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.
@LewisBraham,
I'm sure this is true for the very poor, but my point is if you take two co-workers being paid similar living wages over 30 years, the one who was frugal (a saver) eventually has these assets unfairly redistributed to the co-worker wh…
@LewisBraham said,
"Also, my impression is that withdrawals from Roth IRAs don't count towards income for the ACA so there are strategies for those who want to retire early"
It's difficult for a retiree (younger than 65 years old) not have to take …
If life expectancy is currently at 83 for women, that means 50% will live beyond age 83, and a good portion of those will live way beyond 83. As we tell folks all the time, "Tell me when you are going to die, and we will tell you exactly the path…
Nice Interview. A good dose of media alarm-ism shunted by practical economic counterpoints from Florence EID-Oaken (I'm a new fan of this lady).
With regard to US selling oil to China and other countries. Wonder if it will be paid for with US Res…
Recent Article on why not to buy into the hype of alternatives:
" A combination of cash instruments like money markets and CDs along with a high-quality, short-term bond fund and a similar quality intermediate fund will do the trick."
alternative-…
Harnett made a comment on the relationship of gold and the US Dollar. The two typically move opposite one another. Harnett briefly mentioned that investors should pay close attention to their market investments when these two currencies "move togeth…
Two funds that come up on my radar in the multi-alternative space are PONDX and LSIZX.
PONDX (multi-sector bond fund) seems to goose performance with derivatives and is a strategy that charges ER of .79. LSIZX (nontraditional bond fund), though pre…
@VintageFreak,
Nestle makes the very best...Ozarka and many other hydrations.
VF have they contacted you with regard to your single malt? I'll have a double.
nestle-waters.com/question-and-answers
I've found I have to be careful using M* charts with regard to cef's. When you bring up a chart on an oef (e.g., PIMIX in Bee's post above) .
Best, AJ
Thanks AJ that's helpful...wonder if M* could add a chart option. Display one as "PDI nav" and t…
Ha. Most of the screaming has been mine about PDI performance the last year or so.
M* does a nice job of charting total return. If you look at purely a price chart (i.e. yahoofinance) the share price since 6/30/14 has dropped over 10%:
But during…
Neither nerves nor Kahunas of steel.
I agree that a portfolio should have cash and bonds for all the reasons you mentioned. I was just pointing out that we compare these investments (bonds and cash) to stocks as if they are very similar when they …
Any investment over any given period of time can be described as trending either higher (gains) or trending lower (losses) over that time duration. An Investment has to overcome previous market volatility, inflation, taxes, management fees and tradi…
Lewis: Not in my lifetime probably, but in the future greatly shortened work weeks may be one tool to deal with the lack of jobs.
Sounds like a campaign promise,
"I will shorten the work week until we reach full unemployment".
Here's hoping @Ted that your illness is only "a short trip to the woodshed".
One of my favorite Ted threads is when Dr. Ted would prescribe the woodshed for my comments that suffered from LTS... (Low Ted Standards). Maybe you have spent some time t…
Understanding the 'Hold Harmless" provision with regards to SSI and COLAs:
nhold-harmless-rule-protects-social-security-from-medicare-premium-increases
In a related article:
"with demand growth for zinc and other metals waning in China somewhat, with a notable downturn in new construction there among other things, you wonder if, or to what degree, Glencore is chasing down a declining market (in gr…
Since reading this thread I've pinned the word "liquidity" to a few of my remaining brain cells. Here's David Fuller of Fullermoney commenting on the concept of "liquidity" and the recent closure of a highly leveraged etf:
"Generally speaking, a hi…
Lump sum. But I earn my money in lumps.
You must be a prize fighter or crabber (lump crab). I'm a baker... I earn mine in crumbs and slivers and as a result my dough is slowly raising.
Bought gnw bonds yield 7.2%...bb~ rating
Hi @johnN,
Could you remind us how well all of these individual bonds are working for you? Have you found helpful resources for researching individual bond selection and for cost effective ways to purchase t…
@David_Snowball,
This may be an unrelated scenario, but over the next 30 year cycle there will be a large portion of our economy (baby boomers...you included) that will be spending a sizable portion of their retirement as their main source of incom…
@catch,
This approach (buying into a new fund) might have some advantages, but the SEC produced this cautionary article and it seems to be a good general reminder of the success of any mutual fund:
-Scrutinize the fund's fees and expenses
-Know ho…
Do most of the buyers of the new fund also still wait outside all night for concert tickets and apple phones and, dare I say, do you go shopping when the rest of the us are comatose on Thanksgiving?
Sorry, but I just don't get the hype. Nor the ru…
TPP and its impact on Global growth talk about here (Frank Holmes):
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
Trade Pac
TPP webpage from US Trade Office:
https://ustr.gov/tpp/
As I learn more about Roth IRAs I believe there may be diversifying potential with a Roth REIT IRA. Custodians for Roth REITS are hard to come by for small investors, but owning individual properties that are bought (hopefully at a discount), manage…
Bottom line, employees are given a narrow a set of choices within retirement plans to adequately diversify away from Mr Market. When Mr. Market is fickle... it don't tickle.
As I learn more about Roth IRAs I believe there may be diversifying poten…
Doctor wakes his patient and says "I've got good news and bad news."
Patient: "Give me the bad news, first."
Doctor: "You have three months to live."
Patient: "OMG! What could the good news possibly be??"
Doctor: "See that nurse over there? I'm dat…
Lies, darn lies, and statistics.
From the Economist source link came this quote:
"Predominantly private health care in America eats up over a fifth of each household’s budget, whereas the European Union, where public health care is common, only s…
"The men who fail seven times out of ten are considered the game's greatest heroes"
But what of the adversarial pitches and the tenacious defense that were responsible for such a struggled success? Or what of the struggled life itself, outside the …