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.
@Sven: I am bombarded by upgrade offers from Quicken even though I haven’t used it in years. I can’t entirely cut the cord from Intuit, however, because I’m a TurboTax subscriber.
While I don’t trade off of their recommendations, I do find the gunslingers CNBC has on at noon and 5PM are often worth listening to. There’s a rotating cast of six or seven traders who do a lot more than bloviate, à la Cramer. Unfortunately, the la…
I gleaned an interesting bit of trivia from a book review in the Times: in most of the states which soon were to secede the Union, Lincoln's name did not even appear on the ballot for the 1860 election. There's an extreme form of voter suppression, …
@bilvihur: It May be that some mangers of funds you own did some ill-advised selling when the markets went south. Those sales could result in higher distributions come December, but I doubt that information is available now. Who knows if some funds …
I think @MikeM already knows I put my international holdings in FMIJX and BCSVX into ARTYX and ARTJX. Also switched GPGCX for GUSYX. I added a slice of MEGMX and for the first time a quite a while EM is working. I decided, based on David Snowball’s …
I agree with @davidmoran that it felt worse in the early 70’s than just a gas shortage. The country was wracked by the Vietnam war, Nixon had been impeached and then resigned, the stock market was the absolute pits for investors, and I think many Am…
I have not needed many products at the lumber store this year, but I was unable to get simple plastic fencing to prevent our dog from walking in new-planted areas. The employee said a lot of products did not come in this year. I suspect stuff from C…
@rono: I’m glad to see you haven’t “lightened up” in your take on how serious this health crisis is. I’m old, cynical, critical, and scornful, yet I just can’t fathom the stupidity of the people in this country. We should never have stopped singing …
No need to worry about the November election. The White House has claimed the President is not a "citizen," and therefore does not have to quarantine in New Jersey. Only a citizen may run for president.
While it may have been madness to allow the event to take place, quite a number of our species seem to enjoy the spectacle of madness. We are horrified, but we still watch.
There may be other examples, but I do know of the biotech CEF, HQL, managed by Daniel Olmsted, that holds as much as 20% in private placements. These companies are hard to value, but if only one goes public, the payoff can be substantial. I have not…
The four biggest (by capitalization) stocks of private equity firms are Blackstone (BX) $69B, KKR (KKR) $25B, IAC (IAC) $23B, and the Carlyle Group (CG) $10B. Owning one of these stocks is different from holding a company's stock or a MF or ETF. You…
Take a look at the "Parent" function for a Causeway fund to see how the family stacks up. Value ain't just dead, it has stopped twitching. All of the Causeway funds have negative 3-year returns, although the one being liquidated was by far the worst…
It has done well for me, too. ARTYX has out performed it, however, rising 26% since I bought it on April 23. It's been some time since EM has been helping my portfolio.
Thanks for posting that interview, @davidmoran. For some reason, Sgt. Joe Friday’s, « the facts, ma’m, nothing but the facts, » popped into my head. I lament the lack of solid research and digging out the facts that characterize much of what passes …
I think it is laudable to honor the flag. However, the practice of making saluting the flag and the playing of the national anthem before sporting events makes no sense. I can understand playing national anthems before international sporting events,…
Today’s WSJ has an article on page 1 entitled « Investors Bet on Volatility, Making Markets Even Wilder. » It’s behind a paywall, but subscribers can access. The upshot is that that « Volatility trading has grown so big that trading on unexpected ma…
Thanks for starting this lively topic @hank. I am really pleased to hear of others’ tastes and to get ideas for my own reading. As the parent of five kids, the youngest of whom is 22, I lament how little they seem to read, despite our practically fo…
@MikeW and I think alike. The main difference between the two MS funds he cited is that MIOPX currently has 35% in emerging Asia while the other fund has about 20% in EM. TDA has the Asia fund, MSAUX, but with a load.
Over the past decade, investo…
Recent titles included "The Trial" of Kafka and "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis. Both afforded laughter and a sense that many things in our lives are completely out of our control. My recreational reading runs to crime fiction and espionage, freque…
Laura Geritz has added a PM on ROSOX, but she continues as the sole manager of her EM fund, RNWOX. The new guy appears to have a research and foreign affairs background, quasi-academic. I looked at both funds and I was struck by the over allocation…
@hank: There is talk of infrastructure spending and it's been going on since the 2016 presidential campaign, thus my skepticism. In my view, the US is unwilling to invest in infrastructure projects that don't pay for themselves. The wonderful high-s…
Maybe you found Esper to be admirable, @sven. If he were that, why in heaven’s name would he go to work in the most disfunctional administration in modern history?
I was thinking about Romney as I wrote that, @msf. A few years after this IRA was news, another wealthy candidate complained that the system was rigged, although he probably didn’t know at the time that the Electoral College was the fix. I have lowl…
@hank: It’s likely that the rich don’t even worry about RMDs because their wealth is not tied up in tax-deferred accounts. I agree with @catch22 that doing the paperwork is not worth my time. I’ve been obliged to take distributions for about 8 years…
