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Volatility is not an opportunity for those with short-time horizons and low risk tolerance. While one could argue such investors should just be in bonds or cash, that is not practical for many investors seeking to achieve their investment/retirement goals. I feel like this fund largely does a good job of helping investors stay in the market even when times are rough. A lot of what volatility is depends on your perspective and individual psychology. Some people can't stomach it and the idea that one size fits all in this regard is not realistic.Volatility is opportunity.
High volatility on the downside creates buying opportunities and high volatility on the upside create capital appreciation.
It feels like VMVFX misses the mark on both counts.
"Getting worse but not 2008" currently passed for calm, thoughtful optimism.The moves are extreme but reflect the now-dual uncertainty of something that we have not seen since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008. Don’t expect this volatility to end anytime soon. COVID-19 cases are far from peaking in the U.S. The Fed is getting more limited in its market assistance options, and Washington D.C. is failing to inspire confidence. A “V” shaped bounce to all-time news highs will not be happening for the equity and risk asset markets this time around.
But this also does not look like a 2008 GFC panic which led to a collapse in real estate valuations and an 80-90% decline in bank stock prices. (Investor Letter, 3/9/2020)
The above news item was excerpted from a current Guardian news report.The Australian share market is now down 6.5% on what is proving to be one of the most disastrous days for the ASX200 in recent history. The mounting concerns about a global recession caused by the virus have been compounded by the shock decision by Saudi Arabia to start an oil price war, sparking a 20% fall in the cost of benchmark Brent crude. Stocks in Japan, Korea and Hong Kong are also deep in the red.
This abridged news report was selected and edited for brevity.Oil prices were in freefall on Sunday after Saudi Arabia announced a stunning discount in oil prices — of $6 to $8 per barrel — to its customers in Asia, the United States and Europe. Benchmark Brent crude oil futures dove 30% in early trading Sunday night before recovering somewhat to a drop of 22%.
Saudi Arabia, the world's second-largest producer, this weekend also said it will actually boost oil production instead of cutting it to stem falling prices, in a stunning reversal in policy from just two days ago.
U.S. consumers are likely to see lower prices at the gas pump, but American oil producers — who lead the world in output — could be hurt by the oil price slide.
Economies from China to Italy have ground to a halt as quarantines shut down factories and demand for products and services craters.
Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members sought to cut production to shore up oil prices. But the once-powerful cartel can no longer move markets alone. It needs the support of Russia, which is not an OPEC member but has recently been coordinating with the organization. Yet Russia has resisted calls for production cuts. On Friday, the talks ended in failure.
Now, Saudi Arabia is doing an about face. If it can't get the price back up, it's going to drive the price way down. It's offering to cut the oil price for the U.S. market by $7 per barrel, to Europe by $8 and Asia by $6. Paired with Saudi Arabia's ability to rapidly increase production — flooding the market with cheap crude — those unilateral price cuts will push the price of oil down for everyone.
And even with ample supply and low production costs, Saudi Arabia is not guaranteed to come out on top in a prolonged face-off with Russia – especially if fears of a pandemic keep planes grounded and cars in driveways no matter how cheap crude oil gets.
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