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.
@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%…
Sold XMLV. Checked all the PowerShares low-vol ETFs and found lagging performance over the past six weeks while the overall market has been hot. Mid-caps as measured by IJH have done fine, but XMLV peaked in late November and the trend continues neg…
If I were to invest in commodities, I'd buy DBC, which is described as follows:
"The investment seeks to track changes, whether positive or negative, in the level of the DBIQ Optimum Yield Diversified Commodity Index Excess Return™. The fund pursue…
@hank; FWIIW, my only attempts to move some big chunks of my retirement money into cash in 2008 did not pay off. An advisor later pointed out how much of the recovery I had missed.
Maybe it is a good time to sell. Any of you remember how much the market loved the turmoil Nixon brought on? I wish I had an in-house lawyer who would say he was the one speaking when I had put my foot in my mouth. More will be revealed, but it won'…
How one reacts to tax reform proposals always depends on whose ox is being gored. I'm no different from any other taxpayer trying to figure out what the salauds in Washington are trying to do to me. So far, I don't like what I see: limitation on pro…
BCSVX is new, but it is strong out of the gate. 65% developed and developing Europe. The current portfolio has sizable dollops of large caps and mid caps, despite its stated small cap orientation. I am surprised that Brown Capital has done as well a…
I think you can buy KCMTX at Schwab, but the ER is 1.62% for the R-1 shares, at a minimum purchase of $100. Schwab sells Driehaus funds at low minima also, even though that company’s website would have you believe the minimum is 10K.
