Load up More Third Avenue Real Estate Value (TAREX)
One of the two funds in my mutual fund portfolio that I don’t buy regularly is Third Avenue Estate Value Fund (TAREX), though I have owned this fund for years (the other one is Tocqueville Gold (TGLDX), but I bought TGLDX more often). When I first bought TAREX, the initial minimum investment was something like [...]
Actively Managed Funds vs. Vanguard Index Funds Update
It has been more than a year since I last ran a comparison between my actively managed funds and low-cost Vanguard index funds. After the huge losses in stock markets last year, I am more interested in seeing how my funds have performed in 2008 and how they compared against Vanguard funds. To compare, I [...]
20 Largest Stock Funds 2008 Performance: Nowhere to Hide
If you are a stock/mutual fund investor, you probably already felt the pain of putting your money in the stock markets in 2008. I did when I saw the 22% year-over-year decline in our net worth, even with all the new contributions we made throughout the year.
As I mentioned in the past, all our mutual [...]
CGM Focus Fund: The Extreme Makeover
A couple of days ago when I reviewed our 2008 passive income, I mentioned that CGM Focus Fund (CGMFX), which used to generate a large amount of annual capital gain/dividend in the past, only brought in this year a fraction the dividend it brought in a year ago. And that’s not the only part that [...]
Lazy Portfolios Built with ETFs
Are you familiar with the idea of Lazy Portfolios?
I first read about Lazy Portfolios a few years on MarketWatch and since then have been following them. The idea of Lazy Portfolios is to use low-cost, index mutual funds to build well-diversified portfolios so that you can be “lazy” with your investments, without having to actively [...]
Promotions at Brokers for New IRA Accounts before Tax Deadline
There are only four days left before the April 15 tax deadline, but it isn’t too late to make 2007 IRA contribution which has a limit of $4,000 ($5,000 if 50+ years old). At this time, some brokers are offering incentives to encourage people to open IRA accounts with them. For example:
Scottrade: 1-year subscription of [...]
Vanguard to Launch Global Stock Index Fund
According to a news release, mutual fund giant Vanguard has filed with SEC to offer a new, passive fund that invests in global stock markets. The Vanguard Global Stock Index Fund, which is set to be available for investors in the second quarter this year, tracks the FTSE All-World Index. The index currently covers 48 [...]
Dodge & Cox Reopens Stock and Balanced Funds
According to a statement released yesterday, Dodge & Cox will reopen its flagship Stock fund and Balanced fund next Monday, February 4th. The two funds were closed to new investors since 2004, though existing shareholders can still invest in both of them.
In the statement, the company cited the lackluster return of both funds in 2007, [...]
Investing with a Small Amount: Stocks or Mutual Funds?
There was a short Q&A in The Wall Street Journal yesterday where the question being asked is the following:
I would like to buy only a few stocks in certain companies. Are there any online brokers that handle people with only a couple hundred dollars in their account and don’t charge heavy fees for infrequent traders?
In [...]
Analyze Mutual Fund Costs with FINRA’s Mutual Fund Expense Analyzer
When evaluating a mutual fund, one of the major factors I will consider is the cost of owing the fund, which includes sales charges (load, redemption fee, etc) and management fees (12b-1, administrative and management fees). Since I use Morningstar quite heavily in mutual fund research, it is my main source for a fund’s fee [...]
