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.
It is hard to get reasonable discussion going when the NRA'a LaPierre recently inflamed his supporters, claiming the right to bear arms is a "God-given right." How is it possible to reason with someone spouting that sort of nonsense?
If Gary Cohn quits as a result of losing the tariff argument, who from Wall Street would be willing to take his place? Maybe there's another family member who could step in, someone who knows from trade wars...
"He cited an incident that had occurred two years earlier, in which a gunman shot and killed three people in a Seattle shipyard. “The next day, the papers reported that, within minutes of the shooting, the Seattle School District had been able to lo…
@Mark: I knew someone on the board held GLFOX. Thanks for chiming in. I am always looking for other ways to play infrastructure. FIW has done well in water. Will check out UTF.
@Maurice: I don’t recall the Ikea founders obit, quite recent, saying anything about the secret to his success. Not letting the customer out until he has traversed the entire store! The place is a maze to be avoided.
@circa33: I think buying a stock is a form of a vote of confidence in the company. My or your purchase won’t move the needle, but at least we can keep our front stoop clean. I think that’s what Voltaire’s famous, “Mais il faut cultiver notre jardin,…
Buying the "Dirty Dozen" fruits and vegetables from organic sources makes sense to me.
https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty_dozen_list.php?gclid=CjwKCAiAt8TUBRAKEiwAOI9pAP
In general, our household avoids all chemical additives and preservatives and…
@davidmoran: are you the only one on this board who owns this fund? I own a lot of DSENX, but I have been unimpressed with the European version of CAPE. What I did buy last year were BCVSX and MOTI.
Took some distributions from HQL accumulated in my Roth in last few years and added to ISMRX and GPGOX. In a taxable account, I used proceeds from XMLV to buy RYT.
I have also taken note of the drop off in performance of FMIJX. When I read the managers' reports I come away with the sense that I am a wild-eyed risk taker compared to them. Maybe I need a dose of caution, but those guys make investing sound as th…
In a slightly related area, BFOR, the "GARP" ETF that follows the Barron's 400 index, failed to keep up with the S&P 500 in 2017. I haven't owned it for more than two years. However, I have found the M* wide-moat ETFs, the domestic MOAT (+23.16%…
Sold XMLV. Checked all the PowerShares low-vol ETFs and found lagging performance over the past six weeks while the overall market has been hot. Mid-caps as measured by IJH have done fine, but XMLV peaked in late November and the trend continues neg…
If I were to invest in commodities, I'd buy DBC, which is described as follows:
"The investment seeks to track changes, whether positive or negative, in the level of the DBIQ Optimum Yield Diversified Commodity Index Excess Return™. The fund pursue…
@hank; FWIIW, my only attempts to move some big chunks of my retirement money into cash in 2008 did not pay off. An advisor later pointed out how much of the recovery I had missed.
Maybe it is a good time to sell. Any of you remember how much the market loved the turmoil Nixon brought on? I wish I had an in-house lawyer who would say he was the one speaking when I had put my foot in my mouth. More will be revealed, but it won'…
How one reacts to tax reform proposals always depends on whose ox is being gored. I'm no different from any other taxpayer trying to figure out what the salauds in Washington are trying to do to me. So far, I don't like what I see: limitation on pro…
BCSVX is new, but it is strong out of the gate. 65% developed and developing Europe. The current portfolio has sizable dollops of large caps and mid caps, despite its stated small cap orientation. I am surprised that Brown Capital has done as well a…
I think you can buy KCMTX at Schwab, but the ER is 1.62% for the R-1 shares, at a minimum purchase of $100. Schwab sells Driehaus funds at low minima also, even though that company’s website would have you believe the minimum is 10K.
I like Old_Skeet's idea of a global balanced fund for a one-and-done fund. Although it does not have a long track record, RPGAX has both a great start and all of TRP's resources behind it. I'd feel comfortable putting this in a UGTM account or inves…
I agree with all of the members' above comments. One similarity between Michael Lewis' two articles is a recounting of how both the DOE and USDA operatives spent a huge amount of time and energy to prepare for the handover to the incoming appointees…
On August 10, @LewisBraham, I linked the DOE article you mentioned above. Not one person commented on what I thought was a grave matter. Thanks for bringing your influence to bear. As the French say, “Vous avez du piston.” The Department of State de…
Both of Lewis' article are true shockers. As bad as a president may be, it's the people he appoints that do the real governing and they can really screw things up. Quite frankly, I don't think Trump himself picked the people running the government a…
@LLBJ: what you point out about FTHNX changing its stripes in 2015 does seem to be reflected in the massive distributions of $6.58 made that year while the NAV was between $16 and $20. If they were unloading large cap stocks that had appreciated, th…
I looked at this fund also and concluded it's worthwhile, but only in a tax-advantaged account. If distributions, predicted to be high this year for everyone, follow the fund's past behavior, there will be a big one in December. Turnover recently wa…
You are right @jlev. However, MOAT revised its methodology and expanded its holdings and has avoided since then the sort of value trap it fell into. I sold at that time but have bought back in.
@davidmoran: Looking back to our short discussion in June, I am pleased with the choice of MOTI and MOAT. Both of these ETFs have out performed the DoubleLine domestic and foreign OEFs for 2016 and 2017. MOTI is Asia-centric and DLEUX is Europe, so …
