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.
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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
Starbucks USED to be make good coffee. Over time they lowered their quality of coffee beans while raised their price. Our favorite local coffee shops are Dutch Brothers and other mom & pop shops.
India plans to raise about $6.5 billion (Dh24bn) by taxing foreign firms for capital gains they made in previous years."
Don't think that move would encourage foreign investment.
@MikeM2, This "AIP" option is a great way to gain access to institutional shares. Wonder how wide spread is this practice among the major brokerages, I.e. Fidelity, Vanguard, and etc?
Don't think a recession is in fourthcoming. Profit margins, however, have been declining as the dollar strengths in last several years. Earning on the other hand is easily managed (more like manipulated) to meet the street' expectation. On top of…
@ John,
Chinese love to gamble and invest.
Mixing investing and gambling together is dangerous especially for inexperience investors. Will the Hang Seng index experience Alan Greenspan infamous phase "irrational exuberance"?
Clancy, JCP, Sears, Radio Shack, etc are all dinosaurs and will eventually be extinct.
I concur. Foot traffic is still heavy in JCP during the holiday. RS stores are in life support mode. Having said that, many clothing retailers could follow th…
Thanks Catch for the link. As for EM goes, it is a LONG term investment that requires patience to ride out the volatility. For more conservative investors, Mr. Foster' Seafare G&I is a solid choice.
Yes. Fidelity executes "market price" transactions in seconds, thus one can make a second transaction right away. Other brokerages work the same manner.
Bear in mind that how fast the trade is really depends on the trading volume of that day. T…
That is the reason that Bereshire Harthaway is on the top 10 holdings in many funds. Some of their successful track record was built upon Warren Buffet stocking skill.
I got a 6 plus over the holiday. Got roomier pants to carry in safety in front pockets. Think those who wear them in back pocket will eventually destroy their expensive phones. My iPhone 4 lasted 4 years and managed to resell it for 40% of the pu…
@Old_Joe, No I live in the States. I have visited Europe in the past and they are different than US for sure. They sure like their 6 week paid vacation and 30 something work hours, but there is a downside to all these stuff.
Still prefer Vanguard's equivalent ETF, VWO: (1) better performance, (b) less tracking error to the same index - use more stocks in the index instead just the top 200, and (3) lower ER.
Our family don't consume much of sugar-based soda for a variety of health related reasons stated here. Instead we drink water came from our reverse osmosis filter unit that was installed awhile back. The only consumables are the filters and the co…
Maybe this is why the asset is moving to oversea, particularly the developed markets.
marketwatch.com/story/investors-flee-us-stock-funds-at-a-rate-last-seen-in-2009-2015-03-27
The equity return is expected to be small, then bonds would be in wors…
However, I wouldn't completely dismiss cash as a part of one's portfolio. It does add stability and a store of cash would have come in mighty handy in March 2009.
@Hank, I concur. There are many who still remember 2008, and they have good reason…
@ Scott. I still have a VAIO laptop that runs on XP. It was a solid built machine for its time. Now we use Mac laptops and they are fast, light and well-built.
MSFT store I went sells Xbox, games, Windows based cell phones, and Windows 8 co…
If the past is any indication of the future, typical rate of increase is 25 basis point. CPI is one of the indicator for inflation the Fed uses and the number is tame. So it is likely to be small and extended over several years unless inflation ac…
@Scott,
At some point, there will be more in the way of digital downloads. You can already download games via XBOX Live and Playstation Network. I can pre-order a game and download it and have it ready to play at midnight on release date. I don't s…
I remember fondly that RS was the store I used to get parts for science fair projects as a fifth grader. Certainly the world has changed...I just helped my fifth grader to build robotic vehicles with programmable capability from LEGO kits.
@Hank,
Agree with what you said. Vanguard, however, is not a public trade company and is owned by the shareholders like you and I. so there is less concern on conflict of interest.
Over the years our family's approach have evolved and index fun…
I visited a nearby store for my kid's games and NOT particularly like what I see. They are going down the same path as Best Buy where Amazon can provide the same goods for better pricing. In terms of service, the store I visited is ran by a high s…
Future $ value calculator.
observationsandnotes.blogspot.com/2013/04/what-will-1-be-worth-in-future.html
For those who have access Financial Engines, it provides more detailed computation based on historical inflation rates (at least 40 years), r…
Most people don't appreciate how inflation alone erode the value over time. So it is important to have returns that exceed annual inflation rate just to stay afloat. Think about keeping cash in saving accounts that pay next to zero % interest!
The month of June is still on the table, but it is likely to be on the latter half of 2015. More importantly is how fast the increase is. Note that interest sensitive sectors including REITs have responded quickly this week.
@Scott, I agree. I listen to his interviews and all. He knows his stuff and couldn't translate them into results for his investors. Think he got too much of Bill Gross.
The average duration of active manged funds tend to move. Equally as important are the quality and oversea exposure. Dan Fuss's Loomis Sayles bond fund is difficult to into one these boxes. Downside risk should be part of the analysis in additio…
Certainly he is no Michael Price of Mutual Series funds. From investor perspective, it is hard to see your $ is invested in a sinking company among other poorly managed companies. Question is , should you stay or should you go? Didn't the Clash h…
