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.
I have no idea if your 5 funds will appreciate in the next year.
Regarding your question whether to "hold on or move on":
Why did you purchase these funds in the first place?
Have there been any material changes (management, strategy, etc.) since t…
The Smead Value Fund has performed very well in the Large Value category.
It will interesting to see if Smead Capital can produce similar results in the International Value category.
When Smead Capital was headquartered in Seattle, Bill Smead was a …
This is a good reminder for all of us.
The Ritholtz Wealth Management gang produces some useful content.
A Wealth of Common Sense
The Big Picture
Of Dollars and Data
The Irrelevant Investor
I don't know what brought about this change at Dodge & Cox.
It's very difficult for me to imagine that this traditional firm will turn to alternative investments.
Vanguard "simplified" (VG marketing spin) online TF mutual fund transactions fees as of January 25, 2021.
These fees apply to investors who are not Flagship ($1M - $5M*) or Flagship Select ($5M+*) investors.
The TF mutual fund fee is now a uniform $…
This will be a very challenging year for fixed income.
The Fed will end QE and probably raise short-term rates three or four times.
It now appears that the Fed will also reduce its balance sheet.
There will be increased volatility in the equity mar…
My comments were not about the fund's MFO stats.
I just wanted to mention the PARWX manager/strategy change.
The fund should be less "risky" under Mr. Hwan.
Jerome Dodson was the PARWX manager from inception (04/29/2005) until he retired on 12/31/2020.
Billy Hwan became a comanager on 05/01/2018 and the sole manager at the start of 2021.
Mr. Dodson took a contrarian approach which resulted in an elevate…
any negs or knocks on TIPX?
The 5 year TIPS/Treasury breakeven rate was 2.93% as of 01/04/22.
The long term average for the 5 year rate is 1.85%.
TIPS are "expensive" now.
If you believe inflation over the next five years will be greater than 2.93%…
I agree that many in the financial industry "talk their book."
Early in his career, Jack Bogle was told everything you need to know if you're going into the investment business. The advice was short and sweet: Nobody knows nothing.
The estimable Professor Snowball wrote about ARKK in this month's 'Briefly Noted' commentary.
"Despite a multitude of warnings, here at MFO, at Morningstar, and elsewhere, investors absolutely poured money into the ARKK Innovation ETF in December …
“Our strategy is our strategy,” she said. “The opportunity in our strategy is huge right now.
We expect a compound annual rate of return of roughly over 40% over the next five years.”
Although the 5 year average annual return (as of 12/31/20) for…
Many fixed-income investments will face a very challenging environment in 2022.
Starting bond yields are low and the Fed will cease QE before increasing short-term rates probably two or three times. Considering the market environment, I exchanged DO…
"Regulators are cracking down on many aspects of ESG investing with basic rules to make it easier to punish greenwashing, where the environmental credentials of an investment or activity are overstated, in a cross-border sector where investment is '…
My portfolio's value is near its all-time high.
Due to age and circumstances, my primary strategic goal is to reduce equity risk.
A secondary goal is to decrease interest-rate risk.
Approximately 25% of the portfolio is currently allocated to fixed-…
JENSX looks good on the surface but I haven't thoroughly investigated this fund.
I like and own PRILX.
The fund generated top quintile returns for the 3 Yr, 5 Yr, 10 Yr, and 15 Yr periods ending 11/30/21.
PRILX also tends to have lower maximum drawd…
Actively managed ETFs have lower expense ratios and broader distribution than similar OEFs.
Fund firms launched active ETFs in an attempt to better compete against (gain AUM) passive ETFs.
There were 2,688 ETFs available to U.S. investors as of Nov.…
I never needed to work with brokers but I started seriously investing in the early 90s.
Overall mutual fund expenses were considerably higher then.
As you mentioned, some funds had loads and there were commissions for trading stocks.
Also, there was…
I'll review my portfolio next weekend.
Bonds comprised 24% of my holdings a few months ago.
My portfolio will be rebalanced to slightly increase bond (and possibly "cash") exposure.
Reducing equity risk is a goal since I plan to retire in a few year…
Vanguard has benefitted from two big trends: indexing and target-date funds.
Vanguard had $357B of inflows year to date through November.
This was more than the total of $353B for iShares, Fidelity, and State Street combined.
Who does Vanguard hire to manage some of their equity or balanced fund assets other than Wellington? Anybody got a quick list/reference?
Here's a list of Vanguard's active portfolio managers.
I don't think Mr. Rekenthaler's article has any relevance to VHCOX performance.
He does make some good points regarding Vanguard's customer service and recent offerings.
Like its competitors, Vanguard has adapted to the changing investment environme…
So for those, like me, who don't understand a single word of that, what does it mean to the individual computer user? What should we avoid doing?
This vulnerability mostly impacts enterprises and will keep security teams busy for quite some time.
If…
Apache Log4j is a widely used Java library leveraged by numerous applications and services.
On Dec. 9, proof of concept for a remote code execution vulnerability in Apache Log4j was submitted.
Attackers can download/execute malicious payloads and ta…
@teapot After listening to only part of that podcast so far, I am reconsidering opening a position in PRFRX. bank loans and some junk. Giroux sang its praises.
EDITED TO ADD: I've never owned a bank loan fund before. Why do I see NO BANKS listed in…
AWS (highly touted by Mr. Giroux on CNBC yesterday) has been down much of the afternoon and no idea when it will be fixed. M* tracker is down (at last check) as a result of the AWS snafu.
My workplace experienced several service outages today due …
What an excruciating experience!
This could have been a real disaster for someone who wasn't as engaged or knowledgable as you.
I'm glad it worked out in the end.
JPMorgan Hedged Equity Fund (JHQAX)
Effective as of the close of business on March 12, 2021 (the “Closing Date”), the JPMorgan Hedged Equity Fund (the “Fund”) became offered on a limited basis and investors are not eligible to purchase shares of th…
Preliminary reports suggest the Omicron variant is much more transmissable.
Outcomes for infected individuals are generally less severe when a variant spreads rapidly.
There are still many unknowns regarding Omicron.
A friend recently referred me to…
I've also had good experiences with Tire Rack over the years.
My last tire purchase (several years ago) was at Costco.
Costco has a much smaller selection of tires since they only sell a few different brands.
However, it's possible to get a great de…
"The 2022 Jeep Grand Wagoneer starts at $86,995."
I remember when SUVs really were utility vehicles.
They were often owned by hunters, fishermen, boaters, etc.
These SUVs were rugged, functional vehicles with very few amenities.
Since that time, ma…
Wood has fervent followers and strong detractors. After reaching dizzying heights the fund has slumped this year. I’m wondering how she can run an open end fund in this manner. ISTM money will flee in bad times causing all sorts of problems for ma…
