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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PRESSmUP
The last week has been good preparation for playoff pressures....nicely done Tito.
I added to existing positions in RQI and PTA as the outlook for rates becomes a bit clearer and the near term future for REITs and preferred holdings are looking much better. Also initiated 2 new buys, SCHG and SPGP.
@Sven ...re your question about Parametric. They are an asset management firm, once independent, then purchased by Eaton Vance, so now a part of Morgan Stanley. Generally, they specialize in crafting portfolios focused on either direct indexing or d…
@Sven , yes...actively managed funds should continue to outperform I think. I would love to have Parametric design a compact yet diversified bond ladder for me, but with Schwab that includes a pair of fees which might be cumbersome.
Pundits sugges…
@yogibearbull ...no doubt you've seen this article:
"It’s Time to Stop Crying About Bonds and Buy Them Instead"
https://www.barrons.com/articles/should-you-buy-bonds-now-3f5c6efa?mod=djem_b_preview_20231027
If the chatter regarding Powell reaching the end of his hiking cycle is accurate, then moving into bonds makes a lot of sense over the next few months. There's going to be big money made in long term treasuries when the tide turns.
52% of my portfolio are individual stocks, currently 14 companies. I generally subscribe to a target of about 3.5-4% or so, but it depends on what's happening within the business. As an example, I see no reason to trim Broadcom, which is about 5%. S…
There appears to be several active dividend focused ETF managers introducing international offerings using the same approach as used domestically. Besides VDIGX as noted above, there’s SCHY..the Schwab international partner of the popular domestic S…
Notable, sure ---- but how long did he have to hold the position to see that gain? IIRC that's been a dog stock for well over a decade and I suspect he's been underwater for most of it as their largest shareholder.
Given the fact that it's now almo…
Added to ATT preferred C shares for l/t qualified income on this week's swoon over the lead cables story. (I trust it more than the common.)
Also srsly considering adding to my moderate sized position in VZ on the recent swoon, too.
I'm seriously u…
I would suggest paying off the one account with the highest interest rate, as Lewis alluded to. It's always good to acquire a habit of paying off debt. Given the extreme runup over the past few months, I might put the balance in either RSP or QQQE..…
Over the past 2 weeks I made several moves, all surrounding financials. As @Yogibearbull noted in a review of recent Barron's commentary, preferred shares may offer near term opportunities.
Specifically, they indicated, "You can get a bit more yie…
No secret sauce other than being hurt initially by the banking scare, and then recovering. The risk may not be totally behind us, but the opportunities outweigh the risks, even now after this run.
It’s impacting the preferred funds as well, which tend to have significant percentages of regional bank exposure. This environment does represent a significant opportunity though. USB is really tempting.
a little SCHW and BAC
Schwab insiders broke open their personal piggybanks and bought a boatload. Both of your purchases will be bargains when you look back a few years from now. It's like when Jamie Dimon buys JPM stock. It's the ultimate insider p…
@MikeW ...I believe I said I had been watching it for a bit, given the fact that this specific CEF routinely trades at a premium. It's a solid fund with a good track record, so you need to catch it in a period where the premium recedes a bit. Searc…
I bought GS 2 days ago and SCHW today. Hard to pull the trigger but that’s when you need to do it
+1.
Indeed. Added to a regional bank CEF (BTO) and then to PRU, and C.
One thing @crash is correct in starting this thread. Bond market volatility is absolutely mind blowing these days.
Munis appear to have reversed course to the upside this week.
Honestly, a roller coaster ride like I can't remember, ever before.
I only began investing in 2003. So maybe a bunch of you are more well versed in it all.
A few years from now you may look back and wonder why you didn’t take advantage of this vola…
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/13/opinion/silicon-valley-bank-lehman-bailout.html
As Mr. Krugman notes in the comments, "this was a medium-sized bank, and contagion was the fear."
Which also supplies the "why" re: the support of First Republic by …
I think Yogi is right here, though, that the KRE ETF did actually fall on Thursday and Friday.
It did. My point though was that it fell almost 5% prior to Thursday...a somewhat curious 3 day move for that index with no news...
What I find odd is that KRE, the regional bank ETF simply didn't move lower on Thursday and Friday. They were leaking oil beginning Monday, down over 16% for the week. Someone knew what was happening before the press and the public became aware.
I pay for subscriptions to the NYT's, Washington Post, New Yorker, Atlantic, Bloomberg, Barron's, Forbes, 2 local papers and I buy the weekend edition of the WSJ for a recap of the week in finance and to laugh at the editorials. I find that the New …
There are several good articles on Bloomberg regarding what made SVB unique. Here is one:
Startup Bank Had a Startup Bank Run
One problem for Silicon Valley Bank is that its customers had too much cash, and now they don’t.
https://www.bloomberg.c…
@sma3: you probably are aware of Matthews’ MEMX, which excludes China. How to screen for such a portfolio, I dunno. Maybe Premium guru Charles can help.
Perhaps not a complete listing, but when I Google “ emerging market funds which exclude china”, …
It’s a bit confusing, as Victory also has several “franchises”:
https://investor.vcm.com/products/mutual-funds#
In Ohio, I’m familiar with Sycamore Capital, which has an excellent MCV fund, VETAX.
I took a scalpel to my O holding, sending half to RQI, and the balance to PDT. RQI is a current holding, and I expect a greater degree of growth plus enhanced distribution when compared to O. PDT is a new holding, 50% in stocks (primarily utilities …
@MikeM2...pretty solid and clear points to consider for 2023, including another vote for retesting the October lows. I was surprised to see Bob Doll moved over to Crossmark, as he "retired" from Nuveen not too long ago.
one of the interesting points she mentioned re international funds...they make their gains rather quickly, and then always proceed to give them back. I had never read nor considered that before. I wonder is that is a phenomena of recent origin?
@larryB Utilities and real estate would rarely provide a total return boost for any fund, including SCHD. For me, it's to provide balance, along with a kicker in terms of distributions. I use UTG, UTF and RQI in these spaces, along with AEP and WPC…
SCHD can serve as a superb foundation for a long term portfolio given its performance, distributions, and rate of increase in those distributions. Of note, it does lack meaningful investment in certain sectors, such as utilities and real estate, but…
I felt that his comments were interesting and informative. One specific bone to pick. Some folks say why use a handful of words when one will do...well, as Powell said today when asked about his use of the term "disinflation"...he says that means he…
@Sven ....another rate hike is not the surprise. Such a healthy jobs number means that the Fed will continue forward, smashing the hopes of those who somehow, in some way, felt that a pivot was imminent.
What I personally don't understand....infla…
"I believe that deglobalization, costs associated with climate change, and depletion of natural resources will lead to higher inflation over the next few decades."
Indeed.
