Discuss

Unable to share my portfolio

df21084 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:42:40 GMT

I was previously sharing my portfolio, and then I attempted to change the name of the portfolio to something more meaningful.

I was unable to change the shared name, so I unchecked the sharing check box, and I attempted to rename the portfolio.

Now I am unable to share the port at all, and I am unable to change the name.

Help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Dave

Fox: Fair and Balanced?

Liberalone — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:10:04 GMT

Fox apologized for using footage from the presidential campaign in a story about people lining up for her book. Hannity apologized for using file footage from a rally around the book. Fox apologized for a third "error" involving crowds and Palin.

Just thought that inquiring minds would want to know. My apologies for an "error" if this has been previously posted. I should have read recent thread titles first.

Wayne

Dowloading Morningstar data

nissanboury — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:38:33 GMT

How do I download Morningstar data into my proprietary Excel spreadsheet?

Take SS @ age 62, vs 66?

Limoman — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:21:48 GMT

being an Andy Rooney ( 60 min TV show) Advocate..

Seems to me , taking your SS @ age 62 is a better Bet vs waiting longer..

That is, if My Figures are correct or even close..

1. Get $10k yr SS at Age 62 vs $13k yr at age 66..

2. If making the past 10 yrs apy of 9.16% on just bonds and Putting that $10k yr into your Roth or tax deferred account

3. I figured you'd have about $50k By age 66 saved up..

4. It keeps making that 9.16% apy and your Making an additional $4,580 yr on it + your $10k yr = $14,580 yr

5. And you have that $50k in your Greedy Little Hands for emergencies or to leave to the Wife to go to the Casino's with her Friends after your gone.. or to your Kids to go buy a New Car, Boom Box and Big Screen TV or Go take a trip to Disneyworld.. every yr on that $4,500 bucks it makes for them..

And think your going to live longer than the Ave of age 82 is a Pipe dream.. and most that do? End up in either a NHome their last couple of yrs or Being a shut in , in their own homes, having Hospice take care of you .

make sense?

and makes more sense to have our SS tax Indexed per Inflation and not this fixed rate business. I figure it should have been over Double what is is now after the past 28 yrs and not that 7.5% and the same for Employers..we have now..

But Wall Street and the Gov't doesn't want Us to have to save More and have Less to Spend.. We have less in our payroll cks to spend and support Wall Street and all those who make their Living from it and IRS would have Less Taxes Comming in and our Congress would have Less taxes to Spend.. or have to raise Payroll taxes and Other Taxes to fund their Spending habits..

I say, Take that SS owed you at age 62 and Invest it..Until you need it.. and don;t wait tilla ge 66 or later and buy that "it will be worth More" to you garbage if you wait longer..

What they are really afraid of? If we all took it at age 62 and since they Stoled so much of it in yrs past and it's all IOU's, SS would need a major Bail out and less $ for their Bailing out everyone else, including themselves...

PORTFOLIO - MYVIEW results for EMF

Racqueteer — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:45:30 GMT

For the month and week it shows 88.47% return. I figure that's wrong <g>!

New windows and autorefreshes

racsofp — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 05:24:07 GMT

I have two requests for this site.

First, I ran one of my stock screeners for the first time in a few months. I used to go down the list 3 or 4 at a time, middle click and have 3 or 4 quotes open in new tabs.

Now you have changed it so the companies are forced to open in a new browser. Please take the javascript out that forces these links to open in a new window. If people want to open links in new browsers they can right-click it and choose "open in new window". When you add the javascript that forces this, I have no choice but to wait for new browsers to open for every company I want to look at. I'm not even sure what the point of adding this was. Is there a reason morningstar thinks it makes the site better to force people to open quotes from the stock screens in new browsers instead of the same window or a new tab?

Second, can you please remove the autorefresh from pages like financial statements, balance sheets, key ratios, etc. It is phenomenally annoying to open the financial statements, cash flow statement and balance sheet for a company in different tabs only to have them all autorefresh in the middle of my analysis.

Retirement Income

philo1a — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:06:06 GMT

What is Vanguards best (risk vs reward) single product for a monthly income stream?

Thanks

McCain in fight for his job

georgef — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:54:36 GMT

John McCain may have been the Republican Party's national standard bearer last year, but now it looks like he may have a hard time just hanging on to his Senate seat.

A new Rasmussen Reports poll of likely 2010 GOP primary voters in Arizona finds the longtime incumbent in a virtual tie with potential challenger, J.D. Hayworth. McCain earns 45% of the vote, while Hayworth picks up 43%.

Another candidate, anti-illegal immigration activist Chris Simcox, is picking up 4%.

Hayworth, 51, a conservative former U.S. congressman who now is a popular radio talk show host in Phoenix, is reportedly interested in the race but has not formally declared for it.

Hayworth served in Congress from 1995 to 2006, when he lost a squeaker to Harry Mitchell, a one-time mayor of Tempe, AZ. During the campaign, Hayworth was dogged by his ties to controversial lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who with his clients donated money to Hayworth. He was also hounded over his decision to use his political action committee to pay his wife.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/11/20/2009-11-20_former_gop_presidential_candidate_john_mccain_in_fight_of_career_for_arizona_sen.html

Backtester

taowave — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:27:56 GMT

Hi all,

Has Morningstar ever considered offereing a fundamental backtester for an extra charge?

It would be nice to have the ability to backtest Morningstar ratings as well as custom criteria.If one is serious about investing,a fundamental backtester(without survivorship bias) is essential..Any thoughts

Thanks,

Allan

Bear Market Performance in Investment Decisions

dtconroe — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:59:29 GMT

When discussing appropriate funds for portfolios, I have noticed that some of the very conservative, risk averse competitors, have set bear market loss performance as a strong measure of the worth of the fund. I have seen several indicate that a 20% loss for a conservative allocation fund in 2008 is just too much, and only funds with 10% or less are acceptable. I have seen others say that you can only evaluate bear market loss in conjunction with how rapidly it recouped its losses after the bear market. Any thoughts on how to properly evaluate bear market performance in the context of risk averse investing?

dtconroe

TPZ

zwilnik — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:52:05 GMT

When I request a quote for TPZ, I get the very minimal, pink-sheets like page.

TPZ, Tortoise Power & Energy Infrastructure, is a CEF, and it's relatively new.

Since I'm quite interested in TPZ, I thought you should know, since I'd like to get better information.

Zwilnik

How does NatGas storage work?

comico — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:58:47 GMT

When I see articles with statments like this:

"The U.S. has added more natural gas into storage every week since March 27, and there is now more natural gas tucked away in the U.S. than at any point in history."

I think, "Ok, here's an imbalance that won't last forever that the vigilant can profit from". High storage equals low price, but if these are all-time highs in storage it stands to reason we are at all-time lows in price as well.

But I really don't know the details of what I'm talking about. Who decides how much natural gas is added into storage vs. exported or burned? What factors, other than the weather, might lead to a change in policy on that? Is this a governmental decision, quasi-gov, or private? Etc, etc...

Can anyone shed some light onto this or provide a link? I'd like to understand more.

comico

Predicting Which Funds will be Popular/Unpopular

oildog — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:37:27 GMT

If only we could make money off of predicting the popularity of mutual funds. A few years ago, several of us predicted that funds like PRPFX and YACKX would get a lot of attention once the lousy performance in the 1990s started falling off the 10 year charts. That's an extreme example, but it's something we should pay attention to because the 10 year charts will be moving through a beginning period that had a lot of volatility (1999-2002). Funds can go from looking spectacular to looking miserable (or vice versa) overnight. Those charts can exert a very powerful psychological bias on how you see funds. In my opinion, something like 90%+ of investors evaluate funds based on trailing performance alone, so we're in for some interesting times.

What is likely to happen in the coming years? Here are a few thoughts:

1. On the whole, value funds will become very popular for the next couple of years and then fall off the map. Many of these funds had lousy returns in the late 1990s as they didn't participate in the tech boom, but they had spectacular relative returns from 2000-2002. That means the 10 year returns will look great until about 2011-2012, and then they will start to look mediocre. This includes funds from families like Longleaf, Third Avenue, Yactkman, Oakmark, Fairholme, Dodge and Cox, etc.

2. "Aggressive" growth funds, large growth funds, and tech funds will start to get more attention as the brutal 2000-2002 bear market is wiped off the 10 year returns. Naive, young investors (and those with short memories) who do not remember the tech bubble will start to get attracted again to funds that promise aggressive growth.

3. Funds that have modest allocations to gold/precious metals will look like "steady eddie" funds and attract even more attention as the 10 year returns increasingly only include a time period during which gold has been in a bubble - e.g. PRPFX, SGENX. (this will only work if the bubble doesn't pop!)

Any other ideas?

Best,
Oildog

advice on bond fund diversification

modenesi — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:02:26 GMT

I would love some advice from this forum on bond fund diversification.

I'm 62 and over the next 3 years plan to sell about $250,000 in stocks and buy bond funds to fix my AA.

My problem is I only own Vanguard funds and would like some bond fund diversification. I'm thinking 4 or 5 funds. I currently own VIPSX in a Roth plus VWINX AND VWELX. I also own a muni fund in the taxable account.

Suggestions are very welcome; thanks

Healthcare reform to be approved this year?

mwleach — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:48:38 GMT

Well as of this evening, the international InTrade betting odds of it happening before Dec 31 are down another 1.8%, to a total of 2.2% (!!!). That is about as low as the odds can get. Stats here:

http://www.intrade.com/

Of course, there IS the possibility that a healthcare reform bill could be approved in January.

Or February. Or March.

But every additional month is a month closer to the mid-term elections, a month more of over 10% unemployment, and a month closer to the possible collapse of the US dollar and the next stage down in the financial crisis.

Tick ... Tick ... Tick ....

MWL

Interview with TIBIX Manager

Kenster1 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:38:31 GMT

http://www.smartmoney.com/Investing/Stocks/In-Search-of-Dividends-and-More/?page=all

In Search of Dividends...and More

BRIAN MCMAHON, THE 53-YEAR-OLD chief investment officer and CEO of Thornburg Investment Management, has overseen both stock and bond funds for the company since 1984. The blended $4.1 billion Thornburg Investment Income Builder Fund (TIBAX), which he manages, has boosted its dividend 14.2% annually, on average, over the past five years. The dividend went from 55 cents per class A share for the year ended Sept. 30, 2004, to $1.07 for the year just concluded.

Dig Deeper into Stock Ownership Stats

BobbyS — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:54:14 GMT

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stock screener

ericbar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:50:04 GMT

I would like to screen stocks on the percentage of the stock owned by instituions. I know it is possible to screen on mutual fund ownership which is just a subset of institutional ownership. Will stock screener be updated to utilize the new shareholders data?

Portfolio Mgt.

deerslayer — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:15:44 GMT

Hi. I am new at this. However, I appreciate any helpful advise. Circumstances; Retired/Disabled @ 59yrs. old. Currently have 6- Vanguard Funds divided up into 8 Funds for a reason. My 6- figure Portfolio w/the following weightings: 1).VFSVX @ 1.45% 2).VTSMX @ 29.08% 3).VGTSX @ 5.69% 4).VBMFX @ 7.09% 5).VBMFX @ 7.58% 6).VBTLX @ 44.30% 7).VFIIX @ 3.03% 8).VPMM/Cash @1.78%. Redeem appr. $2K/Mo. Thinking about adding a foreign fund (Matthews Asian@$3K & T-Bond from TCW or Metro-West @ $3K). Prefer VBS for these w/NTF. I want to keep costs down and I am not at ease going thru another brokerage. However, VBS limits me to Funds w/NTF. REBALANCE? Preserve, Stimulate & More Growth? How can I do a better job w/o much help from Vanguard's initial Portfolio Set-Up?

Need ideas best way to invest 20k

BruceWells — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:24:49 GMT

My CD has matured and I will invest the 20k at Vanguard in a taxable account. I am thinking of an ETF, VWO (Emerging Markets). Is it wise to invest this amount in a single ETF? Perhaps VWO and VTI (total stock market). This is a buy-and-hold investment and I can handle some risk.

Top Picks in Income-Rich Sectors

dvnstlouis — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:44:43 GMT

AT:316619CMSArticle

Is Portfolio Design Right?

deerslayer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:50:22 GMT

Hi. I am new at this. Here are my circumstances;

1).Retired/Disabled @ 59yrs. old. w/a $2,100/Mo/Redemption from my Porfolio as income.

2).Portfolio is 6- figure dollar amount comprised of Vanguard Funds into 8-funds for specific reasons.

3). A. VFSVX @ 1.44% B.VTSMX @ 29.13% C. VGTSX @ 5.65% (D. VBMFX @ 7.11%-IRA) E. VBMFX @ 7.61% F. VBTLX @ 44.47 G. VFIIX @ 3.04% H. VPMM @ 1.55%.

4). Thinking of a Foreign(Matthews Asia) & (T-Bond from TCW or Metro-West) @ $3K each. Prefer VBS w/NTF. However, this does limit my fund choices w/o sustaining another cost for a broker. I want to keep costs down!

5). Should I Rebalance with the caveat of Preserving & at the same time try to increase the Equity % in my Portfolio to boost returns. Can both issues be accomplished at the same time? I would appreciate any Help/Recommendations from more experienced investors. Thank You!

JGT

chamois — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:38:31 GMT

Got a surprise fill on JGT today just before the close; anyone know of a reason, other than a 50K share dump and temporary rise in the US$ late this week, for a drop in this cef, which I find hard to evaluate anyway. TIA

Problem With Latest Forum Posts

stormer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:37:58 GMT

When I click on the forums I keep getting jumbled posts from various past years and not the latest up to date posts.Any ideas on what I can do?

Precious Metals Bubble?

Bulllwinkle — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:28:25 GMT

I just saw my first tv commercial selling silver. It was compelling. I was ready to grab the phone and the credit card and order.

It said that the Chinese gov't has allowed the Chinese people to now own silver. (Didn't know it was a no-no) before.

It told me why silver is scarcer than gold. Supposedly all the silver mined in the last X number of years has been used in the production of what ever silver is used for. Every ounce.

AND they actually mail you the silver - not "certificates". And near the end of the commercial they show a guy opening his box of goodies when his silver shipment arrives.

Gold and silver could double and triple from here if you think about our massive debt, worthless currency and coming inflation. But then again - we may be nearing a top.