Among the fund families, Capital Group (American Funds) had/has most Russia exposure.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/us-investment-manager-capital-group-was-among-top-exposed-russia-data-2022-03-02/
"NEW YORK, March 2 (Reuters) - Capital Group Companies Inc, one of the world's largest investment management companies, known for its American Funds mutual funds, had billions in exposure to Russian companies that have been either sanctioned or curbed by the United States over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to the latest data on the fund's website.....The Los Angeles-based firm, which has over $2.4 trillion in assets under management, according to its website, had $4.55 billion in exposure across its American Funds franchise to Gazprom , Sberbank (SBMX.MM), Alrosa (ALRS.MM) and Sovkomflot (FLOT.MM) as of Dec 31.....Separate data from research firm Morningstar, analyzed by Reuters, showed that Capital Group had at least $8.19 billion in exposure to Russia in its equity and fixed income funds according to latest available data. The data was on the top 100 open-end funds and ETFs worldwide....."

Hi Derf,
With about 22 holdings (mainly funds) I’ve more than enough. Only own 3 stocks: RIO, Y, WPM. The first 2 are pretty conservative companies with strong balance sheets. As far as I know, so is the third. So I sleep well and pay little heed to them.
On the contrary, both ARKK and DKNG resemble “loose & loaded cannons” ready to fire in any direction at any moment. I suspect a lot of $$ will be made in them - but lack the patience to own either. They’d also be fun to trade in and out of - grabbing off quick 5-10% gains every few weeks. Of course, there’s no guarantee. I’ll leave it to the younger ones here to mess with them. Thrills and chills …
Not much dipping here. In fact, I’ve placed a sign over the portfolio tracker keyboard reading “Do Not Touch“ - just to make sure I don’t mess with anything. :)
Thanks for the interesting thread!

Agree. Cash flow data is a backward indicator that tends to be a bit late. Tough spot for bond investors this year with the possibility of 4-7 rate hikes. Then again moving to equity poses a complete set of risk on capital loss.

There are several CEFs which are listed as Great Owls, such as BST, BUI, ETO...etc. Patience is a virtue with CEF's, but when purchased at a discount they have the ability to generate a substantial amount of income, along with solid capital gains.

Sound very reasonable. Given the size of the fund, he would buy the stocks in increments over time in order to build a meaningful position in the fund. Apple is large enough (liquidity) large lots bought or sold would not change the pricing as it would in thinly traded smaller cap stocks. Similarly he bought GE prior to spring 2020’s drawdown and continued afterward. Today GE is the 4th position. The fund often has high single digit % in cash.

USD and bonds considered "safe haven" investments. Investors will skim off some capital gains from rising bond prices and move on to the next investment !

record jobs added, layoffs at record low, so this is dumbfounding:
https://www.axios.com/voters-arent-feeling-the-record-job-gains-polling-finds-1dea3049-c8ea-48d1-9bfa-e8be47099a9c.html

It’s at 1.72% 1.70% currently, which is lower than it was a year ago Now, how do you reconcile that rate with (1) 7%+ inflation and (2) Fed members’ statements to the effect they’ll be hiking the overnight lending rate by .25 to .50% at their next meeting later this month? On the second score, I do understand that those Fed projections were made before things in the Ukraine heated up. But I’m befuddled by the contrast between the documented year-over-year rate of inflation and the meager pittance investors seem willing to accept from a bond over the next 10 years.
ISTM inflation would “eat you alive” over 10 years should you own that bond - even if we lower the inflation expectation to 3-5% yearly, which is closer to what most observers are forecasting. Yes, it could be a gamble, with folks expecting to unload their bonds in the near future after some capital appreciation. But that 1.70 rate just doesn’t make sense to me any way you cut it.
To “pun it” - If saving to buy a new pickup truck (now selling for $70,000 +) you’d surely be “spinning your wheels” while holding that 1.70% bond. :)
Chart: https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/US10Y
PS - Had to edit post. Bond fell below 1.70% while I was writing.

Here’s the part I found most interesting - “He predicts major indexes can still notch gains for the year, recovering their steep losses.” You’d think that for such a bold prediction the WSJ would have quoted directly rather than summarizing or paraphrasing Giroux’s words.
I believe it was Yogi (the 1st) who said making predictions - especially about the future - is difficult. Giroux turned guru?
Thanks @LewisBraham for the plethora of charts showing relative values & performances of value stocks vs growth over many years. Still trying to digest.
PS - Looks like another blood-bath in the markets shaping up today - unless you like seeing oil jump higher by 10% or so in a day’s time. Wonder if that interview was conducted prior to the invasion of Ukraine? Likely.

David Giroux, portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price, said he has already sold shares of energy companies in his portfolio—which have outperformed this year—while buying tech stocks like Nvidia Corp., Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. He said he expects oil prices to fall and inflation to moderate over the coming year while economic growth slows down, helping tech stocks. He predicts major indexes can still notch gains for the year, recovering their steep losses. “We have really fundamentally changed” our portfolio, Mr. Giroux said. “A year ago you would’ve seen a big bet on value [stocks]. Now everybody loves that stuff—we’ve been selling that hand over fist.”
Excerpted from: “Ukraine Crisis Upends Investing Playbook for 2022”
The Wall Street Journal, February 28, 2022

BP STORY
Markets are roiled for sure. Oil is spiking. Gold’s only up $20 late evening. Russian commercial flights banned from most of Europe. Treasury bonds rising on falling yields at the moment. What’s fascinating is the heavy global reliance on Ukraine grain exports - particularly wheat. This is leading of course to rising grain prices. China seems to be taking a “wait & see” - not being eager to watch the global economy fall into the dumpster. Late evening Dow futures off over 600 points - but a bouncing ball …..
Here’s the second story
“As the west piles sanctions upon sanctions seeking to crush the Russian economy, moments ago Reuters reported that Russia has made sure that at least those foreigners who have invested in Russian capital markets will have to stay for the ride.
According to Reuters, the Russian central bank – which the US and EU decided will be sanctioned and as a result all transactions will be banned – has ordered market players to reject foreign clients’ bids to sell Russian securities from 0400 GMT on Monday, according to a central bank document seen by Reuters.”

(A few of the key points from a rather lengthy WSJ article - Author: James Mackintosh.)
Lead / Opening question:
“Russia invaded Ukraine to start the biggest land war in Europe since Hitler. U.S. stocks soared. What gives? It isn’t that Wall Street secretly loves Vladimir Putin. A close look at the market’s performance on Thursday shows the reality: U.S. equities had a near-perfect reverse of what had been going on this year. It was a great stock-market switcheroo. Stock gains continued on Friday in the U.S. and elsewhere, with Russian shares leaping by a fifth in ruble terms. But it was Thursday’s move that set the tone, and which was so extraordinary on the day Ukraine was invaded… Quite why is less clear, but I have theories …
Possible factors leading to the reversal:
- “Sentiment was depressed, and a moment of panic-selling hit when the market opened, with the CBOE Vix index of implied volatility hitting its highest opening level since 2020 …
- “Attributed to legendary banker Nathan Mayer Rothschild: ‘Buy on the sound of cannon, sell on the sound of trumpets.’ When fear dominates, it’s time to buy, and many did.
- “Investors were already so worried that it didn’t take much to hit rock-bottom and so rebound. The regular American Association of Individual Investors survey this week found the highest proportion of self-described bears in almost a decade, and close to the lowest proportion of bulls.
- “Last week’s Investors Intelligence examination of newsletter writers found bearish sentiment almost equal to bullish for the first time since the March 2020 selloff. And a 10-day smoothed measure of investor opinion from the options market showed the equal-highest proportion of buying of bearish puts (used to protect from falls) to bullish calls (used to bet on rising stock prices) since shortly after the pandemic panic began.”
- There’s also some mention that the sanctions against Russian gas and oil exports (primarily to Western Europe) weren’t as harsh as first expected and are less likely to inflict economic damage.
- Elsewhere (WSJ and this week’s Barron’s) there is speculation that the crisis may cause the Federal Reserve to slow the pace of interest rate hikes in coming months - a positive for equities.
All of the above notwithstanding, I thought commentary overall in both the WSJ and Barron’s on Saturday leaned somewhat towards the bearish camp with one newsletter cited in Barron’s advising its readers to “pile up cash”.
Excerpts from: The Wall Street Journal, February 26, 2022 / Here’s a link; but you’ll likely need a subscription to access.

After inquiring/complaining about not being able to view statements and tax forms for over a month, I FINALLY received this reply from TRP:
Regrettably, due to the July 2020 enhancements made to how our statements are generated, account statements for trusts are not available for download through your online account access because they are registered to the tax identification number (TIN) for the trust and the online account access is registered to your Social Security number (SSN). We sincerely regret any inconvenience that this may cause.
So, even though the trust was established in 2013, and the statements were viewable through 2020, AND I can view my current trust account with access registered to my SS#, because of TRP's "enhancements" I cannot download statements any longer. Somehow, Vanguard, FIDO, and probably many other brokerage houses were able to surmount this problem. If they REALLY regret causing the problem, maybe TRP can hire a programmer who could add a "TIN | SS#" line of code. Do you think?

I'm afraid I was a bit simplistic in saying that this was merely moving the funds from the Mairs and Powers Trust to a larger trust that already holds funds of various families.
While funds operate similarly whether organized as trusts or as corporations, it may be better to think in terms of the corporate model because people may be more familiar with that.
A corporation has shareholders who invest money, and a board of directors (analogous to a board of trustees) who have ultimate responsibility for the company and who answer to the shareholders. In order to run a conventional company, a board hires and oversees corporate officers. In the case of a fund (or series of funds), a board similarly hires investment advisory firms while retaining responsibility for the fund(s).
See this thread for examples of what can happen when the board fails to carry out its oversight responsibilities:
https://mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/58326/infinity-q-capital-management-plans-to-return-500-million-to-mutual-fund-investors
The current M&P board has five trustees, four of whom are independent including the Chair. The independent trustees are paid between $85K and $100K depending upon responsibilities (e.g. the independent Chair receives $100K). That is to oversee 3 funds run by one advisory firm.
The new trust (Trust for Professional Managers) currently has three trustees, two of whom are independent; the Chair is not an independent trustee. The two independent trustees are projected to be paid between $94.5K and $97K of which $1800 (for each) will come from the three M&P funds combined. That is to oversee approximately 27 funds from several families run by several advisory firms.
As noted in the M&P proxy, the new trust will be adding four unnamed trustees. Well, unnamed in the M&P proxy. The new trust has its own proxy where the nominees are named. And shareholders of the three M&P funds being absorbed will not have a say. Only shareholders of funds in the trust as of February 7th get a vote.
The trustees of the current M&P trust all have at least $100K invested in each of the three M&P funds (except for one trustee who has not invested in one of the three funds). The trustees of the new trust have no investments in any of the 24 funds they oversee.
Will any of this make a difference? Probably not. Being barred from the vote on trustees who will more than double the size of the board doesn't matter, since retail investors' votes can't influence these elections anyway. (And the nominees are running unopposed.) The timing just doesn't feel right, though.
New M&P prospectus draft (April [] 2022), including SAI
Trust for Professional Managers (new trust) proxy to elect four additional trustees
----
Purely by luck, I ran across the fact that a couple of funds (SNOAX, SNWAX) recently left the new trust (Trust For Professional Managers). The management firm (Snow Capital Management) was acquired by Easterly, which you may recognize as James Alpha. Apparently Easterly wanted to move those funds into its own James Alpha Trust. In a sense, the opposite of what M&P is doing. Previously, James Alpha had moved its own funds out of the Saratoga Advantage Trust into its James Alpha Trust.
Worth noting (see 2nd link below) is that one sees the same rationale (cost savings) given, whether it is moving funds into a conglomerate-like trust (as with M&P) or spinning out a family into its own trust (as with James Alpha). The third link is the actual proxy for the James Alpha spinoff where one can read the rationales in detail. There the projected savings (16-21 basis points) was significant, as compared with one basis point for the M&P move.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1141819/000089418921005185/snowsupplement497e8-2021.htm
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/924628/000158064221000599/jamesalpha425.htm
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1829774/000158064221000287/jaftn14a.htm

MSF link explains it clearly "Historically, the United States has been a net importer of petroleum. During 2020, COVID-19 mitigation efforts caused a drop in oil demand within the United States and internationally. International petroleum prices decreased in response to less consumption, which diminished incentives for key petroleum-exporting countries to increase production. This shift allowed the United States to export more petroleum in 2020 than it had in the past.'"
This FORBES story is a decent if not simplistic summary of the conflict and how it affects the US. I suspect that most Americans are not aware of how much oil is imported from Russia. https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2022/02/21/russia-is-a-major-supplier-of-oil-to-the-us/

Most of the reports like Mark linked are based on 2020 numbers. This was a historic year and the US exported more oil than it imported. However, from what I read - in 2021 this changed and the US is back to importing more oil than it exports. Most forecasts say this trend will continue in 2022 where the US will import more oil than it exports. In 2021, there was a 20% rise in imports. Something to note.

Don't like to jump around, but losing my confidence in Int'l fund managers. Hold VWILX and MGGPX. Thinking of reducing positions and adding to VTSAX, a smoother ride. These guys did weather 2020 pretty well, but are getting beat up now. Stay the course? Thoughts needed!! Thanks!

If that's the route you want to go, make sure you get the cheapest version of that strategy. I'm not familiar with funds like that, but I would check if there is any variation in how they constitute the entire domestic market.

Thanks for the heads up! VTSAX is my largest holding. The rate is something cheap like .03 or .04. I dunno, I guess it's wise to keep some int'l for diversification.

I find it easier to stick to things i understand. In the past I have bought things "because" of some reason or another. And I don't do that so much anymore. There are funds out there that do for international what VTSAX does for domestic. Maybe some percentage of an international market fund would suit you better.

Don't like to jump around, but losing my confidence in Int'l fund managers. Hold VWILX and MGGPX. Thinking of reducing positions and adding to VTSAX, a smoother ride. These guys did weather 2020 pretty well, but are getting beat up now. Stay the course? Thoughts needed!! Thanks!

If that's the route you want to go, make sure you get the cheapest version of that strategy. I'm not familiar with funds like that, but I would check if there is any variation in how they constitute the entire domestic market.

Thanks for the heads up! VTSAX is my largest holding. The rate is something cheap like .03 or .04. I dunno, I guess it's wise to keep some int'l for diversification.

Don't like to jump around, but losing my confidence in Int'l fund managers. Hold VWILX and MGGPX. Thinking of reducing positions and adding to VTSAX, a smoother ride. These guys did weather 2020 pretty well, but are getting beat up now. Stay the course? Thoughts needed!! Thanks!

If that's the route you want to go, make sure you get the cheapest version of that strategy. I'm not familiar with funds like that, but I would check if there is any variation in how they constitute the entire domestic market.