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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.
  • New TSP Funds Coming July 1
    https://www.fedsmith.com/2020/06/02/new-tsp-funds-coming-july-1/
    New TSP Funds Coming July 1
    L2020 will closes and monies will be rolled into income Lincome funds...also new L fund 2060 and 2065 are introduced
    L 2065
    L 2060
    L 2055
    L 2050
    L 2045
    L 2040
    L 2035
    L 2030
    L 2025
    L Income
    Do other firms gave 2065 TDFs
  • CORronavirus Roundtable - The Closed-End Funds Opportunity Persists
    https://www.google.com/amp/s/seekingalpha.com/amp/article/4351221-coronavirus-roundtable-closed-end-funds-opportunity-persists
    Roundtable - The Closed-End Funds Opportunity Persists
    Jun. 1, 2020 7:00 AMExchange Listed Funds Trust - Saba Closed-End Funds ETF (CEFS)ADX, DMO, EHI
    Summary
    We gather a panel of authors to discuss closed-end funds and their set-up heading into June.
    While distributions have been cut in some places, other areas have held up nicely.
    Combined with still wider discounts to NAVs, nimble investors may find opportunities.
    Pdi
    Adx
    Will add these to watch lists
    Regards
  • IOFIX/IOFAX marketing materials/prospectus
    Every post you make FD is all about you. "I saw this. I did that. Every one else is dumb for missing it." The point is the likelihood of anyone 'investing" in this fund, not trading, would not have seen a 40% drop in 2 days on the horizon.
    Yes, totally BS. And what is the smiley face for?

    You are correct, I didn't know in advance how bad it could be but I expected it to be bad.
    Your reaction is typical, I see anger and disbelief when I tell you my thoughts and how I operate. The smiley is to let you know it's all expected.
    In this thread(
    link), I documented many trades that I have done since 2-28-2020. I made several similar posts on MFO too, see (here). Why no admit I made a great call.
    I'm pretty sure you will come back and request me to post every trade I make :-)
    My trading style has been established for years which helped me in the last 3 years since retirement in 2018. I will sell any bond fund that loses more than 1%, actually, I even sell earlier if other funds in the same category behave differently or I can find a better fund according to my goals.
    Here is the bottom line: while you claim it's all BS the facts show I sold all my portfolio to cash prior to the meltdown.
    You sound a little cocky, but I wouldn't worry too much. There's some sour grapes goin around lately. I got some crap for commenting on a post on someone bummed on staying in cash, not buying the dip, and furthermore, anticipating a second covid wave to justify in another thread. These things happen. We've all f-ed up. No big deal.
  • June 1st Commentary is up.
    TMSRX is a bit of a “black-box” (to me anyway). I feel most of these “go anywhere” type funds are. But, who better to trust to run one than TRP? Seems to me they’re trying with this fund to generate income (or at least income-like returns) that can stand up if / when bonds start to fall - as they surely must some day. (They actually use the term “Income” in the fund’s handle.) I suspect the fund would fit into numerous “slots” in various portfolios. I use it in my alternative sleeve which is 25% of investments. The other big holding in that sleeve is PRPFX. TMSRX adds stability and, remarkably, some days rises when most everything else is falling. I’ll look forward to David’s in depth review of the fund next month.
    *** Apologies and a correction: Just noticed that the word “income“ does not appear in TMSRX’s title as I claimed above. Where’d I get that idea? BTW, I’ve sometimes considered plugging it into my “income” sleeve where I think it would fit nicely as a hedge against rising rates.
    PS - Today’s NYT addresses the two Davenport killings, including the one mentioned by David. Senseless & Tragic. So sorry.
  • June 1st Commentary is up.
    Hi David,
    Regarding this about active mutual funds versus passive ETFs, I have a few quibbles:
    They have not been repeatedly defamed by self-interested marketers and lazy financial journalists looking for cheap stories. “80% of mutual funds failed to beat the market last year” is utterly fatuous – beating the market isn’t the goal, one year is an irrelevant time period, risk matters as much as returns, very nearly all passive products also trail the market – but has made it hard to approach investors, young, professional or otherwise. The term “skunked” comes to mind. The repackage offers a clean slate.
    While looking at a year's worth of performance versus the benchmark isn't very meaningful, it is actually over the long-term that active funds struggle the most to beat their benchmarks, and many financial articles have made that point. In fact, I think it is far more common to have an active fund beat a benchmark in the short-term, have an excellent year but struggle over the long-term as the cumulative hurdle effect of its fees gets harder and harder to overcome. Also, while there are many passive ETFs that don't match their benchmarks either, in the main categories like large cap, mid-cap and small-cap, they often do and sometimes even beat their benchmarks because of securities lending, or only lag a minuscule amount. Also, the long-term record of many funds versus their benchmarks doesn't necessarily improve when adjusted for risk. The SPIVA data on funds versus their benchmarks has risk-adjusted returns over the last fifteen years:
    https://us.spindices.com/resource-center/thought-leadership/spiva/
    92% of large-cap funds, 86% of mid-cap and 87% of small-cap funds have lagged their benchmarks on a risk-adjusted basis over the last 15 years. In fact, the one equity category where active managers had a fighting chance in this data were international small-caps where the benchmark won only 68% of the time over 15-years. Fixed income funds were better, but not by as much as one would hope
    Even gross of fees, active managers struggled:
    The risk-adjusted performance of active funds obviously improves on a gross-of-fees basis, but even then, outperformance is scarce. Only Real Estate (over the 5- and 15-year periods), Large-Cap Value (over the 15-year period), and Mid-Cap Growth funds (over the 5-year period) saw a majority of active managers outperform their benchmarks. Overall, most active domestic equity managers in most categories underperformed their benchmarks, even on a gross-of-fees basis.
    As in the U.S., the majority of international equity funds across all categories generated lower risk-adjusted returns than their benchmarks when using net-of-fees returns. On a gross-of-fees basis, only International Small-Cap funds outperformed on a risk-adjusted basis over the 10- and 15-year periods.
    When using net-of-fees risk-adjusted returns, the majority of actively managed fixed income funds in most categories underperformed over all three investment horizons. The exceptions were Government Long, Investment Grade Long, and Loan Participation funds (over the 5- and 10-year periods), as well as Investment Grade Short funds (over the 5-year period).
    However, unlike their equity counterparts, most fixed income funds outperformed their respective benchmarks gross of fees. This highlights the critical role of fees in fixed income fund performance. In general, more active fixed income managers underperformed over the long term (15 years) than over the intermediate term (5 years).
    On a net-of-fee basis, asset-weighted return/volatility ratios for active portfolios were higher than the corresponding equal-weighted ratios, indicating that larger firms have taken on better-compensated risk than smaller ones.

    One important saving grace I think is that SPIVA only considers risk as volatility and not downside capture or Sortino ratios. So that should be considered. All of that said, the threat from passive ETFs is most certainly real and should not be underestimated.
  • BUY - SELL - PONDER - MAY 2020

    Closed my 2022 spec combo options trade on GE *way* early for 25% gain on the risk ... just to offset likely TLH'ing elsewhere. I would re-create the position for if GE drops back down toward 5 again, though.
  • In BlackRock We Trust
    Keep your eye on Blackrock:
    The Federal Reserve began its historic purchases of corporate bonds exchange-traded funds, almost half of the Fed’s purchases went into BlackRock funds, according to ETFGI, an ETF research and consulting firm.
    The five largest purchases by the Fed, in order, were iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD), Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund ETF Shares (VCIT), Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund ETF Shares (VCSH), iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) and SPDR (JNK).
    The optics of the Fed’s purchases of iShares ETFs are controversial, given that BlackRock (ticker: BLK) is running the Fed’s three debt-buying programs. BlackRock has said it won’t charge management fees on the iShares ETFs it buys behalf of the Fed. A BlackRock spokesperson wasn’t immediately available to comment.
    BlackRock’s iShares has 38.1% of the exchange-traded product market; Vanguard has 26.5%, and State Street’s SPDR ETFs has 16.5%,
    blackrock-is-biggest-beneficiary-of-fed-purchases-of-corporate-bond-etfs
  • Hi Charles, June commentary clarification please.
    Hi @Charles
    You noted in your commentary: Under Chairman Janet Yellen and continued by Jerome Powell, the Fed tried to “normalize” rates by gradually increasing the so-called Discount Rate from near zero to 2.4% over a three-year period from January 2016 through December 2018. The 10-year rose above 3%. It did not last long.
    The average US Treasury fund drew down about 11% during this period with longer duration being hardest hit, as one would expect. Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury Index (VEDTX) was off 20.4% during this period. BlackRock iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) off 15.2%. Its 7-10 year cousin (IEF) off 7.1%.
    1. I used the period you noted (Jan. 2016 - Dec. 31, 2018) for IEF, TLT and threw in ZROZ (a bit more volatile than TLT, but represents 30 year, AAA zero coupon bonds). For whatever reason, VEDTX wouldn't chart.
    2. Perhaps I've had either not enough or too much coffee; OR I don't understand your use of "drew down" vs total return. Secondly, is that I am suffering from cranial/rectal inversion; and thus, not aware of the status.
    --- VEDTX had the following total returns for the years being discussed (per M*): VEDTX , performance link at Vanguard.
    2016 = +1.53%
    2017 = + 13.52%
    2018 = -3.49%
    This CHART is for IEF, TLT and ZROZ. Total return is at the right edge of the chart for the 3 year period of Jan. 2016 - Dec. 31, 2018.
    Please alert me to any boo-boo's with statements or charts.
    Thank you.
    Catch
  • IOFIX/IOFAX marketing materials/prospectus
    Every post you make FD is all about you. "I saw this. I did that. Every one else is dumb for missing it." The point is the likelihood of anyone 'investing" in this fund, not trading, would not have seen a 40% drop in 2 days on the horizon.
    Yes, totally BS. And what is the smiley face for?
    You are correct, I didn't know in advance how bad it could be but I expected it to be bad.
    Your reaction is typical, I see anger and disbelief when I tell you my thoughts and how I operate. The smiley is to let you know it's all expected.
    In this thread(link), I documented many trades that I have done since 2-28-2020. I made several similar posts on MFO too, see (here). Why no admit I made a great call.
    I'm pretty sure you will come back and request me to post every trade I make :-)
    My trading style has been established for years which helped me in the last 3 years since retirement in 2018. I will sell any bond fund that loses more than 1%, actually, I even sell earlier if other funds in the same category behave differently or I can find a better fund according to my goals.
    Here is the bottom line: while you claim it's all BS the facts show I sold all my portfolio to cash prior to the meltdown.
  • New coronavirus losing potency, top Italian doctor says -- Reuters
    Cross immunity (immunity due to exposure to similar viruses in the past, e.g. certain variants of the common cold) is another theory that might explain what's happening in Italy and elsewhere. Spain has just had its first day without any COVID-19 deaths. This was not expected when they started easing their lockdowns
    Or it's just warm weather and we'll be royally screwed in the fall.
  • AMIDEX35 Israel Fund to be liquidated
    For those who absolutely must have an Israel fund, be of good cheer. There's still TPIAX
    In the top 25 stocks TPIAX has just one Israeli stock (link)
  • IOFIX/IOFAX marketing materials/prospectus
    The basics are still the same: Know what you own, expect the worse(which is what I do) and past performance and volatility are not guaranteed.

    I call BS on that advice FD. None of what you said is usable. This was a fund with good consistent returns and a very low STD to boot. It would have been easier to interpret the risk if the funds literature would have been more accurate, especially on liquidity and possible fire-sale risk. The fund collapsed 45% before the dust could settle. 40% within 2 days. Trading limits on mutual funds that only allow trades after the market closes gives an investor 2 days as the quickest reaction time to unload. Most here aren't day traders so your advice on this fund is worthless.
    Sorry, but your infallible preaching is a bit nauseating.
    Well, several quotes from the past
    1) 2-28-2020-According to MFO databased when you search for Multi sector funds for 3 years + best martin ratio you get the following funds
    Fund performance ANFIX 5.3 IOFIX 10.6 SEMMX 5.1 BDKNX 5.7 ANGLX 4.2
    2) 2-29-2020-I'm taking my profit and watching. There is no way to be sure how IOFIX will do if markets go wild
    3) 3-3/2020-There is no guarantee of what will happen in the future. I think the worse was in 11/2018 when IOFIX lost more than 1% in one day.
    Over the years:
    I have watched IOFIX jumping 2-3 times annually 2-3% within days while others didn't.
    In 2008 MBS got crushed. ORNAX(HY Muni) fell over 40% and more than others.
    I can't remember the fund name but it was a bond fund in 2010-11 that I owned, sold before it crashed and you couldn't sell it for years.
    Look at the above, item 3, how can a fund make 10% annually which is double than most in its category. IOFIX is an exotic fund with illiquid bonds and its daily pricing is just a guesstimation. When something looks too good to be true, it usually is
    So, with the above in mind, I always watched IOFIX very carefully and was in/out over the years.
    Did I know it will crash over 40%? of course not, but I thought 20% was a possibility.
    As a trader, I also have specific guidelines. Prior to retirement, I would sell any bond fund that lost 3%, after retirement, it's just 1%.
    I also learned years ago while trading stocks that when markets get wild and you try to sell a stock with low volume, it can go down 30% in seconds while QQQ,SPY go down just several %.
    BTW, I also sold my other riskier fund which was NHMAX(HY MUNI), prior to the crash and it lost over 22%.
    If you still think the above is BS, then be it :-)
  • We’re in a new paradigm for stocks, this analyst argues. Get ready for permanently higher valuations
    With the election 5 months away and Trump's popularity sagging as always, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if Trump started a foreign war as a distraction from his continued onslaught on his own country. Forget about 100,000 + deaths from the coronavirus and the highest unemployment numbers since the depression, a foreign war would take over the headlines and rally his base and possibly undecided voters in his favor. Boy would Trump look presidential ...
    My betting money is on him finding a reason to attack Iran.
  • AMIDEX35 Israel Fund to be liquidated
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1074440/000138713120005366/amidex-497_060120.htm
    (AMDAX,AMDEX,AMDCX)
    497 1 amidex-497_060120.htm SUPPLEMENT DATED JUNE 1, 2020
    REVISED FOR REVIEW AND DISCUSSION
    AMIDEX™ Funds, Inc.
    4300 SHAWNEE MISSION PARKWAY, SUITE 100
    FAIRWAY, KS 66205
    1-888-876-3566
    SUPPLEMENT DATED JUNE 1, 2020 TO THE SUMMARY PROSPECTUS, PROSPECTUS AND
    STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION DATED SEPTEMBER 30, 2019, AS SUPPLEMENTED
    This Supplement updates certain information contained in the Summary Prospectus, Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) of AMIDEX Funds (the “Fund”), dated September 30, 2019, as supplemented. You should read this Supplement in conjunction with the Prospectus and SAI and retain it for future reference. You may obtain an additional copy of the Prospectus and SAI, free of charge, by calling 1-888-876-3566 or by sending an e-mail request to [email protected], or you can view, print and download a copy of these documents at the Fund’s website at www.amidex.com.
    The purpose of this Supplement is to provide you with information about the liquidation and termination of the AMIDEX35 Israel Fund (the “Fund”).
    Information Regarding the AMIDEX35 Israel Fund
    At a meeting held on May 15, 2020, the Fund’s Board of Directors (the “Board”), upon the recommendation of Index Investments, LLC, the Fund’s investment adviser, the Board determined that is was in the best interests of the shareholder’s of the Fund to close and liquidate the Fund and on May 28, 2020 the Board of Directors approved a Plan of Liquidation (the “Plan”) under which the Fund will liquidate and terminate. It is expected that the liquidation will take place on or about June 19, 2020 (the “Liquidation Date”). Under the Plan, the Fund will sell its portfolio securities for cash and will convert any other assets to cash or cash equivalents by the Liquidation Date and pay any liabilities. On the Liquidation Date, the Fund will distribute cash pro rata to all remaining shareholders who have not previously redeemed all of their shares. This distribution will be a taxable event for each shareholder that is not tax-exempt, resulting in a gain or loss measured by the difference between the amount distributed to the shareholder and the shareholder’s basis in the Fund’s shares. Once the distribution is complete, the Fund will terminate.
    In anticipation of the liquidation, the Fund will close to new investments, effective on June 1, 2020. In addition, the Fund will sell its portfolio holdings in an orderly manner to convert its assets to cash. During this time, the Fund might not pursue its investment objectives or policies.
    Please note that you may be eligible to exchange your shares of the Fund at net asset value per share at any time prior to the Liquidation Date for shares of the same share class of another fund under certain circumstances. Please also note that you may redeem your shares of the Fund at any time prior to the Liquidation Date as described in the Fund’s Prospectus, dated September 30, 2019, as supplemented. In general, exchanges and redemptions are taxable events for shareholders. If you own Fund shares in a tax deferred account, such as an individual retirement account, 401(k) or 403(b) account, you should consult your tax adviser to discuss a Fund’s liquidation and determine its tax consequences.
    For more information, please call 1-888-876-3566.
  • IOFIX/IOFAX marketing materials/prospectus
    Re: IOFIX
    Somehow received (Lipper’s) “Multi-sector income” classification
    1.50% ER / Inception: May 2015
    The chart : Steady climb upward following inception, gaining over 50% for investors in fewer than 5 years - during an era of 2% (or lower) interest rates on investment grade paper. Leverage and / or derivatives had at work to achieve that stunning record. Dropped completely “off the radar” in mid-March and plunged to the ground with breathtaking speed. Without really having the data, obviously there was a rapid exodus of investors heading for the gate when things started to come unglued. Harkens back to the liquidity issue addressed by many here, including Lewis Braham most recently.
    I’ve never observed a chart like that nor seen a fund fall so precipitously so fast. I can empathize with those who were taken to the cleaners. (There but for the grace of God ... ) On the other hand, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. The only thing remotely similar in my memory would be Oppenheimer’s “Core Bond” and their “Champion Income” funds - both of which imploded in 2008 and resulted in numerous (successful) lawsuits. The difference: Oppenheimer was a large long established full-feature fund house and the travesty involved a couple funds that had been in existence many years. For some reason they decided to reach for yield and ended up wrecking the funds ... likely contributing to their own future demise.
  • IOFIX/IOFAX marketing materials/prospectus
    The basics are still the same: Know what you own, expect the worse(which is what I do) and past performance and volatility are not guaranteed.
    I call BS on that advice FD. None of what you said is usable. This was a fund with good consistent returns and a very low STD to boot. It would have been easier to interpret the risk if the funds literature would have been more accurate, especially on liquidity and possible fire-sale risk. The fund collapsed 45% before the dust could settle. 40% within 2 days. Trading limits on mutual funds that only allow trades after the market closes gives an investor 2 days as the quickest reaction time to unload. Most here aren't day traders so your advice on this fund is worthless.
    Sorry, but your infallible preaching is a bit nauseating.
  • New coronavirus losing potency, top Italian doctor says -- Reuters
    Well, it follows previous patterns of coronavirus but news out of India report the opposite, mutations that are worse. For example, google "coronavirus India" in Google News. Here is my first hit:
    https://www.indiatvnews.com/science/coronavirus-mutant-positive-cases-deaths-covid-19-scientists-614526
  • IOFIX/IOFAX marketing materials/prospectus
    Here's link to April marketing brief:
    http://alphacentricfunds.com/funds/IncomeOpp/presentation.pdf
    No mention of liquidity crisis.
    Just: "Turn in Q1 2020 Marks The Sharpest Reversal in History"
    Once the Fed stepped-in and the redemptions stopped (aka once it survived a run on the fund), the fund has rebounded nicely, if still a long way to go.
    I still like the strategy, but as an MBS value trade, not for no-drawdown, steady-eddy behavior the fund displayed for nearly 5 years.
    At the end of the day, it's still a high-yield, non-investment grade bond fund ... concentrated in one sector.
    Allocate accordingly unless you are willing to treat it as a trade and exit at first sign of trouble.
    Eyes wide open and fearful everyday you own it.
  • BUY - SELL - PONDER - MAY 2020
    Wish I had more in BIAWX, myself. That fund allows you to get in with just $100.00 and I've been adding exactly that much, each time. One-year perf of that fund = 26.59. YA!