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.
Did they bottom? I don't know, since my crystal ball is in the shop. One caveat to ponder: Consider what will happen to other EM economies if/when China de-pegs its currency. That may be great for China, but could be disastrous to other EMs. No…
All insurance is costing more. Our small company plan had only about 15-18% increase in premium, but that is only because we locked in that "low" rate in August. Otherwise increases would be about 30%. Also, it used to be that premiums were base…
STB65, you raise a valid point, and we will reduce expectancy when the client tells us of family history, own health issues, etc. Life expectancy has nothing to do with marketing. It has to do with reality. If life expectancy is currently at 83 f…
David, you raise a very good point. Why on earth would managers own any stock that will have truly no impact on their fund? I have noticed this sort of thing before, and it continues to baffle me. This is especially true when they may own a bunch…
M* has problems in how it classifies bond funds. We all know that. So, a Roth IRA is often an account that is the most aggressively allocated, since there is no RMD. If you actually want bonds in the account, do you really care about short-term fl…
Life expectancy when Social Security was started was about 58 for men and 62 for women. The government figured they would not have to provide many folks with benefits, since most were expected to die before age 65. Now it is 76 and 81. And that i…
Anyone who has been through an SEC examination understands they will find some aspect of the business that is not right. In the last two years, examiners have been quite aggressive. The ability of the SEC and similar organizations to access data e…
First Eagle has been very good at closing funds when assets grow too quickly. I would suggest that will be the most important thing to watch. It was disastrous for MFLDX when Mainstay bought them. If the stake is 20% or so, that is certainly less…
Poor destitute Mr. Gross. My reaction is that this has more to do with his bruised ego than any dollar issues. Anything to get publicity and attention on him again. Janus has had enough problems over the years. Now they have Mr. Gross.
With all the billions in the foundation accounts, seems to me as "fiduciaries" and stewards, individual, emerging market issues would be scrupulously avoided.
Thanks, VintageFreak. You made me laugh, but what you say is so true. ActiveShare does not mean good returns. It's just a strategy. And the folks at AQR are undoubtedly more intelligent than am I. But intelligence and PhDs alone do not mean goo…
I don't spend much time looking at short-term numbers on bond funds. The more important consideration is who runs the fund, how long a track record do they have, and what kind of risk parameters are in place. Even then, I am cautious about maturit…
Interesting how so many non-traditional sectors and 'alternative' investments have struggled along with the current correction. In the end, and no surprise, cash and short-term bonds have been the true 'safe havens'.
Strange, indeed. First, I would hope M* gives its employees the option of a self-directed brokerage 401k. Second, there is surely very little imagination put into the selection of the list shown. Since many M* plan participants are rather knowled…
Hi, Vintage. Your comments on companies getting too big, getting bought out by bigger fund companies, and not being able to do what made them good in the first place...these are quite good. The best example that I see is MFLDX, which is still run …
Find an allocation that meets your risk tolerance and long-term goals, keep cash needed from the portfolio in the next 5 years in CDs, cash or short-term bonds, then turn off the financial channels & don't listen to talk radio (both of which are…
So does Schultz tell his employees to suggest customers NOT buy coffee? After all, if folks are anxious and concerned, the last thing they need is caffeine.
I really disagree with Sorrentino's commentary. The fact is that investors CAN do well by doing good. A case in point is Vanguard FTSE Social Index VFTSX versus VFINX. There are many, many more examples. Yes, there are plenty of poorly-managed S…
Can be a prudent move, but be careful if the conversion bumps you into a higher bracket. It's ok to fill up the bracket you are already in, a in fact probably a good idea not to leave 'lower bracket dollars" on the table.
David, your market commentary was just terrific. We, too, looked at the average balanced portfolio, down a whopping 4.3%. The clients who call us during increased market volatility are the ones who have Fox, CNN, CNBC on all day, or listen to Glen…
I would prefer a fund that does not have to be in junk bonds, that can be more flexible. OSTIX fits the bill for us. Talented management team, strong long-term performance, especially compared to "non-traditional" bond funds. The fact that M* put…
Limiting his screen to funds that have M* analyst ratings of bronze or higher eliminates many great funds that do not have an analyst rating and which have better records than the funds that made his list. For this reason alone, I did not bother to…
FPACX, PRWCX, WHGIX, OAKBX all have their attractive points depending on what an investor wants from an allocation fund. TIBIX tends to have much more in internation stocks, since its number one goal is increasing dividends. Its record is outstand…
PYGFX has done a good job. It is truly global, with 40-50% in U.S. bonds. TGBAX has no U.S. bonds, although it can hold them. Another example of fund names not telling the whole story.
Actually, TGBAX is doing better than Fuss and Gaffney, not as well as Ivacyn and the Poobah. But why anyone would compare him with these is beyond me. Nothing has changed with the way TGBAX is managed. What HAS changed is the various world econom…
Just because technical indicators are screaming "buy" does not mean commodities are the place to invest now. There are just as many reasons, if not many more, to avoid this sector. Yes, they can turn around quickly. But they can also continue the…
David's comment on the WSJ reducing its personal finance staff to ramp up its financial advisor services was interesting. Many RIAs I know no longer subscribe to the WSJ, either hard copy or online. Fact is, it is becoming irrelevant. The few art…
VF you are so right on this. M* has a bad habit of either dissing some very good funds or simply ignoring them. The latter is just fine by me, since it means those funds fly under the radar and do not amass large asset bases. They also will diss …
We made a lot of clients happy for a number of years when we owned MFLDX from late 2007 through 2013. While we are no longer in this fund, I think we learned a few lessons. 1) Independence is crucial. When Marketfield was bought by Mainstay, it w…
Skill or luck? Good results are attributable to my skill. Bad results are attributable to my associate's luck. Some funds that M* says are 'World Allocation' include MALOX (always love that ticker), IVAEX, RPGAX, TIBIX, APPLX, GBMFX and TZINX. T…
There has ALWAYS been depressing news, but there is more of it now because of the stupid 24-hour 'news'. Truth to tell, there is not enough real news to fill 2-3 hours, so the rest consists of rehashing of the scariest items, over and over and over…
If a portfolio is up more than 4% ytd, I'd say that is quite good. The S&P is up 2.4%, the Dow is up 0,74%, EAFE is up 5.9%, emerging markets are down 5.9%, commodities are down anywhere from 11-25%. We suggested to clients a 5% return for a '…
There is a wealthy radio talk show host who has a 3-hour show, broadcast here in the AM. The few times that I have accidentally tuned to that radio channel while in my car, there is ALWAYS a commercial that touts why gold is a great investment for …
These one-year and YTD rankings are mostly meaningless. We all talk about being investors and professing to have long-term goals. We talk about creating an allocation that should meet our long-term goals, risk tolerance, and income needs. Then th…
And we should be surprised by this? It's all about money. Even the self-proclaimed champion of individual investors, Vanguard, says it would be a problem for its people to always put the interest of their clients first. "It could hurt the consume…
There is a very simple reason airlines can charge what they do. Fewer flights and full flights. Unless one or both of those change, don't expect fares to drop. For the first time in years, airlines are making money, and they are not about to turn…
