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.
There are, it seems to me, two arguments at work in this article.
1. Investors routinely ignore politics, unless and until they impact economics. That seems about right.
2. All is well in the market and the economy since profits are at record leve…
Yuh, a reader pointed out that I was off on several numbers. I've asked Charles to recalculate and correct; I'll 'fess up next month.
In my defense, my PhD is in an intensely non-quantitative field which is one of the reasons why, in months where M…
I'll ask Ms. Geritz as soon as I'm able (she's agreed to chat by we're playing schedule-tag) but I'd imagine that the higher average market cap will translate into a noticeably higher strategy capacity.
I guess there's no official position and very limited inquiry. That said, I'm not sure what would draw you to it. It's got a high correlation to its index (96-97 against the Russell 2000 Growth index over the past 3-, 5- and 10-year periods) despite…
For what it's worth, I'll post a short set of interview notes with Satya Patel (MCRDX) in our May issue tonight, then do a profile of the fund for the June issue.
Hi, Crash!
Here's what I got back from the Morningstar folks though, in reality, it might be best for us to hook you up directly with one of their data folks.
David
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“The user “Crash” notes “X-Raying my portfolio at Morningstar. "Projected Ea…
Hi, Lewis.
I got your question a bit after the conference ended, so reached out to the Centerstone folks on your behalf. Here's the short version:
1. Abhay is supported by two research analysts, both with substantial experience (at Ariel and Mann…
Hi, Bob.
The first response was something like "it was an expression of Abhay's legacy at First Eagle." The second was, "but we weren't on-board yet when the decision was made, so we're not 100% on that.
So far the no-load institutional share clas…
"Live in the present" might work better as a matter of tactical allocation (stocks or bonds this year? here or there? defensive or aggressive?) but the strategic question (how much do I need to squirrel away over each of the next 35 years to have a …
Right. It's part of a cash-management portfolio. Roughly 3.5-4.5% a year with negligible volatility.
It's not appropriate to benchmark to the HY group. The argument appears in both of our profiles (2011, 2012) of the fund. The five-year correlatio…
Hi, Derf.
No, the "beating" came at Mr. Sherman's other fund, RiverPark Strategic Income. Things went poorly with two positions at once, which causes a sustained dip in performance. RPHYX's maximum drawdown by 0.5% in August 2015. RSIVX's maximum d…
For what interest it holds, RiverPark and the Cohanzick folks have been under considerable, consistent and understandable pressure to re-open RPHYX/RPHIX. It has the highest Sharpe ratio in existence and very reliably does what it promises with negl…
Hi, guys.
I think the asset allocation question is interesting. Once, a long, long time ago, I concluded that the only fund a long-term investor needed was a U.S. microcap value fund; highest possible returns, volatility be danged. (Remember Fremon…
Hmmmm ... I tend toward Oban, mostly because I've such fond memories of the town and like the "smallest of the distilleries" sort of story. Sadly, I'm so un sew fis tea cated that I can best enjoy Scotch (or Irish whiskey, which for a long time had …
Sort of. This feature has proven to be awfully careless sometimes. "New funds" include old funds with new names, a new share class or a reorganization into an identical fund ("old ABC Value has been reorganized into new ABC Value"). In the current i…
In last month's Elevator Talk, Paul allows that he'll pursue for SFVLX some investments that are riskier than what would be appropriate in SFGIX.
If you want to limit downside, consider a fund that hedges its equity exposure. There are three possib…
I'm very pleased for the kids. Last year's team had six seniors on it (three or four were aiming for med school, by the way), so this year's team started with one returning starter. The received wisdom was "rebuilding year." But Grey really does ha…
Ummm ... you might check the article we wrote on the subject in May and June, 2016.
When I checked the premium screener just now for domestic equity with over 25% cash, I got:
Comstock Capital Value Fund; Class A Shares
GAMCO Mathers Fund; Class A…
Hey, VF.
BPRRX is large cap. BPLEX is nominally mid-cap with 18% in micro caps and 15% in small caps, both of which is rare in a L/S fund.
I sort of think of BPRRX as the equivalent of Grandeur Peak Stalwarts, the mid-cap produce from the micro-ca…
Hi, Brian.
You hit upon the problem: the post, as written, didn't even hint at issues relevant to the board. Given our recent scuffles, I spiked it. You're welcome to reintroduce it with the request to help folks understand why it's coming up.
Che…
Rock Island. Davenport, actually. (I teach in the former, garden in the other.)
I suspect I could grow them simultaneously in the same patch. The question, as Mark suggests, is what happens if I try to grow them consecutively there? I haven't spent…
Heigh ho!
You might want to read the accompanying white paper. Remember, my original point was just that Polen thinks interesting thoughts. I don't know of anyone else who has tried anything comparable. I think Polen's argument is that the scatter …
$67,928 if you were earning 5% risk-free.
I used the calculator bee points us add and had it calculate $100 initial, $300/year addition (i.e., $25/month), compounded monthly for 50 years. The "compounded monthly" part just means we assume that your…
Hi, Dave.
We could talk about doing the calls again. The basic criteria were these: (1) I had to have talked to someone who I thought was borderline amazing and (2) they had to agree to an inconveniently timed conversation with (eeee!) unscripted q…
For what interest it holds, the manager - who came onboard in 2005 - seems entirely sympathetic to your complaints about the funds though, given that his dad founded the firm he needs to be a bit circumspect.
His argument, I think, is that the fund…
Maurice notes that RYPHX "did tank for a bit but has come back." The fund's maximum drawdown was 0.6%, and amount it took seven months to recoup. In the normal course of things, a drop of 0.2-0.3% would qualify as a bear market for it. It returns a…
Hmmm ... I've been writing about individual funds, between FA and here, for just about 11 years. There are two profiles, both from FundAlarm days, the thought of which still makes me queasy. By worst the worst were the Utopia Funds, launched by a sm…
The folks at T. Rowe tell me that this is there attempt to get around the fact that Mr. V. closed PRHYX and wants to keep it closed. They allow that the new fund gives potential investors unable to access Mark Vaselkiv’s fund “a very fine, but mostl…
I just wrote T Rowe about these questions. Since they're in "the quiet period" there's likely little they can say, but I'll share whatever I learn.
David
Hi, psuche.
Part of the question is, "what are you looking for?" Small caps come in many flavors (domestic, global, international, dividend-oriented, absolute return, low-vol, microcap, deep value ...), so it's hard to say "here's the right answer"…
I've always thought that research can, at best, help us tilt the odds in our favor. High manager ownership and high trustee ownership guarantees nothing, but does tend toward a better risk-return relationship (trustees who are losing their very own …
Hi, VF.
We do track IRINX. The key is that it's not the fund's oldest share class and looking for the OSC is a default setting on the screener. If you go to the screener and click "show all share classes" instead of "show just OSC," then enter Iron…
