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.
Get back what you've been "escheatmented" (cool word) out of America:
Unclaimed property search (state by state):
unclaimed.org/
Multi-state search:
missingmoney.com/
Countries inflate and deflate money, but time is a constant. Money is a relative value instrument that is used to substitute for time/labor. Time spent can never be refunded. Money spent is always relative and as we have learned it can be created ou…
From Highland's Global Allocation fund's Q4 commentary:
"The equity tape is split and there has been (6) S&P Hindenburg Omens and (6) NASDAQ Hindenburgs since Thanksgiving. The Hindenburg Omen is a technical measure that the team has found inte…
I came across a world allocation fund, HCOYX, which hold an exceptionally large amount of Argentinian bonds...would like to get some manager information a that allocation choice.
From the fund's most recent commentary:
"The portfolio’s fixed incom…
blackrock fund is 60/40 (MSCI World/BarclaysAgg). it is misleading to compare an allocation fund to a pure equity fund.
Thanks for mentioning that fact...maybe Kiplinger is too loose with its definition of what a global stock fund is.
Is there suc…
Final thought:
Interesting partnership the CHP industry has with the Hotel and Healthcare lobby groups.
source:
eliteenergysys.com/whatmakesuselite-parteners-and-alliances.aspx
Maybe the thought here is installing the CHP systems in hotels and ho…
As an added discussion item: CHP Systems Projects and the companies that provide these systems have political support (law enacted to reduce CO2 emissions and improve electrical generation efficiency) and governmental funding support. Here are some …
Mr Alyesworth mentioned that his index fund (GASFX) is based on NG companies membership in the AGA (American Gas Association). Seems qualifying for this index has a bit to do with your membership dues and lobby efforts. Utilities remain a piece on t…
So who is man? Is he the creature that is born to find support from his labor or is he, ultimately, the creature that can replace labor with robots and become more and more creative, innovative, curious, adventurous, exploring, entertaining, etc. a…
Thanks Ted!
The long term performance and management of volatility make SGENX and MDLOX hard to beat.
A fund that didn't make Kiplinger list, but has a long track record of out performing the index and a great ER is VHGEX.
Here's the 20 year pi…
Hi, bee ... Indeed a good find.
It seems I catch a lot of heat, at times, for my style of investing.
What should be added though, and what a not of lot is written on, is when is the best time to buy? My thinking is when good long term holding t…
reflecting for this sector.
http://www.morningstar.com/market-valuation/market-fair-value-graph.aspx
In looking at energy for the past one year period it looks as energy has gone form fair value around mid summer last year and continued to drop to…
Most of these funds are "set and forget."
I have admired BRUFX for many years. Two things that make Bruce a bit different than other Fund companies is that the Bruce Fund has a "mail only" transaction dynamic and you are always fully invested in t…
Interesting that Oil (USO) is off (-8% YTD with a lot of volatility), yet Energy (XLE) up 1.74%.
Since the 2008 low for both ETFs, XLE has out performed USO by a 4:1 margin:
If USO can hold steady... XLE could out perform from here:
... for you see the sleeve Xrays out from a style orientation at 38% LCG, 22% LVB, 18% LCV, 7% MCG, 6% MCB, 6% MCV, 1% SCG, 1% SCB & 1% SCV. SPY Xrays out at 30% LCG, 30% LCB, 29% LCV, 3% MCG, 4% MCB & 5% MCV.
OS...since these funds are ac…
Much of the petroleum we export is in the form of petroleum products. This sector should be a beneficiary of cheap oil. I also think refinery workers realize there are big profits ahead and want a piece of the action.
Any thoughts on funds such as…
No one talks about coal... cheap, plentiful coal. Interesting table below points out that cheap oil has not made a dent in replacing coal for U.S. electricity production.
Our consumption of residential electricity continues to grow...most of thi…
Japan holds first “robotics revolution” council meeting
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed the ‘robot revolution’ council to:
" work out a strategy for using robots as the key means to solve labor shortages amid the declining birthrate and ag…
Could this be your referenced link?
morningstar.com/cover/videocenter.aspx?id=671308
Here's a way to help pay healthcare cost tax free (Draw down your Tax deferred dollars prior to retirement):
Year one:
-Prior to medicare kicking in, enroll in a…
A few active management funds I have screened based on comparative performance within their sector:
Foreign Small Blend - GLFOX
Foreign Small Value - QUSOX
Foreign Small Growth - WAIOX
World Allocation - KTRSX
Europe - CAEZX
This week I have noticed a tug of war going on with AAPL. The news that some traders and hedge funds have sold their stakes has me scratching my head. I can see cutting back some but then again I don't manage a fund either. Will these experts regret…
Bee,
Why are you posting something a year old --- did you look at your link? am I missing something? --- and which was not true then and less so now? Whose debt bubble? As a percentage of GDP? What? All too widespread, and wrong, way of thinking ab…
A response to a "Are we in a stock market bubble?" question from 1 year ago:
"The stock market is not in a bubble. Today is no different than 20% of the time in the entire history of the stock market. This rally is normal.
What we have is a debt b…
@Old_Skeet
Just a little experiment I'm trying.
The differential to me is the risk premium, so peeling off the the risk premium is an actionable strategy that hopefully acts to lower my overall portfolio risk as well as capture gains.
Much like …
How about a list of best ideas for holding / managing "cash/short term money" (use of mutual funds welcome):
I am trying to peel off the quarterly differential between PONDX and PSHDX.
Usually this means moving the difference out of PONDX and int…
Not sure if this fits your thread question about timber, but it seems to fall along the edge of the forest:
A couple of quotes:
"The latest news from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has some economists alarmed, because it shows a potent…
M* agrees with Junkster regarding potential upside for HY Junk this year though it seems to disagree with Junkster's holding periods.
"No matter which vehicle investors choose for high-yield exposure, it's crucial that they have a long holding per…
@JohnChisum
"I was debating the auto insurance issue on rental cars which is a scam in my book."
I found this link for AMEX card holders:
americanexpress.com/us/content/card-benefits/car-rental-loss-and-damage-insurance-terms.html
IMHO...As rates adjust (when this happens is the key) these funds will not provide adequate downside protection. Instead, hold a good multi-sector bond fund and focus on other opportunities as they arise.
I received an email today from turbo tax with an apology for the lack of included schedules and a $25 rebate for having to purchase premier for TY 2014.. Sounds good to me...especially with an additional discount at Costco this month.
bee, I would agree that RMD would seem to be for collection of taxes. But, the fact that RMD tax payment can't be used for Roth conversion when non-RMD tax payment can leads me to think that the policy is really to encourage both tax payment and spe…
RMD is a tax event that executes each year after age 70.5. It roughly equals 4% of one's tax deferred assets the first year and is recalculated each year thereafter based on your tax deferred balance and your life expectancy. The IRS finally wants t…
Here we have a group of foreign countries, aided and abetted by the large international oil companies, publicly STATING that that is their very intention, with respect to the US shale oil suppliers. And we can do absolutely nothing about it, in any …
Over the weekend I compiled a few funds that I hope will be complimentary to my equity holdings. Real Estate and commodities were on my list along with a variety of bond funds (LT / ST treasuries, TIPS, and Multi-sector funds). I also wanted to cons…
Short Side of Long is also a buyer of PM:
"The fact that Gold has barley sold off and still remains above $1,200 per ounce, similar price where it traded 18 months ago, indicates relative strength and buying interest. Other commodities, such as Cru…
I've stopped using my CC to pay periodic auto payments for fear that I forget to connect the dots when my card gets compromised. I received a water shut off notice last year while away from home for a number of months as a result of nonpayment. My C…
A different take on lower gas prices:
Once State and Federal agencies "vote" to raise a higher gas tax onto a gallon of gas we'll be back up above $3-$4 / gallon and then we'll all feel better.
Deflationary cycles often encourage taxing agencies …
