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.
"A loan estimate for an Atlanta home purchased by Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor accused of mortgage fraud by the Trump administration, shows that Cook had declared the property as a 'vacation home,' according to a document reviewed by Reut…
The Week in Charts (09/12/25)
The most important charts and themes in markets and investing...
00:00 Intro
00:21 Topics
00:37 Easy Money Is Back
06:35 Ignoring Inflation
11:48 Jobs Market at Inflection Point
18:37 Easing Into a Mania
25:11 Spending…
"but they said that starting a ETF is expensive so unless something has changed, these things have to recoup so much before they just shut em down."
I've read that an ETF needs to have ~$100M AUM to be economically viable for the sponsoring firm.
I…
I'd guess that the vast majority of the 988 ETFs that launched over the past year are also worthless.
"Of the 988 ETFs that launched over the past year, 530 fell into at least one of 7 types:
Leveraged/inverse (208), single-stock (181), buffer (140…
The U.S. has declined under the second Trump regime.
Many U.S. residents are rightfully concerned about Trump's policies and executive overreach.
Our country's competitive advantages have been diminished in many important ways.
It will take some tim…
If you haven't done so already, you may want to read Prof. Snowball's
recent article titled "Thinking more broadly: Bonds beyond vanilla."
https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/2025/09/thinking-more-broadly-bonds-beyond-vanilla/
From Markets A.M. newsletter by Spencer Jakab.
On this day in 1974, stocks tanked in reaction to President Gerald Ford's pardon
of Richard Nixon amid fears it wouldn't bring full closure to the Watergate scandal.
But it was a great time to buy: The…
When I transferred an account to Schwab last year they offered me fee waivers for Fidelity and Vanguard funds.
I didn't even ask for this—I guess Schwab was eager to accumulate additional AUM from one of their rivals.
I asked Schwab to waive transac…
@yogibearbull mentioned MYGAs is a prior post.
MYGAs are functionally similar to CDs.
You could earn a 5+% yield with very little risk (assuming AM Best ratings are accurate).
2-year MYGA, insurance company rated "A" by AM Best, yields 5.15% ($70K…
The onshoring of manufacturing requires huge investments of capital and it will it take considerable time.
If onshoring does indeed occur, it likely will not lead to an appreciable increase in jobs.
Automation will be widespread in these factories/p…
I didn't find prior commentary regarding this recent SEC ruling which impacts closed-end funds.
"Before regulators formally lifted the informal rule on Aug. 15, 2025, closed-end funds
and their cousins—interval and tender offer funds—that put more …
The three founders of Primecap Management Company—Howard Schow,
Theo Kolokotrones, and Mitch Milias—were senior portfolio managers at Capital Group.
Primecap Management implements an investment approach similar to Capital Group
where multiple portfo…
"I think Fidelity has the worst mutual fund screener of all the major brokerages."
Vanguard doesn't appear to have a "traditional" fund screening tool.
They do have a fund comparison tool which can be used to compare up to 5 mutual funds or ETFs.
…
"One thing to consider, you might be missing out on some good funds
that don't accurately fit in an M* style box, so may not be accurately starred."
Good point.
This is especially important when screening unconventional funds which are more likely…
"I’m done responding to distractions.
This thread is about good things happening, and that’s what we should be recognizing."
@FD1000,
Many of the issues brought forth could be considered distractions when one doesn't believe
that violating the law…
From Markets A.M. newsletter by Spencer Jakab.
On this day in 2000, Lehman Brothers strategist Jeffrey Applegate said:
“We’re in the same bull market that got underway in October 1990.”
He predicted that the Nasdaq Composite would finish the year a…
"Frankly, it makes me uncomfortable since most retail investors have no idea how to do any DD
into their funds and see what kind of stuff (er junk?) their portfolios are being stuffed with.
IMO Wall Street is again trying to offload its riskier asse…
@FD1000,
1) Are you concerned about recent inflationary trends and the impact on your investments?
2) Donald J. Trump was reelected in part by promising to help the middle class.
Instead, his policies have exacerbated financial disparities by dis…
From Markets A.M. newsletter by Spencer Jakab.
On this day in 2012, stock in Facebook (now Meta Platforms) hit a record-low close of $17.73,
valuing the fledgling social-media company at less than $38 billion.
It's worth $1.9 trillion today.
I've posted the following comments in another thread—they're included here for your convenience.
Another good week for the country!
The Trump administration attempted to illegally deport a group of migrant Guatemelan children (ages 10-17)
in the de…
From Markets A.M. newsletter by Spencer Jakab.
On this day in 1981, SoftBank was established by Masayoshi Son,
a Japanese entrepreneur who had recently returned from studying in California
and who was convinced the era of the personal computer was …
@mskursh bring up a good point.
I wouldn't rely on AI to make my final fund decisions.
Does AI consider manager and/or analyst turnover?
Are fund costs a factor?
Does AI examine how the fund firm treats its clients?
Donald J. Trump doubled India's tariffs to 50% as punishment for purchasing sanctioned Russian oil.
There are unintended consequences as a result.
India can now purchase cheaper Russian oil after a price cut.
The pressure from Trump has moved India …
From Markets A.M. newsletter by Spencer Jakab.
On this day in 1776, a committee led by Thomas Jefferson recommended
to the Continental Congress that the U.S. create a basic unit of currency called the “dollar.”
@hank,
Thanks for your input. I've been thinking about commodities (off and on) for a while.
I read Lewis Braham's Barron's article yesterday along with a Morningstar Magazine
story regarding commodities earlier today.
My post was prompted after re…
I've posted the following comments in another thread—they're included here for your convenience.
Another good week for the country!
The Trump administration's handling of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its inept tariff implementation
have brought…
"I actually have accomplished market timing.
In fact, I’ve never lost more than 1% from any top, while still beating most allocation funds."
This is a person who strokes his fragile ego by posting the same FAKE NEWS ad nauseum.
Perhaps he thinks t…
The Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) suggests that asset prices reflect all available information
making it impossible to achieve higher returns via expert stock selection or market timing.
I believe markets are generally efficient over longer time…
