it also likes knuckleheads that are willing to pay a 4.75% load.

FYI: Calvert Capital Accumulation Fund Likes Companies That Are Solid, Midsize and Unsexy.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-fund-that-leads-from-the-middle-1418011541?mod=WSJ_Your_Money_3up
M* Snapshot OF CCAFX: http://quotes.morningstar.com/fund/f?t=CCAFX&region=usa&culture=en-US

FYI: What Investors Can Learn From What Fund Managers Read.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.wsj.com/articles/reading-habits-of-the-investment-pros-1418011537

FYI: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund is experiencing a rebirth of sorts thanks to Abenomics.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-japanese-stock-etf-that-capitalizes-on-abenomics-1418011569?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB12103449752359043832504580291371320016054.html&fpid=2,7,121,122,201,401,641,1009
M* Snapshot Of DXJ: http://etfs.morningstar.com/quote?t=DXJ

Bee,
Thanks for posting that link, very interesting, I battle with when to sell too. Right now have a couple of small holdings which are approaching a double and im watching very carefully. Earlier in year sold gilead when I hit 75% profit, sold, then watched it rise another 30%. Because I have health care funds, I have exposure to it, so no biggie. My stock portfolio is much smaller than my fund holdings, which I don, t tend to sell too often, just tweak a bit. But I still vacillate on those stocks now and then.Trust me, not all of my stocks are winnerswhere I have to decide when to sell, have some stocks that have lost too. But so far, winners seem to be outweighing the losers. LOVE YOUR POSTS! Always informative.

The term "investor" tends to be used too broadly in investment product contexts yet, being that a majority of middle age workers are underfunded in their retirement plans, a 7% return from these products won't get these "investors" very far in accumulating assets. A different question to ponder should be, how can they invest in order to achieve "excess" returns in order to secure a decent retirement lifestyle ( similar to what they've been used to ) ?
An Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) study polled
workers age 55 and older who said the following about their retirement savings:
60% have less than $100,000 in retirement savings
43% have saved less than $25,000
36% have saved less than $10,000
Further, it is a little known fact that healthcare premiums have risen by a 7% compounded rate over the past 15 years. An inflation adjusted return from a "balanced fund" won't even cover this essential expense. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UyAulQv9gUgjq5g-TUrs_Wa7lbIEQ3K72StlUVewoKw/edit?usp=sharing
This population will need to produce returns via programs that can produce steeper expected return trajectories with risk mitigation. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Ua-R53o7c588nUr705hY4YaBEcG1qOrNvtonQIwpVws/edit?usp=sharing

I am really conflicted....VGHCX hit a dollar threshold where it's due for a 30% haircut per my established portfolio guidelines. The problem is, it's been on fire and I may look back on this as a foolish and profit limiting re-balancing exercise. I am thinking about just letting the year-end distribution go to cash, and then direct that to the divi payors I had earmarked for the larger allocation.
Frankly, I admit this is not the worst problem to have.

Nice problem to have. With long term persistent smooth upward momentum (something Junkster would be proud to own) why not monitor for a 20 or 50 day crossovers to the 200dma. No sell signals over this last three years using this method.
Here's an article from Seeking Alpha that might be of interest:
no-one-ever-went-broke-taking-profits

During the month of December I am not doing much of anything concerning adding to or selling any of my current positions. In addition, I am taking most all of my mutual distributions in cash and plan to revisit my portfolio in January to see where the better investment opportunities might exist and how my portfolio’s asset allocation along with the secotors bubble. I am most concerned what the possible effects of a rising interest rate environment might have on some of my investments and, with this, I might be reconfiguring my portfolio somewhat come the first and second quarters of 2015.
I guess, you might say I am watching things closely and will tweak as I feel warranted.
Old_Skeet

Looking at equity/fixed income Morningstar has FBALX at 72% stocks and VBINX at 56% stocks. FBALX should do better in a bull stock market and VBINX should be less risky and do better in a bear stock market. FBALX being actively managed could change their percentage of stocks accordingly, but would they?

Great thread, Scott!
Lots to think about in these kinds of threads, looking to buy now and in the beginning of 2015. FSENX (large CAP energy stocks) is in a prime position to buy MLP's and small drillers that are heavily debt laden, have land and can be bought on the cheap. There has to be blood before this is over. Also, FNCMX is the only index not to hit new heights. Yet, I was going to go Russel 2000, but John Chisum made a remark concerning Russell 1000.....that got me thinking. So far, this is the 2015 agenda.
God bless!
Puddn

FYI: REITs have become increasingly popular over the years as investors continue to search for yield in the current ultra-low rate environment. Given this huge demand from investors, issuers are lining up with products to quench their thirst.
Following the trend, Fidelity recently filed a product focused on the REIT space. Though the issuer has not as yet disclosed some of the key details like expense ratio and ticker symbol, we have highlighted those details that were available.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/156517/fidelity-plans-new-reit-etf?article_id=156517&type=BLOG

@jerry
Thanks for the post.
Of interest, IMO; the 60/40 consideration, which is sensible for many. Another point is a 2 or 3 times per year rebalance, as needed; from the investor. Our portfolio is always at a potential point of rebalance, and not just an end of the year event. If one needs or wants to rebalance, it should not be based upon a calendar date.
Note: as mentioned last week, even a simple U.S. lopsided holding of 50/50 of VTI and BND has a current YTD of 9.1%.
Catch

FYI: You’re sitting at a fancy new restaurant. The ambience is perfect. “Your taste buds will tango,” says the celebrated chef. The back of the menu oozes with promise. We have award-winning chefs. We grow our own organic herbs. We butcher your meat and catch your fish the second you place an order.
At some point, you’ve eaten where they promise the world--and the meal fell flat. “If only I had a burrito at a roadside stand,” you later grumble. Such disappointments are probably rare. But in the investment world, rice and beans put most gourmet offers to shame. Regards,
Ted
http://assetbuilder.com/andrew_hallam/why_vanguards_balanced_index_could_be_an_investors_panacea
M* Snapshot Of VBINX: http://quotes.morningstar.com/fund/vbinx/f?t=VBINX
M* Snapshot Of FBALX: http://quotes.morningstar.com/fund/fbalx/f?t=FBALX
Lipper Snapshot Of VBINX: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/fund/vbinx
Lipper Snapshot Of FBALX: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/fund/fbalx
VBINX Is Ranked #14 In The (MA) Fund Category By U.S. News & World Report:
http://money.usnews.com/funds/mutual-funds/moderate-allocation/vanguard-balanced-index-fund/vbinx
FBALX Is Randed #5 In The (MA) Fund Category By U.S. News & World Report:
http://money.usnews.com/funds/mutual-funds/moderate-allocation/fidelity®-balanced-fund/fbalx
VBINX vs. FBALX Returns: http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/mutual-fund/compare?Tickers=VBINX+FBALX&Compare=Returns

Mr.Ritholtz(Barry) suggests all century as he believes Anthony Robbins is data mining by picking years start and stop carefully.
I suspect we would all agree that Barry's is better though some of us would make different suggestions
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/get-there/why-the-all-weather-portfolio-is-a-wash-out/2014/12/05/ca580a2e-7be3-11e4-9a27-6fdbc612bff8_story.html?tid=hpModule_79c38dfc-8691-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394&hpid=z14

MFO Members: Apparently Mark is a subscriber to WSJ. For the rest of us in order to read (Click On Article Title At Top Of Goggle Search). I wish members would not link article that we cannot read.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&site=&source=hp&q=16+Rules+for+Investors+to+Live+By+wsj&oq=16+Rules+for+Investors+to+Live+By+wsj&gs_l=hp.3...4726.9441.0.9864.5.5.0.0.0.0.57.268.5.5.0.msedr...0...1c.1.58.hp..5.0.0.S-BNohz5G4g

The income dividends on TBHDX are $0.126 (mid year) + $0.121 (YE est) ~= $0.25 on an NAV around $12, for about 2.1%
The income dividends on the other funds (that pay only yearly) are, based on estimates:
Global Value = $0.334/$26.92 ~= 1.2%
Value = $0.262/$23.68 ~= 1.1%
Value II = $0.174/$14.35 ~= 1.2%
The dividend dollar amount is comparable, but the NAV of the fund is half that of the others ($12 vs. $25 or so).

FYI: This edition of Odds & Ends:
Barclays Clarifies How the Barclays OFI SteelPath Midstream MLP Index Will Be Affected by Corporate Action
WisdomTree Equity Income Fund Surpasses $1 Billion in Assets
Lyxor Announces New organization and Outlines Strategic Ambitions for 2018
First Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 ETF Surpasses $1 Billion AUM
Eaton Vance Formally Cleared to Release ETMFs
Deutsche AWM Launches Actively-Managed Mutual Fund for European Equities
Regards,
Ted
http://dailyalts.com/odds-ends-wisdom-tree-lyxor-eaton-vance-first-trust/

According to Schwab's 11-page 2015 global outlook, we can throw out everything we think we know about EMs, commodities, and a strong dollar. Excerpts:
"A strong dollar, weak commodity prices and solid emerging market stock performance ... can coexist in the environment we foresee for a few key reasons:
"There are now far more commodity consumers than producers among emerging market stocks. ... Nearly 50% of the value of the companies in the MSCI Emerging Market Index is now in the financials and technology sectors. ... By and large, emerging market companies are not the commodity producers they are often believed to be—or were in the past.
"The China-driven commodity boom that coincided with strong emerging market performance is ending ... as China refocuses its growth. The transformation of where growth is coming from in China has been dramatic. Resource-heavy State Owned Enterprises now represent only about 25% of China’s GDP. ... A testament to the decoupling of Chinese stock market performance from commodity prices is the fact that over the past three years ending November 25, 2014, commodity prices ... are flat to down while the Hang Seng Index of Chinese stocks is up about 50% ....
"Emerging market countries have made structural changes. Smaller trade and budget deficits, larger foreign currency reserves, debt denominated in local currencies, and flexible exchange rates are leaving these countries much less vulnerable to an extended rise in the dollar than they were in the past."

YET, ANOTHER PROBLEM WITH MORNINGSTAR PORTFOLIO MANAGER
--- CUT & PASTE FROM m* DISCUSS BOARD
Re: Portfolio Manager Flaw -- Expense Ratios11-09-2014, 5:09 AM |
Post ="When entered into the Portfolio Manager feature, a number of my funds reflect an expense ratio of 0.00% -- these are funds from well known mutual fund companies such as Vanguard and TRowe Price."
Ralph

"Stay warm and safe from bullets in Chicago"
Generally, anything above the 5th floor is considered safe in such environments.
(Learned this living near Detroit:)