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 may be wrong, but I think my local school district added A for the Arts to the acronym. I read something about a new elementary program here that was to emphasize STEM while not forgetting that music, art, and drama have their places at the table.
I had forgotten that holding in RPGAX, another fund I found thanks to discussions here. I have some in my Roth. As a Liberal Arts guy, as opposed to a STEAM guy, what hedge funds are doing seems beyond my understanding. However, the fact that TRP is…
@MikeW: I was going to try to learn something about this Causeway fund but M* is thwarting my efforts to look at the fund holdings. This value firm has been a M* darling for a long time, although it’s hard to understand what the (fatal?) attraction …
I’m just as poor as you, @Derf. But a friend of mine made so much in Bitcoin in the last couple of years that he was able to buy his daughter a house. I’m not tempted.
I got hung up again today. By signing out of M* premium I was able to see the fund’s holdings, but all the other info available to subscribers only was invisible. I feel like calling and making a true PITA out of myself. On second thought, I don’t n…
I agree, @hank, on the problem of keeping five managers or teams happy to mind their own knitting. In any event, I was floundering around trying to place a large chunk of cash I had and would never have found TMSRX without the help of Professor Snow…
@hank: I do admire your ability to analyze bond funds and their holdings, a skill that’s way over my head. I can trade, but I’ve never sold a position short, nor does Schwab authorize me to muck around with options. What they’re doing with TMSRX and…
Thanks for these tips, all. Just this AM I was stymied in M* trying to compare holdings for a couple of funds. I still pay the piper, but probably won't renew. Same with my WSJ subscription I've had for eons. Too expensive and too little separation …
Interesting stuff, @hank. I am a firm believer in this fund. BTW, since you're retired, don't you have the time and the technology to DIY and save on the management fees? Sounds like a piece of cake!
My worst offender this year is BCSIX despite M* saying its turnover is only 17%. My other two Brown Capital funds are really light on the distributions, however.
@derf: thanks for your ideas. In my Roth, which I manage, I recently added CSB, a SCV etf. If truth be known, I’m looking for a pop in the price and not really a long/term commitment to the asset class.
There are many wise and thoughtful contributions from several of the varsity team here on MFO. When I held one of the Fidelity Asset Manager funds way back when, then OAKBX, and then BRUFX, I believed (probably naïvely) that what I had were "all-we…
I think @davidmoran is correct about biases at M*. Oakmark is a « homey » with both firms growing up in Chicago. M* still has a value bias that seems to affect their overrating of funds hewing to traditional value criteria. What other factor beside …
That Institutional Investor article is a great help, @Mark. From what I read there, a conventional asset manager owner might well be uncomfortable with Wood's open style of sharing research and her refusal to assign analysts to traditional niches. S…
@Mark. I like ARKK, also. After your previous mention of changes facing the firm, I read a couple of articles. Do you think new owners would adversely influence the investment strategy? The woman in charge of the funds, Cathie Wood, was quoted as ob…
@hank: I seem to recall in the mid-80's that 14-15% interest rates on savings were offered at local Ann Arbor banks. I know we took advantage of them. OTOH, mortgage rates soared to 20+%, so who came out ahead in the Volker era?
@wxman123: can you point to any period in the history of our planet during which "...cars, planes, or electricity..." were present and when there was no rise in the temperature of the earth?
@MikeW. Good to hear from you. MATFX is one of those Matthews funds affected by manager departures, but the long-time lead manager, Michael Oh, continues. I do like the prospects of the companies currently held.
@CaryRaleigh: almost any of the growth funds that have done well this year hold huge dollops of technology and healthcare companies, as much as 70%. You might be able to achieve your goal by picking an actively-managed growth fund along with a narro…
@Old_Joe: Exxon Mobil's record on concealing what its scientists knew about the damage the oil industry was doing to the environment is more than lamentable, its criminal.
One jarring difference between the Obama and Trump administrations was the lack of scandals, firings, resignations, etc. during the former. (See @hank's link, above.) The Obama people, and Biden was one and is hiring some of them, carried out meticu…
@little5bee: on a M* fund profile, click on “Parent” and you will find fund flow stats for the entire MF company. Under the graph on the “Quote” tab that shows growth of $10k, you’ll find a smaller graph that shows fund flows by quarter for the indi…
With the help of an MFO profile and discussion by @hank and others here, I put a big chunk of my MMF holdings into TMSRX. Even my timid daughter did the same with some of her cash. She kept asking me why her MMF was generating only pennies a month. …
I used to own WSVIX, after having been referred to Walthausen by Kevin O'Boyle who had had a fine stint at Meridian Value before founding his own fund, the Presidio Fund. This SCV fund was also a fine performer. When O'Boyle decided to close the fun…
Thanks for that link, Lewis. I wish the current nativist, conspiratorial, anti-intellectual uprising has as short a shelf life as the Know Nothing movement. The latter appears to have flamed out quickly.
Maybe MS wants to clip the wings of its successful manager. I assume he gets a cut of all the AUM. Just sayin' (maybe the dumbest idiom to come along in some years).
Right, @Old_Joe: probably only a few oldsters here would get the allusion to, “The facts, ma’am, nothing but the facts.” Too bad things aren’t as simple any more. Have a great Election Day!
@LewisBraham: apparently the bogus charge of "socialism" was thrown at Abraham Lincoln during the 1860 campaign. Maybe it's time for as revival of the know-nothings party I recall from a US history course.
Flashback to this week in 2016. I was totally convinced that if Trump won, the markets would tank. I didn't share that opinion then and I have no opinion to share today, for obvious reasons. I will, however, be trying to follow either John King or S…
@msf: I don’t know how to avoid the fees, either. MS certainly complicates matters by offering multiple share classes and, even more confusing for me, giving their funds names that are so similar. Here are some of the names: Global Franchise, Counte…
We are free and clear of our mortgage for the first time since we bought a house. Some will recall another thread on the question of paying the mortgage off. “Fait et dit,” or said and done. For some reason the French expression appears to have the …
I believe MGGPX has had a single manager, Kristian Heugh, from its inception in 2008. It's true that Alex Umansky had co-managerial duties at Morgan Stanley, but not with Heugh. OTOH, BGAFX is a winner and I own some.
Turnover for AKREX has always been very low, with M* pegging it a 4% currently. One consequence of this, I assume, is the amazing low tax bills presented to shareholders at year end. AUM have risen commensurate with the fund's great success since 20…
I thought we had found the elusive MFOer who throws millions around at a time...
@davidmoran: Buying and selling CAPE requires a lot of attention as I have found a wide disparity between what the current price is and what the bid/ask prices are. I'…
