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.
I also own ARTGX, FMIJX and GPROX, so I'm pretty covered internationally, except Asia developed markets and foreign bonds. In addition, I'm looking to tamp down the volatility of my overall portfolio so I was looking for something more risk averse. …
Reply to @David_Snowball: Hi David - In my mind, a "world allocation" fund means a global, multi-asset fund such as PGBAX or BAICX. I don't pay much attention to *M categories as they can limit a search in some cases.
Well I took the plunge with FMIJX - I'm going to DCA over the course of about 5 months to get up to full speed with the sale proceeds of UMBWX. I read David's evaluation of FMIJX here and was convinced that it's a good fit for my needs. I also like …
Reply to @MikeM: HI MikeM - thanks for the reply. While I cannot deny OAKIX's long-term record, I'm not too comfortable with its volatility. I'm looking for something with a bit of a smoother ride than UMBWX.
In my case, I just don't think ARTGX is a true international fund as it has half its holdings in the US. If I'm going to drop UMBWX due to mediocre performance, I would like to have something that fills the void - a true large cap international fund…
Added a little cash sitting in a MMA to THOPX as it seems to be a fairly stable fund in this environment while throwing off a half decent yield. I did purchase a rather large stake in BAICX as I liked its reaction during the interest rate debacle ov…
I'm not sure that I understand all of this. The bottom line is: What is the expected yield on this fund moving forward? I'm seeing a lot of references to capital gains and accrued interest, but what kind of monthly yield can shareholders who bought …
Does anyone else own this fund? I received the latest dividend and it seemed quite low, again for the second month. I've been fully invested for the entire month. Does anyone know what the current yield is on this fund?
Reply to @DavidV: You can always buy MWTRX, which has a slightly higher ER but still good overall. Another core bond fund in the intermediate category would be Dodge and Cox Income (DODIX). This is a fairly conservative bond fund with a reputable ma…
Reply to @Old_Skeet:
Hi Old_Skeet,
I'm more concerned with total return rather than yield so HBLIX would fit into my plans nicely even with the lower yield. The other issue I have with PGBAX is its positioning if interest rates rise. I think it wo…
I'm wondering if it makes sense to sell PGBAX and put the proceeds toward an income-based balanced fund, such as HBLIX, which does hold foreign bonds and dividend paying stocks. It can go international if needed. Its run by Wellington management, wh…
Reply to @msf: Great post, MSF. I like your ideas and input. You are correct that I picked some of the narrower funds to mitigate risk associated with interest rate increases (floating rate, high yield) and ballast (BSBIX). I'm just curious - do you…
Reply to @Old_Skeet: Yes, I purposefully tried to buy bond funds from bond houses or managers that have a good reputation and/or good performance. Thus, you can see that they are from Blackrock, Eaton Vance (Gaffney), PIMCO, Met West, etc.
Reply to @kv968: Thanks for the reply. I purchased the load funds through Fidelity. Thus, they are load waived. Otherwise, I would not have bought them.
The only issue I have with EVBAX is its volatility. I'm not sure I could stomach the volatility associated with this fund if I put all my eggs in one basket.
Well, I recently watched a fairly lengthy interview with Gaffney and she referred to her own fund as an "unconstrained" fund. It does appear that she can do almost anything, including buy equities, with EVBAX. It is load waived at Fidelity. Your ide…
Reply to @Old_Joe: With that said, I'm going to stay away from "off topic" discussions as they are not nearly as interesting as the investing topics on here.
Reply to @Old_Joe: BTW, calling someone a "lemur" and a TV network "relignazi" aren't exactly terms of endearment. They are ridiculous and hateful. I expect better from people on this board.
Reply to @Old_Joe: Not uneasy at all. Perhaps you should think before you tell others to seek counseling. It's an entirely inappropriate and over-the-top comment from an otherwise distinguished board. Surely you can disagree without being disagreeab…
Reply to @Old_Joe: I take exception to your comment. Grow up, Old Joe. You want to start throwing around insults, go somewhere else. I'm sure there is some obscure Yahoo chat room that thrives on that sort of thing.
I'm a little surprised to see all the hate-filled venom about this story. I'm not sure if Maria did something to someone's family or not, but I watch her once in a while and found her to be fairly competent at what she does. I have no opinion about …
Reply to @AndyJ: I would tend to agree that DS probably didn't have the portfolio firmly in place at the beginning of October. He was probably buying throughout the month so the first dividend would not be an accurate indicator of things to come.
Yes, it seems that I've been finding several intriguing funds since Fidelity decided to waive the loads on many of them. The problem is, I don't know which one(s) to choose. LOL
Reply to @MaxBialystock: I'm trying to stay away from a straight EM Bond fund - too volatile for me. I don't need the added volatility in my portfolio. That's why I was leaning toward a world bond fund with possibly a small stake in EM. Any thoughts…
Reply to @hank: Speaking of Price's International bond fund, what is the deal with it? Currently, it is rated 3 stars and a neutral rating by M*. It's long term record isn't very impressive.
