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.
Reply to @catch22: Hi catch. That's a great question. One thing we have always tried to get across to clients is the taxable-equivalent yield compared to tax-free. Our suggestion has been that tax-free bonds may not be attractive when investors c…
Ted, I agree that short is a good idea right now. For our domestic bond positions, we are sticking to mostly shorter-duration funds, like Artio BJBGX, Osterweis OSTIX, BlackRock BSIIX, Lord Abbett LLDYX, Federated FGMAX. But we also use Loomis LSBD…
I disagree that New York Life will meddle with the management decisions of Aronstein. Michael made it pretty clear that one of the key points in the decision was that the management team will remain intact and will retain all investment management …
I do not see any real downside for you. And Schwab does not have a short-term redemption fee on all fund purchases. You can check this prior to purchasing any fund. And many funds have instituted their own policy on this, so it is not just a Schw…
PAUDX is worth considering. We use it as part of our go-anywhere/flexible allocation group (along with WASYX, FPACX). And its dividend yield is very attractive, too. Its target goal is reasonable, given Arnott's experience and strategies.
Really nothing new this time: deficit spending can lead to debilitating problems, especially when SS and Medicare/Medicaid are factored in; the dollar is the "cleanest of the dirty shirts" right now, but that can change quickly, and most likely wil…
Just about a year ago, I spent a day at Ivy Funds in Kansas City. It started with their daily morning meeting where the CEO hears from every analyst and portfolio manager who is in the office. They go around the room, starting with the same person…
I still don't look much at the analyst ratings. There are some really strange comments in the people and parent pillars for some funds we have used almost as core holdings. When I read these, it often elicits a response from me of "Where did they …
Reply to @MikeM: Mike, I agree that you re-think your long-term expectations for both bonds and stocks. We tell our clients to expect 2-4% from bonds over the next 10 years, and 8-10% for stocks, with an average 60stock/40bond return of around 5%. …
Joe, you might take a look at Thornburg Developing World THDIX, which might be available no-load, NTF at Schwab. It is pretty new, but is on track to be the best over the last three years. Another to consider is Northern Multi-Manager Emerging Mar…
We can all have the best plans in the world, based on a thorough review of all aspects of the issues. But "stuff" happens all the time. Sometimes there are warning signs that, upon looking back, we should have heeded. Most times, however, "stuff" …
If not emerging markets, where else will investors find strong, long-term growth? Certainly not with the developed debtor nations, all of whom will have to go through some kind of austerity in the years ahead. And when inflation heats up, watch ou…
One of our lead investment staff persons is attending this conference, too. This year's meeting looks to be way better than last. As for Byrne's comments about the current time feeling like 1982, I hope she is right about this. Same goes for Dano…
Many individual investors have a difficult time understand this, David. Sometimes it just fine that bond funds don't make us money, and this will undoubtedly be true as interest rates rise in the years ahead (at least I hope they do, or we are in b…
David, this is just so very important. We tell our clients, ALL the time, "This is YOUR money, NOT ours." And one of our most important corporate culture adages is that if we take care of our clients, and put them first in every instance, our own …
ODMAX is available at NAV on a number of platforms. If it is not available on yours, I would suggest Invesco GTDYX, Lazard LZOEX. And Wasatch WAEMX should be available without commission wherever it is traded. Hope this helps.
We have observed that really good managers/shops can and have done much better than EM index funds. Yeah, the index funds will almost always have lower expenses. But ODMAX, for example, even with a manager change a few years ago, continues to out-…
An interesting article, one that points out what I have thought for a very long time: don't put much store in what the talking heads on television say. In some respects, their background may not be any more pedigreed than you or I. But there they …
Truly "safe" is some kind of cash account - savings, CDs, money market. Yeah, you can lose value to inflation, taxes. But for most folks, "safe" means not losing value, period. When they open up their statements, they do not see lower values from…
I don't think there is one fund that covers all the bases (even two that cover all the bases), so I would consider TGBAX and LSBRX together. Yeah, Loomis can be volatile (bad, bad 2008), but it also bounces back quickly (2009,2010). With Templeton…
Two of the smartest minds in the bond fund world. We have owned both funds in most client accounts for years. A suggestion, however, for investors is to not be greedy, even with bonds. Owning these two for the last 10 years without re-balancing w…
I have watched the EM economies for more than 20 years, and have noted there have always been suggestions that these countries were in some way "losing it", as the article puts forth again. I can remember the same talk even before Russia, China, In…
Like others, I prefer funds that have flexibility in their investment approach. So, in addition to TGBAX, GSDIX, GIMDX (our mainstays in foreign bonds), we like OSTIX, LSBDX, BSIIX, and BJBGX. If you own Templeton, Goldman, Osterweis, Loomis, and …
Reply to @kevindow: Great paper by Brandes, Kevin. My take away from this (and from all of Brandes' research) is that they are, have been, and always will be deep value players. Nothing new here, since that is their legacy. For me, this does not …
I agree with tgeno. We use EM funds for most client accounts, except for only the very conservative ones. How one employs them can be varied, but for the most part, established funds like ODMAX offer "relatively" good risk/return. We also like Wa…
I think the jury is still out for PIMCO Dividend & Income Builder. While I have respect for Kinkelaar and his team, the fund is clearly untested, and its dividend yield is about half of Thornburg's. I would expect PIMCO to increase the yield. …
Reply to @Old_Joe: Hi, OJ! There are not many people who cause instant cringing in me, but Soros is definitely one of them. Our great staff would also chuckle, because the number of occasion when I have actually flipped my lid (now THAT is an expr…
Given this guy's history of deliberately manipulating currencies, bullion, bonds, and stocks, knowing the negative impact of his actions on entire countries, it's likely there is an alterior motive behind these comments. I am not saying this guy is…
I would suggest that any dollars that will go to market investments be done via dollar cost averaging, maybe month-by-month or quarterly. For someone who has never had this kind of money before, we would go very slowly. Keeping some dollars in low…
As I have mentioned more than a few times before, we like MFLDX precisely because it takes some positions that are different from our longer-term views. For example, we believe EM stocks and bonds offer perhaps the best long-term potential. But MF…
For folks loooking to find a good dividend yield in a lower-volatility format, PAUDX is worth a look. Obviously the yield will change as the manager alters the fund's investment mix, but it has held up well. I for one am cautious about funds that …
Reply to @ron: Hi ron. Good questions! I used a 5-year look rather than 3 years, because all funds can look good, or not so good, in shorter time periods. You are correct in that it does have a higher yield, but that is because of its high alloca…
TIBIX has done a very good job over the last 5 years of very wild market swings. It does tend to be more volatile than a pure domestic stock play, since it owns about 40% international stocks (which pay higher dividends). SDY is one of the best of…
MAPIX has been a great fund, and it has not lost any luster since Foster departed. We have used it as a 'chicken' way to invest in China and other Asia EMs. But posters are correct that it is not a true EM fund. There really is no low-risk way to…
While I don't put much faith in the always gloomy Mauldin, Bremmer comments are worth reading. And the original article referenced by bee is quite thought provoking. One could quibble with specific country comments, but the bottom line is that dem…
2008-2012 have been anything except "normal", and I am not sure we will ever see "normal" again, given the instant-ness of noise and so-called news. This is not to say that buy-and-hold is dead, but it does mean that it is darned difficult to tune …
The article talks about front-end loads being the worst. That would be the case if the fund was not held, but traded for another front-end load. But the biggest "crimes" are the B and C class shares, with outrageous annual expenses, sold as "no-lo…
