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.
it seems some are on the verge of rotating 180 degrees to historic regurgitation of how war leads to a booming economy.
I’d never advocate war as means to a better economy. I’ve heard the theory advanced somewhere along the way (perhaps from som…
At Hank. I like the Geritol reference. I doubt the younger cohort here have any idea what Geritol might be.
Thanks Larry. Geritol was a big sponsor of the Lawerence Welk Show.
BAMBX appears to be a fund designed for “boomers.” Low risk. Low r…
Due to limitations of the board’s software I’ll just note that the #1 2025 CEF pick from a U.S. News story is BIT which is 35% leveraged. And the article’s #2 “best” pick is even more leveraged at 37%.
: https://money.usnews.com/investing/art…
On Hedge Funds (a year old. Still may be of interest)
Excerpt: ”JPMorgan showed current use of leverage - at roughly 2.7 times - is close to a peak reached since 2017 and higher than 98% of the time it has been tracked since then. Morgan Stanley al…
I happened to watch the “stupid liar” remark on Bloomberg TV this morning. Bloomberg followed it immediately with a Liz Ann Saunders interview. What a contrast in class and decorum.
Saunders fears that if Powell or some new Trump appointed Fed C…
Thanks for your input @Old_Joe. I’m hesitant to list funds I own because what’s appropriate for me might be too aggressive or too lame for another. But one I’ve watched for years and finally picked up recently is BAMBX. the “Geritol” of funds. Le…
One never knows where these things will lead. I’d say it’s pretty much a done deal the U.S. gets directly involved. Bloomberg is reporting as much this evening.
It’s never a bad time to reassess how much risk one wants to assume. I pulled back…
I’ve never found it necessary to sign in to CEF Connect. / @Crash - Look to the upper right of the page that surfaces. See the “Quick Search” box. That’s how to pull up a fund. Also, if you type in one or two letters it may randomly pull up some …
U.S. futures are up slightly tonight. I was taught somewhere that war is good for economies. Physical assets (buildings, roads, factories, ships, weapons and munitions) are completely destroyed / expended and need to be replaced. Routine infra…
Yogi’s right. The interest from borrowing for leverage adds to the cost and is reflected in the fees. But fees tend to be on the high side anyway. Completely different animals than what most of us are used to. I now have 10 in a basket at Fido (…
@hank: I believe Sullenberger did not agree that the plane might have landed itself.:)
I recall they considered trying to glide to JFK or another nearby airport. But Sully thought it too risky. Maybe the Airbus could have landed in the river OK. I…
@a2z:
You are taking a very slim part of the hour-long interview and seizing on it for a political rant. Your linked video belongs in OT. The problem here - you are distracting and detracting from the excellent content of the Ritholtz / Bernste…
Thanks for clocking-in @BenWP
I’d never heard that comment before about the landing on the Hudson. Will definitely read some of
Langewiesche’s articles. But I was shocked to hear 20+ years ago from someone “in the know” that 747s being used o…
Thanks @bee
Getting some folks to save 15%, 10% or 5% monthly is difficult. I’ve tried with someone I know well. ISTM - Either you “see the light” and do it or you don’t. What “clicks” in one brain but doesn’t in another is a mystery. Bernstein…
It’s frustrating to write-up a paragraph or two complete with linked sources and then lose it when trying to post and having to start over. If you can anticipate that potential problem use the “copy” function of your computer or tablet to temporall…
Donald J. Trump
”Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”
(Excerp…
Here’s an improved link to the transcript
Audio Link
Thank you @Mark. I hope above audio link works for those wanting to listen. I did a very quick read.
A Barry Ritholtz podcast with guest Bill Bernstein. - Bernstein’s credentials:” Efficie…
I haven’t looked at his website. No desire to. Yes - Dillian does seem to attach a lot of importance to ostentatious displays of wealth. Probably why he likes to give big tips.
Does that Dick Millie keep any better time than a $100 Seiko? Link to…
I’ve updated the OP to include his investment recipe for “no worry” and some other observations.
The author is arrogant throughout and even contradicts himself completely late in the book regarding a home as an investment. At least he’s honest about…
Doesn't look like telecom, but really have no idea.
I have a feeling it’s an early computer. An old (now deceased) friend worked on them in the military during WWII and always claimed one computer would fill an entire room. I’m guessing the time p…
I don’t know. But that photo of a late 1940s telecommunications switchboard (or computer bank?) resembles the complexity of the article. I’ve never liked bonds. Stick to 1-3 years out on the curve investment grade. Just me.
Randall Forsyth 2-3 we…
Absolutely correct Yogi. I don’t expect another ‘08. But it’s a great “stress test” I think to apply to different kinds of investments if you are very risk averse. 2022 wasn’t a typical year either in that bonds and equities do not normally fall o…
Good points @PressmUP. It was just the unexpected price swings around X-dividend date that puzzled me. And I’ve noticed the same with other CEFs. You helped by noting these strange price swings are common.
I’m aware CEFs are priced by sentiment …
I guess the real lesson is not to watch daily price fluctuations. In hindsight the small AUM & thin trading may have led to price distortion. Seriously doubt I could have sold at the high reported price had I wanted to.
The war (Iran) seems…
Thanks @yogibearbull. Yes, one common criticism of this one is the ROC portion of dividends. But that can be said of a lot of CEFs. If I ever hear that Gabelli has sold his big chunk I’ll head for the exit. Forsyth did a (mostly complementary) pie…
This explains the rise of oil prices, US used to import majority of oil from Canada. This helps to stabilize gas prices. Now that relationships no longer exists.
Glad I filled up yesterday. See crude futures. Good for TSLA?
I was surprised last evening when at the beginning of Chapter 12 Dillian says he had never even heard of ”mutual funds” until 1997 when a shipmate aboard the CG cutter he served on bought a newspaper at a port and began scanning the financial sectio…
@Hank - Thanks for your Audible list. I have a subscription to as well, with a number of *banked* audible books. Were there any where the narrator added or subtracted from the content in a significant way?
I’m happy if the list leads even one indivi…
Fidelity allows automatic investments for $5 per transaction¹.
A single transaction can be executed and subsequent transactions can be cancelled if desired. You're correct that an investor would need to pay the initial transaction fee unless the cor…
I was able to transfer “in kind” all my D&C money to Fido without paying a commission. But the ability to add / sell / rebalance would have been compromised. A frequent poster (who always replies) has explained before how Fidelity does allow …
@hank, I thought you are holding D&C Balance fund
@Sven - For about 20 years beginning around 2000 I did have money directly at D&C and owned various funds there including DODBX. I got completely out a year or so after moving everything to …
”BTW, you did link to the book at Amazon. I'll let you puzzle over the meaning of advertise.”
Fair enough. I’ll delete the dink link to Amazon in the OP and replace it with this more objective book review.
HI WABC
I’m sorry you found this thread a waste of your time. I hope the moderators do not consider book reviews or discussions tantamount to advertisements, which are against board rules. Should this thread be determined to constitute an Ad, I’l…
