Ted
Seems like Paul Wick is very tech hardware/infrastructure heavy in his picks......
The big alpha has been made in he ad mobile media tech segment in recent
years. Is the tech evolution passing this experienced 54 year old manager..?

Hi Guys,
Today, I came across an article that discussed Occam's Razor. I believe that simple is always better than complex when options exist. Here is a Link to that article:
https://www.farnamstreetblog.com
I expected that the article would investigate Occam's Razor's application to investing. I was wrong. However, I did recall earlier articles that did address its application to the investment world. A quick web search uncovered the following piece by Rick Ferri. Here is the Link to the Ferri work:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rickferri/2013/03/07/occams-razor-on-investing/#c1ae17e58ab2
Please give it a read. It concludes with a useful observation.: "index funds has a higher probability for reaching your financial goals." Wise words!
The emphasis is on "probability". There are no certainties when investing. We operate in a world of uncertainties so the key is to select the option with the highest expected return. I'm using expected return as the probability of a successful outcome times it's likely payoff.
Enjoy the references and good luck.
ADDED THOUGHT: Since we are talking probabilities, we benefit greatly from diversification. It's prudent policy to not bet too much on anything. Make many (like 10 or more) uncorrelated bets.”
Best Regards

Looking at these 2 funds portfolio composition shows these are different
asian debt funds
MAINX is 50 % corporate debt, 35 % govt debt
24 % of the debt is rated A to BBB-
60 % is exposed to the US dollar
duration is approx 3.5
MCRDX is 67 % corporate debt, 11% govt debt
4.6 % of the debt is rated BBB- (0% A rated debt)
88 % is exposed to the US dollar
duration approx 3.5
data sets dated 3-31-2017
MCRDX appears to be lower quality debt that is a play on the continued
strengthening of the US dollar.
These 2 funds IMO are not the same and should return different amounts
as the US dollar trends either up or down.
I feel an investor can include PREMX and FNMIX (to name a few) with these
2 Mathews funds as EM debt exposure that in 2017 is mostly a bet on the
future strength of the US dollar, as each fund must make a decision as to
its currency exposure. (note the beta in EM debt funds immediately after
the Trump election)
At this time (3-31-2017) MAINX looks to be a more conservative fund
for US investors. But I think neither should be considered low risk.

Hi, Crash!
Here's what I got back from the Morningstar folks though, in reality, it might be best for us to hook you up directly with one of their data folks.
David
---
“The user “Crash” notes “X-Raying my portfolio at Morningstar. "Projected Earnings Per Share Growth" over the next 5 years = 10.78%, where the SP 500 standard is 1. (Or does the constant 1 just apply to SP 500 YIELD, in the next column?) So, the thing is telling me that, compared to SP 500, my portf is projected to grow earnings at 4.83%. That's 4.83 times better than SP 500? What did I do right?”
Morningstar.com’s Portfolio Manager X-Ray value for Projected EPS Growth - 5 Year %, available at http://portfolio.morningstar.com/Rtport/Reg/XRayOverview.aspx, is an aggregation of the same projected five-year EPS growth for stocks - including those owned through funds - within the user’s portfolio. For a stock, projected five-year EPS growth is the mean estimate of long-term EPS growth, derived from estimates by analysts who cover the stock. The five-year earnings growth forecast shows what the consensus is among analysts concerning the company's long-term growth rate. For a mutual fund (and other managed products), projected five-year earnings growth is essentially a weighted average of the five-year EPS growth estimates of each fund's stock holdings, though there are some refinements made in aggregating the underlying numbers.
As a baseline for comparison the projected five-year EPS growth for the S&P 500 is 2.22% as of 4/27/2017. A portfolio with a Projected EPS Growth - 5 yr of 2.22% would be equal to the S&P 500, or 1.0 relative to the S&P 500. A simple portfolio of just Apple Inc stock, which has a projected five-year EPS growth of 6.8% is 3.06 times better as measured relative to the S&P 500.
Crash notes the Projected EPS Growth - 5 yr for their portfolio is 10.78%. Relative to the S&P 500’s 2.22% that is 4.83 times better than S&P 500 which is likely what shows in the “Relative to the S&P 500” column for this portfolio. To unpack where that is coming from I would suggest adding the same column of Projected EPS Growth (%) - 5 Year to the “My View” at http://portfolio.morningstar.com/Rtport/Reg/MyView.aspx (click “Customize My View.”) That added column will break down the projected five-year EPS growth by holding to give a sense of which holdings are contributing a higher value than the S&P 500’s 2.22%.”
Best regards,
Mary Kenefake
Communications Specialist, Corporate Communications

@brbrock , fwiw, I use GTLOX as my large cap pure equity fund, but other opinions to use the S&P500 index are good suggestions. The fund you are in is a fairly concentrated fund and apparently the managers stock picking ability has not been good.

Would like member's thoughts on this fund. I've held it for 4 or 5 years although I have reduced my holdings in it at least once. When I read the Manager's reports, he sounds like just the guy I want looking over my money. But then there's the performance issue. I've search this website for discussion of this fund but everything I find is quite old when the fund was performing. I like the potential downside protection but not at this cost. Who do you like better in this space. Schwab 401k account.

Let this be a learning experience about buying a fund because an institutional manager with a great track record opens a fund for retail investors. I have seen that story played out over and over and more often than not with subpar results.

I don't put much faith in theirs - or any MSM publication - list of funds to own. As mentioned above, they do tend to oversimplify things to reach the widest # of readers' experiences.
I've been a Kip reader for many years mainly for quick-skim "finance-lite" reading and a dirt-cheap subscription rate ... I probably get through it in about 10-15 minuts, if that. But every now and then I come across an investing or lifestyle article/tip that's interesting & gets me thinking, but generally speaking the publication plays ZERO in my investing decisions.

When I was a beginning investor I used to read magazines such as Kiplinger's, Money and others figuring they had answers. You learn with time and experience to become more discerning. Simple sells, I get it. Our last presidential election is proof of that.
In reference to the posted article for example why did the author choose a term of 9 years for his evaluation when he could have easily used 10 years. Funds are often compared over 1-3-5-10 year periods but he choose 9. You have to ask yourself why. One possible reason might be related to the occurrence of the big market swoon in 2008 and a time when go-go growth funds were punished the worst. Guess it makes those picks look more porny.
Next, he only choose one fund out of the 25 to grind into the dirt in comparison to his index fund. Why not show us all of the funds. Sure we can go look them up but he's the one calling us to arms.
Finally, why didn't he provide us with the returns for just 2008? Maybe (doubtful) these were the best 25 funds for that year but at least show us what happened.
All in all there doesn't appear to be much value in assetbuilder porn either.

@brbrock: Funds is in the 91-99 percentile 1wk.-5yr., "he sounds like just the guy I want looking over my money." Right, he's looking over it, losing it right and left.
Regards,
Ted
RWGFX Performance Since Inception:
http://performance.morningstar.com/fund/performance-return.action?t=RWGFX&region=usa&culture=en_US

hi brbrock
use a s&p 500 fund or parwx both are better

Would like member's thoughts on this fund. I've held it for 4 or 5 years although I have reduced my holdings in it at least once. When I read the Manager's reports, he sounds like just the guy I want looking over my money. But then there's the performance issue. I've search this website for discussion of this fund but everything I find is quite old when the fund was performing. I like the potential downside protection but not at this cost. Who do you like better in this space. Schwab 401k account.

@bee, thanks much. Doctrinaire people, man.
You obviously have suppleness and emotional understanding as a parent.
Yeah, I am not considering this as an investment except perhaps at the lower levels, and think that the 'effectively' person is mostly rationalizing.
Depends on the RE market too, of course. For my kids I looked back 45y and ownership of three houses in the Boston suburbs and calculate that the total return had been (only) ~7.5% per year, and that in a time of hugely rising house pricing. (And flat the last decade for this last house we are in, so ~9% before that. I am, without any foundation, positing that the tax breaks are a wash against mortgage costs, repairs, taxes, etc.).
Regardless, none of this strategy of hers is ideal, and I myself would have advised her to keep on renting and saving. But that is not such a prudent option, really, for a variety of the usual reasons (age and life stage, marriage and children planning, in-laws' needs, etc.).
The charge of horrible 'don't ever do that, you dope' financial misplanning just seemed so wack, not to say offensive, to me. As though Benz shoulda been prevented from writing the article in the first place.

Thanks @Ted for posting.
I, most times, enjoy reading about a fund that I own.
FKINX is Old_Skeet's largest (@6% or so) and longest holding since the early to mid 60's. Hey, that is better than 50 years.
Currently, hybrid type funds make up about 45% of my overall portfolio's allocation, cash another 20% leaving bonds, equity & other at 35%. It seems, I now have the most with hybrid asset managers and moving more towards them each year as I age.
Skeet

FYI: Multiasset income portfolios can provide a reliable, consistent stream of income from a very broad opportunity set, says Franklin Income's Ed Perks.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.morningstar.com/cover/videoCenter.aspx?id=805653&SR=MRSSDEMO
M* Snapshot FKINX:
http://www.morningstar.com/funds/XNAS/FKINX/quote.html
Lipper Snapshot FKINX:
http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/fund/fkinx
FKINX Is Ranked #18 In The (30-50 E) Fund Category By U.S. News & World Report:
http://money.usnews.com/funds/mutual-funds/allocation-30-to-50-equity/franklin-income-fund/fkinx

FYI: Fidelity's Brett Sumsion has trimmed positions in higher-yielding sectors recently as the rest of the market gets more excited about them.
Regards,
Ted
http://news.morningstar.com/Cover/videoCenter.aspx?id=805582
M*: Fidelity Freedom Target-Date Fund Series Report:
http://news.morningstar.com/pdfs/STUSA04OLH.pdf

FYI: A few weeks ago, I was sipping coffee, thumbing through Barron’s as I do every weekend. It’s a way in which I keep a pulse on what’s going on in our space.
Though I never consciously pay attention to ads, on that particular morning, one caught my eye – a big full pager from Schwab, below. They were trumpeting their low-cost trading commissions in the ongoing fee compression in the investment management space. (Since this ad, Schwab and others have since continued to lower costs, with Schwab now down to $4.95!)
Regards,
Ted
http://mebfaber.com/2017/04/26/dividend-growth-myth/

FYI: Every year, Kiplinger’s publishes their favorite mutual funds. It’s a lot like online porn. Nine years ago, the magazine published The 25 Best Mutual Funds—2008. Let’s have a look at the damage it might have caused.
Regards,
Ted
https://assetbuilder.com/knowledge-center/articles/what-kiplingers-has-in-common-with-online-porn

From my original post http://www.wallstreetrant.com/2017/04/how-global-investor-allocations-have.html

Hi David, Any explanation for the low insider ownership (from SAI dated 8/2016) by the fund managers? Wynegar $50,000-100,000 and Johnson $100,000-500,000. Thanks.

Great Interview...thanks @Ted.
Many investment quotes...here are a couple:
"Losing half your money today requires you to double your money in the future (just to get back to even.)"

"I credit my incredible success in the market to selling too soon (out of the market)."
Market Insider also had a recent interview with Mr Wallack:
markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/david-wallack-interview-trowe-price-2017-4-1001951624
Some additional quotes:
"...keeping your money is in some ways more important than making it."
"(On the selection of stocks)...It's where are the interesting companies and how much money do I lose if I'm wrong relative to how much money do I make if I'm right?"
Though his fund is closed, mirroring some of these holdings in your own personal stock account might be a worthy consideration.
Here the top 25 Holdings (you can manipulate a portion of the full list by clicking on the different heading):
portfolios.morningstar.com/fund/holdings?t=TRMCX&region=usa&culture=en-US