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.
Hi Guys,
This Adam Robinson, the subject of the article, seems like one strange guy with a philosophy and an occupation that appear to conflict with each other.
These days he earns his living as a financial advisor to a number of International hed…
Hi Old Joe,
Based on your recent submittal, I am no longer puzzled; I'm totally bewildered.
I made none on the statements that your so called point-by-point diatribe addressed. Perhaps someone did write what you specifically critiqued, but it was…
Hi Old Joe,
I see by your very late, much corrected post that you really reject my proposal.
I have carefully reviewed our exchanges on this topic and I can not identify any point-by-point rebuttal of my commentary on any of your posts. They all …
Hi Old Joe,
You state: " This allows me the freedom to indulge in observation of humanity, with all of it's foibles, and thankfully you provide much fodder in this area".
Of course you are always free to expose foibles. Please expose my foibles. …
Hi Guys,
Merry Christmas to all. One of my all time favorates is sharing a Christmas with a John Denver Montana Christmas video. Here is a Link to it:
montana christmas skies dvd
EDIT: Here is a more direct access to the video:
http://www.dai…
Hi Old Joe,
I am very happy for your successful retirement, and truly wish for that to continue forever.
Doing a few spreadsheet analyses is a fine way to plan for retirement. Reinforcing that type of analyses with supplemental Monte Carlo analys…
Hi Guys,
This is a tough problem that is common to most folks. Normal demands force us to start savings for retirement far too late. This article does a nice job at identifying the issues and some possible approaches to alleviate the situation.
…
Hi Old Joe,
As the self-anointed critic of MFO, you sure have been consistently hostile to my postings over a period that extends to the old FundAlarm days. Some folks would question why the antagonism?
My answer to that question is Monte Carlo a…
Hi Guys,
Sorry, but my memory failed me. I assumed my memory was spot on target. It was not. I'm a victim of ATTBW, Assumptions Tend To Be Wrong.
When I posted initially I believed that the strongly positive markets occurred in the President's f…
Hi Guys,
Yet another Paul Krugman polemic. The current target of his invective rage is Donald Trump. Krugman's transformation from a respected economist and economics book author to an extreme liberal policy advocate has been complete for a number…
Hi Zoneblitz,
Early retirement is most always a challenging decision given its many moving parts and the uncertainties of future portfolio returns. It's wise to seek advice from numerous informed sources. MFOers can be helpful with respect to spe…
Hi Roy,
Really good to hear from you, even this briefly. I miss your well researched,well documented, and well interpreted Fund Alarms. They made me better informed and a better investment decision maker.
Your fair-mindedness encouraged me to s…
Hi Guys,
Barry Ritholtz is a very wise man who recognizes his forecasting limitations. It's identical to our own limitations. He summarizes it in a humorous way that likely overstates those reservations but still vividly captures the futility of …
Hi LewisBraham,
Wow, you are one tough critic. I did not find the passage you quoted or any other section of the referenced article "humorous", I liked the article; it is serious stuff written by a respected and serious financial writer.
The H…
Hi Crash,
Thank you for your post that reminds us of the Zurich Axioms. Your reference links us to the complete Max Gunther book.
Some folks might be inspired to read this excellent short book, but others might not want to invest the required tim…
Hi msf,
I agree with your observation that Housel used rather loose terminology in his article. I make a definite distinction between what I classify as art or craft. Each of us likely differ somewhat in the specifics of those distinctions based o…
Hi Guys,
Persistence can change defeat into a victory. But in this instance it took 15 years of persistence to accomplish that goal. I don't claim any prescience, perhaps just some luck given the many turnovers in the game. I should be so lucky i…
Hi Guys,
It would certainly improve the health of any portfolio if some pattern recognition would emerge from the countless historical investment studies that have been made. These studies have basically failed to yield lasting investment rules. …
Hi Guys,
There are elements in this Jaffe article that I agree with, and others that I take exception. I agree that personalized perspectives would be more completely read but are likely never to be developed, at least in my lifetime. I disagree …
Hi Guys,
This is not a worrisome problem since it is slowly self-correcting as a function of time. What is true in the financial industry has been historically true in most other industries. I have first-hand experience in this arena.
Fifty-six …
Hi Skeet,
Well said! Thank you for your input. I just know you profit from "good investing" based on your post. You integrate humor into your decision making and you recognize and adjust for the uncertainties in the marketplace. More power to y…
Hi Guys,
Great stuff! Yet another insightful article from the fertile mind of Ben Carlson. The graph that compares the S&P 500 with the Russell 2000 drives the main point home with conviction.
No pain, no gain is applicable in the investment…
Hi Guys,
Ted, I agree completely. Enough is enough already.
This topic offers the potential for endless debate as demonstrated by these postings. There is a plethora of data available and multiple interpretations of the data that contribute to th…
Hi Davidrmoran,
I'm not familiar with the details of either the Costco or the Walmart (Sam's club) models, although we shop at all 3 entities. They fiercely compete for business in our neighborhood. All 3 are successful.
I do have the advantage …
Hi again LewisBraham,
I'm puzzled by your challenge concerning my acknowledgement of the " truth". Although I'm sure I made errors in a few of my posts, they were random and unintentional. I do try to be precise and accurate. I'm sure I was not …
Hi LewisBraham,
Thank you for taking time to compose your reply. It is the reply of an angry man who more often sees the dark side and not the positive progress that has been made on remaining inequalities.
Just about all the shortcomings that yo…
Hi Guys,
Income inequality is certainly not a modern phenomenon. Some form of the pyramid that Mr. Braham referenced has existed forever. And the numbers don't change all that much over rather large chunks of time. The posts have considered nume…
Hi Guys,
While Morningstar star ratings might give a modest edge when selecting a mutual fund, no MFOer will be surprised that costs are a far more reliable indicator of future superior investor returns. Here is a Link to a Vanguard survey that re…
Hi Hank,
Not being too familiar with the hot money issue doesn't dissuade me from making a guesstimate of its likely impact on investor's returns. My arrogance is such that I'll invent a method to estimate its impact at least in a possible magnitu…
Hi Hank,
Thank you for participating. I am a long term investor so I hesitate to address issues associated with the influence of "hot money". I just don't play in that arena and have not thought much about it.
From my narrow and uninformed persp…
Hi Guys,
Nothing could be more misleading than the title of this referenced article. The article does acknowledge that there are smart active fund managers among many who are not so smart, but time and fees work against the small cohort of success…
Hi Guys,
There are many "tale of two investors". Ted has referenced one of them. Ted, it's a superior post. I loved it.
I find yet another tale of two investors more educational. Here is the Link to it:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-solin…
Hi Guys,
We should all be thankful of what John Bogle has meant to the mutual fund industry. His contributions go beyond smart. They are wise. Yet he remains a humble man with a set of investment rules that are general and simple. Here is a lis…
Hi Hank,
Sorry if my submittal got under your skin and irritated you. By no means was that my intent. Blame it on my amateur writing style.
My posting purpose this time was to document my investing practice. I surely was not suggesting that any…
Hi Guys,
I'm a long term investor and do not frequently monitor the value of my portfolio. For me, a rough quarterly check serves my purposes with at least one annual,exception. In early December I do check more often as I prepare for my annual m…
Hi Guys,
Another election and another peaceful transfer of leadership is anticipated. I sure hope Trump has the requisite leadership,skill set. The most likely answer is a firm "yes" based on his success in the rough and tumble business world..
…
Hi Guys,
Markets seem to ride a volatility wave near a major election. However, the longer term net change is not all that dramatic. Here is a Link that explores that volatility immediately prior to and soon after a Presidential election:
http:/…
Hi Hank,
In general, I try to avoid pondering. It is likely to produce faulty decisions.
"When in doubt, mumble; when in trouble, delegate; when in charge, ponder." That just might be from an old US Army field Manuel. It's really a quote from a…
Hi Mark,
No problem! No harm, no foul. Thanks for taking the time to respond.
Investing can be as simple or as complex as the investor wishes. I'm moving in the simplicity direction.
There is a terrific video that illustrates this attribute fr…
Hi Guys,
Submittals that ask these fundamental questions almost always attract a huge response that reflects widely and wildly divergent market perspectives. That's what makes a vibrant marketplace.
I typically don't participate in these exchange…
