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You're asking how to pick a mutual fund in general? If that's it, I'd suggest starting with some basic reading, such as:
http://www.investopedia.com/university/quality-mutual-fund/
You'd also be well advised to explore M* beyond the simple headlin…
This is a health savings account, yes? I don't know that much about them, but it seems like the first thing you'd want to do is make an allocation plan based on age, how much you're putting into it, what your med bills are like, how much liquidity y…
You made a good decision to buy when you did, Max. I was thinking it could be a big downside-style fund, but for the last year, anyway, it's coming in at only 73% of the downside of the S&P 500 ... up/down capture of 115/73 vs. the small-blend c…
I haven't seen any negative effects; the one A. fund I hold is still closed, the E.R.'s unchanged, and the managers haven't been tasked with running any new funds.
I owned UMBDX at one time, but got out of it for consolidation reasons, not because it didn't meet expectations. I was under the impression that it had the truly risk-averse foreign small/mid-cap niche pretty much to itself, so I'm a little surprise…
Reply to @mcmarasco: Just one small point: what you'll be asking Fido for is a conversion (from one share class to another, which is not a taxable event), not an exchange. (The original cost basis follows you over to the new share class.)
Dividends have been spotty with that fund; maybe look at holdings and recent reports to figure out what they're doing in that regard. Cap gains? Haven't been any since 2008, and with the price runup since then, the recent Japan uptick, & the 40-…
Reply to @MikeM: No, not unique, & I'm no expert on tv in general because I don't watch much of it, but the econ/finance etc. coverage is still egregious to me, I guess mostly because of what I expressed in the last graf: it's so poorly done com…
Reply to @AKAFlack: PBS isn't known for its economy/investment smarts. Witness the years of superficial Nightly Biz Report journalism; the new, equally mediocre, CNBC clone; the repeated appearances of Suze Orman during the dreadful pledge week prog…
FWIW, I took John Rekenthaler off my "wise" list after his botched reorganization of bond data for funds, and clumsy attempts to justify it, on the M* site.
I agree MJFOX is a good Japan fund, but if I were tempted to put $ into a pure-Japan stock play at this point in the rally, I'd regard it as a purely tactical move and therefore use an ETF. That way I could get out without any delay and without a re…
There are several ways to value the markets, and I wouldn't base a major investment decision on just one method ... especially, in the case of M*, where the methodology is proprietary and undisclosed.
Here, for example, is another method -- Gurufoc…
The other thing that would give me pause about investing in the new Asia fund is that JD himself is going to be the manager. He's had some success with the other funds he runs in their lineup, but the better funds in the shop are the ones he doesn't…
The only new thing even remotely in the crosshairs here is Artisan Global Small Cap, ARTWX, whenever they decide to open it; an Artisan rep said today they still have no official word on when that'll be. I'll want to see how it's positioned before i…
Reply to @Charles: The progress to this point has been only in stopping the hemorrhaging, and that occurred three years ago. It's good that we're keeping up with adult population growth now, but that's not making a dent in the job deficit created du…
I hear you, John; employment, about the most fundamental of the fundamentals, is nowhere near in decent shape. The adult employment-to-population ratio basically hasn't moved since it hit bottom three-plus years ago:
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.c…
Reply to @Mona: Mona, got your message; I'd just reiterate from above that PIMIX would be fine for all your mortgage exposure by itself, IMHO. I'd look at DBLTX apart from the specific asset category and decide whether you want a fund in the portfol…
I think I'd give the "Arnott's so flexible" argument for PAUIX (and PAAIX) less weight now than formerly. He no longer has the flexibility he used to have when the fund had much lower AUM, largely because he'd wreck the underlying funds he invests i…
Reply to @Mona: Yeah, more or less. Main thing I was trying to get across, maybe not very effectively, was to consider the whole portfolio and both of the main types of risk in evaluating what to do with the bond sleeve.
Hi Ron, just generalizing here, my thought would be to try mapping stock/credit vs. interest rate risk in the portfolio as a whole, including those bond funds, plus the stock funds you own, & feel out what kind of split you're most comfortable w…
Reply to @AMatMFO: AM, here's a M* discussion forum thread on it ... lots of complaints, no resolution yet:
http://socialize.morningstar.com/NewSocialize/forums/p/324440/3415785.aspx#PageIndex=1
Reply to @Shostakovich: Who can forget the Robert Powell (Marketwatch financial writer)-Madoff fiasco:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-madoff-cost-my-family-a-job-a-401k-and-a-worthy-cause
While there's for sure a huge need for better financi…
New (to me anyway) & interesting POV: looking at (present discounted) average lifetime SS benefits as part of the portfolio. Think I'll try a side calculation on that. Thanks for the perspective, OJ and STB.
Reply to @msf: From the PBS/Need to Know article, the vote was taken, but it did not receive the required support to go directly to Congress:
"That report needed to achieve a super majority (or the equivalent to 14 of the 18 members voting Yes) to …
Reply to @Gandalf: See Pangolin's link below.
Also, TR Price's "real assets" fund is a stock fund, not a commodity fund; they apparently don't play in those assets/markets either.
Mona,
Here are a few thoughts you might consider if you want to consolidate:
* PIMIX could easily be the only major source of mortgages in the portfolio, and it's worth a good-size position in general.
* If you want to own a rock-solid, low-risk …
I think the idea of a cash or cash-like position means different things to different people at different times. Most basically, those might fall into categories like these, roughly speaking: savings you're going to use in a year or two for a down pa…
Must have been mainly the mortgages? PMZIX and TGLMX popped too, just not as much, altho DBLTX barely moved. EM debt was mostly up too ... that seems to be the main driver of PDIIX's daily price variation these days.
I remember seeing somebody's projection of a 14k Nikkei, and thinking that'll take a while to develop, if it ever happens. Well, it stands a chance of 14k tonight before North American bedtime.
Reply to @hank: The program was pretty good ... M. Smith caught some finance types in an embarrassing moment here and there. Asking about a fiduciary standard for advisors brought out the most dissembling, hemming & hawing, etc.
He did get off …
