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 don’t watch SNL, either, but I do read the news. I am quite astounded that The NY Times gives coverage to what late-night comedians have been saying. Colbert is not in the least bit funny (my wife insists we watch him in reverence to Letterman) an…
I’ve added some more to RPGAX and lightened up on TMSRX. My 30 YO daughter was also a bit overcommitted to TMSRX, which I had recommended as an alternative to a MMF, so I advised her to start a position in RPSIX. I’ve done the same in my account. Re…
@carew388: are you batting .388 on your stock and fund picks?
I can see playing the materials/natural resources sector by using one of my old favorites, FIW. It’s performance has been outstanding for the past 5 years and it does not have the volati…
Many thanks, @David_Snowball, for all of the fine editing, your patience with the occasional unruly posters, and your tireless efforts to steer our investments toward sensible and understandable funds. I suspect you will not miss the frenzy of the 4…
I, too, would use ETFs as have @carew388 and @davidmoran for new purchases. CDC makes sense, as do other value leaning funds: AVUS, DSTL and COWZ for large caps; AVUD, CSB, and CALF for small caps. For dividend-focused funds, I like VIG and SCHD.
Leaving it closed would be a gift to unsuspecting investors. Even M*’s automatic writing, i.e., fund analysis, is very damning.
The DFA renegades who set up shop under American Century’s umbrella and called themselves Aventis have a very promising …
@billr: I did just what you contemplate. When I turned 66 and first filed for SS, we had two kids at home, one 15, the other 7. The benefits for each continued until their graduation from HS. In the case of the younger one, contributions to the Mich…
I think it’s hard to know, absent a note left by the deceased, why a person decides to commit suicide. The video I saw online appeared to show M de Vaux on a cellphone walking around the roof of the building. To whom was he speaking, was the convers…
@AndyJ is right about EWT. Not surprisingly, TMC makes up 19%+ of AUM. @Sven is also correct; TMC can be found in just about every diversified EM fund and in many international funds.
With respect to SCV, I like CSB and AVUV. The latter I bought thanks to a great tip from MFOer @MikeW. I’m hanging with ARTYX in EM equity, despite a rough patch.
Thanks, @bee, for that link to Finny, a site I did not know. One quirk I found re: RPGAX is that the fund’s holdings are characterized as 959 stocks and 0 bonds, whereas 6 of the top 10 holdings are clearly identified as bond funds. Apparently Finny…
I recently added to RPGAX and don’t own or contemplate buying DODBX, so I am not a neutral observer. I agree with @hank that the “global” label does not make an allocation fund much different from a “domestic” one, although another allocation fund I…
Thanks for those links, @davidmoran. Views differ on what the Ark people are doing and how qualified they are, to say the least. How do you find this stuff?
I don’t know what to make of the “religious” influence cited by Cathie Wood. I have read th…
Two summers ago we traveled to the Seattle area where we took a harbor cruise boat trip. We motored through the Port of Seattle, watching cargo ships being off loaded by land-based fixed cranes, and sailed within a few yards of a ship. I can’t site …
I filed my daughter’s return last week using TurboTax. She worked only part of the year full-time, having just graduated from college, and she had not received either payment #1 or #2. TurboTax computed her refund and added $1800 to the total. It am…
@LewisBraham: thanks for those links. The anti-union stuff reminds me of the lengths Sears went to keep unions out. FedEx is not unionized, while UPS is; I would like to see a comparison from both management and labor perspectives. We are a union ho…
@JonGaltill: I started my 300ZX convertible for the first time this season. What nut has a sports car in MI? This is unpaved road country, ill-suited for those who have chrome under carriages and who like clean cars. If you are in the market, I prob…
FWIIW, @bee, auction results on the collectible/exotic car auction site, Bring a Trailer, are giving off a strong whiff of inflation. I’m not in the market, but my sense after lurking there for a few years is that car nuts are throwing a lot of cash…
@hank AND @Derf: here in SE MI we are deluged with offers of "free" cash for use on the newly legalized online gaming sites. I love sports, but have never considered waging on them. I'm probably out of it as evidenced by my failure to hear anything …
@Sven: I have the largest slice of our assets with TIAA because of my employment. My current plan is to move what’s now with Schwab and TDA to a brokerage account at TIAA so that my family will have only one wealth manager to deal with when I can’t …
@Sven: thanks for reminding me about the two different types of TDFs at TRP. In my retirement account at TIAA, my former employer’s choices determine the funds I can use. The Vanguard funds you allude to are what I have chosen, while I use TIAA inde…
@Catch: I have been pondering the same question, i.e., whether or not to put more ex-bond cash to work in an allocation fund. I have kept a relatively small percentage of the portfolio (whose earnings, like you, I do not need for living expenses) in…
As of 12/31/2020, the largest holding of BRSVX was GameStop. Not a stock I would expect John Montgomery to buy, but what do I know? M* claims the stock has gained 6,500% over the previous year. My experience with Bridgeway funds was that some years …
@Sven: our largest and longest held EM fund is ARTYX, very much growth and the one that's dropped the most this year. We have a small position in MEGMX and a bit more in MASGX. I hope to be able to say in time that we bought those "early." Value? No…
Today risk-on is back and the Ark funds are rising. What dismays me is that the fortunes of EMs, at least with respect to the ETFs (IEMG and NUEM) I follow, appear to be correlated. I’m dismayed because I had hoped my moves into EM we’re done on the…
Thanks for these obits, @TheShadow. Driehaus died much too young for my comfort. I’m an NU alum and have always felt a connection to Chicago. Also a very satisfied shareholder.
I have been watching ARKK, ARKG, and ARKF in recent weeks, after I cashed in a small position in ARKK. Whatever Ms Wood owns these days is obviously out of favor and there has been a rotation away from the stocks that were goosing her returns. Even …
I have previously mentioned that my choice for SCV is the ETF, CSB. It's fairly concentrated at 103 positions, so it may not suit investors who want a larger slice of the universe. The other candidates I reviewed are DES and VRB. CSB throws off a mo…
My entrant is : Garrett Van Wagoner, who made his name managing Govett Smaller Companies Fund. It all went swimmingly well until 1999. Mr. Van Wagoner then struck out (sic) on his own and by 2008 had compiled the worst 10-year record among actively …
These ideas of Shiller's, especially about how we can be influenced by the beliefs of others, might fit into the other discussion going here, the one on the ARK portfolios.
