs) more of my trust in them was worn away. That single move into PFICs just doesn't seem prudent. And the IRS tax treatment of those PFICs zeroed-out the dividend which might have been from the funds other investments. Whew! Takes my breath away..... I still am invested in Asia, via PRASX, and will be adding to it.
Thanks @Crash! I remember now, you called and amid a contentious call received terrible customer service. @JohnChisum sold MAPIX previously because of the dividend issue and I'm rotating into hedged exposure to Japan by reducing MAPIX rather than any other fund in part because of the same concerns. Its really a good example of why good customer service and good communication are so important because there was pretty widespread support for Matthews on MFO and although I wouldn't say its totally gone, I think their mistakes have been costly ones.
@Crash and @JohnChisum, are your moves based on moving to funds that you feel better address your asset allocation desires/mix, an opinion being expressed about Asia or an opinion being expressed about Matthews specifically? Thanks!!
Good morning to all.
I sold my Matthews due to a mix of the ideas presented. I too was dismayed at the response of the management at Matthews. But I also planned on paring back a bit on Asia exposure for now. This cold from China could last for a while.
30% in SNTIX, 30% in VWALX, 30% in VLGSX. A tiny stake in VHT.
Junkster: What junk corporate fund looks good to you? You used to like WHIYX, but it hasn't done well since the management change a year or so ago. I sold VWEHX a month ago as oil was crashing--probably a mistake, as it has held up well and I can't re-buy it at Vanguard until March.
Nice portfolio!! Looks like you are interested in making money and not worrying about meaningless "am I well diversified" Yes, WHIYX is completely off my radar screen due to the management change. And a lot of the better junk funds from 2014 ala BHYSX are under performing in 2015. I am mostly in PHYDX and a little in VWEHX. Tried to get into CIOZX but apparently my ban there is a lifetime one. Lots to worry about with the junk corporates such as oil and also if we are going into a bear market in the overall market. But it has been acting strangely well as of late so maybe it knows something we don't. Still at 10% (15% after today) I am hardly overweight there. Will get real overweight real quick if it keeps plodding up and the junk munis give up the ghost.
Thanks for the input, Junkster. CIOZX looks good, and I haven't yet been banned from buying it. PHYDX doesn't look bad either. You seem to have a knack for picking great funds. I'm mostly in the muni funds because their volatility has been so low and they keep paying dividends. I can handle bond funds in general better than stock funds, which seem to drop 5% the day after I buy them.
Junster: I spoke too soon about not being banned from CIOZX. I now see that Scottrade lists it as closed to new investors.
A non-volatile and well-performing bond fund I've been looking at is PFODX. Vanguard seems to have an ETF version of it, BNDX, which is equally non-volatile and has been performing just as well.
Stealth bull market in junk corporates? I hope! 10% there but adding, albeit still mostly all in junk munis with less than 3% in RIMIX. Everything as always on a tight leash. In Max Gunther's The Luck Factor one of his five key precepts is " The lucky have the capacity to get out of deteriorating situations quickly. They know how to discard bad luck before it becomes worse luck."
Stealth bull market in junk corporates? I hope! 10% there but adding, albeit still mostly all in junk munis with less than 3% in RIMIX. Everything as always on a tight leash. In Max Gunther's The Luck Factor one of his five key precepts is " The lucky have the capacity to get out of deteriorating situations quickly. They know how to discard bad luck before it becomes worse luck."
That 3% too much in RIMIX. So goodbye RIMIX.
When did you get into RIMIX? 2-3 days ago? Despite volatility in EM, it's still actually up on the week and YTD.
Do you not get hit with short-term trading fees on mutual funds or just don't care about them? Genuine curiosity.
Stealth bull market in junk corporates? I hope! 10% there but adding, albeit still mostly all in junk munis with less than 3% in RIMIX. Everything as always on a tight leash. In Max Gunther's The Luck Factor one of his five key precepts is " The lucky have the capacity to get out of deteriorating situations quickly. They know how to discard bad luck before it becomes worse luck."
That 3% too much in RIMIX. So goodbye RIMIX.
When did you get into RIMIX? 2-3 days ago?
Do you not get hit with short-term trading fees on mutual funds or just don't care about them? Genuine curiosity.
1/22 at 40.51 I make hundreds of fund trades annually. And no, don't care about the fees. And if someone such as yourself would like to compare performance over the past 10 or more years via tax returns or statements would be more than willing.
Stealth bull market in junk corporates? I hope! 10% there but adding, albeit still mostly all in junk munis with less than 3% in RIMIX. Everything as always on a tight leash. In Max Gunther's The Luck Factor one of his five key precepts is " The lucky have the capacity to get out of deteriorating situations quickly. They know how to discard bad luck before it becomes worse luck."
That 3% too much in RIMIX. So goodbye RIMIX.
When did you get into RIMIX? 2-3 days ago?
Do you not get hit with short-term trading fees on mutual funds or just don't care about them? Genuine curiosity.
1/22 at 40.51 I make hundreds of fund trades annually. And no, don't care about the fees. And if someone such as yourself would like to compare performance over the past 10 or more years via tax returns or statements would be more than willing.
Yeesh, sorry. Was just a genuine question as to why you sold/process of choosing to sell (stop at buy-in, moving average?), not some kind of challenge... Oh well, nevermind.
Comments
Sold 20% of WAAEX, PRNHX and FSCRX to reduce exposure to small caps. Sold 25% of MAPIX to rotate into hedged exposure to Japan. Sold 10% of HQL to take a little profit, essentially rebalancing.
Bought HEDJ and DXJ just before the ECB announcement but just small initial positions so hoping to add significantly over time on pullbacks. Bought a very small position in EKSO (thanks @John_Chisum for the discussion) and added to IWIRX, OBIOX and MEASX based on defined DCA programs.
I'm interested in buying SBIO and DXJS but waiting/hoping for better prices.
Other factors to examine that could portent the depth of the risk would be the inversion of the yield curve ( https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QkFJRNjd3TTEwDPUwXcCjd7toGaN_mxix5-nSN-kdig/edit?usp=sharing ) and the condition of the economy ( https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IqXuggnKY7fDH-i_96uMIOlmhzS7ei-dreUZ_8dpatc/edit?usp=sharing ) . Both series are healthy at present.
FWIW, I think international investing is well worth it. As you can see, I'm working to build USD hedged positions in Europe and Japan because I've had very small exposure there but I think all the QE will benefit the stock market for years and maybe similar to what's happened in the last 5 years in the US. I think emerging and frontier markets will deliver higher returns with higher volatility over time and I believe all the liquidity being created in Europe and Japan will keep a bid in emerging markets even when rates start to rise in the US and a lot of money comes home. I don't think it will necessarily be without some pain, but I'm not as concerned as some that emerging markets will suffer badly.
i've continued consolidating my funds. last year at this time, i had 10 or 11 of them. today i sold all but $100 of ARTGX and a week or two ago, I did the same with GPROX. much of that money, including more money today, went into the global infrastructure fund GLFOX. as of right now, i am 25% in cash. the rest is more or less evenly spread among GLFOX, FPACX, VWINX, PRWCX and PRHSX. that's three balanced funds, one int'l fund, and one big flier on health care. god speed, little portfolio, god speed.
Will be interesting to see oil earnings (COP, RDS, OXY) this morning. The pipelines continue to do okay (EPD just announced a record 2014 and an okay quarter.)
Will add to GAINX. I've also pondered IWIRX (mentioned above) run by same managers, but dividends currently have priority. Still, may consider the other fund, too. May add to RIT Capital Partners in London at some point. Added to QSPNX.
As of my last Instant Xray analysis my asset allocation bubbles (rounded) at about 20% cash, 30% domestic equity, 20% foreign equity, 20% income, and 10% other.
As of Wednesday evening, I was up about 0.2% year-to-date while the Lipper Balanced Index was down -0.5%. Seems my portfolio's positioning of late is paying off.
On good weakness I am thinking of adding a fourth fund to my small/mid cap sleeve possibly HSMAX or FSCDX. My current holdings in this sleeve are IIVAX, PCVAX, and PMDAX.
My three best performing funds y-t-d are SGGDX +15.04% ... FRINX + 2.58% ... and DEMAX + 1.67%.
I wish all … “Good Investing.”
Old_Skeet
I've added to longtime holdings BAC and AA on recent weakness. BAC some 15% off multi-year high, below 10 mo SMA. AA off but still above SMA.
Initiated new position with AIG, also below recent highs.
Exited oil for now at buy-in points. Just could not sustain gains. Will wait for the knife to stop falling. Ditto for energy proxy GE. And, ditto for the heavily shorted SAFM. Like OXY, APA (new chairman and cfo), HES.
Remain long across portfolio, including DODGX, SIGIX, FAAFX, HCP, OAK.
Disappointment continues with FAAFX. Sigh. But this will be the year
Exited SCHN, another freefall...got burned on that one. Seems to have stabilized in $16 range. Perhaps company starting to buy back. At 10-year low with 4.5% div. Question will be whether they can sustain that div. Still like the business, though currently has to be one of most hated stocks.
Remain cautiously optimistic our bull will weather on through 2015 and beyond.
Although I must admit the oil free fall has me a bit spooked.
Fingers crossed.
Thanks Scott for the thread.
Go Yanks!
I think there's a lot of hated industries whose stocks are technically cheap, but it becomes how much time do you have to wait and how much can you allocate to that in a way that you're comfortable with if it continues to underperform. There's a lot of ideas I'd like to invest in, but it becomes what is higher up on the shopping list.
Have my hands full enough with energy and related in terms of disliked sectors.
Junk bonds are one of the few bond sectors that is positive today, before noon.
Junkster: What junk corporate fund looks good to you? You used to like WHIYX, but it hasn't done well since the management change a year or so ago. I sold VWEHX a month ago as oil was crashing--probably a mistake, as it has held up well and I can't re-buy it at Vanguard until March.
I sold my Matthews due to a mix of the ideas presented. I too was dismayed at the response of the management at Matthews. But I also planned on paring back a bit on Asia exposure for now. This cold from China could last for a while.
A non-volatile and well-performing bond fund I've been looking at is PFODX. Vanguard seems to have an ETF version of it, BNDX, which is equally non-volatile and has been performing just as well.
Do you not get hit with short-term trading fees on mutual funds or just don't care about them? Genuine curiosity.