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.
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Sven
Lynn,
Thank you so much. I am planning on a 3-year ladder since I am a year away from retirement. Lots of spreadsheet work to calculate the income replacement needed. This ladder will create a steady income stream. So thank you for all your help.
I moved back to high quality bond funds this year. Some of which you covered in the SA article. For now, I will stay with agency bonds to the bond ladder. I will pick active managers for corporate bonds.
Sven
@Catch, I will get you the details in the next few days after I talked with my colleague.
For now, I recalled that there is special IRS site that you need to sign up to start getting your tax record straight. Also you need to inform your local po…
@Catch,
Sorry being late to your discussion. Several of my co-workers who filed their tax return electronically got instead notification that someone else had already filed the tax return on their behalf. They have to take a number of step to mak…
IMHO this is a lot to pay for convenience. These days, I'll buy what's cheapest, with convenience being secondary. How hard is it to purchase/sell via ACH? So that might mean buying directly from the fund or paying a TF to come out cheaper in the lo…
Does anyone know why his long time co-manager, Ken Feinberg, suddenly left the firm?
Invested with hid father in the past, but do not like funds concentrating in financial sector.
From year to year, the difference is small between institutional and retail shares as msf pointed out with T. Rowe Price funds. The compounded returns say a 10 or 20 year period is much larger. If the retail shares carry 12-b-1 and other expense,…
Good trading opportunities this year. Took profit on energy ETF last week and waiting for precious metals to peak.
Let cash to build while waiting better entry points. Anything can happen in election year.
even a blind squirrel occasionally finds acorn
How true! He needs to focus in managing his funds now that the Total Return fund is lagging his peers including the benchmark.
It is important to pay attention to the two layer of fee involved: the advisor and the underlying funds. Sometime they add up to well over 1 -2% total - that amounts to over $1,000 -2,000 for $100,000 asset.
Contacted by Vanguard Personal Advisor Services several months ago. Vanguard is not totally robotic and there is a specific advisor assigned to each client. It charges an annual fee of 30 basis points on managed asset In addition of fund fees vers…
It also means that it is time to take some stock off the table. I am not impressed with the earning reported sofar with most guidance is trending downward.
Undterstand the debt issue within EU. In the end I don't think UK will leave. Wall Street is expecting Clinton to win. If Thump wins, ther will be a trade war with China and others, don't think that is good for everybody.
@kevindow, I want to ensure you that I am sincere. Over 10 years ago I was seeking an all-weather fund and seriously considered FPACX, but picked T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation, PRWCX instead. Even though the smaller AUM, Steve Romick' track …
@kevindow, I like your approach that the Vanguard's combination offer better return while offering much lower expense ratio. Wonder how this combination perform in down markets including 2000-2002 and 2008? Thanks
it is sad (or funny) that these investors look at their long term investment as trading games. If excitement is what are seeking, there is always Las Vegas. Unless these trading are done on tax deferred accounts, these trading will likely resulted…
@kevindow, as much as I like MACSX in the past, I invest with Andrew Foster's new fund, SFGIX since inception. Better diversification and risk profile.
Through my 401k I have access to the Institutional shares at even lower expense ratios. Check out government employees who use Blackrock's index funds in their TSP accounts. Also they have similarly low ER.
Right now it is a decent entry point for Canadian market with depressed oil prices and weak Canadian dollar. In time it is likely to return to norm sometime down the road. Given the strong US dollar, traveling to Canada has been great for our fami…
I think US market is performing better than other parts of the world, and the money follows that trend. The earning season is around the corner while the corporate profits have been declining for several consecutive quarters, and that does not bode…
@hank, I don't have a complete answer to your dilemma with iCloud storage. As I understand several could-based storage services have been compromised. Many of them don't use encryption.
Alternatively, you may consider storing your data on severa…
What happens when there is a power outage? Would this younger generation know what to do in order to survive? computers and cell phones are great, but they are just tools. One still need to learn to think.
@BobC,
The difference in yield is sizable as you pointed out. For one reason or the other, most people don't buy treasury directly, but they buy funds.
It also applies the other way as well and overly concentrated in few stocks, i.e. Fairholme fund. This is why is important to read all reports from funds you are invested in, and validate the holdings elsewhere.
It is truly unfortunate that Vanguard choose to go down that road - basically mistreating their employees. They are all ready considerable lower in fee than their closest competitor, i.e. Black rock. Further reducing their operating expense does no…
100% equities, sure. Go to Vegas and put your IRA on "red".
it is totally NUTS to be take on such aggressive asset allocation. Everyone need to assess their own risk tolerance and investment horizon before they take on someone else advice. Time li…
Justice Scalia was appointed by President Reagan in his last year when Robert Bork failed to be confirmed by the House. There is no reason why President Obama cannot appoint a new justice this year, barring confirmation issue that may arise.
Traditional banks and full service brokerages are already feeling it already. Maybe they can hanging to the older clients, I think the shift has already began. I have relatives who work on wealth management business and they are having hard time r…
Little5bee is right. Bronco's defense was solid and caused many turnovers. It is good to Payton to win another title. Question will he announce his retirement?
Actually, Kathleen Gaffney's fund has done much worse, almost twice the loss. Exposures to junk bonds and foreign bond (hurted by strong U.S. Dollar) were the curpit.