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 @johnN: And I wouldn't be surprised if you get another QE in June. Mort Zuckerman of Boston Properties said on CNBC the other day, ""We have the most stimulative fiscal and monetary policy in the history of this country and here we are thre…
Reply to @Old_Joe: I'd agree with that, and I think the more I have CNBC on in the background and the more I hear, "WHY ISN'T THE RETAIL INVESTOR PARTICIPATING OMG!", the more I agree with that. They don't get why people are upset, they don't get wh…
Vodacom (VDCMY.PK) would appear to be a *somewhat* more low-key way to play in terms of an individual name (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vodacom), although people have to do their research. Naspers is another one (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasper…
Reply to @bee: Thanks. :)
I think it's tough - it sort of reminds me of the value discussion in the Nokia thread. The gold stocks are values. However, for whatever reason (people wanting gold instead of gold stocks, people doing trades of short gol…
Reply to @catch22: "While I am sure there are enough here at MFO who may consider our portfolio mix a bit dim-witted; this house's full retire plan is just around the corner. Cash flow from and working wage will cease. We plan to stay away from any…
lol. I'd like to think it's people recognizing value in the miners, but with my luck it's short covering (I still have a very small position in DWGOX, which - while down for the year - has actually done better than most in the category; it's largely…
Reply to @Shostakovich: I think dividends will do well, but I think what concerns me is that EEEEVVERRYONE wants yield (and I only see that continuing for probably years to come) and the dividend trade became crowded (especially - I think - MLPs) - …
Reply to @Shostakovich: Reply to @scott: Oooh, I almost forgot a huge example of a "value"/turnaround play. Sony. I thought Sony looked like a value at 20, trading less than book value. It's now 15 only a couple of months later. You have these compa…
Many people also bought into RIMM, including some investors who I respect highly - such as Yacktman and Fairfax Financial's Prem Watsa. People believed/believe it has a lot of value. If it does, it's eroding all the time and management doesn't seem …
"Cuggino’s stewardship".
Is there that much stewardship, given the fund's structure and strategy? I don't imagine there's THAT much of a decision-making process, and yet Cuggino is on CNBC all the time. (and he was just after I wrote this, oddly e…
"Wonder what the major brokerage houses that were pumping stocks are going to say now? "Ooops"."
There's a real disconnect that seems as if it's growing larger between the Buffett "long-term" view, the screeching on CNBC every five seconds about th…
My thoughts:
Housing will take years (and quite likely decades, depending) to really ramp up again in general. However, prices are likely close to a bottom in many areas. There's probably another 5-10% of downside and maybe a bit more, depending on…
Malaysian conglomerate Genting Group also bought out the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens and made it into a racetrack/casino. They have also proposed a new convention center. Not much racing related, but a little bit racing and otherwise a global casin…
I own Glencore. Thankfully, I bought a while after the IPO. I think it's a remarkably large-scale, largely unique and diverse play on commodities, with an enormous array of various assets around the globe (including farmland.) It's a long-term play …
Reply to @Old_Joe: I can't see myself doing anything much more throughout the Summer, although I'm not reducing risk, continuing to hold individual stocks that cover themes (emerging markets, hard assets and mobile payments), as well as some broader…
Reply to @ron: Well, I think you are right and an example of the constant whine on CNBC (which at the moment is having a very "insightful" interview with former rapper Vanilla Ice) as to why people aren't getting into the market. Many would rather b…
Reply to @tgeno: Matthews is also now a manager on the multi-manager London investment trust Witan Pacific. Not necessarily a good or bad, just noting the expansion of Matthews. The Matthews portion of the fund (35%) will be their Asia Dividend stra…
Ameritrade has consistently terrific customer service, but I don't like the 180 day holding period for NTF and $49.99 fee for TF funds. Otherwise, good selection of funds and really first-rate CS.
Reply to @Kenster1_GlobalValue: A number of the consumer or consumer-related names are good or great long-term growth stories, but a number of them have run up quite a bit - Ambev (ABV) is a prime example (which is 11% of ECON), and they are issuing…
Reply to @BobC: I like FEMSA in Mexico (FMX or FMXUF), which owns a stake in Coca-Cola FEMSA, Heineken and the massive OXXO convenience store chain. Vale is also interesting at these levels (I think.) Fund-wise, I continue to like the Brazil consume…
Reply to @MaxBialystock: Seriously, you and individual fund houses. I'm curious, aside from your recent experience at M & P, has there been one that you have been quite pleased with?
As for brokerages, Ameritrade has really first-class customer…
Event-Driven is a multi-strategy fund that is more risky than Arbitrage (ARBFX), but still not something that is likely to generate more than singles on a yearly basis. AQR also offers a rather similar fund and there is the former Penn Ave Event-Dri…
You know, this fund really has turned out to be one of those instances where a name (El-Erian - see also the Pimco Global Advantage Bond Fund) was used to sell a fund and while it's not a terrible fund, fairly similar fund-of-funds PAALX from Pimco …
Reply to @WallStreetRanter: Certainly valuations are important (want to buy some Amazon with a 165 p/e and an operating margin of 1.5%?) I continue to like the Asian conglomerates (such as Jardine Matheson), which remain very reasonably valued. The…
The issue becomes there's never any fiscal responsibility in good times or bad and it's only gotten worse in the last decade. If one can be fiscally responsible during good times, there's a buffer there for bad. The spending never stops and the funn…
Reply to @WallStreetRanter: I suppose my view is not a matter of taking on "unwarranted risk", but a matter of viewing issues such as inflation and monetary policy and what effect that was going to have/has. Someone can be negative big picture (and…
Reply to @Old_Joe: Thanks! I think for me it's a matter of trying different paths, looking globally and going with themes that I think will do well over the longer term (EM, real assets including things like Brookfield Infrastructure and even someth…
PAUDX would be lower risk, but has a history of providing nice dividends/distributions. Marketfield is an interesting and very flexible fund that I like quite a bit - I continue to think flexibility will be of great importance over the next decade.
Reply to @Old_Joe: Thank you so much. Definitely not a professional, just a young(ish?) person eager to learn and who is constantly researching, trying, learning - trying to find companies I find interesting globally, looking at new funds, etc. I ow…
PETDX is definitely a more aggressive and different play, and not really one that I would suggest for an older/retired/more conservative investor. I'd rather suggest more to FRIFX. I do own a small starting position in the new Cohen/Steers multi-ma…
