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.
@dt. Great to see your post. Missed your conversations that are totally relevant for investors of a certain age and circumstance. Facing the same challenges and I am guided Buffet’s Rule Number one.
@racqueteer… A question for you. Excuse me if I am dense. Are you making a distinction between a trade and an investment? And where on that spectrum would we find a speculation?
@BaluBalu. For me it is always easier to make the buy decision then the sell. I have been at this since 1984 and my list of famous and successful managers that I have invested with is a long one. I could not prove it but I think I would be miles ah…
@BaluBalu. With all due respect, a regional war in the Middle East will impact our precious investments and so it is a very relevant topic. If you want total purity of your investment discussions check out bogleheads. The fact is that investments …
@FD. Thanks for pointing out some historical facts and the hypocrisy of the recent calls for Israel to cease fire. A point we don’t hear about too often is that Iran and proxies want to end Israel. That’s a pretty existential threat.
@ FD. For several years the total return on CD’s killed bond funds for everyone but you. The situation was shorted lived but lots of risk free cash flow was fun while it lasted.
@Baseball_Fan. Asking myself the very same question. If this bunch of low risk money is in a taxable account the answer will be different than if a tax deferred situation. Are you willing to increase the risk level for this pile of money? Is it mo…
Speaking as an old guy with hindsight,,,, it always comes back. Speaking as an old guy,,, it might not be comeback in my lifetime. I don’t think younger folks often understand the circumstances of the elders. I know I never gave em a thought. Now I…
@Sma3. All good points. This old retired guy thinks that the 50/ 50 allocation the 4% rule is based on to too aggressive for sleeping well. I am thinking more in terms of dollars at risk instead of %. A 15% decline sounds sorta benign compared to t…
@mark. Thanks for sharing that link. Mr .Kotlikoff convinced me his product is not for me. Having been retired for almost six years I have figured out that the finances of retirement are an always moving target that will defy precision modeling ,,,…
Hey Catch. Maybe those rules, that seemed restrictive at first glance, are really for the investors benefit. We have all seen the numbers showing investors rarely get the numeric return that their fund delivered because of incessant tampering with…
Catch. I like that a lot. At the end of the 18 years it probably beats chasing the fund of the hour every month. Less work, less stress , less second guessing yourself. My old man used to say, “you can second guess yourself to death Sonny boy !”…
Here is my US BANK story. In my effort to leave Schwab Bank I opened a checking account at the US Bank branch where we grocery shop. The folks were uncommonly nice and even professional. I next tried to link the new account with my Schwab brokerag…
Yes Woodward was for racing for some but just cruising between royal oak and north to Ted’s and back. I was at OU and graduated in 71. My go to lake was Kent or was it Kensington? You could rent a row boat. My first command at sea.
Hey Hank. Thanks for finding that. Great stuff. Funny thing about growing up in Michigan,,, The Beach Boys mostly sung about a life we could only imagine except for songs about cars. Did I ever see you on Woodward on Friday nights? Ever been to …
@crash. We never got that far north. We sailed from San Francisco to the cape and then as far north as Loreto. In the summer we went diving every day and even I caught stuff. My dad used to tell me that if it weren’t for sailing I could have been…
@Hank. I agree that people today seem way more bent out of shape over what is sort of mild and shorted lived compared to the old days. And inflation is what you make of it too. We bought an old boat, sailed to the sea of Cortez and lived on a smal…
@soupkitchen and others. You might check out the VOX podcast of May 13 titled “The world after Ozempic.” I became interested after a young family member got a bootleg version from an online shop. He wasn’t willing to change his diet or do any exer…
DG tells us he wants to outperform the market and be less risky. Wouldn’t that be the goal of EVERY portfolio manager? And really,,, he wants to be “differentiated “ but does not seem to be… I know the dude is legitimately a rock star but I clicke…
@stayCalm. I have had my personal banking with Schwab Bank was introduced. Loved it until recently. The refused to let me deposit a check made out to me from Citibank. Apparently they can pick and choose what they will accept. And twice recentl…
Thanks for sharing this link. I wanna like TCAF enough to buy it but its top 5 investments are even more concentrated than the S&P 500. And it’s 10times more expensive but that’s just being petty.
Does size matter? In theory a smaller fund can be more nimble and obviously doesn’t suffer from the dreaded asset bloat. OTOH,,, too little assets can’t support a savvy group of analysts and could be forced into unplanned redemptions in a sell off.…
Hey Old Joe,,, I get that for sure. I just have concluded that having my banking and all the rest tied to a single website is too much simplification and not enough diversification.
If you doing your banking at Schwab bank you lose access to doing any online business with Schwab.com or app is down. It’s happened twice recently. We will be transitioning to a brick and mortar for this and other problems with the no longer reliab…
@Hank. You nailed it…great post. Defensive driving and excellent safety tech can only do so much in today’s road conditions. We often drive from Sacramento to the Bay Area and never see anyone getting a ticket. We see lots of less than legal driv…
I am curious how one fits a go anywhere fund into a well designed portfolio? A big commitment to a go anywhere fund makes even planning for a target asset allocation problematic. Is the attraction collecting star managers and the fund of the momen…
@BaluBalu. If you are referring to restoring my relationship with Schwab the fruit basket did no such thing. My one brokerage/banking simplification plan is being revisited. Some ok pears didn’t change a thing.
Yeah. Apparently gift baskets from Harry and David are well known. I had no idea. They say their pears are famous but I say they were nothing special. The apples were outstanding.
To be fair I have been with Schwab for many decades. I ALWAYS have quick access to engaged and professional reps. Until this experience I have never been unable to get a clear answer and resolution to whatever was concerning me. In this instance I…
@FD. Thanks for your input. I went thru multiple escalations originally thru private client. Got no where. My local assigned rep called me. He,,, like all the others were sympathetic and amazed by my issue. But nothing else …. So I tried chat jus…
The chat rep was gone for five minutes while she was looking for the answer. That made me think she was inexperienced and had to ask a supervisor how to answer my request. I did get an unexpected and unsolicited call from the FC I am assigned to. …
The usual Schwab in that I have had great access to nice folks who agreed with my frustration but no fix. So I tried to reach the so called “client advocacy team “ which I found out was impossible. I wonder if such a team really exists. No one kn…
Rick Ferri says four funds,,, Bogleheads say three. As the dude would say” it’s just like your opinion man. “. And opinions are like something else that everyone has.
