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.
Gave lots of haircuts in the final month of an unbelievable 2013....adding to CMNIX for (relative) safety, and to O for a beaten down cash-generating machine in an IRA. Other than that, just waiting around for the pullback.
Ted...I also find your links helpful.
However, I would not dismiss the comment from Mindy out of hand for this reason...if I look at the current threads, ones just from today extend beyond page 1.
I would guess that many people miss very importan…
Reply to @hank: Thanks a pretty good summary Hank. I also view M* as a good source of data...but a less than stellar source for opinion. I point to their downgrading of OSTIX from 4 * to 2, concurrent with their mislabeling of the fund as high-yield…
I'm fascinated by the entire concept of a "Santa Claus rally"....though I find the ritual of "window dressing" somewhat underhanded.
Of particular interest will be the action within the first week of '14. I wouldn't be surprised at all if we come o…
That a very sobering article. I've read where the "Millennials" have taken a more focused effort towards saving money, and that's great. Unfortunately, I think we'll see a 20 year period of grief as many people simply couldn't be bothered.
Reply to @MarkM: Mark...I tend to give a manager quite a bit of leeway...as an example, I've given Berkowitz a wide berth at FAIRX, and he has made me a great deal of money over the years.
Cinnamond was not only "early" on metals, he was also "earl…
This has been a busy week.
Finally gave up on ARIVX...it wasn't so much the cash stake, but the precious metals bets. Thanks to expatsp who highlighted this earlier in the week.
Swapped this for more BERIX....also established a foothold in RSIVX. …
Within the past year, I seem to recall a stretch of a few weeks where Ted didn't post. I don't recall the circumstances as to why, but I do recall feeling that the board was missing something, and was happy when the posts then resumed.
This thread …
I like the space(s) this is exploring, so I think a better question might be if there are other diversified EM funds who are doing, or can do, a better job...assuming you want a diversified EM fund. Most EM funds are really lagging this year, but th…
One man's "group think" is another's collaboration. I would not like to see discussion stifled in this forum...and frankly, I don't interpret junks' comment as suggesting this. So, ARIVX may not have been the perfect fit for THIS market...but I am q…
Reply to @Charles: thanks Charles, but to be clear, my holdings include more than these 3...these are simply the ones common to pre and post-tax accounts.
My only holding on the + side was SUBFX.....all the more reason I am directing more dollars to this holding over the next few months.
And then there's PIMCO Total Return...frankly, I getting a bit tired of this "new normal" philosophy. I'm thinking…
Recently timed a haircut correctly for POAGX and VGHCX. Will position the proceeds into MERFX for a cash alternative for a bucket one holding. Kinda madcap I guess.
Looking to sell PAUDX this week. It goes down when the market goes up...and down wh…
I believe MAPIX has a larger stake in Japan and China, which helped performance over both MACSX and SFGIX. Also, the Latin American holdings served as a boat anchor...hopefully this will turn around and not deter Mr. Foster from seeking investments …
Yes, there are specialized funds who do this.
Linked is an interesting article from Food and Wine...of course, I suppose one could purchase high-end wine and store it in the basement. But, this would no doubt be one of the worst "investment" decis…
Eric Cinnamond and the Aston/River Road Independent Value Fund (ARIVX) was my top performer in 2011, and top 1% in category..thus earning a break and a continued place in my portfolio.
At 65% cash however, and 98 and 99% percentile performance in t…
Meanwhile, my "tactical allocation" holding, PAUDX, has engineered a way to be my worst performer this year.
I'm not liking this "new normal" program PIMCO has instituted. I'm thinking of shifting this into OSTIX...a boring, conservative FI fund wh…
Hi Clem,
Interesting question, but perhaps not for the reasons you might imagine.
In short, yes...I would initiate a position in FAIRX. However, you need to know that this is one of my largest holdings so I am a bit biased.
Due to the concentrati…
I'm with Scott... women in yoga pants are to be encouraged. The recent controversy about those same pants being too sheer, well.
About Chipotle...it's pretty simple. I love hard shell tacos. It's either Chipotle or Taco Bell.
Easy choice. Good ingr…
I guess I'm just a curmudgeon. I would much rather browse with my wireless mouse than to scan with a touch screen pc...perhaps because I don't have experience with doing this.
I am also shopping for a new PC...and I tend to buy a high-performance r…
The Democrats will need to cough something up such that Boehner doesn't look like a complete idiot for holding the economy hostage for no reason. Though of course, the Democrats also cannot reward the opposition party for hostage taking.
Not really…
I'm usually pretty immune to political machinations as a reason to take action in re-allocating my accounts away from a general 60/30/10 ratio.
I'm thinking this time may be different.
I see disturbing comments from some indicating that a shut-dow…
Reply to @Old_Joe: OJ...you don't need to be "political" to be able to profit from political decisions. You simply need to separate partisan political opinion from political facts.
As a specific example...more folks will have health insurance cover…
Reply to @JohnChisum:
Just curious...what do you mean by "government take-over"?
Not sure how fluent you are with the provisions of the ACA, but all of the carriers who will be providing plans within the state exchanges are non-governmental compa…
I am about ready to poke my eyes out with a pencil the next time I read the false narrative of the "government take-over of healthcare".
Aside from that....I am long healthcare in the form of large positions in POAGX, VGHCX and VHCOX...along with s…
When M* gets around to evaluating this, they should add an extra "*" just for the name.
That's a clear winner. If only they could squeeze "Strategic" in there somewhere.
David,
I pay a modest amount for M* premium membership, and an additional fee for their Dividend Investor newsletter. I derive value from both.
Frankly, I have gotten as much value from your website as either of these items I had previously mentio…