Welcome to the New Year’s issue of the Mutual Fund Observer. We’re glad you’re here.
Heraclitus, the famously elusive Greek philosopher, reminded his students that you cannot step into the same river twice. Both we and the river will have changed. According to legend, one of those students – snarky little barstid – replied: “I don’t think you can step into the same river once.” Even as we step, the river flows and changes.
As do we. Continue reading →
Sections: Climate and energy / Public health / Conservation & wildlife recovery / Social progress / Innovation & technology
For the first time in the industrial era, renewable energy generated Continue reading →
For most accounts, my primary investing objective is risk-adjusted return with dividends reinvested. I have set up automated withdrawals to transfer money from a conservative Traditional IRA (Core TIRA) in the Intermediate Investment Bucket to the Short-Term Investment Bucket. Having a steady income just took on a higher priority.
In this article, I look at how historical distributions fluctuate according to either the interest rate cycle or the stock market cycle, along with Continue reading →
Ninety years ago, emergent science and a self-assured entrepreneur came together to offer a quick and cheap solution to an intractable problem.
The press loved it. The public became enamored, and demanded more and more of it. The Nobel committee awarded a Prize for it.
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
It always does. Continue reading →
And what their answers tell you.
In mid-December 2025, I asked five AI systems – ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek, Grok, Perplexity – the same deliberately unfair question: “given current market condition and historic patterns, what is likely to be the highest returning asset class available to US investors in 2026?” The question is unfair because nobody can know that until 2027, and because it ignores all of the important stuff, information about the investor’s horizon, needs, and temperament, which is vastly more important than raw returns information.
Every system rushed to answer rather than Continue reading →
Since our January 2026 issue has two distinct, cautionary essays on the incursion of artificial intelligence chatbots into our lives, schools, and portfolios, it’s important for you to understand the role of AI at MFO.
Every single article is conceived and written by one of three human beings: Snowball, Lynn Bolin, or The Shadow. All of them are reviewed, cleaned, edited (and occasionally snickered at) by one of two human beings: Raychelle and Chip. Whether the argument or the writing is sublime or execrable, it’s human. Continue reading →
I recently automated withdrawals from one conservative Traditional IRA (Core TIRA) into my short-term investment bucket for basic spending needs and emergencies. Previously, I automated withdrawals from a more aggressive Traditional IRA for longer-term discretionary spending needs. This exercise increased my focus on income. I just added Janus Henderson AAA CLO ETF (JAAA) to my Core TIRA sub-portfolio as a lower-risk income fund rather than to pursue higher returns.
The Core TIRA is conservate Traditional IRA, within the Intermediate Investment Bucket, that is intended to have long-term returns of Continue reading →
Star manager Tiffany Hsiao returned to Matthews Asia in mid-November after a stint managing a private fund for Artisan Partners. In mid-December, she was joined by two members of her team from Artisan. It does not appear that she’ll be responsible for individual funds just now but will, instead, work with Mark Headley and the existing Matthews managers “to generate new perspectives and insights across portfolios.” This is unalloyedly good news for Matthews investors, and Continue reading →
