As a trading vehicle, maybe, if you follow the sector and stay on top of it. As a buy-and-hold investor I'm not so sure long term. Personally I think the alternative energy space holds better prospects. Everyone will have to decide for themselves. Full disclosure: I've held EPD for about 10 years now and I'm thinking about trading some oil stocks.

@Simon
Yes to your observations.........the linked site is not an investment site; but a catch-all site for various stories in the hope of ad-click $, IMO. Many other features at the site are dead end and some from 2018.
The FSMEX info is incorrect as to minimum investment $ and beyond this, the fund has been CLOSED to new money for some time.
NOT much going on with the "write ???" for healthcare........

David, I get the sector breakout. It’s the derivatives that no one can explain - they juice the returns a bit I imagine. I’ll go back to that Buffett quote, derivatives are financial weapons of mass destruction.

This knock is fun to read, 6y on:
https://www.etf.com/sections/blog/20177-inside-professor-shillers-cape-etn.html
I cannot find that he has written a word since. AUM now $200M.

https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/01/05/oil-stocks-3-bold-predictions-for-2020.aspx
Oil Stocks: 3 Bold Predictions for 2020
After another challenging year in 2019, this could finally be the year that the oil market breaks out.

Thanks for the article, John.
Some of their figures seem incorrect, though. I'm dollar cost averaging into PRHSX and the 1, 3, and 5 year returns in the article are way off as of Nov. 12, 2019 (which was about half way through the big run up since October). From 01-01 to 11-12-2019 PRHSX had actually returned 18.03% . I wonder if it's an old article and they hadn't updated the figures?

https://theentrepreneurfund.com/top-4-healthcare-mutual-funds-for-2019/
Top 4 Healthcare Mutual Funds for 2019
While questions on the way forward for U.S. healthcare stay in play, healthcare shares proceed to have a optimistic outlook. Perhaps it is because the demand for well being companies continues to rise and most healthcare corporations are sitting on stability sheets flush with money and boasting sturdy financials.
All issues thought of, now is likely to be the suitable time to extend your publicity to the healthcare sector. Here is a have a look at a number of the healthcare mutual funds which have held up this yr, regardless of broad financial challenges.
Note: Funds have been chosen on the idea of year-to-date (YTD) efficiency and complete internet property. All figures have been present as of November 12, 2019.
We have vanguard healthcare etf, been very happy w them so far

David, regarding Yacktman's $100,000 minimum purchase at Fidelity Investments, for an IRA account, although it says $100K min purchase, when you actually make the trade it states $25K min purchase.

@newgirl
You're at a good place here, to learn and absorb.
Possibly boring whomever here should never be a consideration for any comment or question.
I've been playing with investments to the meaningful side of life since the early '70's and would have been delighted to have had access to such a place as this forum then, to ask the dumb questions.
And like you, I continue to learn.
Stay here and stay tuned, as your time allows. You'll look back one day in the future and be pleased with the rewards of your patience; from what you've learned and will continue learning here.
Remain curious and particularly towards investments; what makes them tick, and to what makes you tick discovering your investment paths.
The below Saving and Investing Calculator (new type, June, 2019) has some preset numbers I'd placed previous to help others with minor children envision the power of compounding to encourage them to help their children start a Roth Minor IRA from monies from part time work, etc. All of the values set now may be changed to whatever is suitable for you. You'll see the initial investment value and yearly contributions are small. I did not enter a future tax calculation, as hopefully; the Roth still won't be taxed. Also, I used 7% as an annualized investment return.....not, too hot, not too cold. Anyway, play with the numbers, if this would be of benefit. A few of the other tabs above for budgeting, etc.; may be of value, too; although this is an AARP site. :)
NOTE: the 7% return in the calculator is of course an unknown going forward, but a reference point of one decent balanced fund, FBALX ,has an annualized return from its inception in 1986 of 9.3%. So, these have been and may continue to be achievable numbers. ALSO, read the descriptions below the calculator area.
Saving and Investing Calculator
Good Evening,
Catch

@DS, yeah, I read Shiller's piece when it appeared (a few days ago) and found it alarming, not all that helpful, not that it was designed to be. ' ... thoughts that investors have about the thoughts of other investors' seemed chiefly a restatement of the hoary beauty pageant analogy, avoiding which is notionally one of the pluses of the CAPE etn. I certainly hope the automatic value churn partly works around animal spirits. A pity regardless to jump from Keynes's famous locution to Trump's self-regard. Shiller naturally is motivated to side with expertise over animal dreams. I was pleased to see his Nobel unmentioned, and that speech of his rather presages the column:
https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2018/06/shiller-lecture.pdf

Right. Sequence of returns risk is greatest at year 1 of retirement, generally the first 10 years or so of retirement have the major risk (decreasing yearly). The 5 or so years before retirement is also very significant in determining amount of portfolio available for withdrawal. During this 15-year period, be very diversified and if you don't maintain a consistent asset allocation (say, 60/40), be more conservative in this period.

MikeM "I don't know if <10 is the correct number or if it is 15 or even 20. But at some point you do dilute good managers or funds with not so good ones. And what typically goes with fund collecting is fund switching, translated, buy high and sell low. Just adding 2 more cents to what you said."
+1, more funds generally means more trades and more trades usually mean lower performance.
1995-2000 I invested mostly in one fund, US total index after I read Random walk
Since 2000 and after I started my best risk/reward funds, the max is 8 funds.
In the last several years it's 5 but many times just 3-4 funds. There is no reason for me to own my second best ideas but I also trade more often than others by being invested most times at 99+% and playing momentum. I don't recommend or promote it for anybody.
Over the years I helped many and I usually use 5-6 funds with 1-2 changes annually.
For investors who really want to be buy and hold investors, I would recommend indexes and/or Wellington funds (VWIAX,VWENX,VWEAX) because who knows what will happen 10-20 years from now, the expense ratio is very low and these are unique conservative funds that are managed by a group and not star managers.

Hi, David. Shiller had an article in today's (1/5/20) New York Times, if you're interested. He explains the rationale for the Shiller CAPE, notes that it's at its 3rd highest level in history (1929, 1999) and talks a bit about "animal spirits" as an explanation for it.
He makes the old-guy-with-a-PhD (my people!) argument that we increasingly devalue evidence in favor of "trusting our gut." Maybe. I was intrigued to learn that phrases like "gut reaction" only date to the 1960s and 1970s but I'm not sure that the underlying idea is as new as Dr. Shiller assumes.
Hi, gmarceau. "There are 11 industry sectors in the S&P 500. The CAPE index ranks them from most expensive to least expensive, based on their 10 year earnings history, and invests in the five least expensive sectors." It's certainly a bit more complex than that, and DoubleLine implements the strategy with derivatives rather than direct investment, but it doesn't strike me as terribly complex. Some critics think the bigger question is whether there's useful information in a sector's 10 year CAPE. I haven't much looked at the question, though perhaps the other David has?
David

I like your comments @FD1000, especially this one:

7) Don't collect funds, the max funds you own should be under 10 and your best ideas

I don't know if <10 is the correct number or if it is 15 or even 20. But at some point you do dilute good managers or funds with not so good ones. And what typically goes with fund collecting is fund switching, translated, buy high and sell low. Just adding 2 more cents to what you said.

I believe Crash missed seeing the decimal point as the close was up 1.16 % FWIW
Derf

Crash, about PRENX, I see that it was +16.88% for 2019. Where or how did you come up with +116%?

I must have misread that stat, wherever I saw it. :) Need glasses?

@Mark
FBALX - Asset Allocation
Rel Vol of 0.73
2019 - 2.4% in Dec 24.4% for year 11.6% for 3 yr. 8.4% for 5 yr 10.0% for 10 yr
I would call it a keeper - If I had a spot!
M* LISED AS 5 STARS
LISTED MANAGERS:
Douglas Simmons
since 9/9/2008
Pierre Sorel
since 9/9/2008
Robert E Stansky
since 9/9/2008
Steven Kaye
since 9/9/2008
Brian Lempel
since 4/10/2013
John Mirshekari
since 10/22/2016
Nicola Stafford
since 8/3/2017
Jody Simes
since 11/8/2019
Ashley Fernandes
since 1/1/2020
Melissa M Reilly
since 1/1/2020

TIAA-CREF will offer Zero-commission Stocks, ETFs and Options trades beginning 1/16/20, as per announcement I saw when I logged in just now. Also has 3000 Mutual funds now available commission free.
Shopping is going to be good in 2020.

Of the 3000 mutual funds that TIAA now offers commission free, how many were not commission before this announcement? (In other words, how big a change was this?) And of course, I would love to see an end to 12-b-1 fees. Not holding my breath.

several comments:
1) I believe and can prove it that in most cases you want to own stock funds + bond funds because bond funds is where you find managers who can add performance + better risk attributes.
2) Stocks are simpler, you must own US LC and VTI/VOO is just a great, very cheap and will beat most managed fund longer term. This index also gets over 40% of its revenues from abroad
3) For about 20 years now my specialty has been to find the exceptions
PRWCX-this is the only allocation fund I would use. The managers use a flexible mandate + use several categories + making the right decisions for many years and why performance is in the top 1-3% for 1-3-5-10-15 years.
DSEEX-First, managers invest in global bonds then, they look at 11 US stock sectors and select 5 undervalued sectors, then take 4 sectors out of 5 with the best momentum. They don't invest directly in the index but in a derivative that is similar to the index.
Basically, you get 200% investments for the price of 100%. You get real bonds + derivative of stock indexes.
To make even simpler, let's assume they invest in just one sector SPY and assume the bond portion makes 3-4% annually. It means, the performance will be SPY + 3-4% - (paying for derivatives).
USMV/SPLV-low volatility funds work. PV(link) shows that you get similar performance with better risk attributes
4) For over 40 years high tech is where you will find the best opportunities and growth and now they own the world and this is the biggest category in the SP5500. So, why not just own QQQ which BTW gets over 50% of its revenue from abroad.
5) If you want to diversify abroad I don't like generic indexes. I like to make a bet that EM is where I want to be but not in Europe.
6) For bond funds, I have many great options and I mentioned many of them at my thread (https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/54803/bond-mutual-funds-analysis#latest)
7) Don't collect funds, the max funds you own should be under 10 and your best ideas.
Putting it all together and I can see VOO,PRWCX,DSEEX,QQQ + IISIX,VCFIX,IOFIX,PUCZX (you may need higher rated bond funds as ballast). Depending on goals I can make adjustments.

A thickhead query -- where are these data coming from?
I am scrutinizing MFOP and not seeing anything capture when you click a fund and get its individual sheet, and then when you compare three funds and side-scroll to capture metrics I see up cap % sp500 and ditto for down, 80 and 64.9 for YACKX, say, but no
Yacktman (YACKX ... )
Capture 1.22
Downside capture 0.71

visible, and nothing when searching for .71.
(Am trying to see how bad downside for DSEEX is, why it gets to little attention in these respects.)

David, DEESX is a ticking time bomb. Just like the Pimco Stocksplus funds, I’m not sure anyone can explain in plain English how these portfolios are constructed.

Where is the evidence that the market could "slap (you) in the face" soon?
There is none. With respect, the very person who recently told us to ignore speculative comments like this has just made one himself!
The facts all point to continued growth in the US stockmarket for the foreseeable future. There is absolutely zero evidence supporting the recession theory, let alone the crash theory. Volatility, however, is normal and to be expected. For those who are new to investing or some way from retirement do not let the daily "noise" put you off making decisions. Never attempt to time the market; instead drip-feed in your money on a monthly or regular basis if you don't want to commit yourself 100%.