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
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.
I try to stay away from funds that I don't understand the strategy, that include Rob Arnott's funds. Glad I stay with plain vanilla TRP Capital Appreciation and Vanguard Wellington.
@Dex,
look to buy anything that pays a dividend! That is a few viable vehicle today. If you have a longer horizon, Europe is several years away from full recovery and the low expection may prove to be decent entry points.
Question is which directions, up or down. Many of these debts from hydro fracting companies are in trouble. Some are shutting down operations, and laying off workers as these low quality oil (sour crude) are facing oil price in the mid 30's.
High annual turnover rates in excess of 200% or more tend to have larger distribution on short term capital gain.
Also international funds that use currency hedging also have larger distribution on dividend.
@heezsafe,
Well said. Barron's 2015 prediction and stock pick were mostly wrong. Here we goes again for another round of expert picks for 2016 - no thanks.
@linter, agree with your view on healthcare sector that was one of few brighter spot last year. Ever increasing drug price beyond inflation rate will make them easy target in this election year.
@Mark,
An under-performance of over a year versus its benchmark is definitely a red flag. I would sell quickly if I lost confident on the fund manager's approach/stock picking process. in the annual reports they tend to reports the largest detract…
