Poor performance of FSIIX

[Al18]

Looks like it was not a good idea to start investing in FSIIX - Fidelity's International Index fund in 2014. As of this morning, it's down 5.01% YTD. But what's really unusual is the 1 Yr performance is listed as down 0.09%. According to my balance - the 5.01% number seems more realistic. With only a few hours left of trading this year - it will be interesting to see how it wraps up!

 

[Senator]

Did any dividends get issued? Perhaps those are calculated in one number, and not another.

Or, last year 12/31 was a doozy?

As I allocate and adjust my portfolio, I am having a difficult time finding a reason to hold any international equity. Any S&P fund is exposed to a lot of international performance, just by definition.

 

[Onward]

Hang in there.

Foreign Stocks For The Long Run

 

[audreyh1]

Morningstar has -5.01% YTD and -4.85% for the past 1 year. Their total return numbers are pretty reliable.
FSIIX Fidelity Spartan International Idx Inv Fund FSIIX Quote Price News

Now you have an opportunity to add a bit more. Funds that underperform one year, often recover the next. But you never know. If you follow the Callan Periodic Table of Investment Returns you get a picture of how asset classes perform year by year, and how some are at the top one year are at the bottom the next, and vice versa. International is "MSCI EAFE" https://www.callan.com/research/files/757.pdf

By the time if feels "safe" to invest in international stocks, it will be too late - i.e. they will already have recovered in price.

 

[audreyh1]

Great illustration from Onwards link of how an allocation to foreign stocks can reduce volatility of a portfolio holding US stocks, while only lowering the total return slightly:

Efficient frontier of US stocks and foreign stocks from 1970 through October 2013

 

[Al18]

Thanks for the comments - it just reinforces my intention to diversify beyond US stocks. The total dollar amount I've lost on the fund is not large - I'm staying put for the long term. Maybe next year the S&P 500 will be down and this fund will do well.

 

[explanade]

I signed up for an HSA and allocated 25% to Vanguard Total International Stock Index Admiral shares.

Shanghai index was up 27% for 2014 and most Asian equity indices were up. So it must have been the European indices which were down?

Hoping they rebound this year.

 

[gcgang]

As I allocate and adjust my portfolio, I am having a difficult time finding a reason to hold any international equity. Any S&P fund is exposed to a lot of international performance, just by definition.

As I adjust, I'm having a tough time finding a reason to hold any US equity! Valuations on foreign markets are significantly cheaper than S&P, and most of those stocks are involved in US as well as foreign economies for their revenues.




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[robnplunder]

Most international funds underperformed this year. If a fund broke even, it did ok. I've added (rebalanced) a bit to international fund recently.

 

[NW-Bound]

Buy low/sell high is a lot harder to practice than to talk about it. 'Nuf said.

 

[Chuckanut]

Most international funds underperformed this year. If a fund broke even, it did ok. I've added (rebalanced) a bit to international fund recently.

+1

As part of my rebalancing, I just added to an ETF which is an index of foreign stocks.

 

[38Chevy454]

Glad you all are helping me stay the course for international. Hard to see the losses/zero gains vs my nice gains in the US stocks. Hope that 2015 does better in international.

 

[audreyh1]

In my rebalancing I'm adding to my international funds as those are the only ones below target this year.

 

[Animorph]

Looks like it was not a good idea to start investing in FSIIX - Fidelity's International Index fund in 2014. As of this morning, it's down 5.01% YTD. But what's really unusual is the 1 Yr performance is listed as down 0.09%. According to my balance - the 5.01% number seems more realistic. With only a few hours left of trading this year - it will be interesting to see how it wraps up!

The fund is OK, with performance very close to its index minus its expenses. The poor performance is just the stocks in it. International stocks have been a drag since 2007 for me, but I still have them in the same allocations. I've been rebalancing them as needed.

Look at the date in the Fidelity performance info: The 1 Yr -0.09% is as of 11/30/2014. There is also 4.15% listed lower down as of 9/30/2014. the snapshot page lists 1 Yr for quarter-end 9/30/2014. M* lists 5.01% as of 12/30/2014 in the snapshot Performance box, but uses some quarter end data elsewhere.

 

[NW-Bound]

Glad you all are helping me stay the course for international. Hard to see the losses/zero gains vs my nice gains in the US stocks. Hope that 2015 does better in international.

What goes up must come down. Eventually, that is.

What goes down, may come back up. May, because they occasionally go dead.

Not meaning to scare anybody here, but my pessimistic nature tends to see asymmetry in life, where bad things tend to occur a bit more often than good things. It's somewhat like entropy in thermodynamics.

That said, I am still hoping that the recent trend will reverse. Else, I would not have the following AA, as shown by Quicken.

 

[robnplunder]

What goes up must come down. Eventually, that is.

What goes down, may come back up. May, because they occasionally go dead.

Not meaning to scare anybody here, but my pessimistic nature tends to see asymmetry in life, where bad things tend to occur a bit more often than good things. It's somewhat like entropy in thermodynamics.

That said, I am still hoping that the recent trend will reverse. Else, I would not have the following AA, as shown by Quicken.

Where is the 200 pounds of gold? Is it under Other, or No Asset?


I think international, emerging markets will outperform US this year. It's my uneducated guess based on years of watching CNBC, Fox, and CNN analysts' mumbo jumbo. I solemnly predict, there is a 60% chance of the rest of world market outperforming US market, give or take 40%. I think.

 

[NW-Bound]

Where is the 200 pounds of gold? Is it under Other, or No Asset?

Eh, it's off the book (under the mattress).

And I do not post photos of my RV.

I think international, emerging markets will outperform US this year...

Next year, 2015, you mean?

 

[clifp]

I have been tax loss harvesting international stocks funds/etf pretty consistently for the last few years. I'm hoping this is the last year I need to do so.

If you step back and look at the big picture over the long term, there is really no reason to think that international stocks are going to do any worse over the next 10 to 20 year compared to US stocks at the start of 2015 than they did at the start of 2014 and yet the US market is up about 14% and foreign stocks are down 5%.

 

[robnplunder]

Next year, 2015, you mean?

I was on Australia time zone ...

The truth is, I am looking forward to the next year and can't wait. Tick, tock, tick, tock, .... Happy new year to everyone!

 

[LOL!]

I signed up for an HSA and allocated 25% to Vanguard Total International Stock Index Admiral shares.

Shanghai index was up 27% for 2014 and most Asian equity indices were up. So it must have been the European indices which were down?

Hoping they rebound this year.

Up 27% is probably in local currency and not US dollars. The Russian stock market is way up this year, too, but in rubles.

 

[slowsaver]

I feel your pain. Starting in January 2014, I started buying a lot of VTMGX to bring my AA up to 20% foreign stocks. VTMGX lost 5.2% this year. But since I decided to DCA into the fund over 11 months, my personal rate of return was -8%.

 

[papadad111]

LOL! - actually Shanghai was up this year and the number is closer to 50 percent. Very little forex impact in this number.

I too have been adding to VXUS throughout the 4th quarter.

Look at the top 20 holdings of most broad international etf's -- fairly heavy weighted toward energy and commodities and we know what oil did the past 6 months.

Keep to your AA

 

[papadad111]

PS. The dividend yield on VXUS is 3.4% as of today. The risk of getting yield here is a lot higher than utilities ... International oil and gas holdings - petrobras. Shell etc have taken it on the chin hammering this international basket of stocks.

Will be interesting to see oil patch dividend cuts & Impact VXUS yield and by how much...