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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.

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MFO's October issue is live and lively!

Devesh and I, separately, chose to think through the implications of "higher for longer" as a Fed mantra.

Lynn began poking at the new TRP Capital Appreciation ETF and wrote a really nice reflection on Retirement: Year One.

I made some portfolio shifts, which is rare for me. I cut Matthews Asian Growth & Income (MACSX) after a long time. I booked a substantial gain, but mostly in the early years of the holding. What ultimately got me to act was reading the fund's own webpage (their pretty straightforward in reporting performance) and the apparent turmoil / turnover at Matthews. It strikes me as hard to do your job when other people are losing theirs. I added Leuthold Core (LCORX), because I don't have the energy just now to worry about how to reallocate assets when the picture (goodbye, Speaker McCarthy) changes daily. And I had already added RiverPark Strategic Income, which I'd written about this summer in tandem with Osterweis Strategic Income. OSTIX is leading in absolute returns but has more short-term volatility, and I'm just not into that. It's up 5.9% YTD / 5.8% APR over three years.

All of which moves me back closer to my "neutral" position of 50/50 stocks/bonds-cash-alts.

Comments

  • Thanks to you and your team for another month of great commentary. Always looking forward to them.
  • M* The Long View podcast with David Giroux (PRWCX, TCAF). Scroll a bit for full transcript.
    https://www.morningstar.com/financial-advice/david-giroux-i-want-look-forward-not-backward
  • Well, if the actual commentary is even half as intriguing as the summary here, I’m impressed. Will read. Thanks as always.
  • ”You might reconsider the need for an SUV or pickup, which tend to be surprisingly unsafe because of their poor visibility and slow handling, expensive, and unnecessary. (In general, SUVs are marketed through appeals to personal freedom as drivers ford rivers, scale mountains, and drag commercial aircraft down the stream while a deep-voiced narrator drones on about your ability to go anywhere and do anything.)”

    Thank you @David_Snowball. It’s a puzzle to me the popularity of these modes of personal transportation. One I ponder often while weaving my way through a grocer’s parking lot, groceries in hand, searching for my midsized sedan obscured among an acre of taller pickups and SUVs. (Not to decry anyone else’s personal choices)
  • +1 hank I've never considered a SUV because knee problems run in my family and I don't like to step up to get in a vehicle-I also avoid all steps for the same reason. I just bought a 2023 Sonata SES because the SE model was unavailable. But family/mid-side sedans are quickly being phased out and my next vehicle(hopefully) may end up being a SUV !
  • edited October 2023
    @hank, @caerw388, if you don't have a SUV, where do you keep your golf clubs?

    Seriously, after driving small Dakota and Ranger pickup trucks for over 20 years, I decided to lease a Toyota Camry. A sedan. Hated it. Not because it was a bad car, but you couldn't carry anything in that little trunk. Convenience is why people buy SUV's and why sedans are becoming obsolete. After that sedan lease, I bought a Subaru Outback. Love it. Now my golf clubs and pull cart have a summer home.
  • We have gotten used to crossover SUVs.

    There are 2 kinds of SUVs - the original rugged ones (like Jeep Wrangler - basically, a flimsy cabin slapped on a powerful engine) and crossovers.

    The rugged SUVs are based on pickup/truck chassis/platforms that are rough and possibly unsafe.

    Crossover SUVs are just based on car chassis/platforms. For example, Honda CRV is based on Honda Civic chassis/platform, and Honda Pilot is based on Honda Accord chassis/platform. In mechanical, drivability and safety aspects, the crossover SUVs are very similar to their related car-chassis/platforms. The only difference is the outer shape/shell.

    Initially, my wife was hesitant to drive Honda CRV, but I explained to her that it is really "smaller" and "lighter" than Honda Accord that she drove for years. Now, it is "her" car.

    For me, CRV was sort of underpowered, so I got Acura RDX with V6. Just a year later, Honda came out of Honda Passport with V6. I like to think that it was in response to my complaints to dealers and Honda about the lack of a bigger V6 in Honda mid-SUV line (I was told just to go with RDX). But Honda listened (my wishful thinking!), and came out with Honda Passport, a mid-SUV with V6.

    So, what is the difference between 4WD and AWD? Well, that is for some future post.
  • The Honda / Acura AWD is pretty great. I'm recently on my second MDX and really missed not having the SH-AWD in winters when I went through my "BMW phase" this past decade.

    Speaking of which, it's getting really hard to find 6-banger ICE SUVs these days. Most are 4-cylinder and feel woefully underpowered. :/
  • @MikeM : You waited to long before purchasing a Camry. 2005 had more than enough room . I believe it did carry 4 golfer & 4 bags, all at the same time. Recent purchase, Subaru , 3 golfer & 3 bags.
  • Thanks @Derf. I guess I'll have to get into having 3-somes:)
  • edited October 2023
    @MikeM - The Accord’s trunk would accommodate your golf clubs - and a lot more. One of largest trunks of any sedan I’ve ever owned. I went through the “higher ride” / PU stage when much younger. Keep a 20 year old beast on the side for hauling wood, sand, stone, etc, - which I’ve always considered the reason for owning a pickup. I’m convinced (in my own mind anyway) that a lower riding sedan with a much lower center of gravity is much easier to stop / steer / maneuver in avoiding an accident. That feeling of safety from sitting higher up above everyone else is an illusion - though I doubt any of the die-hards will believe me. Of course the heavier vehicles will “win out” in a collision. But isn’t the whole point of driving to avoid collisions?:)
  • I suspect the best way to crash crossover SUV sales would be disclose their shameful secret: they're actually station wagons.

    image

    Bloomberg, by the way, declared "Station wagons are back to cure SUV fatigue." (In 2017)
  • edited October 2023
    Hey! I've got whitewalls just like those on our 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme!

    Looks just like this one-

    image
  • Well a lot of the modern SUVs look like overgrown 'wagons anyway .... more aerodynamic, maybe a bit taller, but still wagon-esque.
  • edited October 2023
    “ … their shameful secret: they're actually station wagons.”

    Oh - but “wagons” had so much more class. You could actually tell one brand from another.
  • My favorite car is whichever I'm driving currently (a 2018 Camry, bought used, as it turns out) but my favorite over the course of decades was my 1990 Honda Accord Wagon. It was my first (and only) new car, it carried everything, was efficient, reliable and dull. 300,000 miles later the body was unrecoverable from rust so I traded it in for used 1997 wagon.

    Chip's favorite car is her Honda Fit, basically a chopped-off wagon with a freakish amount of storage capacity owing to rear seats that fold flat to the floor. 40" of vertical space when that happens.

    Neither car is being sold in the US anymore. The Fit is sold overseas, and the Accord wagon passed away in 2015.
  • I have to put in a plug for Honda vans which I have owned continuously since 1999. Way more capacity (i.e., 4x8 sheets of plywood) than an SUV, easy to get into, and no teenager or 20-something kid of mine has ever asked to take my car. As for Mom's Accord, another story. Come to think of it, they don't ask to take my stick-shift roadster, either.
  • The rise of SUVs came about because of a loophole to get around the federal fuel economy rules. They were originally built on truck platforms to get around the CAFE requirements.

    I’m one of those unicorns who drives a hatchback in the states. I wish we had more options but they’ve been mostly displaced by crossovers.
  • edited October 2023
    Thanks for the insights @MrRuffles. For sure - many resisted downsizing to smaller cars. To an extent, larger, heavier vehicles had an advantage in ride comfort back than. I’m not sure that’s the case today. Also wondering what percentage of people driving them today even know what the letters “SUV” stand for?
  • edited October 2023
    imageSUV.
    Sink Unlimited Volumes of money into it.
    My tiny white front-wheel drive Saturn 4-door went cross-country maybe three times. And I took it to British Columbia, too. Cassette Tape player. And A/C. Luxury model with automatic transmission. Almost 300k miles before it was donated to charity.
  • I switched from a VW Golf to a Toyota RAV4 hybrid a few years ago. I would have gotten another Golf, but I needed more space for my dog and VW quit importing their wagon (and the Golf).

    I had resisted getting an SUV for years due to their terrible gas mileage. However, my RAV4 hybrid gets more than 40 mpg — which is considerably higher than my little Golf. I do miss the handling and easy parking with my Golf, but the RAV4 handles and parks surprisingly well, and it has much more power. And, of course, it has tons of storage space and room for my dog. We seldom get snow in NC, but the all-wheel drive could prove useful during our rare snow events.

    If I get tired of driving an SUV, I would probably now get a Toyota Prius, which has incredible gas mileage. The newest model has much more power, nice handling and good styling for a change. Toyota finally seems to be listening to critics about the awful styling of some of their models.

  • BenWP said:

    I have to put in a plug for Honda vans which I have owned continuously since 1999. Way more capacity (i.e., 4x8 sheets of plywood) than an SUV, easy to get into, and no teenager or 20-something kid of mine has ever asked to take my car. As for Mom's Accord, another story. Come to think of it, they don't ask to take my stick-shift roadster, either.

    It's the minvan that replaced the station wagon. SUV's never had the cargo capacity. They're just squared off sedans. We're closing in on 300K with our Odyssey. Carried all sorts of stuff in it besides kids and dogs.

    My "roadster" is a 2008 stick-shift Fit. Fun for driving around town. A little too bouncy on the freeway at higher speed.

  • edited October 2023
    My "roadster" is a 2008 stick-shift Fit. Fun for driving around town. A little too bouncy on the freeway at higher speed.

    My favorite driving experience was an ‘86 Ford Escort with “4 on the floor”. Just a 4-banger but fun to drive & maneuverable. Later I owned a 2013 Mustang with automatic / V6. A good looker, but less enjoyable driving. Ford had retarded the timing at lower RPM’s to boost EPA ratings. So the advertised 300+ HP didn’t even kick in until you reached a certain RPM. Really a dog off the line considering engine size.
  • @Crash. We also had a Saturn that lasted almost 300k miles and made many cross country trips. With its plastic body and industrial grade cloth interior it looked brand new till the end. Fondest memories were adding oil at the truck stops while wife got the coffee and getting stopped by the DEA in rural Illinois. That surprised us because we felt very stealthy in the Saturn but it must have been the CALIFORNIA plates.
  • @larryB:

    The ferry to Vancouver Island was a highlight. And running around the "Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia." :). Kathy Mattea is herself a native of Cross Lanes, WV.
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