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.
Support MFO
Donate through PayPal
Charles
Thank you sma3! We are spending this summer in northwest again. I have no quiet place I can be before noon eastern (9 am here). Library opens at 9am! I've set up a session for Friday, 2 pm eastern ... posted on board. But, if that does not work, just call me at 805 468 9599 ... if I can pick up I will. Hopefully, can pick a day where you can attended from noon on. Very happy to do! c
Ha! Emailing you from the Humbolt State Park. After our walk through forest of amazing redwoods, we're actually drinking Prosecco, about to enjoy some homemade pizza...so, thought to check market and MFO. (David is a much, much better man than I!)
…
Reply to @scott: On perpetually late quarterlies, it bothers me.
Maybe I'd feel different if I were investing in a hedge fund. But maybe not. In any case, if you give the expectation of providing quarterlies, I think it's important to be timely. El…
Here's another example of the bias toward advisors over shareholders. Presumably, advisors can help increase AUM, more than existing shareholders.
It's the perpetually late-to-publication quarterly update page at AQR Funds:
Note the little lock…
Reply to @msf: Good points msf. I too noticed that every single fund in the Bank Loan category that lived though the 2008 decline drew down 15% or more, which I consider a real painful threshold for most investors. Every one:
OK on Fido. Hey,…
Reply to @catch22: Nope. Just been growing a little wary of the shop because of reports recently. Like I've posted before:
David's July commentary, under sub heading "Fidelity cries out: Run away!"
Here are few excerpts:
Fidelity’s signaling the f…
I suspect I will be in minority here, but here goes:
I think you can be diversified with just 4 stocks: eg., BAC, WLP, HES, AAPL.
I think you can be diversified with just 1 fund: eg., SEQUX. Or, FPACX. Or, VWINX.
OK, here is long-term 3 fund por…
Reply to @catch22: If Fido really charges a load for this fund, it will be one more example that makes me question their friendliness toward shareholders. Please let us know either way. Thanks catch.
Reply to @scott: Hey, finally, a really good day for coal and basic materials:
The irony is that they rose not on recovering US economy, but on China's.
Hi bee. I think FPNIX makes a good turtle...it's also a great owl =).
Here's how it handled recent interest-rate hikes:
Here's how it handled 2008 financial collapse:
Here are the performance/risk numbers:
And, Steven Goldberg likes …
Yeah. I guess I see a way under-valued company. Lots of headwind causing it. Strong foreign competition. But good CEO. On the horizon I see recovering aerospace and automobile industries. No momentum in the stock, however. And, 10% short float. Alth…
Yeah, not fair Art to rub it in...it's my largest holding!
Ha! Correction. I just checked. FAAFX is now largest holding by slight margin. Was AQRIX, but then, we all know what happened...
I'll play Scott...
I'm now more interested in investing for the long term. Getting better at it. Trying (with some success) to temper my "Where are you investing now...?" thread, as much as I enjoy all you newts.
I look for healthy dividends. Prom…
Reply to @mrc70 and Tony: Good points, understand. Just wish there was a way to warn new investors that, while DODGX is indeed top-notch (value strategy, large cap, low fees, high integrity shop), it has experienced significant drawdowns of -60% in …
Reply to @ron: I like SPLV. But I'd say WBMIX is better hedged against downside. SPLV is a bit young to experience...and so is WBMIX for that matter. Thoughts?
Reply to @BobC: Nice. Thanks for sharing Bob, lesson-learned. I think I expected them to be more agile. Maybe too many of their holdings were in decline...EM, commodities, bonds...all falling at once. August 8th...and still no commentary from AQR on…
I took a quick-look at "Kiplinger's 25 Favorite No-Load Mutual Funds," which come with following rationale:
Every year, we put together the Kiplinger 25, a list of our favorite no-load mutual funds. We favor funds run by seasoned managers who take a…
Here's link to updated 2Q fact sheet for AQRIX...no updated commentary yet, but (somewhat) good to see new asset allocation:
https://www.aqrfunds.com/Portals/0/FundDocuments/Basic Information/Fact Sheet/RPMF.I.pdf
Reply to @Old_Joe: Cool. Chip recently posted Rating System Definitions, which provides column by column explanation. Would appreciate you taking a critical look at the definition page...let us know how you think it might be improved. Thanks Joe, as…
Ha! Welcome to my world Joe.
Here's customized version for you of these two funds VVPSX and VVPLX.
Note that I added the SP500 numbers for the same three year period.
The "risk" rating looks at the three volatility indices (standard, downsid…
Reply to @VintageFreak: Hi. Nope, it's not arbitrary. It's based on so-called "least squares" fit. Basically, positioning the line so that it is closest to all data points.
It's an automatic function inside Excel. Here's formal definition:
Returns …
Reply to @sligo: Weird. As a quick test, I've converted David's file to the type *.xls, which represents the 1997-2003 version of Excel. See if this opens...good to know for future posts:
2Q Ratings *.xls Type
Please let us know if this works for …
Here are risk/performance numbers of some of those mentioned above, along with some of better performers in the Health category (although ISTIX / WSTCX actually resides in the Tech category):
I know VGHCX has had a manager change, but hard no…