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 just reviewed my credit report and 80% of my monthly debt is associated with my home in the form of a first mortgage (4%/30yrs) and home equity (3%/15 yrs). I recently took out a first mortgage on my (free and clear) home and used the cash to purc…
Hawaiian's love their SPAM...stop by a local 7 - Eleven for SPAM Musubi (SPAM, seaweed wrap and sticky rice)...best breakfast ever with an egg omelet inserted in the middle:
SPAM Hawaiian Style:
afterglobe.net/hawaiian-spam-musubi-recipe/
Possibly a related link to the jobs report:
A-D Line Foretells Job Openings
mcoscillator.com/learning_center/weekly_chart/a-d_line_foretells_job_openings/
Don’t misunderstand – I did not predict these crashes.
But crashes, like heart attacks, have warning signs.
Can you share some present day warning signs?
@Old_Joe,
Great, now he has to come up with another profile name...I suggest MAX_PI. A combination of his former self, his affinity for a particular Matthew's fund, and a great dessert.
In th CAA category (Conservative Asset Allocation) USBLX is ranked #1 In The (CAA) Fund Category By U.S. News & World Report.
Ted, My 91 year old mom says..."try it, you'll like it."
money.usnews.com/funds/mutual-funds/conservative-allocation…
These new lows translate into capital appreciation for holders of LT treasuries...as Mark Twain once commented:
"...reports of my death was an exaggeration!"
I backtested your two fund portfolio by creating three distinct portfolios using your two funds in differing percentages. The starting balance was $10,000.
Portfolio 1 - POAGX =20% & PIMIX =80%
Portfolio 2 - POAGX =40% & PIMIX =60% (your …
Listen to Dan Fuss explain how it's done (He's a bond manager who was around 30+ years ago). He is a fund manager who looks and, more often than not, finds risk adjusted opportunities :
fuss-trounces-bond-rivals-by-thinking-like-a-stock-picker
I love Sears, always have. Have bought lots of things there over the decades....Poor Sears. I am going to miss them. Great place to buy all sorts of things are good prices. Nice stores and staff too.
One of Sear's best efforts...we have many of thes…
@JohnChisum,
I have often heard that Sears is more valuable as a Real Estate company (collecting rental leases) on the shopping centers they own. Of course, like BBRY's patents, real estate is an asset that doesn't move stock markets and therefore …
Here's a one liner on Sears from the FAIRX July 2014 letter:
"Sears remains the Fund’s least successful investment, yet has the highest potential based on our estimates of tangible values."
BBRY seems to fall into this category of companies that …
@Old_Joe,
As a former paperboy who had the "privilege" of delivering to the editor of the paper I learned early on editors don't tip. In my case, I couldn't even collect for the cost of the paper.
It was "aut facite"...latin for "do it or else".
I agree Jerry. I try to segregate all three into distinct investment "pools". Having three separate invesments pools (Stock, bonds,& cash) allows an investor to d.c.a. into each over time, reallocate/rebalance periodically and not have the need …
I would love to see longer term charts (5 year charts) that rolled through major events and trends. I believe recent events and trends such as the Fed Asset Purchase program, Obamacare, war on terror, global warming, and too many Technological disco…
From Boglehead.org:
"The fund was created in 1985. In 1987 the New York Times noted: [2]
In the past two years, a number of firms have revived the 1960's fund-of-funds approach, in which a money manager invests in a variety of mutual funds, ra…
How about Thompson Bond, THOPX, as a under the radar ST bond fund? Holding a lot of bbb issues right now (I might consider it more of a ST High yield fund)
Thanks David,
Owning MAINX provides the following country exposure as of 3/31/14:
The first and last (Cayman Islands and The British Virgin Islands) seems to hold some intrigue, especially the over weighting of the Cayman Island bond Issues.
…
Related article form Reuters:
reuters.com/article/2014/08/14/hedgefunds-filings-buffett-idUSL2N0QK2DA20140814?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews
Ackman taking on (sueing) the US government's over their handling of profits from Fannie and Freddie. A successful outcome would help Bruce B's fund (FAIRX) as well (which I would appreciate).
reuters.com/article/2014/08/15/us-fannie-mae-freddiemac…
There is only Vintage Freak I, there is no Vintage Freak II, or Vintage Freak Strategic. I hasten to add, this was not a Tactical decision either, but how nature intended it to be.
That's pretty funny...now I'm gonna spend the rest of the night thi…
TIAA-CREF.
A quick screening produced these choices...notice that TIAA-CREF has multiple offerig of the same investment (lots of duplication). Good Luck and con"grad"ulations!
Also, aren't there student loan forgiveness programs out there for th…
@Old_Joe
Egypt already has a trade free zone with Europe:
ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/countries/egypt/
The World needs the middleman:
Looks like Egypt might be a winner with it's lastest trade deal with Russia:
" Amid Moscow’s full ban of EU, US, Australian, Canadian, and Norwegian food exports to Russia, Egypt said it is ready to boost agricultural deliveries to Russia by 30 per…
Frontier markets (using TRAMX and WAFMX) showing strong mo (momentum)
EM seems like a mixed bag:
-MAKOX (Korea), EWW (Mexico) both showing strong mo (making new highs)
-LC China seems to be coming off recent lows (MCHFX) yet, small companies (MCSMX…
Is the "N" word...Nuclear...still pollutionally incorrect? I don't think more wind mills is the short term answer to EU energy needs. Idle nuclear plants might be the intermediate term solution until additional LNG facility come on line. I believe e…
To go back to catch22's question; maybe there is an answer not in the phone but in the aid the MIL has? Some kind of aftermarket connection that she can use to have phone conversations?
One can improve the phone calling experience for a person with…
@ron,
SPLV seems to perform very similarly to VDIGX. Here are the two over your holding period (actually three years):
The nice thing about VDIGX is it can be backtested over 21 years. Here's a chart comparing 100% VDIGX (SPLV) vs. a 60/40 blen…
@ron,@Catch22,
Calling LT treasuries "equity insurance" might have sent this discussion down the wrong path. Maybe a better analogy would be a portfolio shock absorber. LT Treasuries often out perform at times when equities underperform. Personally…
