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.
You might want to read my write-up of the fund, which sort of explains the short term vs high yield tension. The short story is that the fund invests, primarily, in called high yield bonds; that is, high yield bonds that will be redeemed…
Hi, MJG.
Well, there were 21 U.S. recessions in the 20th century (22 if you count the one ending in 1900). I guess one test of the case would be to look at political stability or instability in the midst of, or wake of, those. While you could a…
For what interest it holds, I'm entirely comfortable with Maurice's question and the resulting thread. I'd be more concerned if it were an anonymous poster or someone I'd never seen before. That's just my scam/spam reaction. It seems to me that i…
Howdy.
Folks certainly do find questions that I've never pondered before. Languages? Uhhh . . . if it looks (a) like a fund discussion and (b) is productive rather than disruptive, I guess I'd be predisposed to shake my monolingual head in wonde…
Dear friends,
I've written to the folks at Saturna, who in turn read our discussion and the article. Their general tendency is to ignore conspiracy theorists (Mr. Mitchell qualifies) but they take the FA/MFO board seriously and are talking about h…
Hi, guys.
Sorry to have missed the bulk of the discussion. I've got a query out to the folks at Saturna, asking them to look through the discussion and help us understand the facts. I'll follow-up more extensively once I'm back from England and h…
Hi, Cathy!
It should be a fascinating trip. Oxford, on surface, strikes me as a bit intimidating but I'm generally in my element when I'm working in archives. Will has grand (and exhausting) plans for hiking about London and riding tubes and trai…
Hi, Max.
Then again, emerging market bonds were the highest returning asset class of the past decade. So comparing a largely-domestic hybrid to a pure play on a hot asset class has, perhaps, an "apples to water pumps" kind of feel.
David
For what interest it holds, here's the old profile of FMI Large Cap, one of the first "stars in the shadows." http://www.mutualfundobserver.com/archive/fmila01.htm
My plan, going forward, is to mix new fund profiles each month with complete rewrit…
Three Fidelity funds that I've owned for a long time:
Low-Priced Stock, managed by Joel Tillinghast, certifiably the smartest guy in the room. In most cases, the smartest guy in the stadium. Occasionally, the smartest in the state. I've never ma…
I love this book, by the way. I like Tobias's writing style and the breadth of his vision (time to stockpile canned tuna?), both of which make it easily accessible to folks who would really rather not be reading about personal finance.
That fact t…
I'll "fourth" the recommendation for PRWCX. Had a nice chat with the fund's long-time (now long-former) manager, who suggested that Price's own internal work - again, this would have been a while ago - reached the same conclusion. It almost never …
Howdy!
And a Good Friday to you, so to speak.
The first that comes to mind is T. Rowe Price New Era (PRNEX), which waives the investment minimum for folks setting up an AIP. It's traditionally less energy-centric than most of its peers, so some m…
Hi, guys.
Do what feels right and makes the most sense to you in any given instance. I don't object to "pinging" and I've reminded Chip and Brad (who scan the board each day, looking for concerns about its function) to defer whenever possible to f…
Hi, geis!
Remember that this will be a first fund, not your final portfolio. Mr. Yacktman, blessed in mind and apprehension, is about 70 now and while there are a few 88-year-old fund managers . . .
Over time, it would be wise to shift your ass…
Since your funds (both first-rate) tend toward large and value, you might consider smaller and growthier.
Scout International Discovery (UMBDX) would be a relatively mild way of gaining access to a volatility category. Driehaus International Small…
Hi, catch!
Folks from outside the U.S. could read FundAlarm, but not post. At least that was the report from a couple international readers who e-mailed me. Apparently that was a defense against spam. I don't think that's a problem here, but I'l…
Hi, guys.
Mr. Foster and I haven't yet had time to chat, and he's certainly not near to registering the fund yet. As a result, the best I can offer by way of the fund's focus is his plan for a "new public mutual fund focused on overseas markets" a…
Hi, Greg!
I'd been searching the Internets for him, to no avail. Then he shot a couple emails off this morning with no warning. It's nice to be near, if not in, the loop!
David
Continuity and Change would have made it to 3,116,840th place if it weren't for that one damning review: I was accused of being "clear and surprisingly accessible." That was the kiss of doom.
David
Hi, johnN!
We'll have three options within a day. I just got an unrestricted PayPal account authorized yesterday (there was some question about whether we qualified as a non-profit operation) and I've created an Amazon link. I was hoping that one…
Hi, scooter!
I haven't purchased either, though I do follow both.
I'm curious about why you placed this "off-topic"? This question seems pretty central.
David
Hi, Anna!
We (Brad, Roy, Chip and I) looked at a bunch of board software options, most of which struck me as scary . . . so much focus on bells and whistles that it seemed unfriendly. This software - from Vanilla Forums - actually has more "bells"…
