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 @Charles: Berkowitz has been successful effectively participating in a number of bailed out financial institutions (and one retailer whose chairperson/CEO/whatever he is now continues to try to bail it out.) That's great and good for him an…
Reply to @scott:
RSH
S&P warns of RadioShack default
RadioShack (RSH -12.6%) slumps after S&P downgrades the company's senior notes to CCC from CCC+The agency warns the retailer could default in less than a year unless the cash situation im…
Reply to @JohnChisum: Thanks for the report, it's greatly appreciated.
"In the Philippines, I am aware of a new condo project in a major city on Northern Mindanao. The project was officially announced last Saturday but had been known by many for …
Reply to @Old_Joe: When you bail companies out and label them "Too Big To Fail" and "Systemically Important Institutions" (A systemically important financial institution (SIFI) is a bank, insurance company, or other financial institution whose failu…
Reply to @JoeNoEskimo: I do not see rates going significantly higher in the meantime, given the effect on mortgage rates and how desperately it would seem that there's a desire to continue to push housing.
(Mortgage apps this morning fell to a 2 …
I continue to love certain themes long-term and I'm not going to try and time them.
The market feels like it wants to go higher and I think you're seeing money coming out of fixed income. I don't think there's a "great rotation" and some of that mo…
Reply to @Junkster: Yes, yes, ALL l/s funds are bad.
I'm really not liking PHMDX's 21% YTD gain. MFLDX's 10% gain with minimal volatility is really awful.
There are really some blanket statements regarding sectors/strategies on this board and a…
Reply to @MikeM: You're seeing a number of L/S funds that have become looser with the definition - able to dial risk up and down more freely as they see fit - and they have been doing mostly well, including Pimco's fund and Marketfield.
"I'll admit…
Reply to @JohnChisum: I think it's entirely dependent on the person/situation.
I mean, I could throw together something like this for someone desiring moderate risk with a mid-to-longer term time horizon.
10% SGOVX
10% FPACX
15% YACKX
15% OAKIX
15…
'
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/52136/000119312513311822/d573893d497.htm
ASG GROWTH MARKETS FUND "
Strange fund. An emerging markets fund....and a managed futures fund - in one!
I like MFLDX (although the original I shares are closed.) Pimco's L/S fund has done exceedingly well this year (PMHDX)
The Neuberger Berman Multi-Manager Absolute Return fund has been more low-key, but is an interesting fund, with 9 managers. https…
Bought a bit to put away as a long-term holding. I own Gemalto (produces cards -http://www.gemalto.com/financial/cards/index.html, among a number of other things), Ingenico (makes the point-of-sale machines where you swipe the card) and Visa (paymen…
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-07-31/it-really-isnt-ackmans-day-cit-pulls-jcpenney-credit
It Really Isn't Ackman's Day As CIT Pulls JCPenney Credit
JCP - 14.48 Down 1.78(10.95%)
Until....
Bonds cut losses after FOMC
The 10-year Treasury yield - as high as 2.69% earlier - retreats to 2.62% in the wake of the dovish Fed statement, (TLT -0.1%), (TBT +0.3%).Stocks added a few points, but are about where they were pre-statemen…
Reply to @JoeNoEskimo: It could very easily be a bluff and I tend to think that when everyone is acting like the industry is going to collapse it very well may be. However, I think it depends on one's desire to find out whether or not that is the ca…
Reply to @Skeeter: Energy I continue to like CVX, RDS (A/B) and COP. BOA analyst on yesterday on CNBC talking about how energy was the most underowned it has been in quite a few years.
Telecom I like Canadian Bell (BCE) - which owns channels like…
I'd agree with Hogan. You really have to almost do it by committee (maybe if they live nearby, make it a monthly or every other month sit-down dinner with some discussion about how things are going), because I would not want to have something happen…
I think you have a sector that's already seen significant drops from the highs for the last few years. People tried to pick a bottom, but I can't imagine anyone - analysts or otherwise, saw what was coming this morning that caused this. As I noted i…
I don't think anyone could have seen what happened today regarding Potash coming. SQM is somewhat interesting from the idea that they're not purely Potash (I believe they're the largest lithium producer), but this sector is either a:) going to be lo…
I'd agree with Pangolin. I'd rather suggest buying CEF at a discount of around 3.25% to NAV.
If you must invest in miners, I'd say either go with one of the etfs (GDX, etc) as a trade, or the best fund in the sector is Tocqueville Gold (which has a…
The Nuveen funds are sub-advised by Gresham Asset Management, who also subadvises the commodity futures portion of the Cohen and Steers Real Asset Fund. Their portion of the Cohen and Steers fund is 25-35% and is actively managed.
CFD also uses an …
Reply to @Ted: True. Plus, both funds offer exposure to private equity healthcare opportunities, which I think is immensely appealing. They are also both trading at a premium after trading at a discount for a long period, so while one may want to w…
Despite their recent underperformance, long-term I still like funds with some degree of active management, such as HDCCX/Highbridge or the ARCN/AQR fund, that some ability to capitalize on trends. But that's just me.
http://finance.yahoo.com/echart…
Reply to @Derf: I'm not in it, but I believe it's essentially peer-to-peer lending. You can see the details here on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lending_Club
Reply to @DlphcOracl: Oh yeah re: IL. I think the issue becomes I wouldn't be surprised if they started doing things like Chicago did with selling the parking meters. Ooops, that was a really good revenue stream.
"Mr. Rowey holds up the example of …
I think things continue to be difficult for a lot of people young and old.
The best thing to do is to try not to be depressed - while things may be difficult, try to keep your spirits up. Easier said than done, but it's something I've had to try …
