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.
"Please keep politics out and focus on economic and investing implications (both short term and long term)."
It will be exceeding difficult to exclude politics from this discussion.
I suggest you move this thread to Off-Topic.
I've long used M* X-Ray via my public library.
X-Ray was removed when M* revised their library platform and Instant X-Ray also disappeared online.
Thanks for the link @mskursh!
Tech titans are bending the knee for Trump.
Wealthy individuals and corporations have "contributed"
obscene amounts of money towards his inaugural events.
"President-elect Trump’s inaugural committee has smashed fundraising records, racking up more…
The medalist ratings are supposed to be qualitative while star ratings are quantitative.
Disregard all medalist ratings which were not produced by actual analysts (i.e., AI generated).
These ratings are currently worthless.
The quality of an analys…
The Vanguard Flagship benefits which I found beneficial were the TF fund fee waivers
and easy access to the Admiral share class of actively managed funds.
However, Vanguard's "clunky" website and numerous customer service issues negated these benefi…
There have been six bankruptcies for Trump's companies.
A number of Trump's business projects failed or didn't live up
to his lofty projections without resulting in bankruptcies.
https://www.snopes.com/news/2016/08/01/donald-trumps-bankruptcies/
Heather Cox Richardson from Letters from an American:
"Meanwhile, last night, while the leaders in the cryptocurrency industry were at a ball in honor of President-elect Trump’s inauguration, Trump launched his own cryptocurrency. By morning he app…
Trump has always taken advantage of any opportunity to enrich himself.
I can't wait to see the numerous ways his leadership will enrich our nation! :-(
"I don’t own PRWCX, but am always interested in what the guru is doing"
This week's Wealthtrack episode features David Giroux.
https://wealthtrack.com/great-investor-perspective/
The Year in Charts (01/17/25)
The most important charts and themes in markets and investing, including:
00:00 Intro
00:29 Topics
01:58 The Straw That Broke the Fed's Back
15:38 Where the New Jobs Are
22:10 Living in the Outlier
34:23 What Will the …
@Observant1, which portfolio manager at BISAX used to work for David Samra at ARTKX?
Hi Mona,
I was referring to ARDBX portfolio managers but should have been clearer.
My post was updated to improve clarity.
[snip]
what are the advantages of converting OEFs to their ETFs? Tax? Lower expense ratio?
Can Vanguard do the conversion by themselves online or this can only be done with Vanguard agents?
Thank you
Daniel Wiener or Jeffrey DeMaso from the In…
FWIW, our choice in that Cat is BISAX, available NTF at VG.
It's arguably Best in (That) Class since its inception on 01/31/12.
Growth of $10K since ARDBX inception** on 05/16/22:
BISAX: $12,361
ARDBX: $10,609
** = See also (albeit very dated…
Hi Derf,
ARDBX has an inception date of 05/16/2022 so it does not yet have a 3 year history.
2023 performance - top 8% return in Foreign Small/Mid Blend category
2024 performance - top 11% return in Foreign Small/Mid Blend category
https://www.mor…
Michael Cembalest covers many topics which may affect market performance in 2025.
The historical context Michael provides was appreciated.
His presentation was very thought-provoking.
I've read Eye on the Market previously but somehow forgot about …
Since 1928¹ there have only been three other instances of 25%+ returns in back-to-back years:
1935 (+47%) and 1936 (+32%)
1954 (+53%) and 1955 (+33%)
1997 (+33%) and 1998 (+28%)
So what happened next?
Something for everyone:
1937: -35%
1956: +7%
19…
Spectating today, as Mr. Market falls due to GOOD news about jobs.
Divorce between Wall St. and Main St.
There's often a disconnect between Main St. and Wall St.
Perhaps minor setbacks will allow U.S. markets to rise further this year while climbi…
There are a whole lot of voters who don't feel that either major party is representing them.
And that alienation is increasing by the month.
I've felt this way for some time even before Trump came on the scene.
Trump does exacerbate the situation tr…
It's been a long time coming that "Teflon Don" was convicted of a felony.
Pity that incarceration and substantial fines were not on the table as they normally would be.
I understand why the court needed to be extremely lenient with the despicable Pr…
The Year in Charts (01/07/25)
The charts and themes that tell the story of 2024, including...
00:00 Intro
00:58 Low Expectations
02:37 Goodbye Bear, Hello Bull
04:07 Japan's Black Monday
05:59 Fed Easing Again
11:03 The Least Affordable Housing Mar…
On a related note, more shenanigans from team Trump...
"President-elect Donal Trump’s legal team made a last-minute push Monday to block the release
of special counsel Jack Smith’s final report on the two dismissed criminal cases against Trump."
…
This depends on your specific 401(k) plan.
As YBB mentioned, some plans allow in-service withdrawals while others do not.
You may want to check the 401(k) Summary Plan Description or contact your HR department.
My 401(k) Summary Plan Description s…
My vehicle manual specifies synthetic oil that meets certain VW specs so that's what I use.
Synthetic oil generally provides superior engine protection compared to conventional oil.
Although synthetic oil is more expensive, it's a small cost to pay …
Very interesting commentary, FD.
The administrator for another investing forum recently wrote:
"FD1000 I am getting complaints that repeated, gloating posts are obnoxious.
Would you please think twice before posting, whether you haven't already sa…
FYI - This Vanguard link in the OP no longer works.
The Vanguard link in the OP works for me.
https://advisors.vanguard.com/content/dam/fas/pdfs/FYEEST.pdf
Guys,
You have to give FD credit for his brilliant trading scheme and impeccable hindsight analysis.
He remains humble and open-minded despite his apparently very prosperous investing career.
This is not the demeanor typically associated with someo…
"So the question remains do you continue to ride large caps (mainly Tech) indefinitely,
or do you see a rotation back to other sectors.
Large cap Tech ('Magnificent Seven') as market leaders - current trend or new normal?"
This is the $1,000,000 (U…
"Buffett said it a lot better 'Diversification is protection against ignorance.
It makes little sense if you know what you are doing'".
This attribution lacks proper context.
Below is an actual quote from a Warren Buffett speech to MBA students.
…
@catch22
I'm glad you found the current episode worthwhile.
Charlie utilized numerous charts (considerably more than usual)
to educate investors about common misconceptions and myths.
The corresponding data could be very beneficial for many invest…
