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.
The Week in Charts (05/02/23)
A tour of the markets covering the most important charts & themes, including the First Republic freefall, the housing market standstill, the #1 reason for renting, and more.
Video
Blog
@Observant1, I apologized for the mistake. Should have taken a screen shot and the CUSIP #. Again, my mistake. Schwab offers a non-callable 12 months CD at 5.1%.
No worries...
I didn't find a 12 month 5.2% non-callable JP Morgan CD at Vanguard.
There was a callable JP Morgan CD with the same coupon.
CUSIP: 46656MBT7
Security type: Certificate of deposit
Issuer: JP Morgan Chase Bank NA
Maturity: 05/08/2024
Coupon: 5.200
C…
I thought an announcement would be made before Asian markets opened.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange and Korea Exchange opened approximately 1.5 hours ago.
There hasn't been any news yet...
I would like to know how anyone can sense the possibility of a solution if you can’t find a half dozen rational house repugs to vote with the Dems.
Political posturing and pontification about fiscal responsibility will prevail during this saga.
I…
Wealthtrack - 04/28/2023
We continue our interview with Ed Yardeni, an experienced economist, strategist, and Fed watcher who has been closely following the Fed throughout his 40-year investment career.
Yardeni is the author of “Fed Watching for F…
Snippets from Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American published on 04/24/2023.
"In other concerns about national security, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton published an op-ed in the New York Times today warning that the threat fr…
Target's former chief merchandising officer, Mark Tritton, became Bed Bath & Beyond CEO in late 2019.
He attempted to turn around operations, in part, by emphasizing private label goods.
Many consumers abandoned Bed Bath & Beyond and went e…
"In talking with Vanguard leadership, they feel like they’ve heard that and they’re trying to become known for best-in-class customer service. That is a goal of theirs, and they say they’ve made progress in that. It remains to be seen. We hear a lot…
@yogibearbull,
Dan Ivascyn, Rick Rieder, Rajiv Jain, Daniel O'Keefe, Aswath Damodaran,
Liz Ann Sonders, and Lawrence Summers (among others) are scheduled
to participate in the 2023 Morningstar Investment Conference (MIC).
MIC Agenda
Edit/Add:
J…
The Week in Charts (04/22/23)
A tour of the markets covering the most important charts & themes, including Treasury bill problems,
the housing shortage, rising recession risks, public pessimism, and more.
Video
Blog
Larry Summers weighs in on the debt ceiling and the US dollar (among other topics)
on this week's Wall Street Week episode.
We should not be taking hostages and making threats which are counterproductive for everybody.
We do need to have a fundame…
John Rekenthaler wrote a follow-up column for Jeff Ptak's original article.
Voya Corporate Leaders Trust was mentioned and compared to Ptak's "Do Nothing Portfolio."
Rekenthaler's conclusions are:
1) Don’t sweat an index’s details.
2) Worry not abo…
This debt ceiling kerfuffle is a manufactured crisis.
We need to honor our debt obligations for spending previously approved by Congress.
Spending negotiations should occur during the budget appropriation process.
The consequences of a default are …
The Week in Charts (04/15/23)
A tour of the markets covering the most important charts & themes, including the global trend of lower inflation, the Fed predicting a recession, the consumer pullback, investors showing love for McDonald's, a bull…
Mr. Jain made several large portfolio moves which have worked out well (at least in the short-term).
His firm/funds were previously on my radar.
Some of his funds (not familiar with all) had very favorable risk/reward characteristics.
My main conce…
Vanguard charges $20 per trade for TF funds.
Investors with $1M - $5M in eligible funds can execute 25 trades gratis per calendar year.
Fidelity charges $49.95 to buy TF funds but there are no fees to sell.
It appears the $5 automatic investment op…
The Week in Charts (04/07/23)
A tour of the markets covering the most important charts & themes, including fears about our children's generation, a repricing of the housing market, the manufacturing recession, and more.
Blog Post
Video
Several Matthews Asia funds were mentioned.
I personally would stay away from all Matthews Asia funds in the near-term (possibly long-term).
There has been an exodus of talent at the firm over the past few years.
https://www.mutualfundobserver.com…
James Anderson chaired Baillie Gifford's international growth portfolio construction group
in addition to managing Vanguard International Growth and two other U.S. mutual funds.
He was instrumental in developing/implementing the firm's successful g…
I've been planning to liquidate our holding in Matthews Pacific Tiger (MAPTX) and was going to put that money into Artisan International Value (ARTKX), but have discovered it is closed to new investors; bummer!
What alternatives would you suggest? …
Excerpted from a CityWire article published on 04/07/2023.
"James Velissaris, the founder, former CIO and lead portfolio manager of Infinity Q Capital Management, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay an unspecified amount of resti…
Christine Benz discusses six retirement "blind spots" in this weeks episode:
Retirement Date Risk
Sequence-of-Return Risk
Low-Yield Risk
Inflation Risk
Health Care, Long-Term Care Risk
Longevity Risk
Video
Good point - PRWCX is closed to most new investors.
The fund is closed to new accounts other than investors whose accounts meet any of the following criteria:
• Participants in an employer-sponsored retirement plan where the fund already serves as…
Unfortunately, Trump's statement from his 2016 presidential campaign rings true:
“I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters, ok?
It’s, like, incredible.”
Video
Although legal travails may increase…
March 31, '23.
Christine Benz is a longtime Morningstar personality. She's back with her bucket approach for retirement portfolio construction. It's never been a strategy I could ever hope to actually employ. And if I had the wherewithal, I find it …
Great article that summarizes David Giruox’s many interviews he gave in last several years. In light of this large asset base ($47.4) fund, he manages to move and to execute very well in his portfolio in order to deliver this remarkable results over…
Agree, and this case will drag on well into next year. The Georgia case is more direct with ample evidence and testimonies. The Mar-La-Go case is serious and Judge Smith is subpoena more testimonies. Nevertheless, it will be messy.
[snip]
Trump…
The Week in Charts (03/28/23)
Covering the most important charts/themes in markets and investing, including the "Fed Put," the Steepening Signal, Blood in the Streets, and more...
Blog Post
Video
From OP:
"In 2021, for example, the Fed issued a rule — at the urging of bank lobbyists — noting that guidance from bank supervisors does not carry the force of law. That led some senators to call out
colleagues who pushed for lighter rules, only…
Fidelity's $75.00 transaction fee for Vanguard and Dodge & Cox funds has been in place for years.
Their transaction fee for most other fund families is $49.95.
The following two funds have performed well for me and have been worry-free.
Collectively they comprised 36% of my total portfolio at the beginning of the year.
Interm. Core-Plus Bond: DOXIX
Foreign Large Blend: MIEIX (invested in CIT "clone")
E…
I have to ask since this tropic comes up often. Why does a Schwab or Fidelity person, which I think a majority of us are, care about M*? There are pretty good tools in each brokerage. And for fund analysis, MFO is "really" good. Maybe the best if yo…
