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 am 66 and will defer SS as long as possible (to age 70), but in the event of another big market meltdown, I can always take it sooner. My wife and I can probably live comfortably off our portfolio alone until 95, but we also want to leave somethi…
You all are reconfirming for me why I have no holdings with this fund family. Their fund structure seems full of marketing costs to what otherwise are low cost funds.
Thanks to everyone who commented.
@bee: From Scott Burns's Website AssetBuilder.Com: DFA vs Vanguard.
Regards,
Ted
http://assetbuilder.com/investing/dfa_vs_vanguard
Thanks for the link Ted:
Article quote:
"Vanguard is a first generation of index funds. DFA is a second generation…
A recent platform change at USAA Marketplace now offers DFA funds (TF).
Does anyone have a set of favorite Dimensional Funds?
A DFA fund with an interesting focus and a very spicy ticker symbol is DFUKX. United Kingdom Small Cap Fund which I thin…
When I consolidated my kids student loans I essentially merged a set of variable interest rate loans into one locked rate and one loan. June is a good time to compare what next years student loan rates are resetting to and what the potential consoli…
A while back I bought into a income fund that is multi asset in nature. My thinking on this was a place to park money for the short term before it goes into cash instead. For example, if I keep 12 months cash available, I would have 3-5 years in thi…
Dex, STHBX a dog of a dog. In the same short term junk arena it is completely outclassed by ASHDX and OSTIX.
I was going to suggest a combination of OSTIX and WHIYX.
ASHDX has a short history from what I have researched.
I recently converted a small portion of my Traditional IRA to a Roth. At an advanced age, conversions work best if you can identify a beaten up area and convert at a very low NAV and than play the bounce. My chioce for such a fund was QRAAX, a re…
@Old_Joe "What I've heard said by thems that know" (get ready for a dodgy reply)...
One approach might be a 'fund of funds' that hold is a series of bullet bond etfs. These bullet bond etfs would expire at their maturity date and a new "wrung" (bul…
Dan Fuss who was managing bonds during the 70's and 80's has mentioned the importance of laddering bonds. Not sure if this is best accomplished in a bond fund or by buying individual bonds.
Fireside chat with Dan Fuss:
Dan Fuss with Jim Sarni
@MJG Negative market returns are part of the picture. The other piece is the recover time. What I mean here is, "how long will it take for your stocks to recover from periodic negative returns?"
Segregating your portfolio according to MaxDD (risk) …
I am actively looking for these kinds of investments.
@Dex got me thinking about what he called "near cash". I interpret this "near cash" as the portion of my portfolio that is available to supplement yearly income and the occasional emergency. @D…
Lots to digest here...burp.
I wanted to gather some best idea here:
1. Work out a budget, revise as necessary... long term success to your investment portfolio is figuring out how to live well without overspending your wealth. (Dex, Junkster,hank…
Thanks for this article Ted.
I'm look at this article from the eyes of retiree in their distribution phase of life.
Retirees can't depend on current working income to buy "assets on the cheap" when markets periodically correct. When trying to ride…
I didn't see a list of felons...just names of friendly neighbor "hood" banks. Nice to know that my mortgage interest payments to Citi are going to good productive use.
I'm not fine with just fines.
Nice work Dex.
Some thoughts. I'd be a little worried about a swoon that lasts longer than 4 years and how it would put pressure on your near cash invested assets. A lost decade? Sound possible?
Would it be worth breaking out your invested reserve…
Not sure the jobs your referring to (assembly line work) will be tomorrow's high tech jobs. When it comes to this kind of production (washing machines), the more robots the better. Robotic manufacturing has turned a dirty, tedious, and sometimes dan…
Thanks for the read.
From my perspective, most humans are basically lazy (not fond of work) and often unwilling to follow instructions properly. Machines do not tire nor complain, yet need specific man made instructions and components to operate p…
As Ted's linked article mentioned, Vanguard's Target Date Funds seem to be composed of these very same funds and age appropriate percentages. These target date funds automatically re-balance and do this at a lower cost and lower minimums.
For a 35…
Final quote from your linked article:
"Moreover, energy stocks themselves are among the worst way to play a bounce back in oil, which is very counterintuitive. 12 months after a bottom in oil, we see a subsequent 70% rally but energy stocks have bee…
The Fed published these results in 2015 for the year 2013:
On Home Equity:
"Another measure is to compare net worth to the median sale price of an existing home in the last several years--- about $200,000. Do that and you find that the net worth o…
Thanks scott. Seems to be an interesting site. Can you look up only the fund family?
It looks as though you need to enter the management company name for example Primecap Management or Vanguard Group.
Regarding your Jive data site...
Playing around with some of it's features I realized its a good way to monitor what fund managers within the fund family are buying or selling. For example, I entered Price T Rowe Associates (TRP) and by reorganizin…
They are also "pushing"...into stock strategies:
"The new Pimco strategies will be based on indexes created by Research Affiliates. The firms aim to boost returns and protect from volatility by rating companies based on their size and other economi…
Thanks Ted,
More specifically this article refers to understanding the yield curve. Here's a quote from a recent article I link which I'll include here as well.
Quote:
"The problems with the economy and the stock market don't start with the first …
If anyone is interesting in a Webinair (May 20th @ 2pm) on the topic of "A New Look at Social Security: Coordination with the Retirement Portfolio" register here,
A New Look at Social Security: Coordination with the Retirement Portfolio
I watched a great segment last night on Teddy Roosevelt and his crusade to reform Trusts (Corporations) around the 1900's. Roosevelt crusaded for these reforms for the betterment of the state (and it's people). He argued Trusts had an obligation to …
I wonder, and wondered that about similar type investments for a long, long time. In my case it was specifically centered on 1) energy MLP's
Thanks Mark, but again, I first learned about HC spending time at FundAlarm (MFO's inspiration). Learning …
Just wondering why anyone would buy LEXCX. With only 21 positions that never change it seems like you could create this fund on your own without incurring the expense ratio and you have more control over any tax consequences of redemptions. I gues…
I charted an investment in FCNTX on the day Will Danoff became the funds manager (09/17/1990) vs. LEXCX.
I wanted to indulged your chart a bit further. 1990 was about the time when I first invested in Vanguard Healthcare, VGHCX. Here are LEXCX, FC…
Let's create a slightly longer list:
This one has been around the block:
LEXCX - 21 holdings and (edit: 0% turnover...thank you DS)
This is fairly new:
JOHIX - 31 holdings and 60% turnover
Additional Article on the topic:
the-risks-and-reward…
Do You Own Puerto Rico In Your Muni Fund?
"According to Morningstar almost 70% of municipal bonds mutual funds hold Puerto Rico bonds as of February 6, 2014."
do-you-own-puerto-rico-in-your-muni-fund
From article:
“the QE trade is not over” and yields should soon reverse their rise once markets stabilize. “I continue to see U.S. rates under downward pressure as a result of money printing abroad.”
My Take:
The worry of raising rates should not …
If you're considering using your IRA to help contribute to your wife's IRA, why not consider using these dollar to help fully fund a Roth IRA(for your wife) and even a spousal Roth IRA (for you)?
You may already be taking your "RMD" as a result of …
@bee Hello Bee ! Remember the early bird !
Regards,
Ted
http://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/20760/barry-ritholtz-the-remarkable-life-and-investing-lessons-of-ronald-read
I will Edit with Credit...I owe you one...(at least)...so…
Franks Holmes loves to talk. His free e-newsletter is one example of excessive "word-smithing". Most of his funds have been destroyed by commodity deflation.
Here's a link to all of his funds and their performance...nothing but poor performance and…
Aside from the RMD calculation, why would these distribution arrangements (tax collection) be any different than tax deferred IRA distributions made at 59 1/2?
