PRWCX Annual Report Re: Apple: "...
I use their hardware but am only tangentally in the whole ecosystem b/c I enjoy flexibility and am routinely reminded that Apple can't run a stable cloud service to save their lives. But for many reasons I refuse to go back to Windows.
Same here: stated another way, I dislike the way Apple wants to own even your SOUL. And I resist the way they re-define the whole universe. Yes, they have indeed created their own ecosystem. With its own re-defined words, places and functions. I want to add or download A or B or C. Great. Just
go ahead, on Microsoft. But my MacBook Air? I'm expected to SIGN-INTO my "Apple ID" account and get the item directly from
there. Buncha crap. ...Yes, I can still download whatever I want. But the interface with Apple might be screwed up. Still, it's nice not to have to worry so very much anymore about viruses and digital feces. I'm a privacy nut. I've got tools running that give me a clean page to look at, without all the ads and click-bait. Another thing: I can't even get Firefox to play Youtube for me, after the latest fabulous update. Is it because of the interface with Apple's universe? Who knows? There's no fix for it that I can locate anywhere on the web. Guess I'll stop installing the "new and improved" updates from Firefox. Or is the problem actually with FIREFOX? A true mystery, like the Bermuda triangle.
PRWCX is still my biggest holding, by the way. Though I just shifted a small amount from there into PRIDX (Int'l) and PRDSX (small caps.) ...
12% cash???? That might very well account for the lagging performance. Ugh!
Re: APPLE:
Small Caps Circling back to this topic.
@BenWP you make a good point regarding the fact that FSMAX is an index fund with 3200. If I ignore that for the moment, MFO Premium really doesn't like the fund (in it's category) - rating the fund a 2 BUT MFO Premium categorizes it in Small Cap Growth which pits it agains WAMCX and that doesn't seem fair.
@Observant1 has the summary of what FSMAX should be categorized as.
In the past 5 years, it's handily beat the S&P 500 and even last year by
19.4 - so why such a low rating of 2? It's one of the better options in a 40
1k I'm managing which is why I'm interested in opinions on it.
IQDAX- If it's opaque, just maybe there's a reason? @The Shadow:
Thanks for the link.
From that page:
https://bgandg.com/iqdnxCorrect regarding the previous mention in MFO. My days/months seem to get blurred anymore. I actually sold most all my shares only a week ago. So it was a closer call for me than I realized. They stopped taking redemptions on 2/
19.
I know that this isn't the first time that this has happened with a mutual fund but the first for me.
@JD_coAgree. The returns weren't extreme. The appeal was an uncorrelated return vs stocks/bonds & maybe a return of 3-5%/year. Should have stated in the prospectus- uncorrelated to reality as well.
Anyone having trouble acessing accounts at Schwab ? The young men who committed suicide cannot get a return call. These shops have hardly any customer support let alone having call centers. Slow response and long wait time are mild comparing to these shops.
I read Schwab axed 200 the other day. Hope they weren't from the customer-facing side of things.
The young man who killed himself, it's a shame, yes. I recall hearing the story, but I can't help wondering if he knew what he was getting into and/or doing before he put money into the markets. I've had system hiccups tell me I'm in deep margin-call land and while it freaked me out to see, it got resolved fairly quickly ... but of course, if he could never reach anyone to ask about his account, I totally agree that's also a problem.
I wonder if this chaos will swing the pendulum back toward some type of commission and away from payment-for-order-flow that allows the manias of zero-cost trading. I don't mind paying 5 or
10 bucks for a few hundred share stock trade ... it's far better than the $200 I fork over at a full-service wirehouse! (which is why that account is mostly hands-off for long-term wealth building)
Anyone having trouble acessing accounts at Schwab ? I wonder how much of these CSR delays are RobinHooders flocking to open new accounts elsewhere and/or people calling to ask basic questions about investing and where-is-my-2020-1099-for-the-GameStop-that-I-traded-last-week. ;)
PRWCX Annual Report Same here - really enjoy reading his report. His stock picking in utility sector way exceeded utility funds and ETFs. My Vanguard utility fund was flat for 2020 even though it provided a healthy yield. Ventured out to floating rate and short term high yield funds this year for higher yields. Also rotated more into value and small value funds earlier this year. Yacktman fund, YACKX, has recovered quickly after March last year and managed to out-performed the value index. The fund now holds 30% oversea stocks.
We also got a new iPads this year since our 7 years old iPad can no longer updated. They are lighter, run faster and with a larger capacity. We will upgrade our 6 years old iMac in fall while the Window 10 PC is use for work.
U.S. economy may have its best chance in years to break from era of subpar growth OK, so I had to "duckduckgo" lmgtfy. Got that part.
No clue as to the "h" or the "F1:".
Standard English would be greatly appreciated here to avoid constant lmgtfy.
(He said grumpily.)
Anyone having trouble acessing accounts at Schwab ? Vanguard released the 1099 last week, almost a week ahead! Fidelity had theirs several weeks earlier and the paper copy just arrived yesterday. So relax tax season always keep the brokerages very busy. I like to downloaded the electronic ones as soon as they are posted online.
Anyone having trouble acessing accounts at Schwab ? Price was experiencing long wait times last week (15-25 minutes). Web-site was fine. Phone message referenced “higher than normal call volume.” Once they picked up however the service was great. I’ll cut them some slack as imagine many are working at home due to Covid.
Curious if there was anything last week that prompted that high call volume? Tax questions maybe?
Sector expertise
Gold down / Settles below the key $1,800 mark in 2nd day of losses Actually, despite today’s date, the article appears to be addressing yesterday’s close. Gold is erratic. I doubt it will do very well as long as the bitcoin craze continues. Normally the miners get jerked around harder than the metal. But, today the miners are holding up better. At this time the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF is ahead
1% while gold’s been down anywhere from $5-$
15 most of the day.
StoryMiners ETFI have very little in the miners. Decent exposure to the precious metals, however, through PRPFX and commodity and alternative type funds. PRPFX tends to own the metal rather than the miners. As such, it’s a bit more stable day to day. At around $
1800 gold is still elevated compared to 2-3 years ago (but off its recent highs).
IQDAX- If it's opaque, just maybe there's a reason?
IQDAX- If it's opaque, just maybe there's a reason? I've was intrigued with this fund as an alternative type approach a few years ago & purchased into it (though admittedly didn't actually understand it). Note to self- lesson learned.
About a month ago, they stopped taking any further purchases- either new or from existing shareholders. I got uneasy as their website didn't mention this closure and over the past year, they really stopped updating any information. I redeemed all except a very tiny foothold. Today I went to their website & found this:
infinityqfunds.com/ Which also included this link:
https://sec.gov/rules/ic/2021/ic-34198.pdfAt least
The Chief Investment Officer of Infinity Q has been relieved of his duties, effective February 21, 2021.
because
According to the SEC’s Order, the Fund learned on Thursday, February 18 that the Chief Investment Officer of Infinity Q had been adjusting the methodology for obtaining certain asset valuations, and that the resulting valuations may not have accurately reflected the fair value of those assets.
That makes me feel better!
PRWCX Annual Report Thanks
@rfornoGeez - Have a new Mac Air on order. Love Apple’s ecosystem. More important to me than the hardware. FWIW
My new M
1 Air is awesome, btw. Kudos to those who enjoy the ecosystem lock-in.
I use their hardware but am only tangentally in the whole ecosystem b/c I enjoy flexibility and am routinely reminded that Apple can't run a stable cloud service to save their lives. But for many reasons I refuse to go back to Windows.
PRWCX Annual Report Thanks
@rfornoAt the end of of 2020 cash was at
12%. I’m thinking he’s raised that over the past
1-2 months just looking at the lagging performance. However, Lipper still puts it at that modest
12% figure. Reads like an encyclopedia of investing. Perhaps a bit too much horn blowing. One has to be pleased with the amount of information and analysis contained.
And he’s unloaded Wells Fargo! :)
One interesting blurb:
“Our biggest miss in 2019 was Apple and it was once again in 2020, as the stock rose 82% during the year ... The outperformance of Apple for the last two years has been a big detractor from our relative performance and a big disappointment for me personally. We continue to spend considerable time on Apple and have had multiple team members look at the stock, and yet we all come to the same conclusion: There is no reason a company with a long-term 6% EPS growth rate should trade for 30x earnings with two of its fastest-growing and most profitable revenue streams facing increasing regulatory scrutiny.”Geez - Have a new Mac Air on order. Love Apple’s ecosystem, product support, etc. More important to me than the hardware. FWIW
Digging into Ark Innovation's Portfolio
When the panic stops, I would say yes. I actually added a little ARKW yesterday after things bounced. I figured a bounce after a huge drop such as we had early was a good sign. Continued selling throughout the day would have suggested otherwise, of course.
I'm not sure that the long-awaited rotation is FINALLY occurring; nor am I sure that tech is 'toast'.
