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.
Here in MI, we are faced with a ballot proposition to amend the constitution to increase the sales tax from 6% to 7%. Our spineless legislators would not simply raise taxes to fix the roads, but are giving us a poorly worded and confusing propositio…
JohnChisum is far and away the April leader in the unofficial contest to garner the most comments for a single thread. If he were managing a fund, it would have to close on account of asset bloat.
I will remain a shareholder if I think the increases in assets do not detract from the performance of the "original" GP funds. At this point I think GPGOX and GPIOX are treading water. For the GP approach to work the managers need to be on the road …
Eddie Brown from Baltimore was frequently on; Mike Holland ran a balanced fund. Both guys named their firms after themselves. BCISX is run by Eddie Brown's firm that employs a large number of African Americans. I don't know anything about Holland's …
John's comments prompt a couple of observations: for several years pundits have been predicting the rising cost of water as an investment theme to exploit. The word is not out: the performance of the ETF PHO has been feeble. Retail prices are going …
Merci, Maurice, for tracking down the info on the sponsors of Lou's show. Alan Abelson had much the same skeptical and irreverent approach to the big machers on Wall Street.
I must be naïve, but I thought my three GP holdings held "stalwarts." The word means little to me in the investing context and raises my suspicions about loss of focus. Clarity in language reflects clarity of thought. Obscure language, well, George …
So did I, Junkster. I am proudly a lefty. Good employers give lefties a 10% bump in pay because we are so talented. For some reason, I worked for 42 years without finding such an employer.
It's possible I started that original discussion. I was looking for Alpha, which on this board means 50 or more comments. I suggested a monthly prize, but no one fell into line behind me.
@Maurice: I may have linked the article incorrectly. I subscribe to Barron's and I know others do not. I've been trying to post pay-wall protected articles on the board, but obviously I don't have the same skill as Ted.
@David: At a wedding I attended in France the members of the wedding party, including the groom (who is a high level civil servant), made the most elaborate speeches I've ever heard at such an event. I know French and French culture, but I was sever…
A few months ago, I moved out of BUFBX into SCHD for the dividend producing slice of my funds. It's très cheap and no commission at Schwab. I feel better about this choice since Ted posted the link!
I like the frankness of the managers' reports which give me the sense that they invest cautiously. Performance has been on a par with LB actively managed OEFs, but the fund lagged in 2013 because it wasn't trading the first day of the year. Cash hol…
@Scott: Not to be morbid, but my father-in-law held many MLPs, had a stroke and died. The lawyers had a terrible time figuring out the basis for the funds and the estate paid them big bucks. I don't think anyone in the family had a clue as to what w…
@JohnChisum: you might be interested in the discussion about the new Exponential Technologies ETF that just started trading under the symbol XT. The ER is .47% and assets went from nil to 600 million just last week. Rick Edelman put 560m of his clie…
@JohnChisum: have read that carrying a cell phone in front pocket is not good for the health of the family jewels. My wife is always on my case about this. I comply with her wishes to keep the peace but I'm agnostic on the science of the issue.
I received one today from BX. Held the stock for a short time but still got one. Unexpected but I don't think I'll have to amend my 1040 long since filed.
I have been extremely happy with HIMVX. I would take a look at LSV Asset Management's web site for an appreciation of their style of value investing. The fund swooned during the crisis, but it's been superb since. Harbor does a good job of picking t…
Knew nada about this fund. Interesting to read the list of shorts. Do you get anything more than a one-page summary of market activity from the president of American Century, i.e. the skinny from the managers on what they did with your nickel?
I did not get to benefit from my father-in-law's investment skills because he was hard to reach. There might have been a clash if I had had to steer him in another direction because he was not computer literate and his principal goal was avoiding ta…
After watching "60 Minutes" last night, I have to think the best is yet to come in cancer research and HC on the whole. Here's a link to background on the show and what docs at Duke have achieved.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/using-polio-to-kill-can…
New to my watch list: iShares Exponential Technologies ETF (XT), which just began trading March 23. The fund is based on a M* index of the same name and holds 198 stocks.
To think I was looking at it when it was at $1.50! Unfortunately, there have been other "story" stocks I failed to resist. How about the FlavrSavr tomato or Surebeam's food radiating machine?
This is worth reading. At the end of the article, the author recommends 3 small-cap value ETFs: VTWV, IJS, or SLYV, the choice depending on whether one is a Vanguard, Fidelity or Schwab customer. Since I am the latter, I quickly compared SLYV to the…
