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.
We are fortunate to be Prime members as family on our daughter's account. Not quite the same as full membership because it does not include video, music, or TV. In the same way that I'm tempted to tell the car wash guy here in MI, "If it weren't for…
I was hoping the manager of these two strategies, Mr. Heugh, hidden away in Hong Kong, would not attract too much attention. Unfortunately, Baron's profiled him and now this comment from M*. The last thing I want is for big bucks to pour into MGGIX …
To complicate matters, there is now ROBT, a competitor to ROBO and BOTZ. A cynic might ask if AI is involved in the creation of ETFs; they seem to materialize when a human starts thinking.
http://www.morningstar.com/news/benzinga/BenzBZW_11247696/d…
@LewisBraham: You present a good idea for me, and a dilemma. In my retirement account I could exchange the Vanguard Balanced Index (5*-Gold) for CREF Social Choice (3*). Such an exchange would probably cost me real $ for my gesture. I can't fault my…
I wish there was a concrete gesture that I could make to demonstrate my concern about gun violence. What I have in mind is what Dick's Sporting Goods has announced: they previously said they'd stop selling guns, then more recently said they'd destro…
To echo others, I have followed the recommendation to get into commodities. One advisor I subscribe to was way early on DBC, then Gundlach chimed in last fall (IIRC), and I bought a small slice of DBC in early February and, miracle of miracles, it h…
This is his name: "DeFred G. Folts III, Fritz" as it appears on 3EDGE's site. The asset manager runs strategies for private individuals and institutions, using ETFs.
Sent a check, although I was tempted to try the online payment. Got whacked by the AMT for the first time ever, woe is me. What I read the other day suggested that the AMT won't affect as many taxpayers next year.
As allocation positions, I own RPGAX and CCAPX, as well as BRUFX. I am reducing the latter in favor of the the other two as the Bruce boys seem to have lost their mojo. Because I don't try to maintain a diversified bond portfolio, I rely on the expe…
@LewisBraham: is there an emoji for irony? Probably not, because it would be misinterpreted.
RNWOX is considered a World Stock fund by M*. My glance at the portfolio holdings leads me to believe it's a Diversified Emerging Markets fund, as 76% of …
@JoJo: Pay structure not mentioned in detail, but I read the article to mean she won’t draw any compensation until assets rise far above the current 140M, to about 300M. Maybe she can camp out in Grandeur Peak’s office while she’s not staying in che…
While I never did this, it was said of my former Dean that he went to his local brokerage every day at lunch time to watch the stock ticker. Obviously, only investors of my age would even know of what I speak. Nowadays the local branches offer CNBC.…
With regard to manager changes at Walthausen, Gerard Heffernan appears to have replaced DeForest Hinman who had been promoted last June to Portfolio Manager. The new prospectus says that only John Walthausen and Mr. Heffernan are managers of the tw…
Because I hold FIW for water exposure, I have followed WTRX for a while. There is always a huge difference between bid and ask along with price moves often to the upside based on almost no trading volume. A bizarre fund in my opinion, but my experie…
@jlev: I hold RPGAX for exposure to international bonds, of which I have little in my portfolio save a sliver of a modest position in SFGIX. The other two allocation funds I have, BRUFX and CCAPX, do not hold international bonds that I can see. RPGA…
Thanks. I owned MFMPX after MS open-ended the CEF, but I did not realize MS and other companies cited by our attentive participants were making many of their A shares load-waived. Now I find that selecting “no-load” only in M*’s screener may elimina…
If, as it sounds, you don't need the annuity payouts to meet your current expenses, why not fund an account with this year's dough, maybe in VWINX, and by reinvesting distributions, you should be at least 3.7% ahead in 12 months. Add the same 27K in…
This is very helpful @LLJB. There are two ways to invest in the CAPE strategy, through the OEF or through the Barclays ETN, CAPE. I don't think I understand fully why there are warnings about investing in ETNs; it seems to boil down to assessing the…
The "Category Kings" in the WSJ monthly section on funds and etfs are listed by YTD performance, +6.9% for VVPLX. The fund had relatively bad years in 2015 and 2017.
It is hard to get reasonable discussion going when the NRA'a LaPierre recently inflamed his supporters, claiming the right to bear arms is a "God-given right." How is it possible to reason with someone spouting that sort of nonsense?
If Gary Cohn quits as a result of losing the tariff argument, who from Wall Street would be willing to take his place? Maybe there's another family member who could step in, someone who knows from trade wars...
"He cited an incident that had occurred two years earlier, in which a gunman shot and killed three people in a Seattle shipyard. “The next day, the papers reported that, within minutes of the shooting, the Seattle School District had been able to lo…
@Mark: I knew someone on the board held GLFOX. Thanks for chiming in. I am always looking for other ways to play infrastructure. FIW has done well in water. Will check out UTF.
@Maurice: I don’t recall the Ikea founders obit, quite recent, saying anything about the secret to his success. Not letting the customer out until he has traversed the entire store! The place is a maze to be avoided.
@circa33: I think buying a stock is a form of a vote of confidence in the company. My or your purchase won’t move the needle, but at least we can keep our front stoop clean. I think that’s what Voltaire’s famous, “Mais il faut cultiver notre jardin,…
Buying the "Dirty Dozen" fruits and vegetables from organic sources makes sense to me.
https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty_dozen_list.php?gclid=CjwKCAiAt8TUBRAKEiwAOI9pAP
In general, our household avoids all chemical additives and preservatives and…
@davidmoran: are you the only one on this board who owns this fund? I own a lot of DSENX, but I have been unimpressed with the European version of CAPE. What I did buy last year were BCVSX and MOTI.
Took some distributions from HQL accumulated in my Roth in last few years and added to ISMRX and GPGOX. In a taxable account, I used proceeds from XMLV to buy RYT.
I have also taken note of the drop off in performance of FMIJX. When I read the managers' reports I come away with the sense that I am a wild-eyed risk taker compared to them. Maybe I need a dose of caution, but those guys make investing sound as th…
In a slightly related area, BFOR, the "GARP" ETF that follows the Barron's 400 index, failed to keep up with the S&P 500 in 2017. I haven't owned it for more than two years. However, I have found the M* wide-moat ETFs, the domestic MOAT (+23.16%…
