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.
Your best advice which all of us should consider embracing:
"But for most people, the best thing they can do is to find a boring investment. Find something that does not excite them at all. A balanced fund or a life-cycle fund that is offered with reasonable expenses and a good management team. They are so dull they are not even fun to write about, but year after year they produce what they promise."
You deserve this tribute in the respected WSJ. Thanks for all that you have done at FA and continue to do here on YOUR MFO.
Reply to @kevindow: I've always rather more thought of it as our site, than mine. The discussion boards benefit hundreds of people - they drive three-quarters of site traffic except right at the beginning of the month - but derive their vitality from the passion, generosity and intelligence of ten or twenty people who are here every day. Accipiter and Chip have done remarkable work under the hood, but they've done it because they know how important this is to us all.
So I'm honored by the recognition and glad to accept the congratulations, but I have a really exceptionally clear sense of what it means to be part of a community and of a communal venture.
Dear David: well done sir...Congrats! Thank you for all the wonderful work you've put it [as well as MFO team]. Wish Roy Weitz still is around and participate at this great board
"gather the evidence, assess the evidence, make an argument."
Allocated some to MAINX. Mr. Snowball's perspicacity and experience make for a tough customer to argue with and I've very much been the beneficiary for agreeing. How's that go...good judgement comes from experience because experience comes from bad judgement.
"You've also got to find someone who invests in their fund. Funds in which the managers and directors don't have a substantial personal stake consistently underperform the funds where the managers and the directors put their own money at risk."
In these cases the managers had a substantial personal stake in their unsuspecting clients heart.
With financial services modus operandi of assymetric informational warfare the customer is always right (in the crosshairs.) Terming the pre-credit debacle activity as dealing with bloodsuckers would be far too kind.
It's a great article, and it's generated lots of interest in the site. We won't have the stats on site visitors until tomorrow, but we have had 263 new people sign up for the mailing list so far. I'm impressed.
Hooray for David! You deserve every bit of the recognition. We appreciate all that you do.
Hey there kiddo- never forget that YOU have contributed a fantastic amount of time, thought, energy and plain hard work to this site too. The techs may work in the background, but without them, not much works at all...
BTW, one of the things that I really appreciate is how you have extended your horizon to allow technical input from folks like Accipiter also. A whole lot of class there, I think, and a class product, too. Thanks so much for your help and patience on this!
Awesome and richly deserved. Congratulations! Out of curiosity I wonder how manyoffers Mr. Snowball has turned down to write a coulumn for the likes of the WSJ or other. I'd have paid him whatever a long, long time ago.
Accipiter has programming skills that far exceed my own, as well as a great understanding of what folks here might want to see. I'd be foolish not to accept, with gratitude, any expertise he's willing to provide.
David- piggybacking on Maurice's question, would you have an opinion as to how funds such as American Funds, which depend on a selection committee rather than individual "stars", fall into this? Each American fund has about 4 to 6 managers, and I'm not sure if any of those managers have skin in the game or not.
Unfortunately I haven't seen any fund discussions involving American funds since about 8 or 10 years ago on FA, most likely because they are normally a front-load situation, and pretty stodgy, to boot. Like you said, though- not exciting isn't always a bad thing.
...they provide links to David's WSJ interview and glowing review of their fund.
So far I really like what they have to offer --- their passion for global investing, excitement in starting their own firm, lots of travel and time on the ground to visit companies, their global analyst team and ease of communication with their firm.
Here's a sample of some stocks mentioned by Grandeur Peaks in their 4th qtr report that they own: ====================================================
Hy-Lok Corporation Hy-Lok is a $240 million market cap company based in Busan, South Korea. Hy-Lok generates about $100 million of annual revenue as a global leader in fluid control precision. They make very high-tech fittings and valves, which are distributed across the globe and used in a variety of industries. Founded in 1977, the company has been listed on the KOSDAQ (Korean NASDAQ) since 1989. The stock was up 19% in the fourth quarter and contributed 30 basis points to the overall return of Global and 30 basis points to the overall return of International.
Bertrandt AG The Bertrandt Group is a $500 million market cap company based in Ehningen, Germany. Bertrandt generates about $750 million of annual revenue providing outsourced R&D and other services to the automotive and aerospace industries. The company was founded over 35 years ago. The stock was up 25.8% in the fourth quarter and contributed 24 basis points to the overall return of Global and 25 basis points to the overall return of International.
Banco ABC Brasil Banco ABC is a $1.7 billion market cap commercial bank based in São Paulo, Brasil. The bank has about $6 billion in assets and provides a range of financial products and services to medium and large companies in Brazil. It focuses on corporate credit, capital markets, and treasury operations. The stock was up 17.1% in the fourth quarter and contributed 19 basis points to the overall return of Global and 23 basis points to the overall return of International.
Tegma Gestao Logistica Tegma is a $1.7 billion market cap company based in São Paulo, Brasil. They are one of Brazil's largest logistics management companies, and a leader in the automotive industry. They are experts in providing customized and innovative logistics solutions focusing on three core market segments: the automotive industry, road transport, and warehousing and handling. The stock was up 15.8% in the fourth quarter and contributed 14 basis points to the overall return of Global and 28 basis points to the overall return of International.
Vitasoy International Holdings Vitasoy is a $5.9 billion market cap company based in Hong Kong that was founded in 1940. They are a global leader in soy-based beverages and foods with annual revenues of $500 million. The stock was up 13% in the fourth quarter and contributed 12 basis points to the overall return of Global and 19 basis points to the overall return of International.
And they're really raking in the assets. That's impressive given the skittishness about equities in general and new funds in particular. More so because of their commitment not to raid Wasatch's client list.
Reply to @Kenster1_GlobalValue: Vitasoy looks kinda interesting. I'm not a fan of soy-based stuff, but it's so big. You certainly see Vitasoy products at Whole Foods, etc. Their Nasoya stuff I've seen all over.
Comments
a trifecta
As Catch said "Congrats and well done".
Your best advice which all of us should consider embracing:
"But for most people, the best thing they can do is to find a boring investment. Find something that does not excite them at all. A balanced fund or a life-cycle fund that is offered with reasonable expenses and a good management team. They are so dull they are not even fun to write about, but year after year they produce what they promise."
You deserve this tribute in the respected WSJ. Thanks for all that you have done at FA and continue to do here on YOUR MFO.
Kevin
So I'm honored by the recognition and glad to accept the congratulations, but I have a really exceptionally clear sense of what it means to be part of a community and of a communal venture.
David
Wish Roy Weitz still is around and participate at this great board
"gather the evidence, assess the evidence, make an argument."
Allocated some to MAINX. Mr. Snowball's perspicacity and experience make for
a tough customer to argue with and I've very much been the beneficiary for agreeing.
How's that go...good judgement comes from experience because experience comes from bad judgement.
"You've also got to find someone who invests in their fund. Funds in which the managers and directors don't have a substantial personal stake consistently underperform the funds where the managers and the directors put their own money at risk."
(sub)Prime example--
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/business/an-investment-wipeout-that-didnt-have-to-happen.html?_r=2&ref=business
In these cases the managers had a substantial personal stake in their unsuspecting clients heart.
With financial services modus operandi of assymetric informational warfare the customer is always right (in the crosshairs.) Terming the pre-credit debacle activity as dealing with bloodsuckers would be far too kind.
http://roberthood.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/leeches2.jpg
Best Regards- OJ
Hooray for David! You deserve every bit of the recognition. We appreciate all that you do.
BTW, one of the things that I really appreciate is how you have extended your horizon to allow technical input from folks like Accipiter also. A whole lot of class there, I think, and a class product, too. Thanks so much for your help and patience on this!
thanks
David C.
I have 2 funds that were mentioned in the article --- Grandeur Peaks Global and Artisan Global.
Thanks so much for the kind words.
Accipiter has programming skills that far exceed my own, as well as a great understanding of what folks here might want to see. I'd be foolish not to accept, with gratitude, any expertise he's willing to provide.
Unfortunately I haven't seen any fund discussions involving American funds since about 8 or 10 years ago on FA, most likely because they are normally a front-load situation, and pretty stodgy, to boot. Like you said, though- not exciting isn't always a bad thing.
http://www.grandeurpeakglobal.com/
...they provide links to David's WSJ interview and glowing review of their fund.
So far I really like what they have to offer --- their passion for global investing, excitement in starting their own firm, lots of travel and time on the ground to visit companies, their global analyst team and ease of communication with their firm.
Here's a sample of some stocks mentioned by Grandeur Peaks in their 4th qtr report that they own:
====================================================
Hy-Lok Corporation
Hy-Lok is a $240 million market cap company based in Busan, South Korea. Hy-Lok generates about $100 million of annual revenue as a global leader in fluid control precision. They make very high-tech fittings and valves, which are distributed across the globe and used in a variety of industries. Founded in 1977, the company has been listed on the KOSDAQ (Korean NASDAQ) since 1989. The stock was
up 19% in the fourth quarter and contributed 30 basis points to the overall return of Global and 30 basis points to the overall return of International.
Bertrandt AG
The Bertrandt Group is a $500 million market cap company based in Ehningen, Germany. Bertrandt generates about $750 million of annual revenue providing outsourced R&D and other services to the automotive and aerospace industries. The company was founded over 35 years ago. The stock was up 25.8% in the fourth quarter and contributed 24 basis points to the overall return of Global and 25 basis points to the overall return of International.
Banco ABC Brasil
Banco ABC is a $1.7 billion market cap commercial bank based in São Paulo, Brasil. The bank has about $6 billion in assets and provides a range of financial products and services to medium and large companies in Brazil. It focuses on corporate credit, capital markets, and treasury operations. The stock was up 17.1% in the fourth quarter and contributed 19 basis points to the overall return of Global and
23 basis points to the overall return of International.
Tegma Gestao Logistica
Tegma is a $1.7 billion market cap company based in São Paulo, Brasil. They are one of Brazil's largest logistics management companies, and a leader in the automotive industry. They are experts in providing customized and innovative logistics solutions focusing on three core market segments: the automotive industry, road transport, and warehousing and handling. The stock was up 15.8% in the fourth quarter and contributed 14 basis points to the overall return of Global and 28 basis points to the overall return of International.
Vitasoy International Holdings
Vitasoy is a $5.9 billion market cap company based in Hong Kong that was founded in 1940. They are a global leader in soy-based beverages and foods with annual revenues of $500 million. The stock was up 13% in the fourth quarter and contributed 12 basis points to the overall return of Global and 19 basis points to the overall return of International.
David
77 cents a share.