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.
According to AAII, the survey measures the mood of only about 300 mostly male investors, averaging about 60 years, who elect to participate. AAII considered whether their survey is a reliable contrarian indicator and concluded that it had mixed res…
I'm really surprised that one of my very long-term investments, Franklin Mutual Global Discovery (MDISX), made this list, with an eye-popping outflow of 16%.
It has a great long-term record (even though Michael Price is just a fond memory). Soli…
Three fund families is an easier means for me to categorize my investments:
Mutual Series Funds.
T Rowe Price (mostly PRCWX)
Meridian Funds.
[The later has gone through a change of ownership which has me a bit uneasy. Their Equity-Income fund,…
Not any weirder than Morningstar accepting ads from the very funds that it is rating. Conflict of interest might be a better term to describe their actions.
This is a story that deserves a lot of thought and discussion.
One of the fundamental beliefs we’ve had when investing in funds is that we will get our money back when we want it. Sure, we’re vaguely aware that somewhere in the legalese (those p…
I would say my biggest investment mistake over the years--which keeps me from being included in the ranks of the greatest investors--has been my selling stocks/funds/real estate at the wrong times. Fear does that. If I had just kept everything I h…
Starwood (Sheraton Hotels) received an offer to be acquired by a Chinese company (a higher bid than the bid by Marriott). So the hotels will be managed by the Chinese.
I was hoping to use my Marriott points. Lost opportunity.
So, Vanguard is another American company that outsources jobs, fires older employees, and blocks lower employees from earning bonuses. How sad.
I guess that's why I'm voting for S...(no, I won't say his name. I don't believe this is the right for…
I suggest that everyone reread Warren Buffett's article published in the New York Times on October 16, 2008. That is when he told us he was investing his personal funds in the market. (The rest of his wealth was in Berkshire Hathaway)
Buffett gav…
If I remember correctly, Peter Lynch recommended that everyone invest 100 percent of their assets in stocks. He claimed that over the long term, even if you bought at a market top, you would do well. I believe he convinced some universities to pla…
David: Thank you for your comments. One of the reasons I picked Janus Balance fund was because of a positive comment posted by you. I'll stick with JABAX and check out the ETFs you mentioned.
So, I recently invested in Janus Balanced Fund in hopes that it would duplicate my good results in Price Cap App fund (which is closed off from my other assets). Morningstar is now downgrading the Janus fund because the manager is leaving and other…
I just checked on the website for Longleaf Partners and as of Dec 31st Cheasapeke Energy was a 5 percent holding, and they were showing a big prior loss in that stock. I noticed Wynn was a 7 1/2 percent position. I'll bet that's working out for the…
FAIRX was one of Morningstars' darlings for a long time. So was Longleaf Partners until it crashed and burned in 2008/2009. The Longleaf manager has a habit of picking losers, including the old GM, Dell, and more recently, I believe, Cheasapeke wa…
The negative numbers get even worse, if you look year-to-date. Some popular growth funds at Price demonstrate how this bear (?) market is beginning to inflict some real pain: PRGFX -14.54; RPMGX -11.87; TRBCX -14.52; PRNHX -14.20.
The article credits some of the top fund families for having bought strong growth stocks ("fang" stocks). Well, now that those overly popular stocks are collapsing, an updated scan would probably show these fund families are among the biggest loser…
I sold this dog several months ago, when there were stories about its having bought troubled debt. It's down 6.3% since this year's high. Good riddance!
My investment in Meridian's Small Cap Growth Fund has done nicely. Morningstar gave it a bronze rating. The fund was number one in its category at the end of its first year. Lucky guess by me.
On the other hand, there are funds popular on this s…
How many of us bought RSIVX believing the managers would buy conservative investments and avoid risky situations, while minimizing the downside when interest rates rose? I've kicked this fund to the curb. Good riddance!
There won't be much faith in capitalism in any country that can't provide good paying jobs with benefits. Globalization is killing the American Dream for those who can't find an opportunity to earn a good living.
MSF: I'm not sure why we're getting so deep into the weeds. Let's agree to disagree on the law's original intent. As an old lawyer, I can attest that Congress' original intent is often shaded and interpreted differently over time as laws are impl…
My computer crashed a few days ago, so I'm limited in what I can give you on my iPad.
One article that explains the purpose of file and suspend is a March 25, 2014 Reuters piece by Mark Miller:
"Too clever by half? Perhaps, but it's completely le…
The articles I've read said that file and suspend was intended to give an additional incentive to encourage retirees to wait until age 70 before claiming their reirement benefits. The procedure would give them at least some payments while they wait…
RJB112 and Scott: Thank you. Great responses.
I'm taking Sequoia off my watch list. I'm not keen on focused funds. Too volatile and subject to serious downside if managers make a mistake (think Longleaf Partners and General Motors; or Dell, for…
Does anyone believe that health care prices aren't outrageous? Put me in the camp that's ready to vote for price controls on doctors, hospitals, drug companies, etc. Greed has taken control of our medical system. It's immoral. As a country, we c…
Yes, I can see how the far right would fret (hope) that Obama is going to terminate Hawaii's statehood. After all, that would then prove that Obama doesn't have a legitimate U. S. birth certificate!
[I'm sure that when Trump is president he will r…
The investment approach of the Meridian Value fund was maintained, along with its managers, and their office. But the Growth Fund was changed. Morningstar published an article on October 15, 2013, “Arrowpoint and Meridian Funds a Good Fit,” which …
I still own the fund, and think it's future is bright. I just don't think it is entitled to claim credit for the performance record of the prior ownership.
Readers who are using the Great Owl approach might be mislead if they think Meridian Grow…
They may need to bring back the specialists on the floor of the exchange. The amazing swoosh down--20%-30%-- of some big stocks (and the ETFs) was simply amazing. Investor confidence can will be lost if they don't fix this problem
I found the discussions to be very informative. It gave us an indication of what the members are watching and how they are thinking.
I appreciate Bloomberg's efforts to provide viewers with intelligent discussions, as opposed to CNBCs efforts to d…
I would think the sponsors of the ETFs would act as market makers during panics. They have the ability to buy and sell the underlying shares contained in the ETFs, in order to offset imbalances, so they should be able to figure out a way to maintai…