I recently looked at DODBX's total distribution (dividends, interest, and capital gains, long and short) for the last 20 years and they have averaged 7% per year.

This may be fine in a taxable account for someone taking the income, but killer in a taxable account for someone reinvesting.

best,

Bill

Thanks for your replies.

Hi NewBoglehead,

Sorry for this, but I just could not resist, the devil is making me do it.

Are you sure about that moniker?

Active Funds?  5 yr performance?  Balanced Fund in taxable? 

Not very bogleheadish.........actually its almost like heresy!

Just razzin ya!

Enjoy

Brian

 

Both good...

FBALX is a little more diversified with more foreign and smaller cap.

DODBX is great value fund with incredibly low costs.

You could do a lot worse than owning both.

erryl

 

LOL, I joined Morningstar as a proponent of index funds, hence the moniker, but have since come over to Fidelity and haven't been able to change the moniker.  Sorry about that.  

Thanks, Erryl.  I have all of my 401(k) funds in FBALX, having consolidated a few other under-performing funds into FBALX as a safe harbor for the time being, and am considering opening an account with DODBX to take advantage of them re-opening the fund, for my taxable account.   

Whao, just contacted Dodge & Cox to ask a few questions and based on my brief experience with them, am not feeling so confident about doing business with them.  I spoke with someone who was answering phones and when I asked to speak with an advisor who could answer afew technical questions, I was told they have no advisors and she said she would "try" to answer my questions.  She gave me answers that were not sophisticated at all, like she was reading from a script of prepared answers.  Not a very good first impression for a serious investor.   

NewBoglehead:

What kind of technical questions were you asking? Q related to their Web site?

Regards,

Sid

I asked about the shift of the balanced fund in the size of companies in the fund.  I just received what sounded like a canned answer about how they buy companies based on what they feel are the best investments.  Hell, even I could say that.  I was looking for a more in-depth response.  I felt like I was being treated like an idiot not an investor.

You were being treated like an idiot investor. Actually you were being treated like a number....and that's exactly what you are to Dodge and Cox - a number. They don't have advisors ready to take questions. This is a do-it-yourself shop. If you want an advisor go higher one. Or better yet..read the semi annual report. If you want technical info about a funds trading habits you're not going to get it from Dodge and Cox and you're probably not going to get it from any other no-load fund company.

Sorry...but that's just reality.

Ha, I guess so.  I called D&C again today asking about what they are doing to address their large holdings of financial services stocks, which helped cause the fund to decline about 13% and the guy on the other end of the phone replied, "Like, you want to know...like, you want to know what?"  Unbelievable.

LOL, I can hardly imagine that anyone knowledgeable would spend any time with a retail investor (in a fund family with $152B in assets).  If they put someone on the phone who could give you a glib answer, then at least you'd have that and maybe you'd be happy - seems like a standard customer service requirement today.  The official line is what they put into the formal reports, anything else they say exposes them unnecessarily.

I remember, I think it was in 1997-98, having lunch with a manager of a $6B growth fund - it was quite a happenstance thing, not because I was a big investor.  In talking about technology companies, I remember him saying that he simply didn't understand the growth of EBay, with their business model, and he'd never invest in it.  Well, I got an honest answer, but that manager didn't last too long.