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Reply to @Pangolin: I don't believe there has ever been a fund as widely held that has taken on this level of risk.
"In other words, can we really be sure that all of these moves are being made purely on the basis of wise allocation and not with th…
I think it's good to learn more about the currency market - I know I'm always learning more each day or trying to. However, I really would not recommend trying to actively try to trade currencies, whether via ETFs or any other means. Do continue to …
Edited to add: see this thread for the discussion of SMF and its multiple hedging options. That fund is having a presentation/conference call today.
http://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss.php#/discussion/1018/anyone-familiar-with-the-gabelli-glob…
I'm sure others will not agree, but I think the currency issue is an instance of "best house in bad neighborhood", but the "best house" changes. The Swiss Franc is the best house, but at some point, too many people try to get into the house, and the…
In terms of "real assets", I added more earlier today to the Salient MLP Energy and Infra fund (SMF), a closed-end MLP fund that can actually hedge.
From the prospectus:
"HEDGING AND OTHER STRATEGIES
We currently expect to utilize hedging techniq…
It wouldn't surprise me. I get it - the SEC isn't going to do anything about HFT issues and other problems, the market is more volatile, people may be disappointed with 10 year returns and a gillion or other issues. However, what are people going to…
Not sure which T Rowe funds hold the fund, but the fund has a mix of real estate stocks and natural resources stocks. I'd rather suggest for those closer to retirement to hold permanent portfolio, which has both as a portion of assets, as well as sw…
Reply to @BWG: JG Boswell is interesting, but thinly traded and $700 a share. I think I've gotten a little concerned with this market and holding things that trade sort of "once in a while." I like Cresud on the cover and keep it on the list of thin…
I think the whole thing becomes trying to "think outside the box" and in the manner that investing doesn't have to just be the traditional "bonds and stocks", "hard assets" don't have to be just commodities or commodity producers. I like Brookfield …
Reply to @scott: CNBC now confirming short selling ban. Details to follow.
Edited: now discussion of no ban, but no futures for Italy. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/milan-bourse-says-will-not-resume-futures-trading-thursday-ftse-mib
Thank you for the note, John. I think commodities and hard assets are definitely 5-10 year plays and should be bought. However, I think there's also some "thinking outside the box" too with the idea of "hard assets", which is not necessarily an oil …
If the market rallies strongly, gold will pull back and it is overextended at this point. I don't think the margin raises matter. I would not recommend anything gold-related at this point, but I think it's a good idea to watch for dips. Again, I und…
Reply to @Investor: It doesn't matter if there's a crisis of confidence, whether it be BofA or SocGen or...? It does not help when European regulators consider a short-selling ban, which quickly gives everyone flashbacks to 2008 and leads a lot of p…
Reply to @Maurice: Totally agree. And as I've said before, I'm not political - I think both sides are terrible and people need to start figuring out and focusing more on taking care of themselves because the government is no longer focused on the p…
I think the whole thing right now is really pulling together around your best ideas and ideas that you're willing to possibly sit on for - as you said - 2 to 5 years. I think one has to really look at dividends (and I really do like MLPs - there is …
Maybe someone should ask about this:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/bank-america-scrambles-shore-capital-negotiations-sell-17-billion-china-construction-bank-stake
I think the issue becomes looking at what would appear to be a very (very) low-growth environment that also has a negative real rate of return and what that will result in, including what I believe will be continued flight of capital.
As I noted i…
Bought a touch more Brookfield Infrastructure yesterday (BIP, this is an MLP) to top off that position and that is really a long-term holding. Otherwise, not much. May work in some additional mutual funds depending on how this day goes.
The funds would not suffer loss, it would be the company that would. I think my main concern would be that the suit would cause upcoming funds to not launch, but the funds in question (such as the more recent Doubleline Multi-Asset) did launch.
In terms of frontier markets, look at the list of people (former US Sec of State Madeline Albright, Soros, part of the World Bank and the Rothschilds) backing this African telecom company. I do think it's worth consideration of a little bit of money…
Maybe part of the recent drop, if true: "CNBC says US Government is bracing themselves for a S&P downgrade as early as today" (http://ransquawk.com/headlines/158454)
(And yes, you can say that it doesn't or shouldn't matter if S & P downgra…
I can certainly see where you're coming from, but I still think that the state of infrastructure in this country is mediocre at best, and spending on upgrading the electric grid, transit (HS rail) or other such projects would have offered substantia…
It's not that I would like to be negative, it's simply that I view the "math" of the larger situation differently. Additionally, I think as a younger person, there's an element of anger that I view the end result of the entire mess as a (quite possi…
I completely disagree - these are no longer markets, but theater to some degree, with indirect (and I'll debate that there is a PPT) intervention from TPTB, who view market rises as adding to a "wealth effect" (which is rendered ineffective to some …
I think the only difference between Gudefin/Lahr Mutual Disco and Gudefin/Lahr Pimco EqS in terms of "tone" and "feel" is that there appears to be a somewhat greater emphasis on currency use.
I certainly agree that the attempt currently is trying to solve a 6 month discussion in 6 days (or whatever it is at this point.) However, we're at this point after many people acted like the debt didn't matter and that we could just spend spend spe…
Oh, certainly. That's also a question of mine in terms of funds and other entities with govt paper as collateral, etc.
I guess my concern is also perception. At some point, even if a short term, kick the can down the road solution is offered, I ten…
