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.
IMHO the FT is well worth it and doesn't have the same political leanings/coverage as WSJ.
Barrons is, imho, hit or miss -- but if you have excess frequent flyer points lying around, you can probably use them to 'buy' a year's subscription to it (…
Oh well. Had to happen sooner or later, I guess. We'll have to see how long it lasts. Though I prefer the FT anyway and am a happy subscriber there already.
BTW the NYT[1] just launched a thing where new subscribers also get free premium accoun…
Here's the full paper. Note this came out in mid-Dec but Barrons is only now reporting it?
Postelection Asset Allocation Viewpoint
Four Headwinds to the “Trump Trade” the Stock Market May Be Missing
December 12 2016
https://www4.troweprice.com/gis…
Interesting, thanks for the update!
I sometimes wish people (not the OP or folks here, obvs) would make a distinction between "passive" funds that have very low turnover and are quite cheap and "low-cost index" funds that by their very definition a…
Yeah - if you can get a "high number" R-class (ie, R-5 or R-6) w/the AFs you are in good shape. I've got R-6 shares (no load, no 12b1, VERY low ER) in my 403(b) and am quite pleased.
I'm investing in the Balanced fund (class R shares) in my 401k ac…
Welcome back!!!
Thanks so much for all the well wishes. I'm feeling much better, though still a bit sore. The prescription is for ice and physical therapy over the next few weeks. I'm hopeful of being in tip top shape in time for March.
I've held various equity AF's for years in a taxable account (some you mention), my 403(b) is entirely in their cheapest WaMu fund class, and I have been quite pleased thus far with them all. I appreciate AF's investment style, philosophy, and app…
I agreed w/his comments about not forcing equity buys at insane prices or "valuations" just to deploy money. Frankly he said what I've said for years, and seeing him with 35% cash doesn't make me feel too bad when I look at my cash positioning acr…
I'd go with a closed end fund. Look at those offered by Tortoise .. I held TPZ for years, but they have several. You might not get *all* your criteria checked but still should do okay.
Good article. Very true, indeed. Frankly I rarely pay serious attention to much of the official financial news media anyway for just these reasons (and more).
Zweig's "Wall Street Devils Dictionary" from last year is an excellent read along thes…
If I read you correctly, you're saying rather than use 1 index fund, use several to base my exposure? I'm not sure how that changes anything since you'd still be using market-capped vehicles -- just more of them. :)
If you don't like that indi…
LB: Bingo!!
I think far too many people confuse 'low costs' with 'indexing' .... speaking for myself only, I'd prefer low-cost low-turnover active management over low-cost indexing in nearly every instance. (Plus, most indices are market-cap-ba…
I forgot that thread, but I must admit being fairly pleased going on 10 years with TD Ameritrade, starting back in my active futures / day trading days with ThinkorSwim.
Or permabear Marc Faber.
how talented a forecaster one has to be year after year as the market is going up, to say the sky will fall? Less and Less talented with higher and higher probability of being right. While of course most people only remembe…
We paid a load on a bunch of AF A-shares back in the early 00s when we transferred our full-service portfolio to (then) AG Edwards and let the new broker/FA manage part of the portfolio .... and before we really looked into/thought about loads. All …
Yes, it closed a few months ago --- but I think BobC is referring to a hard close where even existing shareholders can't add more $$ to their positions.
The fund is already closed to new investors.
Balvenie is my go-to scotch. I prefer the Carribean Cask myself, but they're all excellent.
Hey, guys. I was just checking my MATH, is all. I'm mathematically challenged. I'm holding, not adding. And for the New Year, THIS was a real find:
http:…
LOL. You forgot two:
1) "Average investor" also: probably buys high, sells low, and while they may read on their internet device they don't do serious due diligence before taking action in the markets.
2) "Average investor" = someone with some…
I guess in the age of near-ZIRP 3-4% is considered a 'massive' dividend. Speaking for myself, that's always been my floor when evaluating dividend stocks for the long term, plus their growth prospects/trends. (Several of these stocks I've owned fo…
Another reason why I don't own any funds with WFC in a major top-ten position. (I sold PRBLX when WFC became its largest holding.)
Also why i refuse to own bank preferred stocks that have non-cum dividends -- I don't want to be the one holding the…
FWIW saying, the site (both premium & forum, beta & classic) has been in various stages of hellish dysfunction for over a year. When they do fix something it's one step forward, several different steps back. ;/
I guess also it depends on the type of REIT, too. Malls, gov property, retail, residential, medical all probably will have different risk profiles in the new administration/Congress.
Was Bridgeway overrated? It may be the best of the bunch (quants), so perhaps the question might be rephrased as "are quant funds overrated?"
I think they are, generally speaking. IMHO the "less quant" a quant fund can be, the better it prob…
@Sven: LOL, probably, yeah.
I believe JP Morgan's (the guy, not the firm) market advice from the 1920s is still valid: "Markets will fluctuate."
"of the major asset classes, emerging markets remain the cheapest and we recommend tilting portfolio…
Hank - no offense taken! And yes, the modern Templeton isn't Sir John's, that's for sure. :/
In their defense, I've held their tax-free FKTIX in my portfolio since (I think) the late '80s, and also think their utility/income funds were pretty g…
Points taken about Templeton - I don't necessarily disagree w/the counter-arguments there, although I was referring to the firm and not just a specific fund.
I'd go with Templeton. Not just because I finally sold out of TGBAX last month after several years, but the firm just seems to be way behind the times in terms of offerings, fees, loads, and so forth. I was also less enthused by the firm's proces…
Whenever I see managed futures coming back into fashion, it tells me to tread carefully -- ie that people are getting a bit exuberant and that the next market 'top' may be coming into view. Not that I like managed futures myself - if I want to us…
Which is funny b/c the same day a few inches below that article was a questionably-written M* piece saying that specialised / sector / niche funds (ie health care) were not really a good idea for investors. (They are, if you know what you're doing…
That's not surprising. I do think many of his voters/supporters are in for a rude awakening when they find out that a) he can't do all he promised, b) some types of jobs are simply obsolete and NOT coming back, and c) what he does may well end up…
Getting the SARs and ARs from TGBAX, I haven't been on the Franklin website in ages -- but in poking around there this evening, I see the following items/updates, which were NOT distributed to shareholders via the same channels we get 'regular' fund…
Don't know, didn't ask! I won't worry much ... if I can't, I can dump it and buy GIM if I want the exposure.
Are you sure you can buy more shares? I've spoken with a few brokerages who have said that they'll let you hold these shares, they'll eve…
Reduced considerably my multiyear holding in TGBAX (pretty much a scratch trade, made a tiny profit as I recall) and I'm down to a 6K toehold. Holding mainly to keep access to that class of the product for when global/EM bonds return to favour.
Ha…
Each AF manager is responsible for a given 'sleeve' of the portfolio based on their expertise and have the discresion to act independently of the other managers. (I think ... think .... they only really compare notes when there may be the potential…
