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, Bobpa.
Its recent performance is (1) noticeable better than its diversified emerging market peers and (2) roughly in-line with MACSX - looks like a bit lower returns but a bit less volatility - but I'm not sure I'd put much weight in such a sho…
Actually, 1.75% seems like the "real" ratio.
1.56% reflects operating expenses but does not reflect expenses generated by the fund's short positions. Those expenses are variable, depending on the extent of the shorts.
2.47% is what the manager es…
Reply to @scott: Hi, Scott. It's in my April cover essay. I noted that River Park was bringing two new hedged funds to market, and I also offered quick updates on two others. David
Hi, JB!
I'll note, in passing, that I have not profiled RLSFX. I did report on its launch and its background as a hedge fund, but I haven't had time to speak with the management or to work through its strategies.
I'm in the midst of a longer term…
Yuh ... 91 for Dave. Hmmm ... wonder if there's any incentive for a firm that sells long-term care insurance to calculate that I have a long-term? Hmmm ...
Reply to @kevindow: Hi, Kevin!
"Watch" is great. I don't make "buy" recommendations, ever. There are some fund which I believe particular sorts of investors should investigate more or less vigorously, and a few which seem plausible but which worr…
Hi, Charles.
A couple things come into play. One is that Mr. Kaiser has years and years of successful investing, and so bears watching. We talked at length, and he argued that the quality of the investment opportunities were too low for his taste…
Odd criterion. A Bill-Millerish sort of goal. Morningstar lists 102 funds, including 10 domestic large caps, that meet your criteria.
Is there something that attracted you to it?
David
Reply to @bee: In case you hadn't heard, PFTRX is liquidating on September 28. The fund management is weird and sort of reclusive, so I'm baffled but not surprised that they made the formal announcement of the liquidation with 10 months notice. Od…
Hi, catch.
Junior and I tried a two-step search. We looked at both Google results for the search term "financial news aggregator" and at the Library of Congress's list of recommended sites.
The former led to mainstream robo-sites (Google News/Bus…
Thanks, catch!
Much more nearly human today. Still not much motivated to eat, but there are worse problems I could have.
The real challenge for us lies ahead. As our visibility grows, we've gone from search out interesting options to having mana…
Reply to @AndyJ: Yuh, we are "in dialogue" about that. The short version is that FundReveal's default benchmark is the S&P500 and that almost all global funds - which have more exposure to the euro-zone crisis, the Fukushima fallout and so on -…
My sense is that AMG has been pretty typically benign, so far as robot overlords go. Which is to say, their affiliates seem to have retained their institutional identity and teams and to function without obvious interference. It's always good to ch…
There are very few options with a better record than Vanguard Balanced Index (VBINX), simple, static, ultra-cheap, almost unbeatable. It mostly tends to eke out small wins over its peers, but rarely lag the group by more than a fraction of a percen…
Reply to @scott: Details are few. It will attempt to track the Solactive Listed Hedge Funds Index, but I can't find any information on the composition (much less performance) of the index. The tracking error is likely to be substantial, first, bec…
Reply to @Investor: I was sitting today at the James Advantage funds website, studying their long/short fund (it's interesting and I've probably had six requests to look at various long/short strategies in the past month), and trying to come up with…
Hi, Pangolin.
The evidence for a negative correlation between interest rates and a Permanent Portfolio (about -.16) comes from the Considine analysis, which I provided the link to. He has rather better credentials than I do and made what seemed to…
Hi, PSA!
I tend to share Mark's sense of what the Off-Topic board was designed to accommodate. That said, I try to take the source into account. There are folks who visit every day and have contributed to discussions regularly, often for as long …
Hi, andrei!
Because of the fund's transitions in management (the manager joined in 10/06) and function (from a sort of in-house bank fund to a somewhat less conservative one), I I tried to focus a little less on the 10-year and longer record than o…
Thanks! All of us here at MFO HQ have donned party hats, taken up noise makers and are preparing for the countdown to April 1. We were going to slowly lower Jack Bogle, in a sequined tux, from the ceiling but his hip wouldn't take it.
I never ge…
Reply to @Charles: Hi, Charles. I talked with Michelle Foster, who handles a lot of the fund's business and admin work tonight. They've noticed the same thing and are frustrated by it. As I note in my April essay, Schwab says they only update som…
Hi, rono!
What do you/he think about Price's target-date funds? It's clear that Morningstar thinks of them as "best of breed."
I suppose one objection would be to their target asset allocation. For the 2015 fund, it's about 66% stocks - way more…
Reply to @00BY: Unless something happens to change my mind (oh, look! a butterfly!!), that's likely. To be clear: that's not dissatisfaction with MACSX per se. In part it's my reluctance to become a collector of funds - I tend toward a "one in / …
I've owned Wasatch Microcap Value (WAMVX) pretty much since it opened. On face, the fees are too high. On the other hand, Mr. B. keeps earning his keep so I haven't complained. I'd also consider Pinnacle. David
Hi, Sven.
Strategic Income (in which I have not yet invested) is not a pure bond fund. It can invest in stocks, convertibles and preferred shares as a way of adding some element of growth to income. That likely will decrease yield (as will fund e…
Hi, johnN.
I move slowly, but do anticipate splitting my current MACSX holdings between Seafarer and Matthews Asia Strategic Income (MAINX). Sometime in May, maybe? And I guess the implication is that, yes, I do think so.
David
Hi, Alex.
Currently, the list appears restricted to paid subscribers. It's on the "Funds" page, right hand side. Likewise, their premium screener now contains an "analyst rating" option.
Otherwise, I'm afraid you're stuck looking, fund by fund, …
Arnott manages Pimco All Asset All Authority (PAUAX), PIMCO's ultimate "go anywhere" fund which, in 2008, lost just 7.5%. The "D" class is available as a no-load NTF at some of the brokerages.
Three things that struck me:
1. Arnott and company th…
A great opening line: "shrewd salesmanship can overcome mediocre investment returns." Someone is frantically pedaling what they know to be mediocre investments, and succeeding because the investors believe that they can trust their advisers' judgme…
Reply to @3yards: The four funds that M* identifies as "most similar" to Tradewinds, based on a combination of portfolio and performance:
BlackRock Large Cap Core Plus "A" (BALPX)
Leuthold Select Industries (LSLTX)
Gabelli Dividend Growth (GABBX)
Vi…
Reply to @scott: Ibartman passed along word of Iben's departure earlier this week. According to the story he shared, Iben was hired by Jeff Vinik - former Fidelity Magellan manager - to work with his hedge fund firm, Vinik Asset Management.
The st…
