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.
OK - “Conspiracy theories” was over the top. Not to gripe. It was a NYT best seller, so worth a look. Just saying … Maybe change conspiracy theories to people in positions of power acting out of “ulterior motives”.
Definitely belongs in OT. I appreciate hearing about this. I bought the audio version. Full of unsupported assertions / conspiracy theories / scapegoating from both the left and the right. Some pertinent observations as well. Liberal use of terms…
Interesting guys.
I’ve felt rightly or wrongly that Dow 37,000 (reached 2 years ago) is a decent marker of sentiment and valuation. That’s about where it still is today (I’m guessing that’s about neutral today). So, FWIW, I’m pretty much stu…
A Santa Claus rally is the tendency for the S&P 500 index to increase over the final five trading days of December and the first two trading days of January. The term was first coined in the 1970s in the Stock Trader's Almanac.
So...we ain't qu…
If it's Krugman it must be "correct".
I like that @FD. :)
I’m thinking maybe we as investors should target whatever the agreed upon inflation rate is? Come in a bit under ROI and you’ve failed. Finish a bit over the ROI and you’re a “success”. I…
"When the music is playing you need to get up and dance..."
As the kids used to say, “Party Hearty!”
The Dow is currently above 37,500 (an all time high). I believe that if it goes much higher you’ll see folks beginning to ”buy the dip”. :)
“Red Sea, now: politics and war. Sigh”.
Whatever became of “The war to end all wars”? Huh?
“Is this a reason that gold is up in recent weeks?”
Good question. Gold’s been a bumpy ride as usual, but generally has gained ground throughout the ye…
If it’s “the world’s biggest ETF …” somebody owns it!
Even large institutions (pension funds, college endowments, insurance companies, investment banks, hedge funds, mutual funds) eventually derive their investable assets from the public in some…
Thanks for the insight @msf.
Question: Is this possibly owned inside some of the funds / ETFs that invest in a “basket” of other ETFs? If that’s the case, retail investors might be buying it indirectly based on the performance of one of those fun…
I suspect the steering issue I mentioned was maybe in how the software was set or maybe a mechanical issue. On a short rental there isn’t time to get to know the vehicle very well. All I can say @Mike is - enjoy paying double the cost of fuel to …
I have an old pickup for hauling. Put less than 1,000 a year on it now. Prefer the handling of lower riding sedans. My Accord Hybrid is nice handling, huge trunk, and routinely gets 47 mpg. What not to like? Reserved a Camary rental on recent trip…
15 Dec., '23. Rick Rieder, BlackRock.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2023-12-16/wall-street-week-12-15-2023
Hate to say it, but mostly a plug for his new ETF.
OK - Some insights into the trend away from mutual funds into ETFs and how the i…
Thanks @Yogi - I’m eager to see the actual credit allocations for BRTR. (Own BINC, so am familiar with it.) However, I imagine looking at its mutual fund counterpart would give a good indication.
I’m giving some thought to going a little shorter or more conservative in the fixed income / bond sleeves. Just a thought. Maybe lock in some of the recent gains?
10 year: 4.026% at 3:00 EST.
Wahoo-bonga.
3.903% before today’s open. My (mostly reliable) tracker shows Rieder’s BINC up 2.73% to $53.41 today alone in pre market. Most likely an error or abnormality. ISTM those pre market quotes get yanked aroun…
Yuppers. Gold posted a $50+ gain yesterday and is up $62 today at last look. Miners going wild. OPGSX (used to own / still track) was up 5% yesterday. Silver’s been leading as it often does. Gold peaked above $2100 a week or two ago (a record high…
At exactly 2:00 p.m., everything took off like a rocket. Amazing, or just leaked information..
That’s the time the FOMC statement was released. See Yogi’s time of posting.
:)
Yep - A rocket breaking lose from its hold-down clamps occurred to me too…
Possibly related - SEC Chair Gensler made comments on BB today that liquity issues increased this week (roughly paraphrased). Particularly, he noted the increased risks of leverage in the markets. Possibly something the Fed is also concerned about.
…
yes and most here were safely positioned in tbills or cash. :)
+1
“… most here”? Doubtful. But cash certainly was front and center on the board much of the first half of ‘23. Wish it were possible to pull up individual pages of discussions to tr…
Taxation of ADR stocks and U.S. Investors
”Like regular U.S.-based stocks, ADRs that issue dividends are taxed in the same manner. However, the one caveat is that because it is considered a foreign investment, the foreign home country will typicall…
It works in reverse too. Had you invested in the Hussman Strategic Growth Fund (HSGFX) 15 years ago you’ve have realized an annualized loss of 3.68%. You might be selling your private island home in the Florida Keys about now and moving into a near…
Not gonna touch any of the critters mentioned here, for precisely the reasons discussed. My experience in this direction is limited to a single ADR which is underperforming. "Foreign issuer" was allegedly the reason for the delay--- not to mention t…
@Baseball_Fan - I don’t think you’ll get many affirmatives here on your annuity question. I’m sure they have a place for some people. But haven’t been mentioned much by board members. Dunno … Maybe …
@FD - I posted the advice of Buffett to his wife…
Some friends were recently on a week long Caribbean cruise that was scheduled to stop in Panama City. But the ship decided to skip the stop due to some kind of “social unrest” there. Yes, there is a large lake, as I recall, in Panama that services …
What is a "What The F--k" portfolio? All caution to the wind?
I’ve researched it Mike. It’s military lingo: ”Whiskey Tango Foxtrot”
Portfolio risk late in retirement? It’s a personal matter, I think, based more on temperament than anything else…
Thanks, @Old_Joe, for tracking down those links.
I remain alarmed about AI without really understanding how it could get out of control. Maybe even more troublesome is the amounts of money the big tech firms are throwing around. I’ve never read ab…
”I stumbled across the idea that you start retirement with a low equity allocation and increase it as you age ten or so years ago, although I forgot the source.”
@sma3 - I looked for that same idea online and couldn’t find it either. I’ll hasten t…
+1 Thank you @Roy / Excellent link.
On occasion I listened to Ramsey 20+ years ago when he was on late night AM. Sounded much more rational than. From that included clip, it sounds like he’s been attending the ”Rush Limbaugh School of Public Addr…
While tweaking is under discussion, M* notes that TRP’s TRRIX has been “on the tweek” so to speak.
”The team (that manages TRRIX) has made several changes to the underlying holdings over the past several years, adding both T. Rowe Price Hedged E…
Outlier here (What’s new?). At 78 I go about activities including travel, theater, shopping, social events pretty much as before the Covid pandemic. My heart goes out to all who suffered, continue to suffer or lost loved ones. I avail myself of …
Thanks @yogibearbull. Sounds like a treacherous area. Rowan’s (house view) argument is that for many investors “liquidity” is being oversold (and is costly). His “sell” is that most of us need perhaps 10% of our invested assets at any one time (ie …
