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 agree and hope that with the Costco/Visa partnership, comes the American Express support and backing that we became accustomed to.
Ever since the announcement of the divorce with Costco, American Express has handled Costco American Express cardh…
However, unless one has a particular need to carry Amex, I don't see a strong reason to get the Schwab Amex. I'll pass.
The only American Express cards that I have are a Costco Business card and a personal Costco Cash Back card. The Costco Busines…
Until July 1. Costco card and Costo change from Amex to Visa at the same time.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-things-to-know-about-the-costco-and-amex-breakup-2016-02-11
Until June 20.
Hi, Mona.
Because risk moderation is generally tax-inefficient and for some of the asset classes that interest me (Asia income, for example) there aren't any tax-efficient vehicles. You could try to invest in low-beta stocks and a low-turnover fun…
In my case, I have positions in SFGIX, MACSX and MAINX in my non-retirement portfolio and FTEMX in my retirement one.
For what that's worth,
David
Hi David,
Why relatively tax-inefficient funds in your non-retirement portfolio?
Mona
@BenWP , when you mentioned the TF for PTIAX, I had to go back and look at my purchase history. I'm with Schwab also. I was pretty sure one reason I bought was because it was NTF. Sure enough, my history shows I did not pay a TF, and that was only a…
Should we be surprised about healthcare lagging? Given that Republicans have tried over sixty times to repeal the ACA without having any coherent replacement proposal, should we be surprised that the healthcare industry is uncertain about the futur…
As an aside, I talked Friday with Steve Romick, the lead manager of FPACX, about why the fund remains open. One of his arguments is that managing a closed fund is harder than you'd think. All funds are subject to regular redemptions. In an open fund…
Andrew Foster dropped a note in my mailbox this afternoon to inform me that the 4th Qtr Portfolio review for SFGIX has been posted. As most know, Mr. Foster worked in Asia for some time before his days at Mathews and reacts (and doesn't react) to As…
AndyJ and Junkster,
I see that PTIAX is down 0.98% in the past 3 trading days, while DLTNX has fared much better and PMZDX is holding its own.
Could the munis be the culprit for the drop in PTIAX? Lower credit quality and higher percentage of non…
We don't get very venturesome with our fiduciary accounts, but we have used MAPIX for many years and never been disappointed. We tell clients MAPIX is "the chicken way to invest in China".
Hi BobC,
I thought MACSX is "the chicken way to invest in…
My preference is to use tried and true, historically proven methods for evaluating and guiding investment actions....reading chicken entrails.
An order for a big slug of VWINX was made today....dipping the toes in the equity space.
Hi Press,
With …
@Mona
I'd have to login again to MFO. :)
Seriously, I'm logging off for the evening. My browser clears everything when I shut Firefox down. I'll see what comes up tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestion.
Maurice,
I too use Firefox and when I have …
The beta site just popped up for me, when trying to access the regular site. Not sure how long it will be up.
One thing I notice is that they combine the search engine for news long with the quotes. I don't particularly like that. Bond yields, …
>> fluffer ... enough to make a straight man go gay.
You got that GOP lingo down.
Sorry to see that rono hit a nerve.
I am confident that was not his intention as I am certain he is not homophobic.
@Mona, over the years I had enough of paying IRS on distribution even in down markets. Since vast majority of active managed funds failed to out-perform their respective indexes, getting the boring index level return is good enough for us. So on t…
it is not an easy call on the balance of risk and reward over long investment period. Question for most investors is getting the market return good enough?
Domestically, it's become an easy call for me. For the past 4 years or so I was in ARTLX, …
Hi Ted,
I was doing a little research on ARTLX and came across your post in October 2014.
14 months later, ARTLX is now Ranked #207 In The (LCV) Fund Category By U.S. News & World Report.
http://money.usnews.com/funds/mutual-funds/large-value…
Better yet to be in high yield munis such as ABTYX or PYMDX. That category was the star in 2014 ( EIHYX NHMRX) and again this year albeit more muted and without the volatility of the corporates. Yes, trends do persist. Some of the (so-called) ex…
Mona: "I am still trying to understand why all the ink on MFO on RSIVX and not a drop on ASHIX ...."
Hi Mona, the Allianz fund is mentioned in this thread, and a few others. Search on ASHDX to find them, as that seems to be the share class people h…
Higher potential return almost always translates into higher risk. That's what you're being compensated for.
Of course, water has been known to run uphill.
Nice to see you posting again Mona.
Yup, "almost always".
However, I am still trying to u…
The Crowd by Gustave Le Bon published way back in 1895 yet as topical as ever. I really think RPHYX isn't all that bad albeit not my cup of tea. RSIVX I said before is a mediocre fund (actually less than mediocre now) and heavens forbid if Jim R…
fwiw, which may not be much, I have car/home/umbrella through Costco (Ameriprise), and they make sure the carrier is extremely competitive with anyone. So if I were not on Medicare, I would probably go with Costco without much further investigation.…
Only bond ETFs, which are hard to get around. No cap gains on any of the equity ETFs, looks like, even though some are literally another share class of their mutual funds. Correct?
Charles,
To my understanding, Vanguard has not announced any of the…
@soaring, why instead of say PONDX?
Not soaring, but currently for a three fund diversified bond portfolio I like DLTNX/DBLTX, PONDX/PIMIX, and DLFRX/DBFRX.
Mona
Hi David,
"It's widely known that having managers deeply invested in their own funds is good for their shareholders. There's nothing that focuses a manager's mind like the prospect of losing vast chunks of his or her own money"
I wish this were th…
Hi David,
"It's widely known that having managers deeply invested in their own funds is good for their shareholders. There's nothing that focuses a manager's mind like the prospect of losing vast chunks of his or her own money"
I wish this were th…
"Thoughts and input/suggestions?"
Both are good funds, but I prefer DBLTX because it has a superior year-to-date, 1-year, and 3-year returns, while having a lower Standard Deviation.
Mona
As for immigration and "growth" --- Growth is not always good for a typical American family. "Growth" is usually shorthand for "more GDP". However GDP is a very POOR measure of economic welfare. Its statistical predecessor (GNP) was developed du…
Still, I'm really starting to believe all the effort we at this discussion board put into finding the best funds, the hot funds, the new and improved alternative funds is an effort that will not produce better returns versus just holding a plain v…
@OldJoe Well, you folks certainly had plenty of time and opportunity to suggest reasonable alternatives. Can't seem to remember any, though. What were they, again? (Second request)
Thought I outlined that in my response to @LewisBraham, but I'll…
