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.
Support MFO
Donate through PayPal
Sven
Lynn,
Thank you so much. I am planning on a 3-year ladder since I am a year away from retirement. Lots of spreadsheet work to calculate the income replacement needed. This ladder will create a steady income stream. So thank you for all your help.
I moved back to high quality bond funds this year. Some of which you covered in the SA article. For now, I will stay with agency bonds to the bond ladder. I will pick active managers for corporate bonds.
Sven
Warren Buffet also recommended broadly diversified index funds for most investors.
I watched Ellis interview and thought it was pretty good. To achieve excess alpha consistently Year after year has been proven challenging and there are few money …
The Boston-based mutual-fund giant, which holds Valeant’s stock in a number of its funds, sharply boosted its holdings in the second quarter
Valeant's stock is taking a beating as their reported earnings being questioned while the company is being i…
The full disclosure is not a requirement, but smaller shops tend to be do a better job. Just because Chris Davis funds disclosed the size of his personal stake in the Davis fund, it doesn't mean I want to invest with them either. The large financi…
It is a good idea for couples to review their finance on quarter basis with respect to their retirement target, kids college fund and others. My father passed away a month ago and there is lots to do even though there is a will in place. We have y…
Not encouraging picture. The more important question is how do they fall behind: (1) inapproapriate asset allocation, (2) sold out in 2007-2008, (3) contribution below the annual limit, or (4) a combination of 1-3.
@Ted, Agree with your assessment that TRP tends to pick solid managers. Vanguard Health Care fund also been successful in transitioning a new manager since Ed Owens retired since 2012. This sector has been trailing S&P index, but over longer …
@MikeM, exactly! Maybe that is the next move in case this approach is not attracting new asset. Fidelity is now offering $ for bringing in new asset.
Nice to know Schwab is offering this. Vanguard offers a hybrid approach with robo and a live …
no more than 0.35%
Fidelity got to be more competitive in light of many robo advisors who much less. What are their unique advantages compared to say Betterment and Wealhfront who charge 0.25% at the asset level above $10K?
Gross's Unconstrained fund is trailing other "unconstrained" funds. The magic is gone, and now he is relating sex on the topic of finance. He made enough money and he can sit on the sideline in cash, whereas many of small investors may not choose …
There is much room to manage the earning number to meet (preferably) exceed street expectation. That is how top level executives get their bonus.
I have been rebalancing lately into cash.
@Old_Joe, That is my exact point. Those who seek income are being forced into riskier bond sectors in order to get higher yields. Other are moving into dividend paying stocks. Both of which carry higher risk profiles, especially in down market. …
@JohnChisum, Like you I am facing the same issues with bonds. Perhaps I am a bit early, I reallocated high yield and emerging market debts to US investment grade bonds, intermediate term. Also I am keeping some in Vanguard Total Bond Index In my 4…
Still early to another entry point. Been trading VDE several times this year for modest gain. Slow global growth is a concern. Exxon Mobil reported poor earning this morning, down over 40% from same period of a year ago.
@Edmond, I agree with your assessment. I review Vanguard's information from time to time, but it is difficult to conceive how a low interest environment can provide reasonable returns on bonds in the future, say risk free instruments such as treasu…
“I think they’re protecting the longer-term interests of their investors,” said Josh Brown, chief executive officer at Ritholtz Wealth Management. “I think it is a fantastic move they are making. Size is negatively correlated with performance.”
The…
Drone investing
Target-date funds are a great financial innovation with the potential to help millions of investors. But if you do set your investments that way, you shouldn’t ever really forget them.
Investors on autopilot may never learn the bas…
We have had saving and checking accounts with BOA. Luckily we found a local federal credit union that can handle majority of our needs. We moved on from BOA almost 20 years ago.
Debt can crush families. While we cannot control what we inherit fr…
This is the product of low yield environment that force those who seek decent income return and not knowing the downside risk. How can one retire relying on CD and treasury?
At present Fidelity is offering a number of index funds with expense ratio a tad lower than those of Vanguard equivalent Admiral shares. Hope this can stem the outflow.
5-star ranked FMI International, which does foreign large caps and costs a below-average 98 bps. That’s a $4.2 billion fund with a rockin’ track record versus its benchmark.
EEM has done reasonably well this year and they are losing asset to activel…
Asset allocation or balanced funds should also be emphasized. Oakmark Equity Income fund was mentioned, but there are a number noteworthy ones including Vanguard Wellington and Wellesley Income funds.
CalPERS's unfunded liabilities are serious problem, and there is not an easy way to resolve it without re-negiate the payout rates to these government retirees.
Actually I am rebalancing now to increase cash position after trimming precious metals and US equity. YTD is over 7% and that is good enough for us. Earning season is upon us in the States and I don't have confidence given the slow global growth a…
@ rjb 112,
That was not the impression I got from my discussion with Seafarer representative, but I could be wrong. For the sake of accuracy, I will ask again on this specific question.
One can invest directly with Seafarer for the institutional shares. If you agree to the automatic investment purchase ($100/purchase), the $100K minimum is lowered to $1,500. Very nice for small investors.
For traditional and Roth IRA, make su…
Nevertheless, US treasury is still the safe haven for the rest of the world. Negative and near zero yields are here among European and Japanese debts. It is crazy that you (the investors) pay the banks to hold your money.
Other suggested to buy …
@rforno,
After all, investing, however you do it, active or passive, looks awesome when everything's going up.
Many investors also learned that actively managed funds don't necessary provide much downside protection as observed back in 2008. Few fu…
Still recalled he invested in Washington Mutual and did not ended well. morningstar.com/advisor/t/42990829/wamu-s-toll-on-oakmark.htm
Let's hope it is different this time around.
The same article also mentioned that Fidelity has launched index funds with even lower expense ratio than Vanguard. Are these funds profitable to Fidelity or just a move to attract new money?
Tough call without knowing the person's risk tolerance, financial goals, and sources of funds. Since she has account with Vanguard, it would be equally as wise to talk with Vanguard advisors, even without using their advisor services.
