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 used to take everything there as useful and worth using, but as I have gotten more experienced, I now use it mainly for confirmation and only occasionally for new ideas.
Other than our good buddy here, Lewis, I find a lot of the columnists much …
I don't think we were listed as beneficiaries, just as her heirs. We could have each taken one bond but the bank might have insisted the proceeds go to each of us in thirds. My sisters tend to not like anything financial and there were other issues…
Interesting he thinks energy is expensive although most oil stocks are trading at PE etc well below the SP500 and energy still makes up a tiny % of SP500
I am on Mark's side. I am still a paper addict, but think it is wise not to have to through out 14 full newspapers (NYT and WaPo) a week in addition to three or four slick magazines.
Reading online is not the same to me as on paper.
A large part …
@Old_Joe
Good thing you get it at all. I can't get Barron's delivered and it has to be mailed, so it arrives Tuesday or Wednesday
I get the Economist online, but it is not the same as paper ( nor is any newspaper)
On the other hand it takes me h…
The hypocrisy of "freedom loving, little government" conservatives using state governments to force companies to do their bidding is jaw dropping. DeSantis and Disney is the worst example, but the "ban-ESG" movement has bigger financial implicati…
@msf
The bonds were still in my Mom's name. We thought about changing that while she was still alive, but it would have required us all to go to bank and do the same thing and she didn't have the stamina for it at 99.
I don't remember if we could …
My sisters and I cashed three matured paper bonds my recently deceased Mom bought years ago.
It required the three of us to sit in a bank officer's office for over a two hours signing, notarizing etc. We eventually got the money ( took several mon…
@LewisBraham
I agree, at least in theory that commoditized product producers are probably more easily rewarded for such abuses if they improve the bottom line. But for companies with brand vale and pricing power to be different requires that their…
@Observant1
Thanks for link to Professor Snowball's article on China. There he says small cap funds, are less likely to be in China
One small cap value fund, not strictly EM, that has done well over the years ( That David profiled in 2015) is QUS…
Among other "perpetual bulls" ( it seems) on EM is GMO
For a very long time they have believed Emerging markets will outperform almost everything else, but I think this is almost all based on valuation.
There are a lot of moving parts to try to un…
Seafarer's take on the Chinese Property Bond market.
Not good
https://www.seafarerfunds.com/commentary/the-transparency-problem-in-chinas-credit-markets/
It seems difficult to even screen for emerging market funds that don't have Chinese exposur…
Does becoming a billionaire require you to support actions that if not criminal, are morally repugnant?
Sure seems like that in many cases. Slave labor, child labor, locking employees into the factory, union busting, fighting minimal train safety …
Seeking Alpha has several explanations of the options strategies they use. It is pretty complicated compared to funds that use simpler covered call option strategies, like JHQAX or GATEX for example. I just started digging into JEPI and do not yet …
BTW Blackstone's CEO and 20% Owner, Steven Schwarzman, took home $1.27 BILLION last year, although the stock dropped 40%.
"Behind every great fortune there lies a great crime"
He also was the third largest individual donor to GOP "election denie…
RE China
I try to avoid funds that have an unknown exposure to China, so I use "Ex-China" funds if possible.
If I want to invest in China, I use KBA, Krane Shares China A shares as a pure speculation.
I have serious qualms about China's human…
The 1950s were not good times to have cancer, or be exposed to polio, measles or mumps as there were only just beginning to have vaccines, or to get heart disease. Bacterial disease was on the run as Penicillin was widely available along with other …
I admit I am cynical about the goals of the CEOs of corporate America, but there are lots of small efforts that make a huge difference if focused. Look at "Judd at Popular Information"
Impressive results from Green Century.
Also interesting and i…
Even well regarded ESG friendly BWIAX has 2% in Blackstone. It is unclear what the relative impact of an egregious practice such as allowing unsafe child labor practices has on these ESG ratings.
The ratings are generally vague and rather opaque, u…
@LewisBraham
Thanks for tip on Green Century. Quick look shows they have about matched SP500 while avoiding fossil fuel etc. As 2% is ABBV and MRK 1.5% they are not too focused on inflated drug costs as a social issue.
Their fees are rather hi…
The US does not have capitalism. What we live under is a "corporate socialistic welfare" where huge corporations get federal and state benefits of all kinds ( tax breaks, regulatory pass throughs, sweetheart laws etc) as long as they pay off the pol…
At least on Schwab, Treasuries pay more than a CD up to 18 mos and they are easily liquidated without a penalty and are state tax exempt.
Two and three years CDs are 0.25 and 0.4 % ahead, but who knows what interest rates will be then.
I had a CD …
Looks like the train crew should have had plenty of warning derailment was coming. One axle was on fire for 20 miles, visible on track side cameras. There were probably so few crew on the train no one noticed. The heat sensing alarm didn't functio…
I have never had much success with Vanguard funds, other than the standard plain vanilla stock and bond funds. With a few exceptions they do not seem to know what role they want them to play
@ss24
No I received no explanation from the fund company, just the statement that they changed the NAV ( 2 months later) because it was "incorrect". In an email they did not admit anything other than say they would refund e the money as a courtesy.…
I was sorta like Buffet Didn't want to buy anything I didnt understand and I thought Jobs was a jerk. But letting your emotions govern your investments is usually a bad idea, although there are some lines I can't cross, like "META". I am glad I he…
Why do you think BPRN earnings just spiked? We drove there frequently several years ago when kid was at Princeton. I was always surprised at the construction and new condos etc, all high end, given the NJ tax climate.
I got burned decades ago on non traded real estate partnerships. The main reason for that crash was dramatic tax policy changes, but ever since I am very leery of buying something I can't sell, especially something where you depend on management to …
@mikeM
That's the problem. We live on a dead end road ( over a mile long) and as far as I can tell only one other guy gets a physical paper daily
They go to Florida in the winter so the guy apparently thought driving down here even once a week w…
The money Google spends on their employees is mind boggling. My son's best friend works there.
2 or 3 free high end meals a day, multiple services, allowed to work anywhere in the world
A few years ago the average bonus was $80,000. Probably not …
The other new twist is you can convert up to $200,000 ( used to be $160,000 I think) or 25% of your IRA into a QLAC tax free, so you can lower your RMD. I have not dug into it yet, but I think you can pick an annuity date at anytime in the future, …
I liked the "old" Barron's far better. I could leisurely mull over the articles all weekend.
Unfortunately, I can't even get the print edition delivered at my house anymore. Now it is mailed so it doesn't arrive until Tuesday some weeks
Customer…
I read recently that 60 to 80% of the volume on most exchanges is algos or computerized trading programs that key off of words or phrases in news wires etc
Make sure she doesn't ever want to go to graduate school or if she does Grandparents will step up again.
My son burned up last of 529 on a year of Graduate school
@msf
Thanks for all the detail. Treasury Bills are clearly the most tax efficient for state taxes, but not quite as liquid as MMF, although it is close especially for Schwab accounts that do not have sweep features
I found an ancient document on …
Lots of misinformation out there
Schwab says "Your first RMD must be taken by 4/1 of the year after you turn 73."
This is incorrect. Many people will be 73 when they take first RMD, but it is the April 1, in the year after you turn 72.
Unfortuna…
