A tradition dating back to the days of FundAlarm was to annually share our portfolios, and reflections on them, with you. My portfolio, indolent in design and execution, makes for fearfully dull reading. That is its primary charm.
This is not a “here’s what you should own” exercise, much less an “envy me!” one. Instead, it’s a “here’s how I think. Perhaps it will help you do likewise?” exercise. Continue reading
What kind of investor are you? Do you want yield, safety, yield with a reasonable risk, or total return? I created a ranking system to combine Risk, Yield, Return, Quality, Trend, and Tax-Efficiency factors into an overall rating. I used yield divided by Ulcer Index which measures the depth and duration of drawdowns to limit the number of categories that I evaluate.
My favorites may not be the same as yours. Table #1 shows how I rank the categories. I will be discussing Continue reading
Every day, Americans rely on 2.2 million miles of aging water pipes, some laid before the Civil War, to deliver life’s most essential resource. This vast network is crumbling beneath our feet, requiring over $2 trillion in repairs and upgrades by 2043. Yet this infrastructure crisis isn’t just about fixing what’s broken – it’s about building for a future where three-quarters of Earth’s land masses are becoming permanently drier and extreme weather events are the new normal.
For investors, this convergence of urgent infrastructure needs and climate adaptation creates Continue reading
Uncertainty is in the air. Do you feel it? The price-to-earnings ratio of the S&P 500 is approaching 30 and is within bubble territory which implies below average long-term returns. Thirty-five percent is concentrated in the top ten holdings and 46% is concentrated in the Technology and Financial Sectors. The economy is stronger than expected and inflation pressures still exist so volatility is high. The yield on the 10-year treasury fell from 4.7% last April to 3.6% in September back up to 4.8% last month and has fallen to 4.6%. Bond investors are expecting rates to remain higher for longer and want to be compensated for duration risk.
President Trump campaigned on the platform of tax cuts which are a stimulus but Continue reading
Dana Emery, Chair and CEO of Dodge and Cox Funds, has decided to retire on December 31, 2025. Effective January 1, 2026, David Hoeft will succeed her as the Chair while continuing his CIO role. Roger Kuo will succeed as the Chair while continuing to serve as President of the firm.
Harbor Capital plans to launch eight subadvised ETFs across several asset classes in the coming months, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
There will be Continue reading
Dear friends,
Welcome to the January issue of Mutual Fund Observer.
January was named after Janus, the tutelary deity of the year’s first month. As tutelary, he was guardian, patron, and protector. Absent from the Greek pantheon, Janus was the Roman god of beginnings, transitions, and endings. It was the “transitions” part that led Romans to place the two-faced god near entries and passageways, where he oversaw their comings and Continue reading
On Wednesday, 8 January, at 11 a.m. Pacific (2 p.m. Eastern), we will be conducting our year-end webinar to review funds and MFO Premium updates. If you can make it, please join us by registering here.
We will use MultiSearch Pre-Set screens and other custom criteria to review fund performance in 2024. MultiSeach is the site’s Continue reading
My retirement planning for the past two years since retiring has focused on the Bucket Approach to have the right funds in the right investment buckets to have high-risk adjusted returns while minimizing taxes over my lifetime. This article focuses on forty of the top performing ETFs that I believe can form a good foundation for the coming decade. I wrote Investing in 2025 And the Coming Decade describing why I think bonds will outperform stocks on a risk-adjusted basis Continue reading
There’s a famous New Yorker cartoon that we don’t have permission to reproduce. It shows a cheerful executive speaking from a lectern in a conference room.
And so, while the end-of-the-world scenario will be rife with unimaginable horrors, we believe that the pre-end period will be filled with unprecedented opportunities for profit!
Welcome to the case for infrastructure investing in Continue reading
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