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 agree, @bee, with your linking the Erin Bromage paper. It’s the most sensible thing I’ve read in weeks. I’m going to try to reduce my wife’s fear of supermarket shopping. She hates the mask, but the chances of catching the virus at unpopular shopp…
Thanks for that link, @msf. The problem faced by IOFIX is not disssimilar to the complete collapse of the financial system in 2007-2008. Michael Lewis’s « The Big Short » explains in painful detail how CDOs and other exotic instruments were a bet on…
For some reason, a hold I had on my Libby e-reader account came though this week and I am now reading "The Big Short" for the first time. I am quite familiar with Michael Lewis, however. One of the best take-aways so far is the idea that, as opposed…
@davidmoran: a slightly better performing growth ETF is Vanguard’s VONG, which tracks the Russell 1000 growth index. Should growth continue to outpace value, that would be the place to put some dough. « Where has all the value gone, gone to graveyar…
@davidmoran: I understand that a fund such as VOOG could outperform, especially in a growth atmosphere as @expatsp pointed out. MOAT is not an index fund. It’s stocks are chosen according to a methodology, which includes the determination of the moa…
PRIJX got some attention here a few of years back, when it was known as EM Value. It did great things in 2016-17 and then it didn't. TR for last three years is -3.67% and YTD -27.9%. Ouch!
I like that idea @Anna. If it were not for reading this article, I would still be squeezing the liquid out of our one container of Lysol wipes. I was planning to keep it for the day when my wife or I gets the virus.
I'm not out much these days, but I did buy gas for $1.19 in AA. Other stations are charging more, up to $1.89 at the places whose prices are usually very high.
RNCIX is available with transaction fee and an ER of 2.72% at Schwab. The fund has not attracted much interest even though the idea sounds good. It didn’t do squat for me when I owned it soon after it opened. CEFs are wonky and a fund of CEFs is won…
@VintageFreak: I decided to take my GPGCX and put it into GUSYX. I'll take the tax loss. I continue to move away from international in favor of global funds such as MGGPX, BGAFX, ARTRX, APFDX. Sold BCSVX to buy ARTJX, just about my only pure foreign…
Thanks, @Lewis, for posting that. I'm no long a shareholder, so I don't get it directly. They make a compelling case for investing in the fund now. It does not appear from their narrative that they were forced into selling positions; in fact they di…
Thanks for this, David. I must admit that Jefferson tripped me up with the term "votaries," sending me to an online dictionary. A "votary" is one who takes vows or who is an adherent of someone or something (in the event readers are curious). Readin…
I believe @sma3 is referring to "flash crashes," the more recent ones occurring in 2010 and 2013, IIRC. Stocks fell so fast, but recovered very quickly, with the result that positions were sold automatically, adding to the market fall and leaving th…
@MikeM: I mentioned in the DSENX thread (I think) that I had sold a chunk of that fund and that I started a position in RLSFX. The fund is not only NL/NTF at Schwab, but it’s on the Select List.
I think MikeM is right. We shareholders should have seen how DSENX behaved in the market swoon at the end of 2018. Those of us who held it saw great returns for the next year, but the fund had shown itself to be weak in a downturn.
Quite surprising given that two of the three managers also manage MSMLX, whose performance has not been sterling. The fund hasn’t been in its category top quartile since 2014.
I reduced DSENX, but still hold a decent chunk. With proceeds I initiated a position in RLSFX based on its great performance and my agreement with a strategy of shorting risky companies and going long in winners. I have no experience with L/S funds,…
I was an early adopter in GPMCX, a I position sold in 2018. I have a toe dipped in GPGCX, my only stake with them now. I did make money on GPGOX. Quite frankly, I'd have a hard time selecting a fund from GP because there is so much similarity and ov…
I'm 78. We can live comfortably on SS, a public pension, RMDs from 403b, and another stream of income. I have control over my 403b, and I have dialed down some of the equity funds in favor of a few Vanguard TDFs of varying years (my attempt at ladde…
At the end of January the advisor for my retirement funds asked me if I'd be comfortable with a 17% drawdown in return for a chance at equivalent higher returns. I said yes, but I too was really not thinking that my portfolio (then about 57% equitie…
I agree with @davidmoran. Over the coming weeks and months companies will have to report earnings. No amount of cash infusions and making sure the markets function properly can substitute for what will be hugely disappointing earnings. Senator Burr …
I'm still in also. What I learned about myself recently is that I can tolerate a 40% drop in a stock I hold, but an equivalent drop in a bond fund makes me retch. IOFAX has not recovered, but ORNAX has rebounded in the last two days.
I don't know how it does it, @davidmoran. What you found above about the nature of ETNs is true. The note (N) is only as good as its issuer, Barclay's. If this bank were to tank, the note could have no value. Barclay's currently has 6 ETNs, as profi…
As I have said before, trading CAPE is an adventure as there is often a lag between what the market is doing and a big gap between the bid and the ask prices. Trading volumes are usually low. With no commissions, it's now possible to buy small posit…
@Starchild: there has been discussion on the board of Kristian Heugh, manager of MGGPX, MIOPX, and MSAUX. Ted likes the global fund. Every one of Heugh's funds beats the pants off the competition in its category. Depending on where you shop, you can…
I am also looking at what to prune and what to add. Two global growth funds, MGGPX and BGAFX, have held up amazingly well. I own the former, but consider the latter to be its equal. As of last night neither fund had lost more than 15% YTD, with the …
Anybody get an accurate price in DSENX/DSEEX today? My sources show -3.99%, but CAPE gained 7.79%, a real disconnect. Seem to remember that DL funds can be late reporting MF NAVs.
