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
Robert Arnott often touted as one of the smartest manager in the business. Why are his Pimco funds, All Asset and All Asset All Authority, are so uninspiring! Let's hope they can use his talent better.
I reduced MAPIX early last year and invested with Andrew Foster's Seafarer fund. Likely will repeat again this year. Lack of transparency (or clarity) in their reporting is really unfortunate.
@Kevin, not sure if that is a apple-to-apple comparison between Seafare and Thornburg funds. SFGIX has smaller exposure to EM space than that of THDIX, thus this reflect in the statistics shown. Besides the managers take on different approach wit…
The rate hike is coming either as early as June or early 2016. Historically markets have survived and thrived in higher rate environments, don't see how this one will do worse.
Someone reminded me the "Pi" day and the flash back to the slide rule days. My introduction to science and engineering classes required to show all work and calculation was done using slide rule, even though calculators were available. Then came t…
Battery life will be within same range as the rest of "smart watches". Having said that there are other functions including health monitoring. No need here since we already have iPhones.
Delayed gratification (or saving for the future) is a foreign concept for many people. To many it is more important to have new cars and big houses, i.e. higher debts, and yet they have little to show for in their saving/retirement accounts. Catch…
In addition to Star Trek, Leonard Nimoy was part of the TV series Mission Impossible for awhile. Yes, I enjoyed Star Trek growing up and become to appreciate the broader social messages. The follow-on shows never share the same level of impact at …
Yes, he will be missed. Always like his concise and clear writing - quite an opposite to Bill Gross. Wonder what will be come of Pimco. Several Pimco funds are still available in my 401(K) plan.
@Maurice, Win 10 probably won't add much for your uses. Noted that Win 9 was skipped and went straight to Win 10. I am also using Win 7 Professional and will not upgrade for sometime to come. Next change will be away from Microsoft totally. Our …
Knowing a bit of math almost helps when purchasing cars. These days the salesman only want to discuss the "affordable" monthly payment plan, and not the entire cost after financing. They did not like it a bit when I redo their calculation with my O…
@Tampabay, M* portfolio x-Ray is FREE at T. Rowe Price under Tools. Site registration is required for your own portfolio, and it is free. That is $198 saving a year.
Concur totally. Case in point iShare MSCI Emerging Market, EEM, has been losing asset to Vanguard Emerging Market index, VWO, while both track the identical index. Higher expense ratio and larger tracker error (EEM tracks the larger stocks rather …
Future markets including Apple Pay, collaboration with IBM, and (potential) healthcare monitoring could further propel Apple's earning forward. I was surprise by how well iPhone 6 sold in China in the 4th quarter even with the cheaper alternatives …
Michael Hasenstab is a savy bond manager, but he underestimate the risk of the Ukraine situation that has worsen since his Morningstar's interview. Ironially the same "bet" he had with Irish bonds played off handsomely in 2007-2008. Clearly this b…
@Ted, we invested in Vanguard Long-Term Government Bond Index Fund Admiral Shares (VLGSX). The rate stayed put and the fund worked out nicely. YTD is up 8.8% already, a bit ahead (I think). Will trim back if it continues in coming months while eq…
@John, Awhile back in the Fundalarm days someone informed me that this useful tool is available for free at TRP. It is nice to see how one' portfolio changes (or not) from year to year. I look for overlapping of funds and exposure of individual s…
I am with Kevin to use M* x-Ray at TRP for free while investing with them as well. M* reports are not all that insightful. One can get more useful analysis here.
No. I think there will be opportunities in 2015. See Wealthtrack posted earlier for insights.
mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/18373/wealthtrack-guest-ed-hyman-evercore-isi-john-kim-ny-life-insurance-part-ii#latest
@John, I knew a friend who invested greatly in Janus funds. When the shenanigans started to come to light I mentioned to her that she might start looking elsewhere. She had been treated well at Janus so she stayed put and lost a substantial amount o…
@John, I agree with you that the manager failed to be more fourth-coming (i.e. honest) in their annual report that their bets on Chinese REITs went terrible wrong. Another poor performing year the asset will start going south.
I upgraded to iPhone 6 Plus over the holiday from a 4 years old 4. Took good care of it and obtained great resale price. Sofar I have been very happy with 6 on the performance and haven't had problem fitting it in my front pocket.
