Dear friends,
Welcome to the Samhain / the coming of the dark edition of the Mutual Fund Observer!
October is an interesting month. Traditionally perilous for the financial markets. It begins with the sullen remnants of summer and ends with festivals of the harvest (even for those of us in cities) and of the coming season when nature slips into dormancy. Halloween, whose sales now begin in August and whose iconic ghouls now Continue reading →
Our friends and long-time MFO Premium subscribers at S & F Investment Advisors of Encino, CA asked recently if we could replicate metrics based on Lipper’s Global Data Feed that Barron’s stopped publishing; specifically: Lipper Mutual Fund Investment Performance Averages – Specialized Quarterly Summary Report.
On September 29, 2023, Mr. Pabrai started the Pabrai Wagons Fund (WAGNX/WGNIX), a ‘40 Act mutual fund, offering retail investors a vehicle to invest in his stock ideas.
Mohnish Pabrai, quoting ChatGPT, is a value investor heavily inspired by Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, with a focus on long-term, concentrated bets on undervalued companies. He founded Pabrai Investment Funds, where he manages private partnerships that mirror Buffett’s approach, often emphasizing the importance of patience and low-risk, high-return opportunities.
He has written two notable books: Continue reading →
Investors waited impatiently as the Federal Reserve considered cutting interest rates. Will it be 0.25% or 0.5%? They finally cut rates by 0.5% on September 18th. The S&P 500 is up 20% year to date as investors contemplated whether we would have a recession or manage the elusive soft landing. There have been three periods this year where the market fell 5% or more. The S&P 500 has been relatively flat for the past three months but spiked over 1% after the Fed made the cut.
My survival instinct tells me to sell stocks and buy bonds, but my self-control tells me Continue reading →
In addition to volunteering at Habitat For Humanity, I also volunteer at Neighbor To Neighbor which offers programs in eviction avoidance, utility shut-off avoidance, affordable housing, housing search, foreclosure prevention, and counseling including Financial Coaching, Debt Consolidation, and reverse mortgages, among other services. My role is to prescreen people to get assistance within Neighbor To Neighbor and direct them to external sources of assistance.
As a housing opportunity resource for Northern Colorado, Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N) services are designed to meet each individual where they are now – from homeless and low-income individuals seeking a place to live; to families needing assistance to secure their existing homes; to prospective buyers ready to explore the homebuying process. Our trained housing professionals assist clients through obstacles and develop personalized solutions to help them achieve their housing goals.
Neighbor To Neighbor’s Financial Coaching includes Continue reading →
On October 1, 2024, CrossingBridge Advisors launched CrossingBridge Nordic High Income Bond Fund (NRDCX). The fund will invest in high-income bonds issued, originated, or underwritten out of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Those might be fixed or floating rate bonds, zero-coupon bonds and convertible bonds, and bonds issued by corporations and governments. It will be solely managed by CrossingBridge Advisors.
The managers will seek high current income, and the prospect of some capital growth, within the Nordic bond universe. Within that space, they operate with few externally imposed constraints beyond Continue reading →
SEC slaps GQG: The US Securities and Exchange Commission levied a $500,000 fine against GQG Partners and Rajiv Jain for violations of whistleblower protection laws and issued a cease-and-desist order against the illegal practices. At base, GQG required (some?) new hires and one former employee to sign agreements which would make it difficult for them to disclose wrongdoing on GQG’s part. “Whether through agreements or otherwise, firms cannot impose barriers to persons providing evidence about possible securities law violations to the SEC, as GQG did,” said Corey Schuster, Co-Chief of the Division of Enforcement’s Asset Management Unit.
As of 27 September 2024, GQG’s website did not reflect any discussion of the action. Reports in other media note that GQG “acknowledged the SEC’s jurisdiction in the case Continue reading →
