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 @BobC: I think this is especially true for EM. Thanks for your post above, as well.
I really appreciate your continued postings and find your insights valuable in general and given what you do. You have to make decisions for a lot of clie…
Reply to @TSP_Transfer: I actually own a little bit of LAND. It really hasn't done much of anything, but I continue to reinvest monthly divs.
The issue with Gladstone Land is that it is actually a triple-net real estate company. They own the land…
Forgot about the ALFA etf. ETF made up of top fund/institutional holdings. However, it actually hedges if the S & P 500 falls below 200 day MA at the end of a given month.
They're richly/over valued at this point, but - and some will likely disagree - I continue to like consumer staples for a PORTION of one's portfolio. These are companies that everyone has to use (tp, shampoo, whatever) and they can often raise price…
Reply to @AndyJ: AQR was initially - and rather briefly - geared towards retail. The initial minimum was $5,000, but then the company changed gears and focused on advisors instead, raising the minimum to $1M.
My guess is that the intent is that the…
Reply to @TSP_Transfer: It's an interesting world, where technology and data are commodities in demand whereas commodities (mining companies starting to come back, but still down quite a bit - and that was apparently an issue w/CAT) in the tradition…
Reply to @scott: Style Premia now coming out before end of October.
AQR Long-Short (QLENX) top in category in the last mo (+5.37%). New fund, but getting going after a slow start.
http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=QLENX+Interactive#symbol=qlenx;r…
Reply to @Derf: Great Wired article about the subject, which Google calls "Project Loon".
"The Untold Story of Google’s Quest to Bring the Internet Everywhere—By Balloon"
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/08/googlex-project-loon/
Reply to @Sven: :
In this environment, Radio Shack can apparently kick the can:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/21/us-radioshack-financing-idUSBRE99K0Z420131021
I think it has to be asked what is the real value of the equity. I don't thin…
It does for the people in the market. Keep in mind that 54% of households in the US have no exposure to the market and the top 1%/top 10% have the majority of stocks.
"In 2012, the incomes of the top 1 percent rose nearly 20 percent compared with a…
Reply to @Charles: "but after couple rounds now, starting to think market seriously discounts the "budget fight" threat."
Market has budget fight in one hand and printer in the other. Printer wins and budget fight means more printer. Win/win in mar…
Reply to @mclaugh: "until somebody figures out a way to blind the sensors that feed data to the controller (does anyone REALLY believe the technology will be completely foolproof?) or LulzSec decides to have some "fun" and push a silent "patch" thro…
6:17AM Alcoa and Russia's VSMPO-AVISMA to form JV to manufacture titanium and aluminum products for aircraft manufacturers (AA) 8.60 : Co and Russia's VSMPO-AVISMA, the world's largest manufacturer of titanium ingots and forged products, have agreed…
Reply to @paydirt: I think what concerns me about the media situation is continual disputes between the content providers and the cable companies (see TWC/CBS a few months ago) and the ever-increasing cost of pay TV.
At some point, cable companies …
Hussman continues to go against QE. He may eventually be right, but I think he could continue to be wrong for a while yet and be very wrong depending on where this time period goes.
Reply to @robertwells: I like real estate. The net lease REITs got creamed when interest rates went up, but I still think they are an interesting sub-class of RE (http://seekingalpha.com/article/1729322-its-a-myth-triple-net-lease-reits-arent-bonds-…
Reply to @robertwells: The original shares (MFLDX) are closed, but the load shares (A/B/C) shares are available and more expensive in terms of expense ratio. Still, good fund.
Reply to @chrisblade: TPNTF has done well, but it is illiquid and barely trades on the US market. The London shares also have barely any volume. Additionally, that fund traded at something like a 50% discount to NAV at points in 2008/2009 lows. It's…
Reply to @robertwells: Happy to help. What were you looking for in terms of real estate? Inflation protection? There are varying real estate funds. They are all going to be volatile,but there are some balanced funds that can be in equity, preferred …
1. Do not get into currency-specific funds or currency-focused funds in general. Just no. I would not outright short in an environment of money printing. I am not against funds that have the tools to short specific names/specific opportunities. As f…
This is something that I've thought a lot about and have researched but haven't really gotten into yet. I agree that it will be a big theme in the years ahead.
Google is certainly a big name in this theme, but I think what the thing is with Google…
Reply to @Charles: Thanks, and I often agree with your thoughts. Again, I'm not "full Hussman", but just have a lot of macro concerns that I think aren't really being addressed and don't look like they're going to be - but that doesn't mean that I d…
Reply to @Charles:(Warning: Scott may take issue with me a bit on this point)
Meh. (translated: It's early and not that much.)
"Companies buying back lots of shares."
True, and I think you're seeing noticeably reduced supply of shares available v…
Reply to @STB65: GRCLF.PK. I owned it before ADM bought and sold when it announced. Still, I'd like to own the company again if there is an official announcement that the deal isn't going through and the premium comes off. I'm not a huge fan of ADM,…
I'm not looking to sell anything, but I'm not looking to add anything.
The only thing that I have in mind is Australian company Graincorp, if the purchase by Archer Daniels Midland is not approved by Australia's govt in December. If it is not appr…
Maria Bartiromo keeps telling everyone that "Besides their legal issues, they're just fine!"
It is a tad odd that they are selling their NYC HQ to a Chinese corporation. Their NYC HQ that apparently has a very large vault under it.
http://www.ze…
I think Hollywood Stock Exchange tried to take the whole thing public, too. Didn't work. Still, a fun online game. (hsx.com)
Max Keiser (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Keiser), who is now seen frequently talking about precious metals and is a hos…
Reply to @Charles: I think GE continues to be a compelling option, given their exposure to rail, aviation, energy and other themes. Additionally, the company continues to make good moves towards focusing the company and I think the fact that people…
I'd also consider browsing around Canada. There are some Canadian energy companies (Gibson, Imperial, Black Diamond Group, Crescent Point, others) that have Canadian & some degree of US Exposure, as well as nice divs in many cases. The only issu…
I don't know, this is the first I've heard of it. Daniel J. Ivascyn (new to PQIDX) has a strong track record in other fund/s. This fund is a little ahead of its category YTD, but the "stock-specific" version (PQDDX) has not done very well. I'm not l…
Reply to @Mindy: Yeah, I definitely like alternative investments and bitcoin's origin story (in the above Wired article) is pretty fascinating, but I just don't see it lasting.
Reply to @Hogan: "Since the shut down and debt ceiling are less likely to be used in the future (I think) they are going to have to negotiate"
They are? What about what just happened makes you think that these people are going to "play nice" and wo…
Reply to @AKAFlack: The stock in question is $260 and institutional ownership is around 50%. I agree with you that there is particular risks in terms of small/low float companies, especially pink sheet-style companies. However, this appears to just…
Reply to @AKAFlack: Small company, little float, no attention? I dunno, if that's the case then it could do very well if it gets more attention. A small, not particularly liquid stock does present its own risks, though, as you note.
