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.
@Bitzer and @Mulder420,
thanks very much for your feedback. I'm taking a hard look at Vanguard funds due to the low cost and good performance. I'm intrigued by the approach that Vanguard International Growth has taken. Good relative performance …
Thanks so much to everyone for responding. With the market turmoil this seemed like a good fund to consider. I want to reduce my risk but still have exposure to the market. Sitting in a money market with more cash is also an option, but then you'…
Hi @johnN: Thanks for posting the article in which the author's choice is a two year treasury which currently has a yield of about 2.8%. For me, in the cash area of my portfolio, instead of the two year treasury I've done a four step money market …
@msf thanks very much for explaining this. Very helpful. Seems like there is more risk in holding onto my shares because others could very well be selling which would result in higher distributions to those left. I also looked at the track record…
@msf
Thanks for feedback. If i sell now do you know if I'll still get hit with the cap gains distributions they'll do later in year? That would be a double whammy of my cap gains plus the distributions from the fund
So I'm one of the poor SOBs thats still in this fund. Have held since '94. I assume I should sell my position as soon as possible? Is there any way I can limit the cap gains I get hit with? Makes me sick thinking about it.
Is there any way to buy into this fund? I was too late to the party unfortunately. Is there a good alternative that anyone would recommend? I'm in FPACX but it has greatly underperformed PRWCX.
@slick thanks for sharing. Yes it appears challenging to find a good small cap fund thats still open. Is there a way of purchasing AOFAX without paying the 5% sales load? Looks like a very strong fund.
@slick Sounds like you are ahead of your advisor! What small cap funds did you select? That is an area I'm really lacking in. I'm mostly large cap. This is one reason I want to get some outside advise on asset allocation.
@davidrmoran thanks. I'm leaning towards the self-directed route too. I'm curious how you went about determining what your asset allocation should be. For me that's probably the most important advice that I need. Once I have recommendations on …
@slick thanks very much for sharing this. I appreciate it. Do you feel you get valuable advice from your advisor at Fido and do they allow clients to interview planners there or do they assign someone to you? Also, just curious if your advisor ha…
@catch22,
Great to connect with you again Catch. So I was referred to ML and specifically to an advisor that specializes in working with families with special needs kids -- my situation. I haven't decided to go with this person at ML which is why …
@slick,
Thanks very much for the advice. This gives a good set of questions to ask. I'm curious if you hired a planner or did your own financial planning. Reading thru a number of the planners, it seems like its difficult to find a planner that do…
Thanks very much for the feedback everyone. I had a good first meeting with planner where we laid out our goals. He appears to be fairly conservative in his approach which matches well with me. He charges a flat 1% fee for assets that he will act…
Thanks very much Bee. I will explore whether an extra annuity is an option. I work for the federal government so I don't think they offer this but I will ask. We have 3 sources of income as feds. 1) An annuity that's based on years of service…
@crash
Happy bday! Yeah I've been pondering what to do with SFGIX. I could take its underperformance when EM was doing well last year thinking that it would perform better in a down market. But that hasn't been the case. I've been thinking of se…
@Old_Skeet
Thanks so much for sharing your market barometer and what your current strategy is. I always come to this site on a weekly basis to read your updates and find I learn something.
I will probably trim Home Depot a bit as it has become too large a position in my portfolio... Also looking to trim Harbor International. What are people's thoughts on GQG Emerging Partners fund? I am already invested in Seafarer, but need to inc…
Hey Old_Skeet
Thanks so much for the update... I'm curious...do you own an energy sector fund? I currently have very little energy exposure but am considering purchasing a fund.
