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.
Due to a couple of bone-headed moves, I ended up with both institutional (TF) and retail (NTF) of the same fund at Schwab (not Lazard). I asked to have the retail shares, which carried a much higher ER, converted to institutional. The Schwab rep fi…
@yogibearbull: We had to choose the AT&T bundle because we are far enough away from a main street to have to rely on a buried copper cable for all our connectivity. Comcast is in town but would have charged us big bucks to lay a cable 2/10th of …
A quick look at GRID (First Trust Clean Edge®Smart Grid Infrastructure ETF) shows 17% utilities as well as many industrial and tech companies that stand to benefit from what Giroux is talking about, namely the conversion to green energy. GRID does n…
Just received this newsletter regarding KMLM managed futures fund and its rationale for not including equities at all in its trend-following ETF. If I understand correctly, the argument is that trying to short equities, for example, is tantamount to…
This week's New Yorker has a fine article about the rise of Gov. Whitmer and the Dems in my adopted state. Not sure if Condé-Nast paywall allows guests to read a limited number of articles. The portrait of Whitmer, in color and in her signature leat…
In 2022 I was one who tried using BLNDX/REMIX, a fund that engages in L/S trading of stock indices, FI, currencies, and commodities. The managers’ monthly reports are quite detailed regarding how their positions fared over the previous 30 days and w…
@WABAC: I have hung on to FIW with no regrets. Of the « theme » ETFs I own or have owned, PAVE held up the best during 2022. The ones I sold don’t get mentioned.
@WABAC: ISTM that at the time you mentioned buying TAN, you also spoke of GRID. That was a great pick, up some 38% the last year. QCLN and ICLN, also clean energy themed, have both failed to put up exciting numbers.
This one might be "flashier" than what @Crash had in mind, but give a look to DGIFX, which just happens to fall into the same Lipper/MFO category as PRWCX/TRAIX. M* 5 star/gold. Not on any of the fund supermarkets, so requires direct investment.
The NY Times is closing its sports department and will offer The Athletic, an online sports “page.”
As the Brits say, there will be “redundancies,” amounting to at least 35 journalists. I don’t know if my subscription to the Times will continue with…
@WABAC: did you see the Times article on the cost of repairing the fancy new cars with all their sensors and crash-avoidance software. Apparently a guy slightly damaged his new pickup truck and the repair bill came to $42,000. @davidrmoran: that mig…
I thought The Chronicle was a good paper when I subscribed to it during the ‘87-88 academic year when we lived in Berkeley. Sorry to hear of its decline. We had a great range of papers when we lived in Chicago in the late 60’s. I fear that they have…
I still have a M* subscription because of the stock coverage. I own two of the Van Eck “moat” ETFs and I occasionally dabble in an undervalued stock or two. The MF coverage continues to grow worse and worse as many others have pointed out.
Matthews first four active ETFs have only a year under their belts, so hard to tell if investors will benefit from the new vehicles, many of which are clones of existing OEFs. MEM and MEMX have not been bad at all.
I concur with @BaluBalu. It is really hard to know if the high equity allocations are held in accounts which the retirees count on to fund their ordinary expenses or whether they are investments for children or grandchildren who may have a long glid…
As a kid I recall the fireworks stand or two that cropped up a few days before the 4th. Of course, I was fascinated by the stuff that could make the biggest bang; things called Cherry Bombs were loudest and were powerful enough to blow off a finger …
@David_Snowball: wonderful trivia about Kai Ryssdal, who is said to have the most enviable voice in radio. I was not a pilot, but I was headed to advanced ROTC and probable assignment bombing Cambodia or Thailand like my college buddy. Dropping out …
@dtconroe: great story about your wife's level of expertise. It's a good thing you didn't try to explain bond CEFs, their yields, discounts, etc. (LOL!)
@MikeM and @InformalEconomist: Wasatch does have WAGOX, a global SCG fund, but it's really volatile and holds 57% US stocks. I also left GP, so obviously no suggestions for that firm. As for a more measured approach to global SC, I prefer either Pea…
Sorry to hear about Robert Bruce. Owning BRUFX was a bit of a challenge, given the iconoclastic nature of the company. One cannot, for instance, put a slice of this good fund into an IRA held elsewhere to take advantage of its high distributions.
T…
Very interesting points raised by several members. It is true that the equal weight fund does have to sell its winners down to the .2 allocation, but I understand that such rejiggering occurs only 4 times per year. Winners are pared back while stock…
You’re absolutely right, @dryflower. I found David Snowball’s write up on equal-weight S&P (RSP, VADDX, and INDEX) in this month’s commentary to be very helpful. If one foresees a market not dominated by the mega-cap tech stocks, but one that co…
As a father I do think about the economy that my kids are facing. The younger two (32 and 25), who rent, are for the most part shut out of the home-buying market and it’s likely to be some time before they’d even consider buying. Among my three sibl…
@Crash: I believe you can use a US-bank credit card, but each bank may have different commissions and exchange-rate fees. I would use my Schwab debit card because it has a good fee structure. YMMV.
I should have explained that it was my1993 Nissan 300ZX. Neither our Accord nor our Odyssey would stoop so low as to not start. The dealer, who has a seasoned Z mechanic, could not replicate the problem. The service manager drove it around for a whi…
It’s not just “stuff” that has risen in price. Services also. Car towing to the repair shop was more than double what I paid 3-4 years ago, to say nothing of the big check I just wrote to the septic tank pumper, 40-50% higher than five years ago. I …
@Crash: uploading the photo is simpler than one might think. When we travelled to India 4 years ago, we had to apply online for visas, which required photos, of course, as well as a generous fee. I think I scanned our passports and then created a co…
@Observant1: I’m finding it’s not just the volatility of small caps, especially SCV. Good past performers BRSVX and RWJ have struggled this year, while a couple of newcomers (which I own) are doing fine. Most of you probably don’t buy new funds, eve…
Seems to me Chris Christie and family got caught enjoying a lovely day at the beach when all other citizens were required to shelter at home. I also recall the sensitive masked Ted Cruz and entourage being caught by a camera as they sought to flee C…
“Something went wrong. Try reloading.” Such was the message I got when I clicked on your link, @davidrmoran. I’m not a Twitter user, so unfamiliar with platform. I’m quite surprised, however, to find Twitter in wide use by journalists and those in f…
@yogibearbull: thanks for those comments about M*'s other history. I owned OAKBX for a long time, but eventually sold after long-time contributor Ed Studzinski retired. I try to recognize some of my personal biases, one of which is a skepticism towa…
Sometimes I wish our government had more power to silence someone like DT. Brazil’s constitution does allow such an action, but granting huge power (in their case) to a single group within the electoral system could be dangerous. Today’s Times expla…
Comments above about Oakmark and the M* preliminary assessment of OAKCX reminded me of what I have found to be “home-town bias” in the rating firm. Over my years of following mutual funds, for a time as an owner of Oakmark funds, I believe M* is far…
@WABAC: right on regarding mid-caps, a class that’s often touted as occupying the sweet sweet spot between LC and SC. I have never been able to benefit from such an advantage, whether it was HIMVX or FRTY, to quote a couple of duds I wish I had neve…
