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 have been around a long time, and I still do not get why market neutral funds have to be so expensive. Fund managers will tell you that the marketing arm, not the fund management arm, make the ultimate decisions on expenses. Plus, how can anyone…
Acronyms are a help only to those groups who market them. Face it...Goldman Sachs was not the only company to benefit from their BRIC nomenclature of the large EM countries. As we have seen many times, investing in just the BRIC countries, or in th…
Hi cman. Thanks for your response. I certainly did not intend to imply anything about the HFT issue is simple, rather to say that individual investors (as has been pointed out quite often) have very limited recourse. If they can dig through public…
If you want broad coverage of the international stock arena, VGTSX is an ok option. However, if you want higher returns with better alpha, sharpe and sortino ratio, and less risk and volatility, there are many other options. And, yes, they will co…
There are few things as rewarding as receiving the mortgage document with a large PAID stamp on it. If more people had a plan to pay off debt, or paid as they go (paying off credit cards each month), it would likely lead to an increase in the savin…
It is what it is. Unless the SEC decides to step in and force limitations or stoppage of HFT (and that seems unlikely, given the political clout of certain large firms that employ HFT), investors have to decide whether they will recognize the issue…
If it were anyone else except for Mr. Aronstein running the fund, we would probably have sold it, given the huge asset base. He insists the size will not hurt their performance. Keep in mind that long-short funds are designed to participate some i…
Even a blind squirrel can find an acorn occasionally. Mr. Dent's recent book (now, what, two years old now?) said essentially the same thing. Sort of like Mr. Hussman. Both men are very interesting to read and listen to, but both have been wrong …
MJG you are so right. They even use ACWI index for emerging market funds, which is not only lazy, but just dumb, even though they list the best-fit index as EAFE EM. And often times the best-fit index is a head scratcher, too. But it is much bette…
On the contrary, her final paragraph suggests investors use caution, noting that the 1990s melt-up did not end well at all, and that as investors start to rush into the market, the current scenario might indeed resemble the late 1990s, when valuatio…
We do not put ANY store in M* analyst ratings. They are just another marketing tool for M* and for the funds upon which so-called 'gold' designations are bestowed. It continues to amaze us that for decades M* insisted there was no way to predict h…
I can tell you that no-frills, low-costs, no mumbo-jumbo fixed annuities are nowhere near the 7-8% payout range for someone 70 years old. Any company who says they have something that pays that high is using some kind of indexed approach. There is…
Perhaps consider using a broad index fund, and then add one or two concentrated funds that own a bit quirkier mix of stocks. SWPPX is a good option for index. Maybe think about adding GSRLX and holding on to SEQUX. They are rather dramatically di…
It is not hard to bet against the dollar, with so many Local Currency funds available, and it is not hard emotionally if you think long-term debt will be problematic. But timing that bet is very hard, as so many have found in the last couple of yea…
Interesting that we do not use any of the funds on this list. That certainly does not mean the list is not good. But it is interesting that none of the bond funds we use is on the list. They clearly like core bond funds and have only one semi-fle…
I am certainly not going to tell you how to proceed. Truth is some folks really do not want to take the time to do the work necessary on their own. There is nothing wrong with that. Some do not WANT to do it on their own. And some have overall p…
Reply to @finder: Good point, finder. But the history of Wasatch has been to close funds when the money flow has gotten too big. They have done this on numerous occasions, and in talking with Geritz, she has said she would absolutely do that. I r…
A great fund manager, who puts most of her own money in the funds she runs. Wasatch is a strong fund company with a very good lineup and with a strong shareholder commitment. Fees tend to be a bit high, but funds have also been kept fairly small. …
MFLDX certainly has not disappointed, and it has performed pretty much as expected in that it participates in up markets to some extent, and it is much less volatile in down markets. Management is as smart and talented as it gets. They have made s…
I don't spend much time noting what countries are in or out of a particular index. What you need in a FM fund is great management. My experience is that a truly talented manager can make or break an EM fund. And you also need someone who spends a…
While most folks here at MFO don't put much store in M* star ratings, the average retail investor certainly does, and, unfortunately, so do a bunch of salespersons. As we discussed late last year, OSTIX went from 5 to 2 stars when M* decided it bel…
That is good news, but given the terrible state of retirement readiness in this country, the really good news will be when those numbers at least triple and quadruple.
TIAA treats dollars in the traditional bucket as if they are THEIR dollars. Once there, you have very limited options to make changes. We would NOT recommend using the traditional option unless you have the majority of your investment assets somew…
Reply to @Ted: Ted, I think it is ok that we disagree about a fund now and then. PAUIX has a 10-year average return of 6.43, according to the M* data I review. That is almost exactly the same as SPY's 6.48% over the same 10 years, with a lot less …
Reply to @ron: Hi Ron. I look at it very differently. It is doing what I want from it, and that is to offer a contrarian view that should offer a cushion during a selloff or prolonged downturn. Through yesterday, the S&P 500 is down about 2.2…
Yes, ACA should benefit the insurance companies. But what happens when demographics don't pan out like they plan? How much bailout will the Feds be willing/able to do if things get really grim for insurance companies in 3-5 years? The jury is sti…
The bottom line is that with unconstrained/flexible mandate bond funds you are substituting a known risk (specific bond sector) for an unknown risk (manager ability). So you need to be darned sure of the ability/experience/expertise of the manager/…
Reply to @Soupkitchen: The concept used by Janus in these funds is not anything new. Plus, after all the illegal issues the company has had over the years, I personally will not consider any of their funds. There are plenty of very good REAL globa…
Reply to @rjb112: I would not put SGENX in the same group as FPACX, IVAEX, TIBIX. Its allocation has hardly budged in years. Not saying the fund is unworthy, but it has not exhibited any flexible strategy, which I something that might be important…
Why does everything we hold have to produce great returns all the time? There are reasons to own funds like PAUIX, if for nothing else than to have a contrarian position to reduce losses in selloffs. As I look at its YTD numbers, the S&P 500 i…
From here in balmy Columbus, Ohio, where the current 4 degrees is the warmest 7:30 AM all week by a long shot, this is an interesting thread for sure. Like a number of friends here who started with FA, then moved here to MFO, the attraction has alw…
There is no such thing as a riskless investment with a decent return AT THIS TIME. As interest rates move higher, that will likely change. But the definition of decent return is often a moving target and certainly subject to debate. Perhaps a bet…
I for one will defend MAPIX. Foster left a three years ago, Madsen left last year, but the fund has continued doing what it has always done. It has provided pretty good returns with reasonable risk. We have used it for years as a 'chicken' way to…
How dumb is this idea? So typical that someone who has no clue how the economy and business work would believe this will help anything. It is a real dis-incentive for the average investor (not to mention wealthy people) to invest. He should stick…
PIMCO has lived high on the hog for years as the bull market for bonds thrived. They dabbled here and there in equities, but it is obvious the focus would stay on bonds and the derivative-driven secret formula they used to boost bond fund returns. …
There are times when passive works, but not very often with EMs. As others have pointed out, there are a number of good managers who have positive numbers over the last month. And Matthews continues to excel with a number of their diversified fund…
