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.
With respect to our community's various posting efforts, I'm getting sick of these "Best ETF/Funds"-types of articles. What works for one person or one type of market situationmay not work well for others, but finpr0n articles like this don't make that distinction too often, or clearly.
I agree with you on that type of article. I see the same thing at M*. Their front page articles tout bond funds that are never discussed in the forums.
Since inception 1986 to June 2025 #1 on list Fidelity Select Software & IT Services (FSCSX) has annual return of 16% vs 11.5% for S&P 500. So probably still #1-3. No expensive factory, no inventory spoilage, high profit margin are some of the reasons why this sector has done well.
Seems to trade right along with QQQ, FBCG, etc; maybe with less volatility. Makes me wonder if it's genuinely trading as a truly independent entity or simply as a proxy for tech, etc.?
when this article came out, someone brought it up in a investing facebook group i'm a part of. the person was like why not just invest in a group of these! a few months ago in the same group someone queried if they had. they had and they basically were like I chose 10 of them and only like 3 of them actually did any good. after a 5 year stint they punted recently. considering the alternative offered was to just invest in the market, i quickly uploaded the article to a AI Agent I made and asked how many of these funds have outperformed the market since the date of that article. it said 1 no longer exists and 9 of the 25 have outperformed. obviously that says nothing in regards to their place in their category (which is the more appropriate measurement) and also its been 5 years, but I thought that was interesting.
I've had a subscription to kiplingers for 22 years. My FIL renews it for me. It is super light reading but is a nice quick glance while on the throne. I don't take much of it seriously, in 2004 they released their Kiplinger 25. their top 25 mutual funds. they update it from time to time. only 1 bond fund still is in the list from 2004. none of the other 24 survived. most funds don't even last 5 years on the list. how useful is that list really to a buy and hold investor?
"in 2004 they released their Kiplinger 25. their top 25 mutual funds. they update it from time to time. only 1 bond fund still is in the list from 2004. none of the other 24 survived. most funds don't even last 5 years on the list. how useful is that list really to a buy and hold investor?"
Although I don't track the Kip 25 closely, I've noticed there is a lot of turnover within the ranks. The list's turnover diminishes its utility for long-term investors. I subscribed to Kilpinger's many years ago. The magazine's quality has really deteriorated over the past 10 or 15 years.
Which all means that everything needs to be taken with grain of salt. And even the best funds can fall out of favor. B&H may not always be the best approach when dealing with sector funds, in particular. I have my non-401K portfolio at T Rowe Price and have owned several of the funds on that list: PRMTX. PRHSX & RPMGX.
I sold PRHSX & RPMGX after a couple decades of stellar performance, but would buy both back under the right circumstances. PRMTX, outside of a few individual stocks, is one of my best long term holdings of all time. I own it in Roth, TIRA and taxable accounts. It has a 15-yr return of 17%. YTD it is up 10.63%.
I also have a fairly large position in PRSCX, which has a 15-yr return of 17.5% and is up 5% YTD. This is the first mutual fund that I ever bought, back in the mid 1980's.
Kiplinger's Income Investor is a pretty good newsletter dedicated to income. It tends to ignore total return, which I find odd. Many years a number of their picks loose money.
Still for someone who needs income and diversifies adequately it does OK. However it only recently noticed CBLDX and RPHIX and tends to include a number of CEFs
My parents first bought into FCNTX about 35 years ago and have been happy with the returns. They didn’t get exorbitantly wealthy but it has provided a nice cushion for their retirement. The star manager (Will Danoff) seems to be relinquishing some of his responsibilities nowadays, so we’ll see what the future holds. But it’s been a good fund for a long time.
Bogle praised Danoff in common sense investing and his work with contrafund. the guy who taught me about investing was a american funds wholesaler in the 80's and early 90's. he said the biggest thing to remember is that all of these long time funds that exist today still, were funds that existed in a sea of other mutual funds listed in catalogs with phone numbers attached and no other data except 1, 3, and 5 yr returns. advisors were no help usually, would just put you in funds that wholesalers gave them the best deals on..(he said they would incentivize advisors to place investors in american funds beyond the loads and 12b-1 fees) He said the ones that invested in contrafund, fidelity growth, various trowe price funds, Growth fund of america etc very early on are the winners because those funds did great. He said they stand on the corpses of hundred if not thousands of mutual funds and fund companies the went belly up.
"in 2004 they released their Kiplinger 25. their top 25 mutual funds. they update it from time to time. only 1 bond fund still is in the list from 2004. none of the other 24 survived. most funds don't even last 5 years on the list. how useful is that list really to a buy and hold investor?"
Although I don't track the Kip 25 closely, I've noticed there is a lot of turnover within the ranks. The list's turnover diminishes its utility for long-term investors. I subscribed to Kilpinger's many years ago. The magazine's quality has really deteriorated over the past 10 or 15 years.
re the Kiplinger 25. in 20 years there have been 121 mutual funds listed in the kiplinger top 25. the avg life of a fund in the list is 4 years. 28 funds didn't last a year on the list.
you are right, the quality of the product has gone down IMO and when my FIL passes away i will likely never renew. he likes getting it for me so i don't tell him to stop. I also think about the book "Dow 36000" by Glassman everytime i turn the page and see his face and article.
Just thought I'd chime in with support for Kiplinger. I've been getting this magazine for probably 50 years ever since my dad got a subscription for me after starting my first real job where I had some disposable income to invest. After he passed, my sister continued that tradition.
I enjoy reading the articles still.
Keep is mind that the organization has an objective...per Wiki, "It claims to be the first American personal finance magazine and to deliver "sound, unbiased advice in clear, concise language". It offers advice on managing money and achieving financial security, saving, investing, planning for retirement, paying for college, and major purchases like automobiles and homes."
It's a great mag for folks starting out and those who want some current information about topics of interest. It's not the most complete or esoteric in terms of investments, but if it gets folks on the road to saving and investing, that's a good thing.
"if it gets folks on the road to saving and investing, that's a good thing"
Absolutely. In our case it was an advisor who made his living peddling American Funds, which at the time had a hefty front load. However, his knowledge and advice went well beyond just American Funds, and as our investments built, that load gradually got lower and after a few years went away. Today we're in pretty good shape, with a lot of credit to that man.
If Kiplinger helps in the same way, that's very good also. Whatever it takes.
to be frank, i don't think people starting out are looking for magazine subscriptions but I do get it. But I also recognize that Robert Kyosaki has helped a lot of people change their mindset on money, finance, and investing even though RDPD is a largely garbage book used to push people into MLM businesses.
"if it gets folks on the road to saving and investing, that's a good thing"
Absolutely. In our case it was an advisor who made his living peddling American Funds, which at the time had a hefty front load. However, his knowledge and advice went well beyond just American Funds ….
Same here. One day during my 2nd year on the job I was chatting with one of the older guys - about nothing really - when it dawned on me to ask him if there was anything else I should be doing for long term financial planning beyond mandatory contributions to the pension system. He said “yes” and gave me the name of a fella who sold Templeton funds at a “discounted” 4.17% load. Knowing nothing about investing I called the guy and he got me started contributing. Not a lot really. But that was more than 55 years ago. Einstein is said to have called compounding“The Eighth Wonder of the World.”
Dick Strong (of ill repute) also had a positive influence on me (in the mid 90s) Strong talked a good game. Based in neighboring Wisconsin I felt some familiarity. First heard the expression “Pay yourself first” from Strong. I think it might have been a company motto. Your first task every payday should be to invest something for your future. Unfortunately, Strong took it a bit too far and was found to have had his fingers in the cookie jar.
A lot of old Kiplingers are on line at google books. They're always good for a blast from the past before the internet.
Some of the old Playboys are pretty good too. The April April 1987 edition features an “exclusive interview” with the great Louis Rukeyser. I own a copy as Rukeyser was a favorite of mine.
Playboy...late 60's and early 70's had very good, serious interviews with prominent folks of the period. A very large thread topic drift has taken place, eh? I'll refrain from more here.
That other magazine isn't available for free on line. At the dinky linky is the April 1987 edition of Changing Times The Kiplinger Magazine.
One eye-catching blurb notes that mortgage rates would stay tame for 1987, at a mere 9%.
Some of us may benefit from reading the article How to Start Investing, even if we have already started. The article notes that, per Lipper, from 1972 to 1986 global and international funds had been the top performers "thanks in some measure to the decline in the value of the U.S. dollar."
True. And there’s been a lot of “drift” since @equalizer first initiated this thread in January 2020. It was before Joe Biden was elected President. It would be another month or so before “Covid” became a household word. You could refinance a mortgage for around 3%. Money market funds yielded around 1%. Beer was cheaper.
There is some semblance however. The OP dealt with attempting to rank the best 25 mutual funds. I won’t get into a rant on that, but I agree with @equalizer’s general sentiment as he expressed it then. Playboy as I recall also featured every month ”25 of the best”. Perhaps risqué for the day. Passé by today’s standards.
“Greed and Grit on Wall Street”? I don’t think that’s changed much since Lou highlighted it in ‘87.
@hank The below is a different '25 of the best'.........
Several online articles and lists discuss some of the most notable journalism and literature pieces that have appeared in Playboy Magazine. While it's difficult to definitively compile a list of the "25 best," here are some frequently mentioned and highly regarded examples:
Interviews Miles Davis Interview by Alex Haley (1962): A gripping and emotional interview with the jazz icon, which was considered revolutionary at the time for its candid discussion of racial equality and marked the beginning of the renowned "Playboy Interview" format. Martin Luther King Jr. Interview by Alex Haley (1965): The Nobel Peace Prize winner sat down for his longest press interview with Alex Haley, discussing racism and the Civil Rights movement, according to The Hundreds. Muhammad Ali Interview (1964): Features a defiant Ali discussing his adopted Muslim faith, racism, and himself, shortly after becoming Heavyweight Champion of the World. Jimmy Carter Interview by Robert Scheer (1976): During his presidential campaign, Carter admitted to having "committed adultery in [his] heart many times," sparking controversy amidst the growing "born again Christian" movement. John Lennon and Yoko Ono Interview (1980): A wide-ranging conversation with the musical icons. Bette Davis Interview (1982): A candid discussion where Davis expresses her pro-choice politics. Robin Williams Interview (1992): An interview that captured the comedian's unique blend of humor and insights. Maya Angelou Interview (1999): A conversation with the renowned author and poet. The Cast of Saturday Night Live (1977): An interview with the cast of the groundbreaking show.
Fiction and literature Playboy has published works by renowned authors. Some notable examples include serialization of Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" (1954), a prequel to "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac titled "Before the Road" (1959), Roald Dahl's "The Visitor" (1965), Gabriel García Márquez's "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World" (1968), Joyce Carol Oates's "Saul Bird Says: Relate! Communicate! Liberate!" (1971), Haruki Murakami's "The Second Bakery Attack" (1992), and Margaret Atwood's "The Bog Man" (1991).
Journalism Playboy also features significant journalistic pieces. Examples include Hunter S. Thompson's "The Great Shark Hunt" (1974), a piece of gonzo journalism, Norman Mailer's coverage of the "Rumble in the Jungle" in "The Fight" (1974), Gore Vidal's essay "Sex Is Politics" (1979), Eric Konigsberg's "Death of a Deceiver" (1995), a report that inspired the film "Boys Don't Cry", and Mark Boal's "The Man in the Bomb Suit" (2005), an embedded report that inspired "The Hurt Locker".
These examples highlight Playboy's varied content and its influence on culture through interviews, fiction, and journalism by notable figures.
Hugh Hefner's Playboy did a lot of great journalism.
A lot of old Kiplingers are on line at google books. They're always good for a blast from the past before the internet.
Some of the old Playboys are pretty good too. The April April 1987 edition features an “exclusive interview” with the great Louis Rukeyser. I own a copy as Rukeyser was a favorite of mine.
Comments
I've had a subscription to kiplingers for 22 years. My FIL renews it for me. It is super light reading but is a nice quick glance while on the throne. I don't take much of it seriously, in 2004 they released their Kiplinger 25. their top 25 mutual funds. they update it from time to time. only 1 bond fund still is in the list from 2004. none of the other 24 survived. most funds don't even last 5 years on the list. how useful is that list really to a buy and hold investor?
Although I don't track the Kip 25 closely, I've noticed there is a lot of turnover within the ranks.
The list's turnover diminishes its utility for long-term investors.
I subscribed to Kilpinger's many years ago.
The magazine's quality has really deteriorated over the past 10 or 15 years.
I sold PRHSX & RPMGX after a couple decades of stellar performance, but would buy both back under the right circumstances. PRMTX, outside of a few individual stocks, is one of my best long term holdings of all time. I own it in Roth, TIRA and taxable accounts. It has a 15-yr return of 17%. YTD it is up 10.63%.
I also have a fairly large position in PRSCX, which has a 15-yr return of 17.5% and is up 5% YTD. This is the first mutual fund that I ever bought, back in the mid 1980's.
Still for someone who needs income and diversifies adequately it does OK. However it only recently noticed CBLDX and RPHIX and tends to include a number of CEFs
you are right, the quality of the product has gone down IMO and when my FIL passes away i will likely never renew. he likes getting it for me so i don't tell him to stop. I also think about the book "Dow 36000" by Glassman everytime i turn the page and see his face and article.
I enjoy reading the articles still.
Keep is mind that the organization has an objective...per Wiki, "It claims to be the first American personal finance magazine and to deliver "sound, unbiased advice in clear, concise language". It offers advice on managing money and achieving financial security, saving, investing, planning for retirement, paying for college, and major purchases like automobiles and homes."
It's a great mag for folks starting out and those who want some current information about topics of interest. It's not the most complete or esoteric in terms of investments, but if it gets folks on the road to saving and investing, that's a good thing.
Absolutely. In our case it was an advisor who made his living peddling American Funds, which at the time had a hefty front load. However, his knowledge and advice went well beyond just American Funds, and as our investments built, that load gradually got lower and after a few years went away. Today we're in pretty good shape, with a lot of credit to that man.
If Kiplinger helps in the same way, that's very good also. Whatever it takes.
Dick Strong (of ill repute) also had a positive influence on me (in the mid 90s) Strong talked a good game. Based in neighboring Wisconsin I felt some familiarity. First heard the expression “Pay yourself first” from Strong. I think it might have been a company motto. Your first task every payday should be to invest something for your future. Unfortunately, Strong took it a bit too far and was found to have had his fingers in the cookie jar.
One eye-catching blurb notes that mortgage rates would stay tame for 1987, at a mere 9%.
Some of us may benefit from reading the article How to Start Investing, even if we have already started. The article notes that, per Lipper, from 1972 to 1986 global and international funds had been the top performers "thanks in some measure to the decline in the value of the U.S. dollar."
There is some semblance however. The OP dealt with attempting to rank the best 25 mutual funds. I won’t get into a rant on that, but I agree with @equalizer’s general sentiment as he expressed it then. Playboy as I recall also featured every month ”25 of the best”. Perhaps risqué for the day. Passé by today’s standards.
“Greed and Grit on Wall Street”? I don’t think that’s changed much since Lou highlighted it in ‘87.
Several online articles and lists discuss some of the most notable journalism and literature pieces that have appeared in Playboy Magazine. While it's difficult to definitively compile a list of the "25 best," here are some frequently mentioned and highly regarded examples:
Interviews
Miles Davis Interview by Alex Haley (1962): A gripping and emotional interview with the jazz icon, which was considered revolutionary at the time for its candid discussion of racial equality and marked the beginning of the renowned "Playboy Interview" format.
Martin Luther King Jr. Interview by Alex Haley (1965): The Nobel Peace Prize winner sat down for his longest press interview with Alex Haley, discussing racism and the Civil Rights movement, according to The Hundreds.
Muhammad Ali Interview (1964): Features a defiant Ali discussing his adopted Muslim faith, racism, and himself, shortly after becoming Heavyweight Champion of the World.
Jimmy Carter Interview by Robert Scheer (1976): During his presidential campaign, Carter admitted to having "committed adultery in [his] heart many times," sparking controversy amidst the growing "born again Christian" movement.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono Interview (1980): A wide-ranging conversation with the musical icons.
Bette Davis Interview (1982): A candid discussion where Davis expresses her pro-choice politics.
Robin Williams Interview (1992): An interview that captured the comedian's unique blend of humor and insights.
Maya Angelou Interview (1999): A conversation with the renowned author and poet.
The Cast of Saturday Night Live (1977): An interview with the cast of the groundbreaking show.
Fiction and literature
Playboy has published works by renowned authors. Some notable examples include serialization of Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" (1954), a prequel to "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac titled "Before the Road" (1959), Roald Dahl's "The Visitor" (1965), Gabriel García Márquez's "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World" (1968), Joyce Carol Oates's "Saul Bird Says: Relate! Communicate! Liberate!" (1971), Haruki Murakami's "The Second Bakery Attack" (1992), and Margaret Atwood's "The Bog Man" (1991).
Journalism
Playboy also features significant journalistic pieces. Examples include Hunter S. Thompson's "The Great Shark Hunt" (1974), a piece of gonzo journalism, Norman Mailer's coverage of the "Rumble in the Jungle" in "The Fight" (1974), Gore Vidal's essay "Sex Is Politics" (1979), Eric Konigsberg's "Death of a Deceiver" (1995), a report that inspired the film "Boys Don't Cry", and Mark Boal's "The Man in the Bomb Suit" (2005), an embedded report that inspired "The Hurt Locker".
These examples highlight Playboy's varied content and its influence on culture through interviews, fiction, and journalism by notable figures.
Hugh Hefner's Playboy did a lot of great journalism.
Is that he ?