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.
Reply to @Mark:
I'm around...took a while for this old brain to transition to MFO. Glad you saw me.
Off to Chili, the Horn, Antarctica, Falklands...get an idea of Minnesota maybe LOL
How dem puppies?
best, hawk
Reply to @bee:
Indeed a good move. I bought this for my kids' IRAs last year - just a toe in - fearing this would happen. I will be adding to their accounts (although I don't like the run-up price right now.) Some folks comment on the ages of the m…
Reply to @davidrmoran:
Hi David! I hadn't thought of myself as paranoid, but on reflection maybe I am...geez, I even have a fire extinguisher mounted on my tractor :) Maybe that's called an ounce of prevention...
I'm surprised by the faith you may …
Reply to @VintageFreak:
I guess I can't totally eliminate the possibility of shenanigans, but maybe I can contain it: so I use three brokerage houses for the mutual funds and transfer agents (thru DRS) for the stocks. I also have taken cash build-u…
Reply to @hank
Even hotter technology from the '60's was the good ol' newspaper spread out on the dining room table where you'd find what your stocks did yesterday (or maybe last Friday), so you could run down to Merrill Lynch or your bank and pay t…
Hi VF,
I love Bridgeway, and have been with them since the days when John Montgomery answered his own phone (on a Sat morning no less). I'm a lot less flexible than you, however, darn it. I hold BRUSX which is hard-closed, and so do my kids. Can't d…
Reply to @lrwilliams: You are welcome! My reply is brought to you in memory of Unca Lou Rukeyser, who detailed this plan in his newsletter many years ago. I don't think he thought of it as a 'loophole'; I believe he merely thought of it as 'smart pl…
Reply to @lrwilliams: When they started, the max was 2K, and that sure wasn't hard with snow-shoveling, baby-sitting plus summer work. All they had to do was keep a log and file schedules C and SE. As the max increased over the years,, they logged m…
Back in FA-land, I would post my "Annual Angst' question about investments in kids Roth IRAs. I was (am) trying to build a port that they can maintain. I am thankful for the gracious and helpful replies I always received. The kids are now 31 and 36;…
Reply to @Investor:
BTW, Investor, it seemed to easy to get the generic mfg name, I found out this morning. Just ask. I hit Rite Aid, a grocery pharmacy, and Wal-Mart (where I found the Watson 'generic'). In 2 out of 3, they actually showed me the …
Reply to @Investor:
Although Watson lives in Corona CA, their stuff shows up on the East Coast (PA) at Wal-Mart. It seems when Pfizer's patent for Lipitor expired they dumped the tractor-trailer load of excess on Watson and perhaps others. So, yes,…
Reply to @Anna:
We also use Express Scripts (old Medco by Mail) and my last atorvastatin refill was supplied by...you guessed it...Ranbaxy. I think somethings gonna have to change here. A physician I used to go to up until 2 years ago always specif…
Reply to @Old_Joe:
Hi OJ! Does my increasingly dim mind recall a collage/logo done at FA using posters handles? Maybe late in FA's life, but somebody even scraped up older names such as neutron. Tell me I'm not nuts.
Thanks to all who responded! Now we have some very good pointers to guide how we handle this...and it looks like any penalty can be avoided should Vanguard cooperate. It will be in their best interest to do so as our family has a number of other por…
Reply to @scott:
Hi Scott. I also like ag. So far have held onto Terra TNH (sold half when it hit 3X), and recently nibbled at Rentech RNF. Supposedly there is a great demand for nitrogen after a drought and RNF has the advantage of being located n…
Thanks, msf and pangolin. Often wondered when the tax ax will fall on roths. After all, soc sec wasn't supposed to be taxed either...It is possible the ax will fall first on inherited roths, then conversions, then finally contributions and the progr…
Hi all. It's been a while since I posted, but thought I'd jump in on the take profits idea. Don't have a clue where this trend is going, but as Old Joe said we ain't going to get a two minute whistle when it blows. I gonna stay in but with tight tra…
Reply to @Sven:
Thanks, Sven. These look good; also very handy now that we have monies at Vanguard (for the kids). I'm trying to construct a pretty-much-hands-off basket of taxable stuff they can set and forget. Think I'll put these 3 in (using VNQ…
I liked it so much I passed it onto my kids (who are in their 30's).
One of the respondents was Diego Stendardo, who linked to one of his own articles. In that article he said he put his newborn son into 3 global ETF's that cover 90% of the investa…
K-1's are even more wonderful, particularly the one that hasn't arrived yet...Terra Nitrogen...recorded phone message..."we'll have the tax package available by the end of March"... what's with these MLP's anyway???
hawk
Hi, Catch!
Yup, we did minor acc'ts starting when the kids were about 12 - all IRA's. Later, when Roths came about, we converted for them at the kids' low tax rate. We usually picked funds that had recognizable companies in their portfolios, looking…
Reply to @Old_Joe:
1) These guys have to make a living producing 'column inches' for their editors.
2)Will Rogers had it right: "the price of wheat may go up...other other hand it might go down"...it is a priceless clip.
Reply to @rono:
Hi Rono! Very glad you reiterated your 'buy-the-uptrend' scenario. I tend to forget that, need the reminder.
Regarding ag: I have a very small stake in Elements Rogers Ag ETN (RJA), and am watching some South American stuff like CR…
Reply to @scott:
Hi Scott. There is something called 'intrinsic value' also. A small farmhouse (ca. 1790) with self-sustainability: hand dug well, large root cellar, small stream, barn, fireplace, 25-acre wood supply. The rest of the family (metro …
Reply to @Maurice:
Hi, Mo. I did a little bailing several months ago, dumping about half of our Terra Nitro TNH after it doubled, and about half of GE after it lost half its value.
Am sitting at about 20% cash and making a shopping list for DJIA 9…
Reply to @Mindy:
...as we are underlings.
Ah, that silly billy Shakespeare...a man for all, um, calamities
well done, mindy
I'm still laughing
best, hawk
Reply to @catch22:
Your '66 Chevelle must have been a lot better than my '65. All kinds of parts, knobs, screws, little springs, kept falling off - I'd just open the truck and toss'em in. Wondered when the steering wheel would go...
Then the trunk…
Reply to @catch22:
Hi Catch! Thanks for the greetings. I wander in here occasionally, though not as much as at FA. It's always nice to see your posts. Take care.
best, hawk
Hi Cathy G. I am also perplexed by some stuff M* does with my port, but haven't gotten around to contacting them.
I have a final column labeled 'dividend amount'. Not only does it fluctuate daily, it fluctuates intra-day. None of our stuff pays more…
Yep. These anticipated pull-backs are an opportunity to re-align the portfolio, which we do occasionally (now in retirement) to increase income stream, dump losers, trim over-achievers, etc.
We're about 20% cash with a wish-list comprising more div…
Gosh, sure didn't mean to scare newcomers. Didn't mean to discuss past failures either, unless I want to vent about BofA. %&^$, I was sold that stuff by Smith Barney 8 years ago. Maybe the front office had an argument with the research departme…
Congrats on the Wynn!
Yep, I know all about quiet; 97% of our port makes widders'n'orphans look like buccaneers:)
About Lynas: the stuff isn't widely followed (crimeny, isn't even narrowly followed), doesn't trade on any US exchange (about which the…
Hi, Burt S.
We use Templeton's closed-end fund GIM Global bond. No load on this thing and a low minimum, but it's selling at a premium right now. Pays about 5.15%.
I plan to add some more on a pullback.
FWIW, hawk
Hi, Lisa:
I currently have two MLPs: Terra Nitrogen TNH which has done really well since last June when I bought it, and Global Partners GLP, which has done OK.
I have another place in taxable money for an additional MLP or two, and am looking at Su…
Hi bnath! PRPFX appears to be fairly tax-efficient, thereby giving it an advantage in taxable accounts. I am thinking of using it to open small taxable accounts for the kids, now that their Roths are maxed out. It's something they can just let sit.