Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
  • GQHPX
    looking damn good right about now.
    investor class. 2,500.
    https://www.morningstar.com/funds/xnas/gqhpx/performance
  • RPIEX: Contrarian Bond Fund
    https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/54925/what-s-a-bond-fund-like-this-doing-in-t-rowe-s-stable-rpiex
    I question whether this fund should any longer be considered “contrarian”. ISTM that for the past year or more it’s been “going with the trend” - that being betting on generally rising interest rates.
    If you really want to be “contrarian” today buy a traditional long-only investment grade bond fund having an average maturity of 15 years or more. I recently speculated that such bonds / bond funds appear ripe to have a good year. Received a “thumbs down” from member. Suspect that would be the prevailing opinion / conventional wisdom today.
    Enjoying the discussion and everyone’s comment.
  • RPIEX: Contrarian Bond Fund
    “ Although the benchmark is the ICE BofA US 3-Month Treasury Bill Index, the portfolio’s unconstrained approach makes direct positioning comparisons with the benchmark much less informative than for traditional fixed income funds whose holdings are more closely aligned with an index. As a result, we refer to positions as long (those benefiting from an increase in price) or short (those benefiting from a decrease in price) as opposed to overweight or underweight relative to the benchmark.”
    So then as noted by @yogibearbull, this is one of the important lines in their portfolio:
    Asset Class Net Short Long Cat. Index
    U.S. Equity 1.11 0.00 1.11 0.75
    Non-U.S. Equ 0.52 0.00 0.52 0.05
    Fixed Income 29.50. 76.30 105.79 91.65
    Other 0.00 0.00 0.00 6.28 –
    Cash 68.75. 0.00 68.75 47.93 –
    Not Classified 0.12 0.00 0.12 1.70 –
  • Dinky little bank UBCP
    UBCP. United Bancorp in a forgotten little, Ohio riverside corner of Ohio, across from Wheeling, WV. I lived, worked on the WV side, rather near there, in the '90s. This Seeking Alpha article is almost convincing. I looked. Lots of green in the stats, rather than red. Dividend over 4%. Just sharing, here.
    I'm still drawn to the banks, even though they've been giving it to me in the shorts. (PRISX.). But my single-stock choice has been good to me. BHB. This one looks like it will be next.
    https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/xnas/ubcp/quote
    https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/UBCP/research-ratings
    https://www.chartmill.com/stock/quote/UBCP/analyst-ratings
    https://seekingalpha.com/article/4535544-united-bancorp-solid-quarter-dividend-hikes-rising-rates
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martins_Ferry,_Ohio
    ***Edited: the subsidiary bank is called UNIFIED BANK.
  • RPIEX: Contrarian Bond Fund
    While many bond funds use some derivatives, here were some flags for RPIEX:
    High cash
    Low genuine bonds/FI
    Low duration M* 2.05, YF -0.04
    SD OK at 4.4
    Top 10 holdings showing several derivative positions. Normally, one has to scroll to the end of portfolio list to find derivatives mentioned.
    All these indicated to me rather heavy use of derivatives for exposure (small $s needed for full nominal exposure) and duration control. Some derivatives were for currencies.
    Nothing wrong with such funds so long the holders understand the strategy, risks and atypical price movements.
    I have mentioned this elsewhere that when there are large moves in the markets (credit market here), derivative losses tend to be permanent - it isn't possible to just hang on to them hoping for some recovery as one may hope for genuine stocks and bonds holdings.
  • BOOM. euro = .9935 dollar.
    It’s tempting to resume travel to Europe, but doing so on the basis of a weak Euro would be to overlook many drawbacks: understaffed airports and erratic flight schedules, the historically high temperatures, COVID, and the war. I have benefited twice during extended stays from a weak French Franc, and got hammered in another year. When the Franc underwent the equivalent of a reverse stock split (5 Francs became 1 Euro), prices were « rounded up » , a subtle way to make the cost of living go up. Currency manipulation has many faces. @LewisBraham: I don’t think European goods have been a bargain for a long time, so even a 10-15% discount wouldn’t make a great difference.
  • Champlain Emerging Markets Fund to close to new investors and liquidate (new)
    update:
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/890540/000139834422016134/fp0078918_497.htm
    497 1 fp0078918_497.htm
    THE ADVISORS’ INNER CIRCLE FUND II
    (the “Trust”)
    Champlain Emerging Markets Fund
    (the “Fund”)
    Supplement dated August 22, 2022 to the Fund’s Prospectus (the “Prospectus”), Summary
    Prospectus (the “Summary Prospectus”) and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”), each
    dated May 1, 2022, as supplemented
    This supplement provides new and additional information beyond that contained in the Prospectus, Summary Prospectus and SAI, and should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus, Summary Prospectus and SAI.
    The Board of Trustees of the Trust, at the recommendation of Champlain Investment Partners, LLC (the “Adviser”), the investment adviser of the Fund, has approved a plan of liquidation providing for the liquidation of the Fund’s assets and the distribution of the net proceeds pro rata to the Fund’s shareholders. In connection therewith, the Fund is closed to investments from new and existing shareholders effective immediately, including investments made by current shareholders via systematic investment programs. The Fund is expected to cease operations and liquidate on or about September 23, 2022 (the “Liquidation Date”). The Liquidation Date may be changed without notice at the discretion of the Trust’s officers.
    Prior to the Liquidation Date, shareholders may redeem (sell) their shares in the manner described in the “How to Sell Your Fund Shares” section of the Prospectus. Redemptions made on or after the date of this supplement will not be subject to the 2.00% redemption fee, which ordinarily would be imposed on redemptions of shares made within 30 days of purchase. For those Fund shareholders that do not redeem (sell) their shares prior to the Liquidation Date, the Fund will distribute to each such shareholder, on or promptly after the Liquidation Date, a liquidating cash distribution equal in value to the shareholder’s interest in the net assets of the Fund as of the Liquidation Date.
    In anticipation of the liquidation of the Fund, the Adviser may manage the Fund in a manner intended to facilitate the Fund’s orderly liquidation, such as by holding cash or making investments in other highly liquid assets. As a result, during this time, all or a portion of the Fund may not be invested in a manner consistent with its stated investment strategies, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective.
    The liquidation distribution amount will include any accrued income and capital gains, will be treated as a payment in exchange for shares and will generally be a taxable event for shareholders investing through taxable accounts. You should consult your personal tax advisor concerning your particular tax situation. Shareholders remaining in the Fund on the Liquidation Date will not be charged any transaction fees by the Fund. However, the net asset value of the Fund on the Liquidation Date will reflect costs of liquidating the Fund. Shareholders will receive liquidation proceeds as soon as practicable after the Liquidation Date.
    PLEASE RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.
    CSC-SK-022-0100
  • The bottom are likely in
    @hank /
    Hi Sirs:
    Almost impossible to beat indexes
    Long term portfolio- Compared late fri -although only down 8% so far but 10 yrs performance dismal at less 10% where as sp500 >=12%
    Did not loose much but bulk portfolio in bonds
    401k returns similar returns to sp500
    Prob may need place more into indexes for future distribution, watch long terms but you may loose more if catch many downturns
    Voo spy qqq or vti could be best vehicles for long terms
    Bought Leap covercalls spxl this morning
  • BOOM. euro = .9935 dollar.
    Well. I paid $1.51 for a euro in 2009. And the yen is back over 137/dollar. CAD = $1.30 again.
  • Mutual Funds and Capital Gains Taxes
    Well, the general takeaway is that broad market VG ETFs are fine (SP500, total stock market, etc) but in specialized or illiquid areas (sectors, EMs, bonds, etc), VG ETFs may surprise with unexpected CGs due to their structural tie-ins with VG OEFs. That is, those VG OEFs and ETFs will be equally impacted by fund flows (especially, outflows). In these areas, self-standing ETFs from others may be better.
  • does anyone understand the JAAA etf?
    what I meant was? This thing trades for a Tbill yield....I thought there were some AAA CLO 5% short term bargains out there.
  • The bottom are likely in
    This current bump up from the June lows seemed way too easy. Reading the latest Barron's, there's more than a bit of anxiety in the market, and some are voicing this pretty clearly, which I find odd. I'm holding at the moment, waiting. It feels like there's another shoe ready to drop.
    Ding. Ring that bell. This is not over, yet. If I had a slug of extra cash, I'd throw it in my HY fund, TUHYX. 6.57% yield, but currently a 9.41% SEC Yield. Buy low, sell high. That fund is wayyyyyy down there. Good income producer, about now.
  • Allocation Funds Are Back
    MAFIX portfolio is under Documentation
    MAFAX and MAFCX have low minimums at $2,500.
    Thanks for the info. But that front-load and E.R. are atrocious. Moving right along.
  • Mutual Funds and Capital Gains Taxes
    Vanguard's domestic equity index mutual funds with an ETF share class are listed below ¹.
    Vanguard 500 Index (VFIAX)
    Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index (VDADX)
    Vanguard Extended Market Index (VEXAX)
    Vanguard Growth Index Fund (VIGAX)
    Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index (VHYAX)
    Vanguard Large-Cap Index (VLCAX)
    Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth Index (VMGMX)
    Vanguard Mid-Cap Index (VIMAX)
    Vanguard Mid-Cap Value Index (VMVAX)
    Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index (VSGAX)
    Vanguard Small-Cap Index (VSMAX)
    Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index (VSIAX)
    Vanguard Total Stock Market Index (VTSAX)
    Vanguard Value Index (VVIAX)
    After the corresponding ETF share class was added,
    there were no capital gains distributions for these funds.
    Note: I haven't researched fixed-income index mutual funds or
    international index mutual funds from Vanguard.
    ¹ excludes institutional funds.
  • Allocation Funds Are Back
    What I find somewhat unsettling about MAFIX is Appendix A for "Monthly Returns" on page 46 (or page "A-1") of this: https://abbeycapital.com/multi-asset-fund/pdf-viewer/?view=prospectus&hsCtaTracking=6213949d-083c-4dc3-a165-0534cdde2bc2%7C58503b81-8e2e-4506-8e9f-12e8e5cb176c
    For a fund that is supposed to be defensive, that 2008 number doesn't make me feel it can be a good diversifier, although it has, admittedly, worked of late.
  • Allocation Funds Are Back
    If you are willing to hold a minimum of $250,000 directly with TRP, you can gain access to PRWCX via their Summit Program.
  • Allocation Funds Are Back
    MAFIX portfolio is under Documentation
    MAFAX and MAFCX have low minimums at $2,500.
  • Ping the Board
    US SPR status update from Twitter.
    image
    Guy's got an agenda. But I won't argue with the chart provided. WOW. Lowest since '85. Not much reserve left to tap, then.