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.
Hi Old Joe,
Thanks for the Bay Bridge update. Obviously I knew nothing about its status or current crop of deficiencies. The bridge doesn't impact me whatsoever. The repair list is disappointingly long.
I'm sure these problems will all be addre…
Hi Davidrmoran.
I completely agree with your recommendation that the Flexible Retirement Planner would serve upcoming retirees well. I too recommend that superior tool. Thank you for your contribution.
Best Wishes.
Hi Hank,
I agree. My comment was directed only to Old Joe. He closed his last entry with "out". He.was finished with his exchange with me. I did the same.
Best Wishes.
Hi Dex,
Given the 12 Monte Carlo simulations that I completed, your objections to exactly how the composite 350K nest-egg presumed in the analyses was deployed is at the noise level.
The final 6 simulations I ran postulated that the total 350K was…
Hi Old Joe,
I really enjoyed our current exchange. This is the way it should always be.
The planned Bay Bridge section will be a huge success and will be a lasting example of American engineering expertise for a century or more. It will be desig…
Hi Dex, Hi Old Joe.
I’ll try to be succinct and reply to both your recent posts.
Dex, sorry I missed your post requesting my input data to the Monte Carlo analysis I did. Regardless, I actually answered your question in my original submittal of t…
Hi Old Joe,,
Your reply still does not explain how you made your inputs. I'm still puzzled. I'm not as smart as you claim I think I am.
Please give us a sample input for a couple of years. For example, what would be your estimated equity input …
Hi Old Joe,
Your contribution is a first-rate submittal that nicely details your applied procedure when making your retirement decision. Thank you for your excellent effort.
That procedure includes many elements that are embedded in a Monte Car…
Hi Dex,
It appears that you have made a decision that is comfortable for your circumstances. Good!
I wish you well and hope that your plan is successful. You were very wise to include safety factors in your wealth component breakout with the inc…
Hi Junkster,
Thank you for reading my post. It’s nice to know that I engage, and perhaps sometimes enrage, your interests. Disagreements and disparate opinions among investors is commonplace.
We agree that a Two Million Dollar Man need not acces…
Hi Dex,
You ask a very open-ended question that is poorly timed if it specifically applies to your situation. From your earlier postings, I recall that you jumped into the retirement stream a few years ago. If so, you are probably an unhappy camp…
Hi Old Joe,
We’ve had a spirited and controversial exchange on competing economic theories, and the only arrow in your near empty quiver is a lonely and futile personal attack on my closing valediction. And it only comes when someone else initiate…
Hi Davidrmoran
No, no! Your brief concession that you touted an inappropriate Broken Window reference doesn’t answer the muster call. It didn’t sound the trumpet; it was barely a whisper.
In your reply posting on this matter you predicted that I…
Hi Davidrmoran,
I did briefly examine your Broken Window reference.
It is totally inappropriate for the present economic policy discussion. The Booken Window of your reference applies to a criminal containment policy and plan. The Broken Window …
Hi Guys,
When I viewed the Paul Krugman video link that Scott posted, I became motivated to violate my own promise to stay away from the economic policy debate.
I am definitely not an economist by training, but I’ve accumulated a ton of practical …
Hi Ted,
Thanks for the wonderful post. It really made my day.
Yes, some folks can really be that stupid, even when making investment decisions. Their naivety and misunderstanding of investment products and processes are legendary.
I’m sure all …
Hi Guys,
Somehow, our thoughts have drifted away from a pure wealth distribution chat and into a discussion of a happiness/wealth correlation. Actually, this topic has a rich philosophical, academic research, and popular written history.
One inv…
Hi Guys,
The US, and most of the industrialized world, is awash in statistics. If you have a question that revolves around numbers, it is an easy task to quickly find a data source on the web.
Annual income in the US is an excellent example. It…
Hi Hank,
Thank you for your excellent commentary on the Fidelity fund family study. It’s a very workman-like assessment of the Fidelity analysis. I especially liked the way in which you organized your review. It directs MFOers to issues that you…
Hi Guys,
It’s interesting that Scott referenced some recent Rothschild happenings. The Rothschild dynasty has been a major player in high powered European politics and finance for centuries. That dynasty continues today with yet another influenti…
Hi Johnchisum,
The one-third asset allocation rule is ancient wisdom.
I never checked, but it is reported that the Talmud advices a third portion in Real Estate, in Business, and in Reserve.
It is said that Baron Rothschild kept one-third of h…
Hi Johnchisum,
Thank you for the return post. It's good to know I just might be doing some good. I hope you increase your portfolio's value each year using the asset allocation tool.
There's an old Wall Street saying: " We can't direct the wInd…
Hi Guys,
Thanks Ted for this fond reminder.
Besides being a great ball player, Yogi Berra did have embedded wisdom in some of his contradictory sayings. From an investing perspective my favorite is: "In theory there is no difference between theor…
Hi Old Joe,
Just as a demonstration of how tiresome your word-smithing is, permit me to momentarily join that unnecessary cohort.
" Over and out" is improper communication discipline. "Over" means I'm done and expect a reply. "Out" means the exc…
Hi Old Joe,
There you go again with your wordsmith worshipping. It is really tiresome and even dishonest. I try to make the case for including Monte Carlo analyses in the retirement decision process, and you emphasize challenging a single word.
…
Hi Old Joe,
Once again you misrepresent my post and/or you doubt my purpose. Also, I post hundreds of words, and you often focus on a single one. In this instance you favor “vituperative as a replacement for “vituperous”.
That’s acceptable to me…
Hi Old Joe,
You don't fail to disappoint.
Yes, I did offer that suggestion some time ago. That suggestion was completely overwhelmed by the subsequent.numerous MFO member submittals. I simply acknowledged the wisdom of the MFO membership, so I c…
Hi Junkster,
In a very short space, your comments managed to be vituperous, tasteless, and inaccurate. That’s quite a trifecta for a single entry.
Good health is an essential ingredient to the likelihood of an extensive longevity. I hope you enj…
Hi Guys,
Wow! The Social Security (SS) drawdown decision is a MFO subject that just keeps on giving.
I suppose that’s because it’s a complex decision for most upcoming retirees. It includes both factual and feelings elements that interact in a n…
Hi Guys,
Probably like most of you, there are financial writers I like and trust, and others I do not. Jaffe falls in the positive category, but not without reservations.
Some skepticism is a practical defensive device whenever accessing any fina…
Hi msf,
Thank you for formulating, executing, and summary posting your original analysis approach to the SS drawdown decision issue.
A tidal wave of submittals offer opinions, some very insightful and helpful. But many are anecdotal and are diffi…
Hi Guys,
Over the last few days, a tennis buddy, Ralph, tried the Monte Carlo simulator that I recommended for the very first time.
Although he is certainly not mathematically illiterate, Ralph is not especially sophisticated in the odds calculati…
Hi Guys,
I have been following this extensive discussion only loosely since I retired almost 2 decades ago. That needed to be said since what I’ll now propose just might have already been suggested – but I doubt it.
For the most part, the earlier…
Hi Old Joe,
To quote Ronald Reagan from the 1980 Presidential debates with Jimmy Carter: “There you go again”.
What pleasure do you take in building a straw-man (that’s me), and then meaninglessly attacking that straw-man? That could be a dangero…
Hi Guys,
Several recent MFO posts (an earlier one from Ted) discuss the prospects of sector rotation strategies. Theoretically, excess rewards are attractive. But potential pitfalls also exist.
Sector rotation strategies have a loyal following a…
Hi Catch22,
I have few problems when discussing religion. I am a practicing Roman Catholic and am at peace with it.
Investing is a horse of a different color. Perhaps I should have qualified my comment about supporting opinions with hard data. …
Hi Junkster,
Perhaps it’s been a tough day for you; perhaps you’ve sipped too much coffee?
I’m flabbergasted by your sarcastic reaction to my rather innocuous suggestion. It is certainly not an order.
No, I have not been appointed to moderator d…
Hi Guys,
My general feeling is that as a group, we are overthinking and overreacting to the SS question.
There are far too many uncertainties and personal preferences to reach any definitive resolution. It all depends because there are to many va…
Hi Guys,
I’m somewhat amazed at how many MFOers retired at so early an age. Contrary to earlier periods, nowadays older folks are and are planning to work longer.
You guys who opted for early retirement are swimming against the prevailing, but ev…
Hi Guys,
Thank you Ted for this walk down memory lane. It is a worthwhile trip.
For a long time I believed that Marty Zweig and Jason Zweig were related. I was wrong.
I suppose I made that false connection because of the rather conservative in…
