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.
My first investment book was Andrew Tobias’ The Only Investment GuideYou’ll Ever Need. Most memorable point was that if the stock market ever enters bubble territory you should sell everything and move to cash. I may now be in flagrant violation of…
Added bit more risk today. Should raise the equity position from 26% closer to 30%. Buys included a few shares of CZR priced around $26.50.
Edit. I fumbled the hand-off and sold CZR the next day. Too hot to handle. I’m sure it will join the g…
Ford is rolling out new low interest rate loans for F150 buyers with poor credit scores. What could possibly go wrong? Following is supposed to be a shared link to today’s WSJ article.
https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/ford-courts-riskier-bor…
Thanks @Crash. Overall probably correct. But there are a few things in that picture that don’t quite add up.
And thanks for your JWST article. The time & distances involved are truly incomprehensible.
I’m still trying to comprehend gravity. From what I’ve read, the weight we feel at our feet is much like how you feel when a fast moving auto slows rapidly or rounds a sharp curve. Earth is trying to move in a straight line, but the curvature of sp…
I think one of the loveliest sights is our neighboring galaxy Andromeda. Years ago (before Canadian wildfires) I was able to observe it with 12X (image stabilized) binoculars late in October from the back yard for 3 consecutive nights. Not in the d…
.ABC ends Kimmel's suspension—his show returns Tuesday.
https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-kimmel-suspension-supporters-94b79634a19b2c4ce70a2b4195ef1175
But Sinclair, which owns many ABC affiliates (and my local station), says it won’t carry the show…
Anyone adding significant new money into US equities these days?
You have to be kidding. :) Lowest allocation to equities I can ever remember (+ - 25%).
I bought a little MSGS stock several weeks ago and added it to my 14%+ “hedged” position…
From @Observant1 - “ Two other signs that investors are throwing caution to the wind: The premium investors requireto own investment-grade-rated bonds hit its lowest since 1998 on Friday and trading volume on U.S. stock exchanges was just shy of th…
Thanks Yogi. Nice wrap-up.
From Friday’s WSJ: ”In another sign this week’s rate cut lifted investor confidence and appetite for risk, the premium that investors demand to hold investment-grade-rated companies’ bonds instead of Treasurys hit its …
D&C is one of the oldest mutual fund firms. DODBX opened in 1931 and has a NAV over $111. That doesn’t explain the split except there might be a psychological reason pertaining to public perception of value or a technical reason related to eas…
Been transitioning from a sizable slug in BAMBX to a 50/50 blend of AGZD and IGHG. Figure if I want to ”tread water” may as well do it for an ER of .27% rather than 1.2%. Like @rforno, I’m doing some hedging. Not for tax purposes, but just to mit…
Anna said, ”I've followed several links to the show that got him fired. I have found nothing all that bad. Does anyone have a link to the portion of his show that upset the government so badly?”
I don’t view any of these late night comics. SNL oc…
Perhaps it’s been already noted, but the time stamp on posts is also off-kilter. Mine reads 8:05 PM as I edit, and it’s actually 11:52 PM. (EDT)
Glad the board is back up.
Thank you @bee for posting this. I didn’t know who Charlie Kirk was. But from the clips I watched for an hour or so last evening he appears to have been an extraordinarily gifted communicator. I might have enjoyed hearing him speak even though I …
The numbers on the S&P and 10-year treasury bond are probably accurate. Bond rates do have implications for many older investors who rely heavily on fixed income.
I regret posting the story. Bloomberg was being overly simplistic in attri…
Agree. Well said @DrVenture
“Incredibly daunting” by today’s knowledge and means. This from someone who routinely added up long series of numbers at work 50+ years ago using a big, incredibly slow, loudly “clanking” mechanical adding machine. T…
“They” wouldn’t need to actually travel here in person. Their technology would likely be thousands or millions of years beyond our primitive spacecraft or drones of today and able to survey our planet and send back telemetry. The real trick in try…
There are some rate-hedged bond etfs that might meet some people’s needs if they’re worried about significantly higher interest rates down the road. IGHG (investment grade bonds) AZGD (higher quality bonds)
I’ve been comparing IGHG out to 10 yea…
+1
Purchased it on my Audible account a few months back. Haven’t listened to all of it, but agree with your take. I’m constantly amazed that a lot of very low income people don’t get it. They’ll blame middle class union wage earners or career p…
https://pdfhost.io/v/E..d~yHtX_MStar_MPRS_102024
Response received: The document is missing
If you own a home in an area that is at risk for 100 year floods, it is not safe simply because you haven't had a flood in the past couple of decades that y…
Thanks to all for another outstanding edition. Enjoyed Charles’ deep dive into income producing funds. Quoting from that section: “… we are in the midst of a fiscal mess, which is likely to get messier and messier. It would be prudent, before any pa…
WSJ has a front page story today about lumber prices falling through the floor - so to speak. Lumber mills are shutting down or cutting back hours of operation. The Journal notes that normally that’s an indicator of a sharply slowing economy. Al…
WSJ provides a broader societal perspective - https://www.wsj.com/us-news/hyundai-raid-rattles-a-hot-spot-of-growth-in-georgia-d1fcd585?st=BMFs3C&reflink=article_email_share
Are these the ones that are “eating the dogs… eating the cats” ?
@hank, Can you explain how you can turn off tax withholding "totally"?
@Derf - Ummm - I just stumbled through it after succeeding (over an hour or longer) to set up the online account. Once in the door it wasn’t hard. There’s an option somewher…
Agree with Larry. MLB & NBA for me. Not a football or hockey fan. In both of the latter the players are largely shielded from view by the body armor worn. Not sure if that’s the reason I don’t enjoy them.
@Derf - The Dodgers have been my fa…
Thanks @msf. Just stopped my “voluntary” tax withholding on SS benefits yesterday. But - gosh - the break appears to expire in ‘28 - So guess will have to remember to turn withholding back on in couple years. Setting up an online account with SS …
All a distraction coming from 1 frightened old man. The Epstein files have him rattled. Exposure of some very dark dealings loom.
The worst president is U.S. history keeps outdoing himself, but this is what was voted into office.
It does seem to…
@hank, there are already many +/- 1x & 2x ETFs (some 3x ETNs) on various indexes. Invariably, one of these (+ or - version) will head toward zero and may dissolve or do reverse-split. The fund firms collect the ERs either way. +1
Schwab has an…
”I'm no trader, but a quick look at the GRZZX 5-year chart shows a steady decline from about $11.00 in 9/2020 to about $5.00 now. Maybe just to make the worth of the fund look a little better?”
That’s pretty much what posters on this thread say (cos…
Loss of migrant workers having big impact on economy. In many cases they do the work no one else wants. I was shocked when I checked out the prices of hotel rooms recently. Cuts to the issue because hospitality is very labor intensive.
You might want to take a look at a new etf IBTM. Came across it today. According to James Stack, “The fund provides access to a portfolio of U.S. Treasury bonds that mature between January and December of 2032 (and) combines the defined maturity …
Yeah - Another great week. Looks like war with Venezuela brewing. Why? Oh Why? Maybe a test of the new Department of War?
And talk about sucking up.
Story: Big Tech elite lavish praise on Trump at White House dinner
If you go to Fidelity’s generic page and search first for an OEF, it will then allow you to run comparisons with both OEFs and ETFs. (See “compare” in the upper left page corner). You don’t need to be logged in. Nice, since I prefer to login only …
Sold GDL today. I’m concerned that in the stampede to own gold, some investors have been inadvertently buying / bidding-up this previously tame CEF. GDL is an M&A arbitrage fund designed to outperform cash by a percent or two over longer per…
Good discussion.
7 equally weighted positions here (14.25% portfolio weight each). Other than a long-short fund (CPLSX) and a real assets fund (RAPAX), there isn’t much risk on the table. Third riskiest part is the equally weighted CEF basket…
