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.
M* says the market is 10% undervalued? For me, that's not enough margin of safety to increase my equity allocation in light of what I see as political risk. I also got burned a bit by following M*'s valuation advance during the GFC: all these stock…
I'm worried about the impact on the economy of political instability & stupidity, here and elsewhere (eg Brexit). I spent a lot of years as a journalist in so-called "emerging markets" and though the business cycle is a powerful thing, political…
Yep, I've been fading this market too. Some of it for personal reasons (I have some big short-term needs coming up) but also, yes, I'm very nervous of a Black Donald event. (Thanks for that one @rono!)
I just don't understand why DSENX hasn't been generating a big tax hit all these years, with its regular rebalancing. I guess the derivatives somehow save on taxes? I hold it in a Roth IRA, so I'm just curious.
@ducrow I think LCORX is maybe the best of the bunch, but even it significantly underperformed VBINX (which is just a balanced index fund) over every significant time period -- including the 2008 crash.
@VintageFreak, nope it won't hurt him, but it also won't help him, and though it also has nothing to do with mutual funds, it helps us blow off steam -- so we can be calmer investors, yes?
I actually think he might be right on this one. Shoulda ke…
That's right, Mr President. Saudi Arabia is pumping more oil because they love America -- and you in particular -- and decided to do us a favor, not because, say, they want to increase market share and make more money. Good thing you're thanking the…
It seems this move is generating hostility toward Artisan, but it looks like they're bringing in a top-performing manager to replace an underperforming manager. Seems okay to me. @TheShadow, why did this move make you sell?
Congratulations! We had our first a year ago, so I've done a bit of research... The 529 is IMHO the best deal around. You pay with after tax dollars, then it's all tax free (like a Roth IRA), plus in many states, you can deduct your contribution fro…
Thanks @fundly. I'm looking at FMIJX too, in which I have a toehold, as well as VMVFX. PGVFX's performance in 2008 scares me a bit, at least in this current environment, when everything seems overpriced. ARTKX held up comparably well back then.
So where are you guys who are selling ARTKX/ARTGX moving your funds to? I've owned ARTKX for 12 years or so, it's been a fabulous fund, but all these changes are disturbing.
On EM, the news is bad, but since everyone knows that, how much of it is priced in already? Are there any babies getting thrown out with the bathwater? I'm not capable of answering that. Hopefully the international managers I've got, none of whom ar…
I think blockchain technology is actually the real deal. Not quite sure how to invest in it, except through the big tech companies. That's pretty much what the blockchain ETFs do.
@VF Mary Dwight's comment is meant as criticism. Thanks to these new regulations, you will now have the option of buying health insurance that will not help you out if you get seriously sick. And your tax dollars will pay for advertisements that don…
I doubled and tripled down on a bunch of financial stocks during the GFC (RDN and AXP mostly), made a lot of money and thought I was smart. Then I tried the same with a couple of energy and mining stocks a few years back. With one (BBL) I lost my gu…
The eternal question: is it a solid fund to add to after a bad year or has it lost its mojo? I see no reason (manager change, asset bloat, etc.) for the latter. I have just a toehold in it in my solo 401K (along with a bigger stake in its partner SI…
Like @larryB, yes, political risk is keeping my equity stake lower (around 60%) than it usually is for me. The business cycle is a magnificent thing, and we should be at a good stage for equities, but I spent most of my adult life in Brazil, and po…
One can't know yet, but it's certainly plausible. It explains nearly everything this administration is doing, foreign-policy wise, so it fits the Occam's Razor rule. (If a man consistently acts as if he's in Putin's pocket, maybe it's because he is …
It seems like it would be hard for rates to get that high, in a situation when the Fed can always print money to bring rates back down, unless inflation takes off. That doesn't seem likely right now, but with a massive tax cut near what may be the p…
I have a strong bias in favor of team-managed funds, especially in taxable accounts -- they have a lot less succession risk that may oblige me to sell and take a tax hit. And I have this sense that most of the famous funds that have blown up (Fairho…
@MikeM IMHO, the market isn't valued right now to deliver the 7-8% returns SS would, so in your shoes I'd certainly draw down the nest egg and delay the SS.
