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 @Investor:
Hi Investor,
Thank you for both reading and responding to my missive.
After reading your reply, I’m afraid that in the end, you and I are going to agree to disagree.
I reject your argument that private enterprise was the maj…
Reply to @scott: Part 2
Hi Scott,
I did finally access your Link.
The Reuters article you referenced summarized a report prepared by a Civil Engineering organization that endorsed higher spending on infrastructure projects. What a shock, civil …
Reply to @scott:
Hi Scott,
Thank you for your well crafted and insightful reply.
I concur with much that you said. Although the problems are challenging, I am more optimistic about our future prospects than you are. That difference of opinion i…
Reply to @Old_Joe:
Hi Old Joe,
You shocked me by your quick response. Thank you.
Although the equity marketplace violated one of my technical indicators, the 200-day moving average, I have decided to stay put. I have sufficient immediate resour…
Hi Guys,
Thank you for your enthusiastic replies.
Your diverse set of comments greatly expended the scope and horizon of my submittal in a very positive and helpful direction.
I was particularly motivated to explore the many excellent references …
Hi Jakem,
Welcome to the skeptical, suspicious, and sarcastic Mean Street within MFO.
Probably not surprisingly, you will get very little succor from these quarters.
You seek the investor’s vision of the Holy Grail. It is a commonly unfulfilled…
Reply to @MJG:
Hi Skipper,
In my haste to reply to your posting last night, I neglected to reference a book that suits your evolving investment philosophy and style to a capital “T”.
At this juncture in your investment career, you are, knowingly …
Hi Skipper,
You stated that your goal is a capital preservation portfolio. Your original all-equity portfolio surely does not satisfy that objective, as you painfully learned in 2008. The portfolio was constructed for maximum likely returns witho…
Reply to @Maurice:
Hi Maurice,
Thanks for your timely and intriguing post. I particularly enjoyed your Friess/Brandywine story telling. It has a significant lesson to teach.
As a general observation, market timing is dangerous to end wealth, e…
Hi Guys,
Good stuff. Thank you for your perceptive and stimulating commentary.
From CharleyS’s posting: “My bottom line is to realize a good risk-adjusted return on my investments. Funds with good continuity of management and a long-term record o…
Hi Guys,
Earlier, I referenced the work of Edward Bernays, especially in the first half of the 20th century. He planned and executed successful campaigns for political, for newspapers, for tobacco, and for the food industries among many others.
H…
Hi Guys,
I hesitated for 4 days before submitting the “Is This Us?” piece. I debated if it was an appropriate posting for this forum. I finally rejected that argument because of the highly interconnected nature of economics and politics.
Also, I…
Hi Bee,
Thanks for your visually stimulating submittal. The imagery you created is superb; it helps to crystallize your investment approach in a concise and understandable manner. Investing need be only as complex as we allow it to be.
I suspect…
Hi Investor,
Thanks for helping Catch. He's a great participant in this forum.
I don't invest in the Junk category of mutual fund so I have not studied papers on that topic; Catch would likely have more definitive info and opinions on Junk bonds.…
Hi Greg,
Thanks for your perceptive and generous reply.
I suspect that many Forum and FundAlarm contributors interpreted my investment philosophy and style as being purely mechanical based on my heavy emphasis on mathematical skill building, Moder…
Hi Guys,
Thanks for reading and responding to my postings.
Mike, your assessment of my basic investment philosophy and policy is spot-on.
Investor, your commitment to better understanding the investment universe is outstanding, and it pleases me …
Hi Catch,
Thanks for your thought-provoking commentary.
Blowing off steam is one of the main benefits of active websites.
I share many of the concerns and doubts that you so eloquently expressed. I am by nature and by my training a constant worr…
Hi Greg,
Thank you for your perceptive comments and penetrating questions. You have it exactly right. I have a continuing and healthy skepticism with regard to anyone’s ability to forecast future market behavior with any persistent level of accur…
Hi Anonymous ron,
Skipper originally included the VBTLX bond fund as part of his asset allocation at a 40 % weighting.
My reply to Skipper was guided by a desire to maintain as much as his original selections as possible. Only he knows the detai…
Hi Equalizer,
Thank you for researching the calculation of correlation coefficients. I do it the old fashion way with a lot of error prone data entries and application of a statistical computer code.
If reliable, the Low Risk Investments Discover…
Hi Skipper,
Congratulations on your recent retirement. I’m sure you and your wife will enjoy it for many happy and hopefully prosperous years.
Congratulations also on your current financial status; it seems that you have prepared well for that r…
Hi Catch,
Thank you for sharing your observations and your interpretations of those observations with all of us. You make a compelling case.
I had similar experiences and have arrived at nearly identical conclusions with regard to our individual …
Hi MikeM,
Thanks for your interest. There are no dumb questions.
The correlation coefficients measure the linear relationship between two data series. In this instance it is the relationship between the annual returns from the two Balanced funds…
Hi Guys,
Because of my perceived issue with limited space on the MFO website, I elected t forgo defining by name the Balanced mutual funds that I included in my reported survey.
For completeness and your convenience, I now correct that omission. …
Hi prinx,
Hank posted a far more insightful reply than I can; his DODBX knowledge is more comprehensive than mine.
I understand that although DODBX probably has a 60/40 target asset allocation, it has had a higher percentage of equity holdings for…
Hi MikeM.
No problem. Here are the annual returns for te two groupings.
Year Index 50/50 3-Part Mix
2010 9.9 14.1
2009 13.9 21.2
2008 -15.0 -17.7
2007 7.0 6.6
2…
Hi Anonymous,
Thank you for your thoughtful and excellent recommendations. It is difficult to take issue with any of them.
My proposed multi-balanced mutual fund portfolio was simply cobbled together to illustrate the concept. In no way did I me…
Hi Investor,
Thank you for correctly formating my garbled table. I was not alert to the fact that the website would compress my inputs.
How did you accomplish this task?
Hi msf,
I agree completely with your assessment that correlations taken be themselves are not sufficient evidence that a causational relationship exists between the two parameters being studied. Accidental correlations exist, particularly when num…
Hi CathyG,
I suspect that your doubts about the benefits of market product diversification is clouded by viewing its impact through a somewhat imprecisely focused lens.
Investment diversity will always reduce portfolio volatility if the component …
