Did anyone listen to the Grandeur Peak conference call this morning? @openice, thanks so much for the summary!!
@Ben, your question is one I've had as well. I'm a shareholder of 3 of their funds, both directly with them and also through my brokerage account. In this case I received an email about the call but there was a call earlier this year, maybe 6 months ago (I can't remember exactly) and in that case I received nothing. I only found out about that call because of something mentioned here or maybe there was a comment in one of their quarterly commentaries. My assumption has been that there's a conscious judgment being made, like that the mid-year call was just institutional while this one was for everyone, but your experience makes that less clear.
I'm also on their mailing list, I think because of some questions I emailed them at some point and I receive multiple emails with the quarterly commentaries. In this case I only received one email, so I'm pretty sure that's not coming because of my brokerage account and I suspect its also not coming just from being on their email list. It could be, but just a guess, that I received the email as a result of the direct account I have with them. There's no question, however, that there's inconsistency and it's not totally clear how they're doing things regardless of whether that's intentional or not.
I like these guys a lot and they have more of my money than any other fund or fund company, but I liked them a lot better when they acted like they wanted to be a tiny niche player with tight control of AUM and essentially one fund sliced a handful of different ways. Each of the business decisions they've made over the last few
years has been explained very logically and has made some sense in and of itself, but when you look at it all together I feel like some of the luster has been lost and their not really as altruistic as they held themselves out to be initially. At least in my case, its something I'll be keeping an eye on.
M*: Making Fund Screeners Fantastic FYI: In the wake of "The Fantastic 43” article in September, readers wrote to ask if there was a way to replicate the screen in the Premium Fund Screener tool on Morningstar.com. Unfortunately, the Manager Investment of More Than $1 Million in the Fund and Returns Above the Fund’s Benchmark Over the Manager’s Tenure screens that were crucial to my tests are not available in this tool, which was built many
years ago.
Regards,
Ted
http://beta.morningstar.com/articles/839773/making-fund-screeners-fantastic.html
Buy, Sell and Ponder December 2017 @MikeM - I respectfully request that you not put your rally stopping powers to work at this time. I'll call you when it's appropriate to do so.
On an off topic matter, I truly enjoyed the game your boys played in this past Sunday. Very reminiscent of a New
Years Day tradition here in my neighborhood of this frozen tundra we call home.
Ben Carlson: What A Complacent Investor Looks Like Hi Bee,
Thanks for reading my post and for the excellent, informative graph that you included in your reply.
I did read the article referenced, and I would say that the line you quoted is not unconditionally correct. It depends. It depends on the specific circumstances of the individual investor. If he is adding to his portfolio, market volatility is surely an "opportunity". But if the investor is in retirement and mostly using his portfolio as one source of income, volatility can be frightening.
The approximate equation that I quoted really does tell the story. Volatility does indeed operate to reduce net portfolio wealth over years below annual average return. The higher the volatility, the quicker and more forceful is that negative impact. And it's always negative.
Give it a test by running a few what-if possible cases. A couple of years of possible what-ifs will demonstrate the wisdom in that simple equation. Of course you will tire of this exercise after a few samples so the proof will be incomplete. However, I hope it will be sufficient to reinforce the validity of the questioned equation.
Thank you once again. Good luck good investing.
Muni Market In 'Fever Pitch' As Investors Can't Buy Fast Enough I added, for me, a double tax free muni fund (FMINX) to my income sleeve a few years back. Since, then I have been buying about every six months (late fall and early spring) as part of my seasonal investment strategy. Seems bond funds are the weakest during this period while stocks seem to be the strongest. For me, my tax equilvent yield is a little above 4% while the 10 Year Treasury is currnetly paying just short of 2.4%. This in of itself explains, in part, why they are in such demand.
Tech Is Taking Over Our Lives, And Our 401(k) Accounts You could have written that headline 20 years ago...
That said, tech is -- and will --put severe financial pressures on many industries -- displacing (or buying or replacing) them.
(Physical-) travel agents? (Mostly - )Long gone.
Retail? Check.
Pay/cable TV? -- Amazon prime, Netflix, and (soon-) streaming Disney/Fox content direct.
Many others too. Glad I will be out of the workforce soon. The "AI job-pocalypse" is coming...
Value time again ??? Recent indicators and returns pointing a new direction for the hot money? I’ve felt it was “value time” for the past 5 years. But that’s just me. Not everybody sees it that way.
On the other hand, doubt anything out there is really cheap. Proceed at your own risk.
Warning: You are about to enter the “annual distribution zone.”
(PRPFX was the first of mine to take a haircut today.)
What To Consider Before You Dash Into Cash Maybe it is a good time to sell. Any of you remember how much the market loved the turmoil Nixon brought on? I wish I had an in-house lawyer who would say he was the one speaking when I had put my foot in my mouth. More will be revealed, but it won't be good for the market.
All I remember about RMN’s impact on markets is that he is/was the only Pres. during my lifetime to impose unilaterally an
immediate temporary freeze on wages and prices. (Hope I’ve described the 1971 executive order accurately.) I was 20-something at the time and enroute to my first good paying post-college job when the news broke over the radio.
Sell decisions are fraught with peril as several here and at FA have noted over the
years. For longer term investors there’s the dilemma of when to get back into the market. It’s a coin-toss at best that they’ll manage to re-enter at lower prices than they sold. Even for older investors with shorter time horizons there’s the risk of forgoing substantial future gains should the markets run hot for several more
years. Than there’s the
sector issue. An overvalued S&P or high yield market doesn’t necessarily mean that deep value, financials or industrial metals are overvalued. Sometimes the opposite is the case as hot sectors tend to pull money away from more tepid markets. Hope I’ve made clear that despite my misgivings about the current market euphoria, I could never recommend to someone else that they sell.
What I haven’t heard mentioned lately is the Presidential election cycle. But that’s a whole different topic.
What Are Donor-Advised Funds? I guess the author of this WSJ article didn't have much time before his deadline -- it's brief and doesn't say much.
I think Morningstar had more information recently, comparing donor-advised funds from different investment firms. Their focus was more on how these funds perform as investments over time.
I've used the Fidelity Charitable Trust for about ten years and never considered this as a place to grow money. My time horizon is generally fairly short. I'll move some mutual fund shares or shares of stock into FCT and place the funds in the money market fund there, then direct the "grants" to charities fairly quickly.
There are several advantages. As the article says, I get the credit for the charitable contribution in the year I make the deposit, even if the individual grants are not delivered until the next year. Fidelity allows small grants; I've given $100 to a local homeless shelter (which met Fidelity's guidelines), whereas some other donor-advised funds have much a larger minimum.
Fidelity sends cash; some charitable organizations might have a hard time handling shares of stock, or especially shares of mutual funds.
Donating this way gives you a tax deduction for the entire amount of your contribution, no matter what your basis. I've donated some small spinoffs just because I didn't want to figure out the basis. I gradually donated one entire mutual fund position over a period of years, after accumulating it over a very long period of years (with reinvested dividends and monthly contributions); I did not want to try to establish my cost basis.
Of course, there is a small fee assessed annually.
It's usually best to donate appreciated assets and a donor-advised fund makes it simple to do this. It's all online and your past giving history is readily available.
David
Why buy bonds, and a few short lists Junkster's Forum Comment
Here is looking at you
@MikeM.
Discuss > Single Post All PostsForumsBlogsSharingTopicsJoin
Re: Bond OEFs - what now
Junkster 11-02-2017, 11:05 AM | Post #3880685 |
0
>>>> FD says "Most of my money is in 3 horses PIMIX,IOFIX and NHMAX(switched from PHMIX was luck or skill??). IOFIX last jump was 8/22, are we going to see the next one this month? let's see if the pattern will continue.<<<<<<
Hope you are right about IOFIX FD. My problem is when a pattern becomes too well known and predictable....... Last year it had a big jump on September 30 and then it wasn't until February 24 of this year for the next one. Plus AUM which have grown dramatically may impact the pattern. But I will stay put with IOFIX for awhile. Pimco's Mark Kiesel said just the other day that non agencies are mispriced and " are among the few bonds that have price upside"
I've found a newer fund and a mini IOFIX I haven't seen mentioned anywhere. It's not available in all states and I contacted them to have it blue skied in my home state of KY which takes but a few weeks. I went through that process with SPFRX when it was a young fund back in 2015. Regardless, looking forward to 2018 and seeing where the momentum will be. Junk corporates are so unloved because of valuations they may surprise. Or maybe bank loans because we may have more aggressive rate hikes.
Will check back in next year. After this post immediately deleting all my trading and investing forums. Winter off trail hiking is just around the corner. At 70
years old hanging out on forums has lost much of its appeal. Good luck to everyone.</blockquote>
And your point is? The Master of Misrepresentation strikes again conveniently omitting this was a post made on the Morningstar board. Trying to stir things up? That was simply my way of saying goodbye to the Morningstar forums. Had never posted there till IOFIX became a topic of conversation after my comments made on this board earlier in the year. Some great posters and conversations over there but not my cup of tea. But no way was I able to delete this fine board try as I could. As for that mystery fund much ado about nothing. The River Canyon Total Return Bond fund for the time being will not be available on any retail brokerage platforms.
Why buy bonds, and a few short lists Junkster's Forum Comment
Here is looking at you
@MikeM.
Discuss > Single Post All PostsForumsBlogsSharingTopicsJoin
Re: Bond OEFs - what now
Junkster 11-02-2017, 11:05 AM | Post #3880685 |
0
>>>> FD says "Most of my money is in 3 horses PIMIX,IOFIX and NHMAX(switched from PHMIX was luck or skill??). IOFIX last jump was 8/22, are we going to see the next one this month? let's see if the pattern will continue.<<<<<<
Hope you are right about IOFIX FD. My problem is when a pattern becomes too well known and predictable....... Last year it had a big jump on September 30 and then it wasn't until February 24 of this year for the next one. Plus AUM which have grown dramatically may impact the pattern. But I will stay put with IOFIX for awhile. Pimco's Mark Kiesel said just the other day that non agencies are mispriced and " are among the few bonds that have price upside"
I've found a newer fund and a mini IOFIX I haven't seen mentioned anywhere. It's not available in all states and I contacted them to have it blue skied in my home state of KY which takes but a few weeks. I went through that process with SPFRX when it was a young fund back in 2015. Regardless, looking forward to 2018 and seeing where the momentum will be. Junk corporates are so unloved because of valuations they may surprise. Or maybe bank loans because we may have more aggressive rate hikes.
Will check back in next year. After this post immediately deleting all my trading and investing forums. Winter off trail hiking is just around the corner. At 70
years old hanging out on forums has lost much of its appeal. Good luck to everyone.
Polen Global Growth @VintageFreakThis fund has been in my portfolio since 2015. Watching to see what happens with current fund management and holdings makes sense. Polen Capital executes a specific process. The remaining managers know that process. The firm has been putting some focus into international investing in recent
years. I'll hold on to see how things go in 2018. Given the low turnover rate and small number of holdings, I don't expect there will be any rapid decline in performance over the short term due to the management change. So, I don't feel a need to make a rushed decision.
S&P 500 Returns In December: 1950-2016
Why buy bonds, and a few short lists Everyone has their own preferences and tolerances for risk. Obviously I'm willing to extend risk a bit on credit. Perhaps that's because even when bonds implode there's usually a good recovery rate - it's not like stocks going bust. Well, except for Lehman, Puerto Rico, etc. Pick your poison.
I noted in the
thread on DODIX that on average, over the long term (full market cycles), leverage adds value. I'm just not comfortable with the type of risk it adds, especially when interest rates may rise for many
years.
PIMIX leverage specifically seems to be relatively recent (again, see DODIX thread). In fairness, the way that fund is using leverage might be thought of as arbitrage. In a "traditional" sense, leveraging is borrowing against assets to buy more, e.g. 2x funds. You're amplifying risk by buying more of the same.
But PIMIX, at least at the moment, seems to be borrowing shorter term (-48% cash exposure) to "safely" lend long term (using the borrowed cash to buy US gov/Treasuries). That's what banks do. Works okay most of the time, but rising rates can create a squeeze when borrowing rates rise while they're locked into earning fixed long term rates.
Ping Old_Skeet: +/- 5% Rebalancing Bands for your Fund Portfolio In these vehicles $10k has gone to ~$42k and $26.5k since you bought, so yeah, take your equivalent of $7k or a bit more from Contra and put it into Pimco.
OR ...
It depends on your goals and discipline and tenets. Are you a strict (re)balancer? Do you like / are you willing to let things that have done well run?
Most important, what are your needs and horizon? I mean, many of us run into this all the time. I myself would probably leave all alone if you do not need the money for several years. But that is the aggressive / greed of another speaking. Otoh, if you need some of this in less than, I dunno, 3-4-5y, then yeah, rebalance to Pimco. How important is 50-50 to you ?
Buy - Sell - and - Ponder November 2017 Whew. I have had VZ as an income stock on and off for 5 years, selling for tax losses almost every year, then watching it. come back up. In June, it was down to 44 and change, and I bought it for 53 last December. Sold it today at $52.36 just before the news hit about Trump having asked Flynn to meet with Russians. For once, sold at near 12 month high :) Down to a $500 loss from a loss of almost 5k. May rebuy again next year, will see.
Why buy bonds, and a few short lists @ expatsp, Admittedly it is a young group, but Minerds history goes back to Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley. They seem to believe in deep pools of analysts and team approach. There is also a retail version of the fund GIBLX which is ntf at Fido. I can understand the history issue, but that is why I have more than one bond fund and decided to buy it two years ago when I expanded my bond fund pres ence when one of my munis was called.
DoubleLine Fund Doubles The Returns Of Rivals By Uncovering A Curious Strategy: (DSENX) Another guy writing stuff that's misleading, probably because he doesn't understand it. Do an instant X-ray on the 4 sector etfs in the fund and you'll find out it is NOT a value fund. I haven't tried to test that over its entire history but I'd be surprised if it's ever been a value fund based on M*'s definitions and how other funds are classified. When I've done that in the past it has always ended up as a growth fund or a blend fund close to the border with growth. People naturally think investing in the 4 lowest CAPE sectors (excluding whichever one of the "cheapest" 5 has the worst momentum) is a value approach and maybe it is, but that's not what this fund is doing. It's investing in 4 of the cheapest 5 based on the CAPE ratio relative to it's own history. So if technology has traded at an average CAPE ratio of 400 over the last 10 or 20 years (sorry, can't remember the precise details) and its only trading at a CAPE ratio of 300 today while Energy is trading at 25 today but has historically traded at 20, then technology is the "cheaper" sector in ranking terms for determining the funds investments.
The approach has worked very well and may continue to work but it has not led to a "value" portfolio based on the definitions M* uses to categorize other funds, it's not necessarily invested in sectors with the lowest traditional CAPE value and it's the traditional CAPE value that has proven more predictive of future (long-term) performance than most other things.
Outperforming value funds when it has "growth" investments is meaningless even if people keep writing about the fund that way. Buyer beware!! For transparency sake I do own the fund and I like it. I just don't appreciate the way it tends to be written about because I think it's likely to make people believe they're getting something that they really aren't.
Why buy bonds, and a few short lists @msf Thanks for these careful thoughts and list, very much appreciated. FWIW, right now I look to bonds for ballast, so I'm only in RPHYX and SUBFX. In the past I invested is LSBDX and did okay, but since it was in a taxable account, it felt more sensible to have that money in equities for that kind of risk/reward curve.
If you like RPHYX, what do you think of RSIVX? It hasn't gotten a lot of love on this board since David's initial write-up, but it seems to be doing what it promised: providing a little less return than standard high yield bond fund with quite a bit less risk.
I'm tempted to put some money in it that I expect to need for a down payment in 2
years or so.
A Bond Fund To Be Thankful For: (DODIX) "
>> As I've posted before, the fact that Fidelity does not currently have a cash offer on the table does not mean that it has not done so in the past or will not do so again in the future.
Cool. Not in the 45y I have been with them, I think, but I know you will find the truth."
See link embedded in the quoted post (only in original, not quoted version):
http://www.mymoneyblog.com/fidelity-brokerage-ira-transfer-bonuses.html
Bonus amount: $200 for $50k+, $300 for $100k+, $600 for $250k+, $1,200 for $500k+, and $2,500 for $1M+ net new assets.
I've since found a better link that describes the same (now expired) 2017 offer as well as what the page correctly characterizes as a unique offer by Fidelity - to match your IRA contributions (in the 401k percentage sense, not dollar for dollar) for three
years. Both were 2017 promotions.
https://investorjunkie.com/11001/fidelity-promotions/
