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 @Accipiter: In order of preference: #3, #1, #4, #2.
I don't really see a problem with a creating a new category, assuming people play nice and use it. I'm assuming the option to see all posts would still exist as it does now? That isn't …
Reply to @MarkM: Agree 100%. It's just annoying that M* is so pervasive. Fido, for instance, uses their portfolio breakdowns. What are people paying for if they can't get basic info right from a company that provides updates to its portfolios eve…
Reply to @hank: I think they do balanced/allocation funds tomorrow. DODBX will be on that list (and is a likely winner), since DODGX, DODFX and DODIX all got nominated for their respective categories. I'd assume OAKBX might be as well.
Reply to @MarkM: I would be careful using M*'s portfolio breakdowns. They list ARTGX, for instance, as having 44.3% U.S. and 43.8% foreign equities, with 11.8% cash (as of 9/30). Artisan lists the numbers as 48.8% U.S. and 39% foreign equities, w…
Pedestrian moves, but considering selling DODWX for either ARTGX or FPRAX as core "global value" fund (20-25%). Am concerned about Dodge AUM at this point, but have trouble stomaching the ARTGX fee.
Also considering moving from DODIX to a unconstr…
Not really growth funds, but if volatility is your biggest concern, I'd think about TBGVX / TBCUX or the previously mentioned FMIJX. FPIVX and JIFDX / JIFTX could also be considerations, or you could look at any of the low vol ETFs. You could also…
Reply to @msf: I haven't tried to buy anything since they redesigned about 1.5 months ago, but almost every fund I looked at had it's minimum raised to $2.5k unless the fund company require a higher minimum. The minimum purchase thereafter seems to…
Reply to @Alejandro: It has been so-so compared to what?
I mean, if you're comparing SFGIX to the broader U.S. market (up 42.5%) or Developed Markets (up 30.8%) since its inception, sure it looks miserable. If you're comparing SFGIX to its EM peer…
Not familiar with any ETFs that use preferred and common stock the way SFGIX/MACSX do. FEO is a CEF which might be closest. It is essentially a balanced EM bond/stock portfolio. There is a review here in the Funds section.
There are a spate of…
Reply to @MJG: That's all well and good, but wrong. People are incorrectly solving those problems not because they are "innumerate" (can't), but -- as you allude later -- because they aren't slowing down and thinking through what are essentially tri…
Google and download a program called ezbacktest.
It allows you to construct a portfolio of various stocks, oefs, cefs or etfs and compare the historical result to a benchmark you set from records downloaded from yahoo finance. Ezbacktest allows yo…
There should be some sort of an easy fix to keep everyone happy. The preponderance of links, many of which I've already seen, does make it slightly more difficult to navigate the discussion board and follow certain threads. The other day 26 of 30 f…
Reply to @cman: Also amused.
It's misleading to claim SEEDX is 6+% behind the S&P YTD as has been pointed out numerous times by numerous posters and the MFO profile. Ignoring the fund's first day when the index was up over 2.5% and SEEDX's NAV…
Reply to @Charles: Excellent, Smithers...
I knew that was in the works, I just didn't know if/when they were getting it off the ground, and I'm greedy for more. Thanks again for all the hard work everyone on the MFO team puts in! I hope Santa bri…
Hi Charles, just a quick question, and completely thread hijacking, so apologies. I probably missed it somewhere, but did you ever make the entire 3Q fund spreadsheet available? I saw the list of just the Great Owl funds, but never saw the entire …
I've usually had good experiences with Fido, but I had noticed that in the last couple of weeks they've raised their fund minimums for starting and adding to positions well beyond that required by most funds. A lesser annoyance than putting $50k in…
Reply to @Charles:
Last year LLPFX's cap gain distribution was $4.245 per share, reinvesting at a NAV of $25.77.
I'd love to know what they exited, why, and how long they held it.
Well, it isn't a typical "hedging" type fund, but VVPSX, has been having a bizarre time of it lately. It's lagged severely over the last three months (was in either 98th or 99th %ile). Then yesterday led all sc funds by losing only .37% compared to …
Not to beat a dead horse, but here's the actual census report. Everything under the "One or more..." line is a means-tested subcategory:
People by Receipt of Benefits from Selected Programs: Monthly Averages, Fourth Quarter (October, November, Dec…
FWIW:
mediamatters.org/blog/2013/10/28/dishonest-fox-chart-overstates-comparison-of-we/196618
[The] 108.6 million figure for the number of "people on welfare" comes from a Census Bureau's account (Table 2) of participation in means-tested programs,…
Reply to @robertwells: Others make some good suggestions below. Off the top of my head for total return the two obvious suspects are FPACX and PAUDX. Both will hold most anything and will short. SGENX is a global allocator with a traditionally larg…
Reply to @Ted: Exactly.
A proposal put forward by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) to temporarily raise the debt limit and reopen the government in exchange for delaying the medical-device tax in the Affordable Care Act and other concessions seemed to b…
Allow me to echo what everyone else said: it's great to have a place to discuss this civilly. Apologies if I crossed the political divide. Let's hope Congress is reading.
Reply to @scott: There is a lot there, some of which I commented on above, particularly in regards to where the general discord may be coming from in regards to data suggesting the asymmetrical growth of "conservatism" in the GOP and their aversion …
Reply to @MourningStars: In regards to your first question, I would hope every single elected official in DC cares about the U.S. paying its debt obligations. Otherwise the raison d'etre of this whole board is pretty meaningless and we should all g…
OK, lengthy rant to follow. Nothing investment, mutual fund or smart beta related here. I apologize as everyone on this forum seems well educated, follows the news, and probably knows all this already. But this really has angered me, and I feel l…
So as an apology for the soapbox I'm about to get on, I present one Fed based alternative to the debt ceiling: slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2013/01/_1_trillion_platinum_coin_the_debt_ceiling_standoff_can_be_averted_with.html
Thank you for this. I look forward to reading it tomorrow.
For what it's worth, Zweig, in his chapter notes to his revision of The Intelligent Investor, emphasizes the same conclusion you make: DCAing into total market indices is probably the bes…
Reply to @MaxBialystock: PRWCX probably is a little "riskier" than its M* comparison group, which is domestic moderate allocation funds, not equity only funds. For a comparison, the 10 year SD of PRWCX is 11.73, PRDGX is 13.71, PRFDX is 15.43, TRB…
