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.
I’m a fan of Robert Caro who is said to be at work of Vol 5 of his biography of Lyndon Johnson. Bill Moyers may have been the one major confident of LBJ who never spoke publicly of his break with the president nor about LBJ’s failure to extricate th…
The recent chart on KGGAX looks impressive, probably due to the fund’s 29% allocation to metals. However, BISAX has clocked it in the international SMID value category over just about any period. The manager, David Iben, has been in the business for…
A 2017 visit to the beaches at Normandy revealed an astonishing, to me, pro-American attitude among the French. True gratitude for us and the Brits, Canadians, et al. I have spent long periods of time in France and can attest that this positive atti…
@Charles: thanks for that nicely done chart. If I had been online on the 20th, I would have said the colors were Easter-like. My own looking into the Brandes family of funds was seat-of-the-pants, not statistical, so I'm pleased to see how they come…
BIEAX/BIIEX, Brandes International, a LCV fund despite Lipper calling it a multi-cap, deserves comparison with ARTKX. It stacks up very favorably in the respects that matter to me (performance, ER, seasoned managers, boutique firm). Brandes has 22 d…
@sma3 and @Observant1: I'm not leaving CBLDX or NRDCX because I think CB is looking out for my capital. Still holding OSTIX, also.
For LC international value, Brandes is my choice. BIEAX or its clone BINV are as highly rated as BISAX, do not suffer…
GPGCX, their global contrarian fund, has a good record, and it’s not an index hugger. Maybe they can make an international contrarian fund work. I cannot recall a fund manager who hires analysts and managers anlmost exclusively from academic institu…
This Thursday and Friday there will be moments when four NCAA games will be live simultaneously. In order to enjoy this oddity, I have clung to my traditional cable TV service because it permits rapid channel changes. IIANM, streaming services are m…
Who knows if history can guide us? Nevertheless, Nixon represented a grave threat to our democracy and got away with a boatload of unconstitutional actions until a few brave Republicans said, « no mas. » Unfortunately, I haven’t seen much bravery fr…
@hank: I am sympathetic to your idea of "segregating" Trump discussions to an identifiable topic that would be easy to avoid. I was listening to a chastened DemocratIC Party strategist about how their presidential campaign failed to reach voters wit…
In addition to Brandes International SC (BISAX), mentioned above, BIEAX (Brandes International Value) has clocked 18.23% for 3 years and 13.78% for 5 years. Since 2023, the clone of BIEAX, BINV, has pretty much matched its performance. I'm hoping th…
Maybe Kennedy will endorse bleach for Covid. Just the mention of cod liver oil takes me back to the unpleasant taste of that horrible stuff my mother must have thought we needed. I much prefer the algae capsules I take today.
I thought the days of such backward thinking died when those at the helm realized that the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 had been an unmitigated disaster. "The act increased tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods, including agricultural imports, by…
@WABAC: I had never heard of this fund. Thanks for the M* link; the holdings show more than 36% in Real Estate, way more than other infrastructure funds. I also noted pretty even split between US and international holdings. No idea how they tried to…
@davidrmoran: thanks for your views. Have you already consulted the books I cited? It seems a fair question to put to you who query members about their failure to read your linked sources. I grew up hearing commercials about the need to drink three …
@Old_Joe: I an entirely with you on the need for closed captions, especially for TV. As you know, there is a time lag between what you hear and what appears on the screen. Accuracy is generally hit or miss.
I use Zoom for meetings and I put on my S…
@BaluBalu: our member MikeW just sent me a performance graph of a Kristian Heugh MS fund that now appears to be on fire, so maybe international is back. The ride can be sickening, for sure.
I do maintain international exposure, but with the excepti…
@Junkster: thank you for letting us know how you stay healthy. I had my share of alcohol a long time ago, so I don’t think of not drinking as part of my diet. I will not part with serious coffee, however. I agree that it is frequently difficult to f…
Lest my passing comment about eggs be misconstrued: I abandoned the standard American Diet (SAD) quite a number of years ago. I consume no animal products, processed foods, no chemical additives and try to limit sugar and oil consumption to strict …
@rforno and any other TIAA customers: I have been tempted to consolidate my TIAA retirement (403b mostly) with our Schwab joint brokerage account and two Roths in anticipation of the day when I could no longer manage the accounts. My wife would not …
Distillate Capital also runs at least three ETFs using a cash-flow model. COWZ had wonderful performance in 2020, 2021, and 2022, and has attracted a whopping $25B in AUM. I was a fan of DSTL, DSMC, SYLD and COWZ until 2023 when fortunes turned nota…
I’m not an expert @davidrmoran, but I’ll opine nevertheless. What Ludwig and his team have apparently uncovered should be taken seriously and could be the basis for forming a political movement capable of capturing the votes of those disaffected and…
The relative weakness in international stocks and small caps, compared to US LC returns, over the past decade and more must have adversely affected the fortunes of Grandeur Peak.
I wondered a few years ago, when Trump started referring to the “Democrat” party, why those in his thrall followed right along and began insulting Democrats by making the same grammatical error. Trump has long mispronounced or distorted the names of…
On tariff news, CLF spiked Monday intra-day to $12+ and I sold my modest stake. Jim Liebenthal said on CNBC said he was not a seller. Today the stock dropped considerably, ending up at $10.56.
Thanks @msf. If REMIX wanders from one ill-defined category to another in a world of « fine distinctions » I won’t fret. I ought to have mentioned that I don’t have a dog in this fight these days, although I did own REMIX/BLNDX in 2022.
The veggie plot is reserved for the season, per usual. Chaos can ensue if FOMO takes hold and delicate plants are rushed into the ground before all danger of frost is past. Further chaos arrives later in the growing season when the old bones no long…
FWIIW, I sharply reduced my Vanguard TGFs, (VTHRX, VTTHX), in my TIAA retirement account in favor of tweaking the allocations myself. @racqueteer mentions doing the same thing, above. The VG TDFs' foreign allocations have been a brake, as have the F…
