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.
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MikeM
I know you are not a fan of his, Mona (understatement :) )
Another Bills fan!!! Junkster just sent me a note saying the same. GO BILLS! They will be right down the road from me when training camp starts next week at St. John Fisher College. But tickets sold out in hours, so I won't be going. Are you from the area, Western NY?
@Bee, why don't you just carry 2 HSA accounts. Open up a cash account with your bank or credit union for what you think you will use per year and keep the rest invested. I think you can do that though not 100% sure. I did have 2 accounts with 2 diff…
@openice, for those who have an individual preference to over-weight Asia in their EM allotment, this looks like a good way to do it. My point was RIMIX probably shouldn't be used as anyone's designated EM holding.
And as far as MAPIX and RIMIX ha…
Am I missing something here. RIMIX appears to be an Asia concentrated fund, not a diversified EM fund. 95% in Asia? Then why not go with MAPIX, 96% Asia. Looks like comparable market cap. One is heavy China (RIMIX) the other Japan (MAPIX). Similar r…
Every step of the way, people haven't like the change. But 5 years down the road (or whatever it has been since FundAlarm) this site has only become better and more professional because of changes, much more content and easier to navigate. David, Ch…
I'll add, if you attempt to follow the posted list, you will not even come close to the returns of a diversified portfolio that does not try and time the mark. Just go to M*'s actual shareholders return to figure that out. Puddnhead, you posted all …
I moved from MACSX to SFGIX a couple years ago. It made sense to me personally not to have 2 funds following similar agendas, especially when one of those funds (SFGIX) was using a larger geographic scope to accomplish that agenda. Just trending the…
So alternative investments are being sold based on an urban myth?
I would say they're being sold more on a marketing myth. And people are buying it. There are so many definitions, formulas and types for alternative funds. It is a gamble to guess whi…
I'd say you should. That's because with that many composite investment vehicles you most likely have significant overlaps of market caps, styles, etc. in the portfolio (disjoint "investment charters" or "categories" of funds really mean squat). Chan…
This is not "you can duplicate results", it is you "could have" if you would have picked these ETFs by looking into your crystal ball - the future. Doesn't seem valuable to me. Seems after the fact.
Yes, he appears to have an agenda. Why all the reference to "you could have duplicated" such and such fund with these x amount of ETFs? I don't get the relevance or the comparisons.
markot06 , Can't disagree on your assessment that most diversified portfolios don't beat the basic 60:40 balanced index fund, but I think there is something to having better diversification than VBIAX. This portfolio has been a work in progress the …
11 funds right now in my self managed hold portfolio.
PRWCX 20%
PTIAX 15
DSENX 15
ICMBX 10
FMIJX 8
SFGIX 7
GPGOX 6
SGENX 6
VMRXX 5
ACITX 5
GTLOX 3
From my own experience, owning a lot of funds was confusing as well as detracting from total portfol…
In the last month, I've put some money into Senior Bank Loans and TIP ETF's (BKLN SCHP SRLN), hoping those are the correct calls when rates start to rise.
Early this week I sold an energy stock I bought in early 2015, SLB. I don't have faith anymo…
I'm wondering if this pull back is a signal from wall street to the FED not raise interest rates. This seems to be the game they play. It's like a little kid throwing a temper tantrum. "You better not raise rates or we'll make the stock market drop"…
markot06, for the life of me, I can't imagine who would choose 7 ETF's to replace one mutual fund's performance. And aren't those choices made in the rear view mirror. How would you know ahead of time to pick that percentage mix of ETF's. Are you jo…
Old Skeet, your valuation formula seems to be a great way to decide allocation. And it doesn't have to be all in or all out. I believe that is 100% of your ability to beat your benchmarks. Your need for 50+ funds on the other hand and multiple sleev…
mfs: In contrast, conventional 60/40, 50/30/20, etc. allocations trade off long term growth for certain comfort levels. Even that may be deceptive, as 2008 has shown that asset classes can all drop simultaneously.
mfs, I believe your 1st comment abo…
I like the idea, but I can't see buying it just because DSENX is doing so well. I put a good portion of my self managed portfolio into DSENX (15%) after reading about the funds objectives and style, but not sure I need a European fund. I tend to thi…
Do we actually think he is incorrect, or are we just having fun?
Though most won't admit it, I definitely believe people here are having fun along with trying to increase returns using managed funds. We look for the perfect funds (often the hot new …
I bought DSENX earlier this year, and I and remember nothing about swaps and derivatives. Maybe I misunderstood objectives but basically the fund is a value fund investing in sector indexes that are at the time the 5 cheapest s&p500 sectors to i…
Edmond , I don't see the robo portfolios as being a robo "adviser". They are set up to look fairly generally to your "long term" goals. They are set up to have decent relative returns over a market cycle with less volatility due to diversification.…
Good question Sven. What is unique? I'm in the Schwab robo, Intelligent Portfolio. It charges zero%. With a 60% equity mix it has made 9.5% YTD. Pretty good return on a diversified portfolio. It charges no fees because it uses mostly Schwab ETFs alo…
They learned that skill managing households and children.
No, fact is women were not really given a choice other the managing house holds and raising children, so kind of a "this is your lot in life". Managing households was not a stepping stone jo…
Totally agree with fundalarm. A fund to invest in is the least of her concerns when there is so much other financial responsibility to contend with. Good advice fundalarm.
Hi Kaspa. I invested about a 3rd of my Schwab IRA money in Intelligent Portfolio about 15 months ago. I like the hands off approach, but the jury is still out for me on returns. My robo-portfolio is 62% equity, 28% bonds and 10% money market cash. I…
Hi David. I bought the fund when it opened with high expectations and sold it, I think towards the end of 2013 or early 2014. I haven't paid much attention to it since, but my memory for selling was because of it's early and very high stake in minin…
I don't mind the idea of a manager going to cash if he sees fit. What I didn't like about ARIVX was that the manager allowed himself to be caught in a value trap. And in a Hussman-esk way, he couldn't admit it or change it. His bet on commodities an…
@MFO Members: As I have stated in past discussions on this subject, I recommend you hold, however; if you sold in May and ran away, wait tell October to get back in.
Ted, I was hoping you could make that rhyme, like "if you sold in May and ran away,…
MJG, thanks for pointing out Charles's excellent contribution this month. I definitely have come to the same conclusion that managed funds in most investment areas are not worth the effort.
I also believe that investors and professional advisers ex…
msf, yes agree with new money being better while your working. But I believe the IRA to HSA rollover is a one time deal, perfect for that last year of work or 1st year of retirement. I still believe it is the best investment you can make even if is …