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.
I think it really requires being creative, whether it be going to Costco for bulk items (although even that really requires shopping skills, as not everything at Costco is a great deal), joining Supermarket programs, clipping coupons (which, with on…
The thing that concerns me about FAAFX - at least at last fund update - is around 50% of the fund being in two companies. That can either be really right or really wrong.
Reply to @MaxBialystock: I'm glad you definitely know that you have to unwind some of the current positions and diversify; the idea of having 40% in anything is unnerving - as for bond funds, didn't a number of Oppenheimer funds run into severe prob…
Reply to @hank: "I assume you recognize rates will reverse someday - likely in our lifetime. When that happens the touted "capital appreciation" of government securities will begin to resemble Titanic's vaunted voyage. I further assume you and many …
I continue to be surprised that China doesn't simply purchase gold companies (many of which did not do well last year) via their sovereign wealth fund or some other means. So, pick the company up more cheaply, then the production of that company jus…
I bought a little EDF (Stone Harbor EM Debt) the other day. Mutual fund-wise I like TGINX, but am not interested in really adding any more EM Debt than the little bit of EDF (which yields around 9.5%) at this time.
I'm certainly not at all against criticizing fund managers (Leuthold spending a lot of time talking to the press about what a great time it was to invest last year while at the same time the Core fund was not having a good year, nor did the main Leu…
MJG, I'm curious regarding your thoughts on the "risk parity" strategy/allocation - equities, commodities/global TIPS (inflation), currency/credit and fixed income?
Paper by AQR (whose Risk Parity fund I own.)
http://www.advisorperspectives.com/com…
Reply to @MJG: I suppose a significant portion of my view comes out of a respect for prior generations. You say, "Our DNA has not mutated." I'll respectfully disagree.
I suppose, at a younger age, I look around - and while I do not want to make bl…
"**Over the long timeframes**, the equity market has historically delivered returns that hover around the 10 % per annum average. Your last 30-year entry shows a 15.15 % annual return which generously exceeds the historical average. Your data demons…
Reply to @MaxBialystock: The difference with Marketfield is that the fund isn't quite as strict with the "short" part of long/short and attempts to be more flexible, dialing up/down long and short exposure as it sees fit. The fund also makes sizable…
Reply to @MaxBialystock: I definitely agree with your views on emerging markets - I added a tiny bit of Coca-Cola FEMSA (COCSF; thinly traded) the other day.
However, I think it may be worth consideration of a manager with a differing (at least at …
I think there are some very interesting specific companies in Asia (primarily the conglomerates that offer a variety of assets under one umbrella - Genting, Swire, Jardine Matheson, Hutchison Whampoa - I continue to own Jardine and don't own Genting…
Reply to @Investor: "(Disclosure, I currently own a small amount in UGL and some via a couple of mutual funds that hold some gold")
I'm curious as to why, given your feelings on it. I would be much less surprised if you owned DZZ.
As for the physi…
Some smaller funds appear only available through the fund directly (Oceanstone I think is.) TSILX may be another instance of that - not sure about BRTNX.
Ameritrade seems pretty good about adding many new funds within a reasonable time frame. Etrad…
Dear Cathy - I'm so sorry to hear about what happened to your mom. I hope everything will be sorted out soon. Have a wonderful holiday and best wishes for the new year.
Reply to @Anonymous: UPS Ground and Fedex Ground are also really not that terrible when compared to priority mail and are more consistent in terms of delivery speed.
One time I used priority to send something about 30 minutes away and it proceeded to go about A THOUSAND MILES IN THE WRONG DIRECTION, wander around for a while, then eventually make its way back over a week later. I tend to wonder if the postal ser…
The UK isn't in great shape, either, but they are taking a few positive steps. Additionally, at least Mervyn King tries to display (at least publicly) some care and honesty about the effects of what is going on on the public.
Reply to @Old_Joe: Thank you for the kind words, they're much appreciated.
My style of investing is certainly nontraditional, but I don't believe there's one path to investing, either. A lot of being nontraditional, I find, results in learning exp…
Reply to @Ginko: Reply to @Ginko: I'm younger - probably by a significant degree - than just about everyone on the board (and probably everyone on the board). At my age, I can have my own rather unique portfolio that reflects my own outlook/worldvi…
Reply to @Anonymous: If I were to throw together something randomly for someone who is 78, I'd say something along these lines:
40% fixed income (Templeton Global Bond, Pimco Total Return, Doubleline TR and others, etc.)
5% Marketfield (MFLDX)
5% A…
Reply to @PopTart: I continue to like EM and hard assets (and there's a lot that can go under the second umbrella.) However, I'm definitely aware that if there's another 2008-style scenario, these aren't immune by any means and thus are really viewe…
A fair amount of the world is problematic to say the least, but Europe makes for an easy place to point fingers towards. I'd remain flexible and invest in a way that can handle continued (and possibly substantial) volatility. In other words, circle …
I have a real hard time with "one fund" - there's just so many and it's difficult to know what's best for someone else (and I would never devote so much to one fund). If I had to pick *one* relatively stable fund I'd say either Marketfield (MFLDX) o…
Reply to @Kenster1_GlobalValue: The whole situation is sad and tragic, although I think particularly upsetting is how small businesses - such as the one above - have been effected.
Reply to @scott: I can't seem to include the entire reply in one, so part two:
That's not even taking into account what I believe are other issues with agriculture (less agricultural land available vs continually rising populations, etc.) I also bel…
Reply to @Ginko: I continue to have disagreements on monetary policy (I'll never agree with the idea that spending MUST exceed revenue) and I suppose a core aspect of that is the lack of confidence in government - and that's not a republican or demo…
I'll continue to believe that governments should not *start* offering "thank you"s to bond buyers, whether it be out of desperation or otherwise or whatever one would like to believe about the state of the government's finances.
"But it's precisel…
Reply to @Ginko: Countries should not have to resort to nearly thousand-dollar thank yous, especially countries with Japan's financial situation. It does not mean that Japan has "run out of buyers", but the idea is that it may be the start of a tren…
While I agree with some of the viewpoints, I will definitely agree that the performance of these funds has been disappointing this year, especially given the flexible mandates.
"By the end of October, the non-traditional funds had $55 billion in as…
