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.
A few various notes/theories:
1. Many people are stunned by the difference in returns from gold vs. gold stocks. You are looking at an instance where irrationality is pretty remarkable in terms of gold stock valuations. It just depends how long the…
I do believe that there can definitely be a "bucket" strategy when investing, and this can be either something along the lines of a longer-term portfolio/bucket and shorter-term trading portfolio/bucket (I'm actually a believer in that; having longe…
Reply to @CathyG: Despite a few recent issues with some of the top holdings, the fund continues to do (comparatively) quite well YTD and MTD. I wouldn't be overly concerned, especially with Yacktman's ability to de-risk if required. No one's perfect…
Reply to @CathyG: I think I was the last generation before technology really became such a massive part of daily life - when I was a kid and had to do a research paper, it was before the internet and you'd have to go to the library and look through …
Reply to @CathyG: Very happy to help! I'd definitely contact USB to at least try to get more details on what this fund is (is it private equity, private fund in public RE investment) and whether or not the nature of the investment will result in any…
Ah, and the research continues. The filings name a Gary A. Zdolshek. He is listed as the principal of Investors Diversified Reality (IDR!), "a private real estate investment management firm that offers institutional investors a Platform approach to …
One more: I think the IDR Core EQ is this, but the filings don't tell me anything aside from that it's a limited partnership/pooled investment vehicle registered in Cleveland, with no other information that I can find.
http://sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse…
Reply to @CathyG: Additionally, it's tough to know without seeing more details, but "Since they have added very substantial amounts to this investment from 12/30/10 to 3/30/11, I felt it was important that I at least have an absolute minimum underst…
Reply to @CathyG: Always happy to help as best I can - the Cramer book is a non-technical look at many of the day-to-day stories, after some backstory early on. The Einhorn book is more of a "case study". Both should be available at most libraries. …
Reply to @CathyG: I'm always happy to answer any questions at all. I definitely don't think this is Indian stocks, but may be a private limited partnership vehicle that invests either in public or private equity. If the stocks and bonds are separate…
Reply to @CathyG: Back in the days of fundalarm, I kept yelling that what was going on wouldn't end well. Watching the debates over the debt ceiling though, was when I thought, "This is even worse than I thought it could get." I've never been so emb…
You mean the stocks are listed as ""Misc Assets-Non-Real Estate Partnership/LLC" or that the "Misc Assets-Non-Real Estate Partnership/LLC" is a different part of the portfolio? I'm guessing "Misc Assets-Non-Real Estate Partnership/LLC" is the entity…
Reply to @CathyG: My whole thing has been since the days of fundalarm that QE1, QE2, etc would not work because nothing was being done to provide sustainable benefits to the country at large - and we're at that point, where people are looking for QE…
Daytraders are people who look for as specific as moment-to-moment opportunities, using technical charts, multiple screens and headline news, among other tools, to find opportunities. The only issue is, I would think, the daytrading rule - you have …
Reply to @johnN: Maybe I'm crazy, but I think in terms of real estate, you don't want to go for opulent, you want to view it as "utility". Places (condos/homes) in highly convenient areas with good schools and other services (near transit, etc.). Pl…
APPLX is fine, but personally I fully am a fan of Steve Romick and FPA Crescent is the fund I'd recommend - Romick is both shareholder-friendly (conference calls) and I'd compare him to Yacktman as a manager who's able to deploy capital and also kno…
The SEC is destroying documents, Bank of America is apparently walking up to presidential candidates out of nowhere and pledging to help them, Goldman Sachs VPs are changing their names to work for the government and help GS, Moodys is corrupt (but …
That's more interesting, although the Mobius (or, as I like to call him, BRICFinger, 'cause he looks like an old-school bond villain) funds are not for the timid.
Reply to @john8505: If the First Eagle fund isn't available, you could look at something like Pimco EQS Pathfinder (PTHDX), with former Mutual Discovery managers Anne Gudefin and Charles Lahr; not the same fund, but a similar mentality. I also like …
The emerging markets are certainly a theme that I continue to think will play out over the next decade, but with some problems along the way. A MAPIX or MACSX allows one to go through those periods more smoothly (by comparison) and earn a decent yie…
I'll also throw in PRBLX (Parnassus Equity Income). CGMFX is interesting at this point, as Heebner certainly has the ability and willingness to change, but it has been a matter of mistiming moves into and out of sectors over the last 2-3 years. If i…
Low risk/high reward plays are really a rarity at best, and the perception of low-risk high reward can get one into trouble - see the people who said to short treasuries last year - as I noted in another thread, treasury short funds like RRPSX and T…
Reply to @Maurice: No one learned anything from 2008. Our banks are soooo much better than everyone else's is the constant refrain on CNBC - it's a wonder why Bank of America is trading at less than half of reported joke "book value"), so on and so …
Buying a bit more of an MLP fund (SMF) that is actually up slightly today (at least as of this point.) Really pulling together around the most high conviction ideas and things I'm most comfortable with as long-term holdings - a good portion of which…
I own RIT Capital Partners on the LSE and consider it a long-term holding.
A recent update from an article in the Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/8698751/Shield-your-portfolio-from-stock-market-falls.html
"L…
Jardine Matheson is one of a number of similar conglomerates in Asia, some of which have been around for many decades (such as Jardine.) Swire and Hutchison Whampoa are other examples. Swire is interesting (in that it owns Cathay Pacific and a Coca-…
I have Pimco EM Multi-Asset, a couple of Matthews funds (including small companies) and a couple of other EM funds (such as Schroder EM), but have a large investment in Berkshire-like Asian conglomerate Jardine Matheson (stock, not a fund), which is…
HILO is a new emerging markets high income/low beta ETF that I think looks promising (and I don't know the exact yield, but I believe it's a bit higher than DEM), and there's also Pimco's EM Multi-Asset balanced mutual fund. Latin American markets h…
Started a couple of years ago at $1. There has probably been a distribution or two along the way, as well. I'd rather suggest sticking with Permanent Portfolio - PRPFX instead. I'm not sure what the deal is with the prior years & Morningstar.