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.
Up/down capture does not predict performance. It is simply one tool to confirm how active a fund really is and how successful the manager has been during given time periods compared to other funds.
I'd say that the response you received was quite good, actually. The fact that someone took time to respond to your specific question is not something most other fund companies would ever consider. It speaks well of Parnassus.
Vintage, I totally agree with your suggestion that folks vote with their feet. Some of us remember the tech crash in 2000-2002, in which several fund companies and managers were found to have engaged in self-trading. Janus was one of these, and wa…
1987, Compaq portable, the case "cover" released to become the keyboard. Screen was maybe 7" or so, not sure, but very small, and of course the background was black, with green letters. Graphics were basic at best. It was, in essence, a hyped-up …
The dream has not come true yet. The DOL Rule applies only to retirement accounts and does not include personal, joint, trust, and other non-retirement assets. But it is a start, not enough by any means, but enough to cause the banks, insurance co…
My experience with OSTIX is that it rarely disappoints. It may never be at the top in great years for fixed-income. But Carl Kaufman, Simon Lee and their team have done an outstanding job of doing what the fund is supposed to do, year after year. …
Yawn. Same old, same old. Why only funds with 10-yr records? And how in the heck was PRWCX NOT on the list last time? They actually pay someone to do this?
Not buying or selling in my own account. Don't really care about all the Fed and election noise. In the end, it is nothing more than we have seen many times over the last 10+ years. Am comfortable with my current allocation of 25% in cash and sho…
Hi, msf. Given the fact that we have had out-sized returns for the S&P 500 the last 5 years (average of about 15.5%), with some sectors much, much higher, it is natural to expect that we could well have some lean years if longer-term average nu…
Do not underestimate M*'s ability to spin. If it weren't for all the actively managed funds, they would pretty much be out of business. Their revenue depends on advertising and subscriptions.
There are indeed some "heavyweight" managers out there. Fortunately, most of them are not media darlings. My definition of of "heavyweight manager" is probably different from other folks. I think of them as people who quietly grind away, year aft…
We use several, depending on the risk profile of the portfolio. They include QMNIX (Schwab), MASNX (Fidelity), there is no acceptable market neutral option at Fidelity, but the Litman fund is an ok alternative. LASYX for potential higher interest r…
But very few of the "good" new jobs are in the industries where the losses dominated. They tend to be in tech, health and other areas that those who lost their jobs cannot aspire to at age 50-60, and those younger must get new degrees and training.…
We have used both CEF and GLD. We have some client who have purchased coins, bars, etc. But then they have to have some secure way to store. Then there is the issue of what to do when you want to "cash it in". Folks like Glen Beck and other EOTW…
Personally, I don't think there has been any real recovery. What we have had has been induced by the Fed's monetary action. Now where did all the government's stimulus dollars go? If they created jobs, they were not the kind of jobs lost in the r…
I would never buy new, since you are down 20-35% in value the minute you leave the dealership. Whether to buy or lease is a multi-faceted decision: better use of invested dollars, don't drive very far each year, like having a "new car" every few ye…
For pre-retirees who do not have a public pension, any effort to eliminate debt service prior to retirement will only enhance retirement cash flow. There are some for whom this strategy doesn't matter. Their cash flow will be more than sufficient …
David, I agree with you on this. Some folks can afford to "sell everything". They already have "everything" and probably do not need to have money at risk anyway. As for Mr. Poobah, the money he makes as a manager of his funds, in addition to the…
SFGIX - the reason to own this fund is manager Andrew Foster. Shortly after he left Matthews (where he led MAPIX to great success), I had the opportunity talk with him. He was putting out feelers for what would become Seafarer Funds and agreed tha…
For a value tilt, I would take a good look at IVFIX. And if you are able to buy SGOVX without commission, I would not hesitate to use it. Both of these management teams have done a great job. Federated goes for strong dividends, First Eagle is lo…
How I did not include WHGIX in my previous post is a mystery. It has been a consistently steady performer. ETNMX looks like it could be worth a look, but a 1.23% expense ratio is a bit steep for this kind of fund. Perhaps it will continue to do w…
If you are looking for diversification, I would not use a fund that owns REITs and stocks of companies that have a lot of real estate. An example of this is Baron Real Estate. It is much more tied to the stock markets than just plain REITs. We h…
Depending on our client risk levels and goals, and tax situation, we will use a few of these: MALOX, RPGAX, RIBIX, WASIX. For higher-tax-bracket people, these are best used in retirement accounts. As for FPCAX, not only has the performance really…
As Liz Ann Sonders has said, "This is most unloved bull market in history." If future returns are as muted as some believe they will be, there are a lot of folks who are in trouble. Most of them bailed in late 2008 or early 2009, at the worst poss…
There is a lot to be said for the "good old days" in terms of paying cash for almost everything. I can remember the era of no credit cards, and I can clearly remember my mother carefully watching how she spent her household budget each month. I gr…
Fee-only advisors are paid one of two ways: a percentage of assets managed or retainer fee. Either way, adding or subtracting the number of funds has no impact on the fee paid by the investor. Since there are no commissions in these accounts, that…
Consensus seems to be that unless things turn rather dramatically and quickly, there will be no increase until December, at the earliest. I would say that seems a fairly safe bet, given the BREXIT-caused turmoil in global markets.
As someone else noted, Britain voted to leave the EU. Close to home, more than 20 people died when flash floods swept through White Sulpher Springs, West Virginia, destroying perhaps hundreds of home and leaving folks with virtually nothing. This …
