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Always knew that Vanguard got to where it is by being the low cost leader but felt that volumes were such as to permit them to finance adequate staff and technology. Seem to have been mistaken about that. Still hold a couple of Vanguard funds, just…
Eight or nine years of redemptions probably explains it.
BTW, those consistent redemptions have resulted in years and years of significant capital gains distributions. On an after-tax basis both of these funds have underperformed the S&P 500, …
More kudos for that article. I'm at 15%, half of it indexed, because "that's what the experts say." (Actually, some of them suggest much more than that but thank goodness I didn't go there.) Still rue the opportunities to get into ARTKX that I sk…
By the way, as an "owner" I didn't have any say in what the board decided. Or who's on the board. Oh well. Surely there's more going on here than we've been told. Clifford Chance is a mega-international law firm so we can assume he's bright. Se…
I remember Josh Peters, and mention of him sent me on a search. After leaving M* he went to Oppenheimer funds but that lasted only 19 months. After that he formed an advisory firm but now works for an outfit called Morgan Dempsey. Fair amount of …
Hm. I can't get personal service at all from Vanguard. I can't even get a person. I can get personal service -- by e-mail, by phone, and by walking in to a nearby branch office -- at Schwab. And by personal I mean the same one guy who has answer…
I have no stake here but this caught my eye. So the idea is to transfer the assets held in a LatAm fund into one that has 11% exposure to that part of the world and two-thirds of its exposure in Asia. Somehow I imagine this move is 100% for the be…
Every Vanguard CEO since Bogle is pretty much riding his coattails. Any "added value" is around the margins. Personally I was compelled to move all the assets I could out of my Vanguard accounts -- they landed at Schwab, where I used to work -- bec…
EM bonds have outpaced EM equities for THIRTY YEARS. Nuthin' like waiting for the turnaround, I guess. Of course I got suckered in myself a few times. What an opportunity cost . . . .
https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/when-bonds-beat-stocks-eme…
"Matthews has exceptionally deep investment talent." How can it when so many have departed? Have unnamed analysts left as well? I don't know, but you'd think they wouldn't stick around either, unless they had no alternatives, and that's not a rin…
Even some of the "best" EM funds (e.g., SFGIX, which I tried for awhile) have experienced anemic returns over long periods. I asked myself: why? My hypothesis is that, while those economies may indeed grow faster, there is an immense amount of "fr…
Really interesting for investors who own Primecap-managed funds. I've been with VPCCX for an awfully long time, my major regret being that I hold it in a taxable account which hasn't been ideal. Used to own POAGX, too. That fund had an uncanny a…
Never owned it, never before looked at it so I know squat but this fund is positioned for catastrophe. That 33% slug of cash did not help in 2023, but did in 2022. Some people are very uncomfortable with volatility, and that's totally understandab…
During the last 6 months, RPHIX gained $2.84%. If it continues, this will be 5.7% per year with minimal risk. If not a secret, can you tell us about better opportunities that you see now? Or do you have in mind what may happen with other funds when…
Maybe, maybe not. There's detail behind this but, short version, management has apparently decided not to extend its recently reduced minimum investment requirement for RSIIX to Schwab account holders. That, after suggesting that it would.
I was looking at the historical performance of a large-cap blend mutual fund yesterday (a good fund -- rated "Gold" and "five stars") and couldn't help but notice that 100% of its outperfomance over the past decade went straight to operating expense…
All of the Primecap Odyssey funds, which are in multi-year outflow mode, are distributing over 5%. (Looks like the Growth fund is doling out almost 12%, which comes on top of bottom quartile 5-yr. relative performance in its category, so no surpris…
Hey -- I am a dog expert: years of experience with a local shelter, served on the board of directors, became familiar with literally hundreds of dogs. Dogs don't care where they live, they care who they live with. You can assure your wife that you…
