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.
The other thing that would give me pause about investing in the new Asia fund is that JD himself is going to be the manager. He's had some success with the other funds he runs in their lineup, but the better funds in the shop are the ones he doesn't…
The only new thing even remotely in the crosshairs here is Artisan Global Small Cap, ARTWX, whenever they decide to open it; an Artisan rep said today they still have no official word on when that'll be. I'll want to see how it's positioned before i…
Reply to @Charles: The progress to this point has been only in stopping the hemorrhaging, and that occurred three years ago. It's good that we're keeping up with adult population growth now, but that's not making a dent in the job deficit created du…
I hear you, John; employment, about the most fundamental of the fundamentals, is nowhere near in decent shape. The adult employment-to-population ratio basically hasn't moved since it hit bottom three-plus years ago:
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.c…
Reply to @Mona: Mona, got your message; I'd just reiterate from above that PIMIX would be fine for all your mortgage exposure by itself, IMHO. I'd look at DBLTX apart from the specific asset category and decide whether you want a fund in the portfol…
I think I'd give the "Arnott's so flexible" argument for PAUIX (and PAAIX) less weight now than formerly. He no longer has the flexibility he used to have when the fund had much lower AUM, largely because he'd wreck the underlying funds he invests i…
Reply to @Mona: Yeah, more or less. Main thing I was trying to get across, maybe not very effectively, was to consider the whole portfolio and both of the main types of risk in evaluating what to do with the bond sleeve.
Hi Ron, just generalizing here, my thought would be to try mapping stock/credit vs. interest rate risk in the portfolio as a whole, including those bond funds, plus the stock funds you own, & feel out what kind of split you're most comfortable w…
Reply to @AMatMFO: AM, here's a M* discussion forum thread on it ... lots of complaints, no resolution yet:
http://socialize.morningstar.com/NewSocialize/forums/p/324440/3415785.aspx#PageIndex=1
Reply to @Shostakovich: Who can forget the Robert Powell (Marketwatch financial writer)-Madoff fiasco:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-madoff-cost-my-family-a-job-a-401k-and-a-worthy-cause
While there's for sure a huge need for better financi…
New (to me anyway) & interesting POV: looking at (present discounted) average lifetime SS benefits as part of the portfolio. Think I'll try a side calculation on that. Thanks for the perspective, OJ and STB.
Reply to @msf: From the PBS/Need to Know article, the vote was taken, but it did not receive the required support to go directly to Congress:
"That report needed to achieve a super majority (or the equivalent to 14 of the 18 members voting Yes) to …
Reply to @Gandalf: See Pangolin's link below.
Also, TR Price's "real assets" fund is a stock fund, not a commodity fund; they apparently don't play in those assets/markets either.
Mona,
Here are a few thoughts you might consider if you want to consolidate:
* PIMIX could easily be the only major source of mortgages in the portfolio, and it's worth a good-size position in general.
* If you want to own a rock-solid, low-risk …
I think the idea of a cash or cash-like position means different things to different people at different times. Most basically, those might fall into categories like these, roughly speaking: savings you're going to use in a year or two for a down pa…
Must have been mainly the mortgages? PMZIX and TGLMX popped too, just not as much, altho DBLTX barely moved. EM debt was mostly up too ... that seems to be the main driver of PDIIX's daily price variation these days.
I remember seeing somebody's projection of a 14k Nikkei, and thinking that'll take a while to develop, if it ever happens. Well, it stands a chance of 14k tonight before North American bedtime.
Reply to @hank: The program was pretty good ... M. Smith caught some finance types in an embarrassing moment here and there. Asking about a fiduciary standard for advisors brought out the most dissembling, hemming & hawing, etc.
He did get off …
Reply to @hank: "Kill off professionally managed defined benefit plans and expect a car mechanic or otherwise skilled tradesman to manage mega-dollars in a self-directed retirement plan. Yeah!"
Exactamundo, Hank. I was looking at a Google Earth ove…
Reply to @BobC: Our current debt/deficits have very little to do with what you characterize as "cradle-to-grave goodies." This has been discussed, graphed, & pored over in hundreds of articles since even before the recession: two rounds of large…
Reply to @Hiyield007: Oh right, sure, makes sense. I sold a utility etf too early. Utes are still climbing, & the etf I had is ~ zero premium even now.
Reply to @Hiyield007: Hi HY007, could you spell out your take on Pax Global Green a little more? I don't understand the reference to considering it as bonds, and being similar to a natural gas utility fund.
On SFGIX, Andrew F. has already branched out considerably from Asia. He's got 65% in Asia now, versus the index funds VWO at 61% and EEM at 62%. So he's only somewhat overweight Asia (and underweight Latin America & Africa, overweight emerging E…
Reply to @Charles: Not sure what's going on with the chart -- M&P Small has only been around since 2011. Was there another fund with that ticker before 2008?
Reply to @bee: For anyone thinking of getting into Pimco Investment-Grade Corp, be sure to look under the hood first. It's a terrific fund, but it's not the one you might infer from the name.
The only stock funds/etf's I have on watchlists (too many) that were down less than 1% on the Ides of April were EWJ, MSMLX, & WAFMX ... and MACSX just barely missed.
Bespoke uses a 2 standard deviation/50 dma stat to call the market, or sectors, overbought or oversold, 2 sd's being a common statistical measure of outliers in many walks of "life". M* uses its own scheme, which depends on its assumptions about mea…
M. Faber's GTAA is a trend-following etf that's also been underwhelming, clocking in toward the bottom of the mod allocation category (bottom 80-90%) in various time periods since kickoff.
