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.
Thanks @WABC. That’s enlightening.
What I see … on one hand many denigrate the S&P - some favoring cash over it. While, at the same time, Vanguard’s S&P index fund (Admiral shares / VFIAX) is the second largest mutual fund in the U.S. w…
@FD1000,
You began a 90 day "sabbatical" from the BIG BANG! Investors forum less than 12 hours ago.
I'm shocked (shocked!) since I thought you would temporarily refrain from posting while on sabbatical.
Then again, you must heed the urgent need to …
The Week in Charts (06/01/23)
A tour of the markets covering the most important charts & themes, including the AI Mania, Buying vs. Renting, the Sneaker Slowdown, the Travel Boom, and more.
Video
Blog
US Congress averts historic default, approves debt-limit suspension
"The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed bipartisan legislation backed by President Joe Biden that lifts the government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, averting what would have been a fi…
Finra fines Vanguard $800,000 for misleading information on money market accounts
"The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. found that from November 2019 to September 2020, Vanguard Marketing Corp. miscalculated the estimated annual yield a…
As previously agreed to, the MFO Off-Topic section may be used for political comments or discussions.
This usage would enable forum participants to avoid political commentary if they wish.
The Vanguard Quantitative Equity Group will still manage (partially or entirely) 5 active funds.
Link
I agree with @Sven that sometimes there are "too many cooks in the kitchen."
Vanguard had 10 active funds with 3 or more subadvisors as of 03/31/…
I don't know why Vanguard's quant team was removed from Vanguard US Growth.
I assume their absolute returns were subpar and/or their strategy didn't gel
with the other subadvisor's strategies.
Jackson Square Partners was dropped from Vanguard US G…
@BenWP,
IHDG has performed well since inception.
I used Portfolio Visualizer and compared IHDG to three other international funds.
The WisdomTree fund had the highest return, lowest volatility,
and lowest max. drawdown for the period from June 201…
@WABAC: can one assume IHDG has outperformed this year due to currency hedging? Foreign exchange adds another layer of risk to international investing, as @davidrmoran pointed out not long ago in a link that supported the view that a domestic portfo…
I didn't change my investing approach due to this manufactured debt ceiling crisis.
I will therefore not make any corresponding changes afterward.
My guess is that stock markets will go up in the short-term after this matter is resolved.
Beyond tha…
Vanguard Health Care had an annualized 16.4% return during Ed Owens'
long tenure (05/23/1984 - 12/31/2012) compared to the the S&P 500 index's 10.7% return.
This fund has not performed as well since Jean Hynes became the sole named manager in …
[snip]
Also, I would not leave a dime in any Wells Fargo accounts. That bank has a poor history, and I'm not convinced that the culture there has changed. If a bank is opening accounts that customers didn't approve, you don't deal with that bank. …
The subject matter described herein is very sneaky - I like it! ;-)
Good article which mentions several potential avenues for investing in closed mutual funds.
"U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday said June 1 remains a 'hard deadline' for raising the federal debt limit, with the odds quite low that the government will collect enough revenue to bridge to June 15,
when more tax receipts are due."…
[snip]
The increase in the national debt must be stopped to save the country.
We must stop thinking of ourselves and think of the country.
That goes for both parties.
So stop the blame game, (that includes me), and lets get our country out of …
The Week in Charts (05/20/23)
A tour of the markets covering the most important charts & themes, including the Nasdaq 100 comeback, the inverse of 2022, US equity valuations, the US Consumer pullback, and more.
Video
Blog
[snip]
Now the problem for me with locking up money in a CD is that it limits my ability to move in and out of what I believe are more profitable investments while that money is tied up. I’ll take the 4+% on cash Fido currently pays in return for be…
Your local library system may provide access to Morningstar Investment Research Center (MIRC).
MIRC made available via my library includes Portfolio X-Ray.
Portfolio X-Ray shows how the top 50 net stock holdings are distributed across a portfolio
a…
[snip]
BTW, IRS is setting up online tax filing for free. If they can make the user interface similar to that ofTurboTax, that would be very helpful for those with straightforward tax filing.
Intuit will vigorously oppose plans from the IRS to o…
FMIJX is an international equity fund which hedges currency (most foreign funds don't hedge).
The strong U.S. dollar provided a tailwind for FMIJX.
FMI introduced an unhedged version of its International Fund (FMIFX) on 12/31/2019.
The link below sh…
Tarwheel,
Like you, I believe in diversification.
I've had mixed results (from a total return perspective) with foreign equities.
My foreign equity funds outperfomed from approximately 2000 to 2010.
U.S. equities have significantly outperformed sin…
I exchanged my core bond position (DODIX) for a stable-value fund at the end of 2021.
This was an uncharacteristic move on my part since DODIX represented ~20% of my overall portfolio.
My other fixed-income investments were sold during 2022 for diff…
The advisers polled in the BoA survey may have been wrong (haven't read article).
Prognosticators' market predictions are often incorrect.
“It’s hard to make predictions, especially about the future.”
- Yogi Berra
The FDIC needs to recover it costs after the recent banking turmoil.
Under their proposal, banks with more that $50 billion would shoulder 95% of the cost.
This "special assessment" fee would apply to approximately 113 banks.
A very small number o…
The Week in Charts (05/11/23)
A tour of the markets covering the most important charts & themes, including a potential end to the Fed's rate hikes, why the inflation rate is set to decline even more, a return to prosperity, and the sentiment gi…
From Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American (05/04).
"Meanwhile, the debt ceiling crisis has not gone away. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines today told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on global threats that a U.S.…
The only other western country with a debt ceiling is Denmark.
Since their debt ceiling is so high, there are no recurring debates like we have in the U.S.
The closest that Denmark came to reaching the ceiling was 2010 - they doubled it afterward.
…
I fully agree with the Laurence H. Tribe's statement:
"The right question is whether Congress — after passing the spending bills that created these debts in the first place — can invoke an arbitrary dollar limit to force the president and his admin…
Periodically, the S&P 500 becomes concentrated in its top holdings.
This is a feature, not a bug, of cap-weighted indexes.
The top 10 holdings in the S&P 500 comprised 27% of the index as of April 27, 2023.
The S&P 500 returned 8.3% YTD…
