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.
The motto, if that’s the right term, of the previous Administration was, “When they go low, we go high.” Not always an easy example to follow in our personal or public dealings, but it is worth emulating. Before clicking the “post” button, I count t…
@hank. We have the same car, last year's model. Honda sedan sales have been reported disappointing despite the very high ratings of their cars. Americans prefer pick-ups and SUVs, but tariffs can't possibly spur sales.
I can't time purchases of bi…
Initiated position in APFDX (same team as ARTRX) and re-entered CAPE when price seemed favorable in late June. Sold final slice of long-term holding WSVIX recently as I believe better options exist in small value/blend (FTHNX, for example). Sold DBC…
@Ted makes a good point. It continues to amaze me that smaller fund shops, that may have had some success in one domestic niche, make forays into international investing seemingly for the sake of having another fund. Brown Capital surprised me with …
I've been a member for some time and find I'm much more inclined these days to skip vast portions of MFO long posts and particularly those containing multiple links. Linking may be useful at times, but it is not an effective way of developing and pr…
A friend's late stock-broker father apparently advised, "Buy big companies that pollute." Unfortunately, mutual fund investors probably do own such companies unless we apply some rigorous screen.
@davidmoran. My daughter uses Venmo, which seems to offer what zelle does. I suppose I could sign up, too. She just paid a sub-lease with it. One cool banking improvement is taking a picture of a check in order to deposit it.
Line 9: "Qualified business income deduction (see instructions)" If you think putting the infamous pass-through income on one line is a simplification, you may be subject to believing alternative facts. I hate to think what those instructions are.
The banks are raising fees in the same way that the airline industry is. Just went to transfer some dough to my daughter from our BOA checking to find that there's now a $3 fee for a 1-3 day ACH transfer. Our Schwab brokerage accounts remain free fo…
@willmatt72: I am holding my CVS also. Every now and then I buy a M* five-star stock if the value thesis makes sense. I am at about break-even also, having lost the 7% gain of the last couple of weeks.
I don’t think Amazon can replace the local phar…
@Catch22: I have blithely skimmed that language in the MI 1040 since it first appeared and wondered how I could honestly comply, having no accounting in April of what we may have bought online for the previous calendar year. Amazon has been collecti…
I feel very lucky that my public employer paid 10% of my gross earnings into a really good retirement program from the day I started work. I didn't know squat about money and for a few years I made the mistake of choosing too great a percentage into…
Interview with Jeff Jones covers only one micro-cap stock. I have been very happy with my position in DVSMX. It’s relatively new but run by the guys who have done very well long-term with DMCRX, Driehaus Micro Cap Growth.
As the article states, UC is one of quite a few selective colleges and universities to make standardized test scores a requirement for application for admission. As UC now admits only 7% of its applicants, no admission policy change that university …
I think @Old_Joe is probably right. It seems as if everyone feels entitled to be rude, crude, or hostile because that's the tenor of interactions on social media and cable TV. In our household, I tend to spend more time watching cable news and I now…
Two other funds that flopped badly despite the apparent good pedigrees of the managers are SEEDX (ex-Oakmark guys, now defunct) and GOODX (ex-Fairholme guys, now 1 star). It seems hard to predict how a manger will do based on where s/he trained.
We have GPGOX in an two IRAs at TDA and I seemed to be able to add to my position without being barred. I didn't click the final button, so maybe I'm missing something. FWIIW, I have a bigger position in GPMCX and sold GPEIX several months ago as pa…
I'm glad that my inclination to hold DSENX (it's in more than one account) is confirmed by the wise counsel who chimed in. I don't pay anyone for the good advice I receive here, but that does not detract from its value.
Many good points have emerged in this discussion. As to conscientious objectors, I recommend Adam Hochschild's "The War to End All Wars," an account of how those who objected to WWI were terribly mistreated, or simply shot.
I came of age in the Vi…
@VF: here’s the link to the broadcast I cited:
https://the1a.org/shows/2018-06-06/artificial-intelligence-in-journalism
In fact, a quick Google search pulled several articles on AI in journalism and the frequency of articles written by other than …
It is usually assumed that humans have a 24-hour circadian rhythm. The findings cited above suggest that humans may have adapted or will adapt to a longer cycle.
https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/circadian-rhythm-disorders-cause#2
I read…
@LewisBraham: "attacked?" I thought it was a pretty mild exchange compared to what sometimes passes for discourse on this board. With respect to a long-winded discussion the other day about "contrarian" funds, it seems TILDX might fit the definitio…
@Maurice: my statement came from Waggoner’s article that lead off this discussion. For my part, I don’t think I have been rewarded for the risk taken in foreign securities since EMs went nuts in 2007. 2017 was a decent year for international in gene…
@Puddnhead: FMIJX and whatever class of Euro Pacific Growth is in my TIAA have large European holdings and mediocre performance. BCSVX, on the other hand, has done really well in European SMIDs. MOTI, the wide-moat M* index international ETF, with 5…
I don’t know how a turbo charged 2 litre engine in something like a pickup or a massive SUV can last as long as a lower-revving 6 or 8. Engineering may have lapped me, however.
David provides an interesting profile of Centaur Total Return (TILDX). The returns, risk-adjusted, are enticing; for my part, I avoid funds with ruinous ER's (2.10%) and high turnover ratios (over 100%). This fund has saddled owners in taxable accou…
@Old_Skeet: My gain in DBC was precisely 8%. I dabble in ETF's, but this is my first venture into commodities. I would feel comfortable nibbling again in the fall. Thanks for your perspective.
My point about the difference between holding a successful global fund and a pure foreign fund may have been expressed with too much understatement. My point was that there are several large-cap growth global funds that have thrived recently; they h…
@Puddnhead: I got out of GLFOX several months ago. 3 of top 6 positions are Italian, and the bulk of the fund's holdings are in European equities with negative YTD performance.
I took profits in DBC last week as commodities seem to have paused, tho…
@Ted: We're both happy with the performance of Kristian Heugh's global and foreign large-cap growth funds; however, the majority of investors who have also chosen other foreign funds have seen disappointing returns, myself included.
@David: Do I detect a whiff of Iowa vs. Wisconsin disdain in your comment? I think you’re a transplant to the mid west, as am I, so the them vs. us (here it’s MSU vs. UM and Michigan vs. Ohio) is probably an acquired attitude. I’m a Yankee, so I ins…
Just three days ago I visited the American Military Cemetery in Normandy. This is one of many overseas cemeteries (24 IIRC) maintained to honor those who fell. I have never seen a more elegant or moving graveyard; a spanking new visitor center is th…
Two WWII recommendations: “Why? Explaining the Holocaust,” by Peter Hayes, who has devoted his career to understanding what happened during Hitler’s regime. Also “Munich,” an historical novel by the incomparable Robert Harris. The latter title migh…
