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've heard some of those radio ads. Kinda figured they didn't pass the 'smell test'. But then I've heard pitches for time-sharing units, "9% yields backed by 'hard assets'" and pitches for (essentially) penny stocks.
There are a lot of sharks ou…
The historical analog that strikes me is the last days of the Roman Republic. The patrician classes bought large swaths of farmland, then employed slaves to work the fields. The family farmers could not compete with slave labor. Deprived of th…
John, you nailed what I think is the biggest issue -- the coming tsunami of labor-replacing (rather than labor-enabling) automatons. The other issues, while daunting, are primarily 'only' monetary/economic.
But, the prospect of displacements …
Mr. Boockvar's factoid is news to me, but I assume it's true. --- Which begs the question how the narrative (foreigners dumping ZIRP sovereigns, bringing their money stateside and buying Treasurys) has taken hold, despite the fact that its apparentl…
Another 'heavyweight' manager is (was) Ken Heebner. His realty fund is REALLY sucking wind this year, even though the real-estate index is up nicely YTD.
What happens? - The SMART ones leave/quit/retire while on top. Think: Peter Lynch at Fideli…
Sovereign indebtedness has continued to increase since the 07-08 crisis. Much of that used to boost ongoing consumption until the economy returns to "old normal" growth rates (which is just not happening). Govts have 'carried the ball' for almost a…
As regards the absolute-funds, they have certainly been disappointing in the whole. They seldom deliver consistent, positive returns, which for me, is what I would be seeking. And they charge too much for promising very little -- and then deliv…
Net fund opg expenses on the 'Investor' class share, AFTER fee waiver: 6.46% of net assets...
And I've heard of 'Investor', 'Institutional' and even 'Y' class shares before. But if you buy their "Ultra" class shares (minimum of $350 MM) your …
Couldn't agree MORE re Joe and ALL the Squawk Box crew. They've really overstayed their welcome. But the same can be said of all-day financial news networks generally. Its a holdover from the 90's bull market. Besides NOT THAT MUCH HAPPENS…
One comment further, regarding correlations in 2016...
YTD 2016, the AGG, SPY & GLD are ALL up. As is EEM, PCY, & VNQ.
This is HIGHLY unusual, to have all such disparate assets up. This 'correlation' YTD, is not due to inherent correl…
LLJB: "I was therefore surprised the other day to learn that gold is more or less uncorrelated to the stock market."
Reply: I am going to reply specifically to your premise -- which I assume you meant to say that gold and stocks are not invers…
P/E’s are only “high”, “low” are “moderate” relative to where the market – and individual equities – have traded in the past. Either the range of multiples that markets have traded at in the past is meaningful, or its not…
Here, now, today, th…
ducrow, I was on that exact same program you cite (buy new and HOLD on). --My prior car (a Civic) I bought new (April 15,1999). I just traded it in (Mar 2016).
As for the truism of "instant depreciation"... well, OK, if I wanted to immediat…
The article seems to be comparing leasing a NEW car vs. buying a USED car. That is really an apple-to-orange comparison isn't it?
If you buy all your clothes 2nd hand at the Goodwill store, yes, you will be paying less than going to Macy's. May…
Out of curiousity, I took the Fidelity and Schwab robo-advisor interviews. Without going into detail, its apparent the inputs their algorithms use in developing a proposed allocation are way too superficial and do not adequately understand a cl…
No doubt there are several factors which have a material impact on the slow GDP growth.
1. Debt. Much of the demand we might have expected to exist in 2016 (and 2017, 2018, etc) has already been pulled into prior periods via the use of debt. Fis…
The politization of Barrons in recent months, notably trashing Trump at every opportunity, and now with this proposal is very off-putting.
If we are serious about exerting pressure on companies due to environmental concerns, then perhaps we shou…
Bob, for any one who has decided to invest -- not trade -- AU, I'd recommend they consider purchasing/holding physical AU.
The primary reason I suggest this, is that unlike owning mining stocks, bullion ETFs, or OEFs, buying/holding the physic…
Thanks for the post.
My employer's 401k added that Marvin Straus-managed fund to our 401k ~ 18 months ago. Never understood why. It made huge overweight bets in certain sectors (energy, at exactly the wrong time). And there is no real-time in…
That's what happens when a bond manager exercises prudence with respect to credit and duration, and money keeps pouring into the fixed income market.
I'm quite happy with his prudence. I'd prefer to not be chasing performance here.
They seem generally high-beta relative to their categories, which loses my interest immediately. Recent mediocre performance (2- and 3- M* rated) With high E/Rs.
-- And so they are allowing to give them my money? Well, yippee!!
With the pr…
That's an interesting webpage, one I've visited in the past. But casual viewers should use those Vanguard-collected status with care.
Consider:
The span of those 'average returns' is 89 years. "Averaging returns" is a mathematical exercise, …
I really don't give Tgt-funds a thought until I see a thread about them.
Besides the cost, don't like their allocations based on the age of the investor, rather than the cheapness/dearness of the sundry assets they invest in. -- The capital-marke…
Yes, its going to get worse. Especially as robots (who contribute NOTHING to payroll taxes ) increasingly replace work-age humans who do.
Some ideas:
Authorize & require Medicare to negotiate drug pricing, like govt health ministries in othe…
A couple things:
I think the TERM 'multi-asset fund' (with or without income) is a creation of fund-industry marketing types.
Any old-fashioned balanced fund which emphasizes income is a 'multi-asset income fund'. (MAIF) I own one, its calle…
Jim hosts a stock-picking show.
Stock-picking is of very little importance if investors decide to take the mutual-fund path.
I find Jim immensely entertaining, sometimes informative, usually level-headed. But like anyone else on Wall Street, J…
B4 I clicked on the link, I formulated a theory as to what might have contributed to the underperformance vs. AGG. -- I then clicked on the link, and found JG's explanation mirrored mine.
I then contrast the UNDERperformance of DBLTX with the…
I think the benefits of ETFs vs OEFs are being oversold. Low E/Rs are great --- but those can be had by OEF investors too - Vanguard OEFs are certainly not expensive.
The biggest DIS-advantage of OEFs for this writer are inconveniences imposed b…
I'd ditto BobC's comment. Pricing is at a premium, because a lot of folks have had the same thought you have had -- but they've already bid up the prices when committing capital. As with any capital assets, its not only about the security's ch…
A couple of things:
Who are these investors that may rush their billions of $ into REITs --- and how is it, if they are interested in owning REITs, that they are uneducated/unfamiliar with REIT-dedicated ETFs such as VNQ or IYR...? (not to mentio…
betting on Canada is essentially a bet on the price of WTI. If WTI soars, Canadian equities will do well. If WTI continues to plunge, Canadian equities will not fair well. --- Yes, besides oil/resource firms, Canada has world-class banks. How…
The article indicates if one had put the money in REITS, rather than the S&P, one could have done even better.
The problem with these types of articles is there is they are based on a single "end-point". --- With stocks near all-time highs, and…
Wild?
"..(In his heart of hearts, I suspect, Mr. Buffett is probably a 100 percent kinda guy.)"
That is a quote.
I think its 'wild' the author has the ability to intuit what is in another person's 'heart of hearts' -- and that he is so confiden…
