Is it worth chasing this funds performance ? When you consider "chasing this funds performance", I would suggest you determine what kind of investor you are. If you are a trader, and very good at trading, you may want to identify hot performing funds, with the understanding that you are very skilled in exiting those hot funds when they cool off. If you are longer term investor, I would suggest you look at more than just recent performance, and you consider whether this is a fund that has a much more risky longer term performance pattern. You may want to also consider expense ratio, whether this fund is from a boutique company or a more reputable company with a solid research and management team, how volatile the fund, and determine the performance history in strong downmarket performance periods. I am not a good trader, and I rarely invest in the hottest performing funds, but I do think there are some good traders on these threads that are better traders than I am, especially at exiting hot funds when they cool off. Because I am not a good trader, I tend to only focus on funds that have a longer history of relatively solid performance, and which hold up relatively well in major down performance periods. I don't see RLSFX as a fund I would consider that fits my personal skill set.
Is it worth chasing this funds performance ? I'm sounding like a broken record here, but 2020 was an unusual year. Take a look at its performance since inception through 2019 instead. Over the 7¾ years, it achieved an annualized return of 5.156% vs its peers' 3.936%. Still impressive, but far from the 7% advantage you're seeing to date.
Inception to Dec 31, 2019 chart. IMHO this chart really puts this fund into perspective.
Irrespective of the fact that most of the figures you gave are long term (multi-year) results, what they're really showing you is short term performance. That's because the past year has so distorted the longer term averages. So the next question is why did it do so well on a relative basis this year?
Look at its portfolio (again in the context of the 2020 market). It's nearly off the scale on the growth side. (YTD, VIGAX has returned 36.89% vs. 16.13% for VFINX.) Was this a matter of skill, that the management took the fund to the right part of the market at the right time, or was it luck? The fund has always been growth leaning (check its portfolio history). Its peers are a much tamer group (look at the "Value and Growth Measures" section of the M*
portfolio page for the fund.)
I tend to look just as much at year by year performance as cumulative performance. Especially this year, one good year can skew the numbers. Likewise, while growth has tended to do better than value or blend for a long time, it hasn't had a year like this since the dot-com bubble burst.
https://www.longtermtrends.net/growth-stocks-vs-value-stocks/Difference in annual returns of growth and value (
from Vanguard)
Is it worth chasing this funds performance ? RLSFX I received annual report, RiverPark, this morning & was shocked on the performance of this fund ! Since inception it has kicked it's competition to the curb !
As per M*
12Comparison of Change in the Value of a $10,000 Investment in the RiverPark Long/Short Opportunity Fund,Retail Class Shares, versus the S&P 500 TR Index and the Morningstar Long/Short Equity CategoryAVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE PERIOD ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2020One Year ReturnAnnualized 3 Year ReturnAnnualized 5 Year ReturnAnnualized 10 Year ReturnAnnualized Inception to Date*Institutional Class Shares47.71%19.33%15.81%11.21%10.38%Retail Class Shares47.47%19.12%15.58%11.04%10.22%S&P 500 TR Index15.15%12.28%14.15%13.74%13.40%Morningstar Long/Short Equity Category1.78%1.90%3.25%3.37%3.20%
The important #'s RSLFX 10.38 VS category ave. 3.20 since incepetion.
Stay Safe, Derf
CHALLENGE! Ideas for 5 fund portfolio, 8% return, minimum drawdown going forward I think replacing VLSIX with RLSFX may help with the "minimum drawdown" aspect, at least based on their short-term history.
I replaced VLSIX with
RLSFX and the results were worse for performance and SD. See (
link)
CHALLENGE! Ideas for 5 fund portfolio, 8% return, minimum drawdown going forward I think replacing VLSIX with RLSFX may help with the "minimum drawdown" aspect, at least based on their short-term history.
Defensive fund options Despite the past few trading sessions being down, RLSFX has gone up both days. I guess they actually make use of their ability to short when the market turns.
This Fund Is Up 35% in 2020. Here’s How. Clickbait. Apparently the original headline read as John posted (up 35%). The text reads: "So far this year, RiverPark Long/Short Opportunity (ticker: RLSFX) is up 36.6%".
Online, Barron's had to change the headline: "This Stock Fund Has Soared More Than 30% This Year", and the actual figure as of the dateline (Sept. 17th) is 30.34%.
What's your interest in long/short? By definition they are leveraged funds (borrowing to sell short, using the cash to buy over 100% long). This fund (at least currently) is effectively a 130/30 fund.
At the same time, it's not hard to find large cap growth funds, mid cap growth funds, and global growth funds that have done better YTD without leveraging. Not to mention that the risk profiles of long and short positions differ: the amount you can lose with a long position is "just" 100%; your potential loss on short positions is unlimited.
This is not to say there isn't value in long/short funds. But what is the appeal of this fund beyond the headline figure? Even Wellington manages a fund (HGOYX) with a better YTD return.
This Fund Is Up 35% in 2020. Here’s How.
Where To Stash Your Cash All about what you are using it for,
@Derf. I would use neither of the funds you mentioned as a store for cash which was my intent and the premise of the posted article. Both SPEDX and
RLSFX dropped 13-14% during the initial Covid drop. Not a "cash stash" in my book. As mentioned, for me MNWAX is just a "safe" fund to plod along at a 3-4% /year pace with very little volatility. Not for everyone I'm sure.
Where To Stash Your Cash @MikeM: I'll check it out.
Thanks Derf
I'll pass, & add that Chuck showed SPEDX (load waved) &
RLSFX. If you like low ER forget these two.
Reviewing Funds YTD - with comments Of the funds I hold, APPLX and GRSPX are real disappointments.
BRBPX, GAVAX, NCLIX, NLSAX (okay so I don't own RLSFX), HSTRX, FVALX, PRWCX, are doing what they are supposed to do.
IVWAX and CETAX I had hoped would be doing better.
PGIRX and PROVX I am happy I own.
BUY - SELL - PONDER - MAY 2020 hmmmm. no thoughts. i already made all the money on pot stocks that i think i can and don't want to go back there. day trading on hot tips nearly killed me, though i did come out ahead by like 25k. too kooky. but that was a few years back and maybe things have settled down since then.
as re CTFAX (and RLSFX, for that matter) -- yup, 52 week highs. which makes me a FOMO investor of the most worstest kind. going to keep a short tether on both, however. or at least i hope to.
BUY - SELL - PONDER - MAY 2020 i sold out of AKREX after having just bought it. lost 30$. took half of proceeds and bought more RLSFX. both were and are tiny % amounts of my portfolio. am sitting tight on COTZX but might buy another slug next week.
Has anyone considered long/short or market neutral given where we are today? @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.
Has anyone considered long/short or market neutral given where we are today? I have not been a proponent for these strategies, at least not as a long term strategy, but I'm considering selling a couple non-equity fund/ETF's and going that path with some money. Thought I'd reach out to see if anyone else is thinking similarly or has already done so. If so, what would be your suggested choices.
The basis for this is that I think we are in for a fairly long duration of economic whoa and we will be testing new lows in the market over the next year. That's my crystal ball. Some think the S&P 500 may not bottom until the 1500-1800 range. That's an additional drop of 30-40% from Fridays close. Maybe I'm just reacting to my morning coffee and Barron's paper but I certainly don't see a V shape recovery to this 'yet to be announced recession'.
In any case, I'm considering selling my gold ETF and a bond fund and putting that money into one or 2 of these funds. I did some initial research on Schwab and re-read a commentary David had here from Feb. 2019.
My short list:
- NCLIX
- GSSFX (TF at schwab)
- FVALX (TF at schwab)
- RLSFX
- MNWAX a very consistent though muted return trend up in all markets
- BTAL
I refuse to pay the TF so I guess 2 on my short list won't happen, sadly. I'm leaning to the last 2 on the list.
DSENX - another one that was good until it wasn't 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, so I could get burned.
Recapturing Portfolio Loss I really like the Matthews funds - esp. MAPIX and MACSX - but they can really slam you with distributions. Of course, not an issue in an IRA.
Also really like AKREX - and interestingly, although it looks like it tracks VGT (Vanguard Technology) they have complementary portfolios.
RLSFX actually made money this month - a nice touch.
David Snowball's July Commentary Is Now Available Hi, sma3.
And thanks! I mention three at the end of my publisher's letter: we'll revisit RLSFX and LSOFX, then add AGAQX. Beyond that, I'm spending a lot of time at MFO Premium, trying to make sure that I'm thinking as clearly as the data and narrative allows.
David
Overrated Fund Families I have ranted about some fund families in the past. However, today I want to do a mea culpa. No, this is not about Hussman.
Just wanted to know which fund family you have invested with which has disappointed you of late. Friends don't let Friends invest in such families. I'm not talking about the Van Wagoner's and the Janus' here. I'm also not talking about Whitebox, or any fund family which is now extinct and irrelevant.
My pick - Riverpark. Yeah, might seem strange. I do feel all external managers will do well to strike out on their own. Whatever is left, hasn't really done diddly. I've already sold RLSFX in my IRA and replaced with ETNMX. It was not about a like for like replacement. It was about controlling "volatility" and this fund has done anything but.
Good Morning.
Time to shine for "alternative" funds
Thank you Charles! I keep forgetting this feature you added.
