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.
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PRESSmUP
The last week has been good preparation for playoff pressures....nicely done Tito.
Thanks Crash...that's a really nice shareholder tool. One thing I didn't realize, is that Mr. Foster is progressing faster than expected in his charter to expand beyond his earlier familiar territory. Fully 1/3 of the current holdings are outside of…
I think Kernan would feel more at home on FOX Business with Stuart Varney and Charles Payne. FOX Business is like FOX News with a stock ticker on the bottom of the screen.
@PRESSmUP: I am quite sure that Dan Dan the Vanguard man knows POAGX is closed to new investors. That doesn't mean he can't like Primecap superior fund returns, plus existing shareholders can buy more. I think your being a little picky.
Regards,…
Kind of a middling year Charles, but I'd be happy as a clam with an 8% gain. That would seem like a consolidation, which is good. And thanks for pointing out the FI direction...as my FI sleeve is serving as needed ballast so far...exactly as intende…
Bee...good note, thanks...the sub-advisers tend to fly under the radar. In the case of Primecap, and as I am a long-term holder of two of funds you mentioned, I am a huge fan. I also held Vanguard Primecap many years ago in a 401K. The Primecap …
PressmUp,
I think it depends. A health care fund like VGHCX holds largely defensive positions because of its significant holdings in big pharma. Due to its large AUM, it can't take meaningful (sizable) positions in biotech stocks. This is why I lik…
An interesting comment from the linked article.."many investors have been pushed into equities, and in the process went for the sector they viewed as safest — health care — though in buying the sector, via funds and ETFs, were also at times getting …
I need to begin pondering what to do when I win a billion dollars with my perfect NCAA bracket. Absent perfection, I do need to allow for a slight miss...and a $100K win for one of the top 20.
Hi Ted...I would disregard most M* opinion on CEF's. If interested in this area, the forum devoted to CEFs on Morningstar have several posters with skin in the game who know much more about this than any article author that I've read on that site.
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I've shifted some equity profits into ST bond holdings (carefully selected from a short list of Morningstar funds with only 1 star), and am simply letting dollars accumulate from across the bond sleeve into cash. My tax advantaged account is now sit…
yes...as I said. It's merely a dream.
Which brings up a point. I sensed that the author of the article you originally referenced saw the 25 year old investing in dividend paying stocks as some sort of oddball. If so, I think that does the young in…
thanks Ted...pretty impressive. Of course, if you're 25, the challenge is to identify those companies that will thrive (or at least survive) over the next 30 years.
So... a 25 year old buying established companies that pay dividends. Smart move.
I only wish I would have bought stocks like that when I was 25. Those were the type of stocks my dad would buy as he was approaching retirement. But I couldn't be bot…
Only a few outliers from what you might expect on such a list, but I do strongly agree with one of the comments posted...limiting the data on returns to one and five years is not helpful. I assume that most folks using that article would see it as o…
Thanks Bee...I've been a fan of Ms. Sonders for some time, dating back to her appearances on Wall Street Week (aka the good old days). I appreciate her style of communicating to the public, and I seldom have noted an area where I hold a completely d…
Such constructs are neither good, nor bad. They simply represent a form of shorthand to represent a broader idea. BRICs as an example....referenced a slice of foreign investment. Just because the term is used doesn't mean it's good, but it could lur…
Sorry, it's not clear that she fully understands the concept of "buckets". Very disappointing articles...aggressive, moderate or conservative. This simply reinforces my thought that Morningstar is good at delivering data, but not so strong in delive…
Ron...over the past few months, the monthly commentary on this site has noted the change in M* rating due to the (mis)characterization of funds, with OSTIX being a prime example.
It dropped 2 stars, due to the re-characterization of the fund to hig…
Bumped up my GPGOX holdings in an IRA rollover.
I had a placeholder here for when I rolled a 401K into my Schwab IRA account...but wasn't getting a clear signal from Schwab as to my ability to add to this after March 5...even after speaking with mu…
So the government claims Fannie may not be profitable, and needs to stay in conservatorship.
BB says otherwise, and the court agrees to allow for discovery.
As an FYI...this comes right after FNMA reported $84 billion in profits last year...and ha…
J...my experience with a majority of folks on investment boards (present company excepted) is one where they believe their investing prowess negates the need or attractiveness of annuities.
Frankly, I have a sleeve of my pre-tax account which is o…
Schwab????? A $49.95 short term trading fee on funds held less than 90 days. If I am missing something here please let me know as I have been known to miss things.
I've found Schwab to be a good group to work with. There was one time where I got d…
Not sure I can discern the meaningful differences between the M*' moderate and then the aggressive portfolio of a week or so ago. This is disappointing as an advocate of Evensky's "bucket" theory.
I suppose this reinforces my view of M* being a goo…
Oddly, though the individual indexes are rather muted, looks like healthcare across the board is doing well today. VGHCX will have a very nice pop, as they had over $1B in FRX, and was the largest shareholder by a wide margin.
Well...I suppose that this article makes a few good points. However, its title needs to be revised to "When to bet on a new mutual fund MANAGER".
As readers of the MFO are aware, a new mutual fund should be viewed as a unique opportunity, particula…
Reply to @mcmarasco: Mona's response also sent me scurrying...to the Artisan website where it appears that this $100K threshold allows access to certain closed funds. Per their description among several others:
You may open a new account in a close…
Swede...this is a difficult time for all concerned. The fact that she did, ultimately, reach out to you for help is meaningful and significant. Please make sure the estate planning goes beyond finances, and covers basic items such as allowances for …
I'm a big believer in the "bucket system" for future planning, but this article is not helpful and would only serve to confuse those wanting to learn. Also, I don't see anything which could remotely be considered "aggressive" in how they allocated t…
Folks piled into EM early in 2013, and then into the broader markets late in 2013. And now public sentiment is turning negative. Next, I am looking for fund flows out of equities. Only a few more % to go, and money from my 4Q fund haircuts will be g…
No.
With more folks under coverage for their healthcare, I believe it will increase the market for baseline pharma, and increase demand overall for services. And I think that may have been a contributing factor in the performance of HC over the pas…
