My portfolio

[Boho]

I just read "Load waived at Fidelity" They make you click "load information" to see that. It's the only heading you have to click for some reason. So, load isn't a factor. I was trying to figure out whether the low expenses rating took load into account and I'm still not sure but it's not an issue.

 

[harley]

I'm sure you've made an excellent choice for you and will be happy with it in the future. I just don't understand why you are expecting validation from "a group of strangers on the internet" that you don't trust. Many here are indexers, any others go for active management, others are market times, but by far the majority are not interested in get rich quick schemes in North Dakota or buying funds based on anything that comes out of CNN or Money Magazine. Morningstar is a tool that some of us use, but it's not gospel. If you're just looking for permission to do whatever it is you're trying to accomplish, then Bless You My Son. Have at it. I'm not going to agree with you no matter how many times you insist it's the best choice. TTFN.

 

[Gumby]

Boho:

This is the way it works here with respect to discussing investing strategies. You tell us what you do and why. Others say what they do and why. Maybe you ask each other questions or bring out new and interesting information. Occasionally, someone may say something to cause you to reconsider your position, and vice versa. (It has happened to me) Sometimes, probably more often than not, no opinions are changed. If you learn something in the course of all this - great. If not - no harm, no foul. But what most of us avoid is proselytizing; it never works.

 

[Boho]

I'm not going to agree with you no matter how many times you insist it's the best choice. TTFN.

None of us knows whether that one particular fund is the best choice. I never claimed to.

 

[Boho]

PFORX - Foreign Bond (U.S. Dollar-Hedged) Fund Institutional Class

Turns out there's a $100,000 minimum so I bought CRED instead.

 

[braumeister]

I trust CNN over strangers on an internet forum. Even based on Morningstar you can't say it's too expensive.

Um, well, yes I can, actually.

but you're all too sure of yourselves.

Not nearly as sure of ourselves as you are.

Turns out there's a $100,000 minimum so I bought CRED instead.

A couple of days ago PFORX was part of your portfolio, so your research on these funds has obviously been quite extensive.

I give up. You are a troll.

 

[Boho]

A couple of days ago PFORX was part of your portfolio, so your research on these funds has obviously been quite extensive.

I was waiting on a mutual fund to be sold so I could buy PFORX. It wasn't really in my portfolio yet. I've been looking for the minimum on occasion but it's not listed on most of the pages I look at when I do the research. On Fidelity's site, when I use Research > ETFs > Enter Name or Symbol I don't see the minimum. If I use the "Search or get a quote" box I do.

I also canceled NUMV and replaced it with an order to "Buy 100 Shares of IJJ Limit at $151.08 (Good 'til Canceled)." I have no idea where to set the limit in these cases. I got CRED quickly but I bid more than the bid price. I bid less than the ask price for IJJ and it's still open.

...Actually, for IJJ I don't see the minimum no matter which search method I use. Maybe because there is none?

 

[Boho]

I give up. You are a troll.

Please report every post where you think I'm trolling to the moderator.

 

[braumeister]

Unnecessary. The mods are at least as smart as i am.

 

[Boho]

Unnecessary. The mods are at least as smart as i am.

And I'm still here. What does that tell you?

 

[braumeister]

That the mods have greater patience than I do.

 

[nun]

My comments on the OP's portfolio are going to echo much of what has already been said. It looks like an expensive way to invest. I don't see any need to be more complicated than 4 or 5 index funds or more expensive than Vanguard. It's not a portfolio I would own.

 

[Boho]

Are those Vanguard managed funds that Vanguard now says outperform their index funds (there's a recent thread on that) cheaper than my managed funds? I read that Fidelity lowered costs to compete at some point. I guess you have to have accounts with both so you can just choose the best fund but I've been avoiding that.

 

[RetiredGypsy]

Are those Vanguard managed funds that Vanguard now says outperform their index funds (there's a recent thread on that) cheaper than my managed funds? I read that Fidelity lowered costs to compete at some point. I guess you have to have accounts with both so you can just choose the best fund but I've been avoiding that.

You need a weighted average of fees to truly compare at the same investment level. You need the equivalent of Admiral shares at FIDO and Schwab and all other investment houses. But you'd have to invest fully in each to get the math right. I wouldn't even bother until you had at least $1,000,000 to distribute between each.

I mean you could just call or go on their site to find out, but information obviously isn't the best way to value investments.

Then you have to consider the proverb that you get what you pay for. So the higher the load and higher the fee, the better return you'll get with a managed fund. As you're clearly proving.

 

[pb4uski]

.... I trust CNN over strangers on an internet forum. ....

Good to know... have a good life.

 

[timemoveson]

This has been somewhat entertaining to read, sure, but is quickly coming up on painful to continue with. And I'm a very tolerant reader.

Like nails on a chalkboard.

 

[pb4uski]

Yup... your screen name is very appropriate to this thread.

 

[Boho]

I'll add US treasury bonds, I guess. I didn't like the performance of the small caps I looked at. They dropped way too low a few years ago, so I'll not worry about those. I have way too much cash that I have to put somewhere so there will be a change.

 

[Whisper66]

Are those Vanguard managed funds that Vanguard now says outperform their index funds (there's a recent thread on that) cheaper than my managed funds?

Here's a link to the list of funds at Vanguard (link). Browse the funds that look similar to yours and compare their fees and returns. I use two managed funds, expenses run 0.32% with no load fees. I think that is pretty typical for Vanguard managed funds. I only use managed funds for areas I didn't have a Vanguard Index fund to go to.

BTW - Vanguard was built on low fee funds so everything should be low fee. I hear from comments on this board that Fidelity has adjusted to the market and offers some low fee funds (as well some not so low). So if looking for lower fee funds, they can probably be found at either place.

 

[nun]

Are those Vanguard managed funds that Vanguard now says outperform their index funds (there's a recent thread on that) cheaper than my managed funds? I read that Fidelity lowered costs to compete at some point. I guess you have to have accounts with both so you can just choose the best fund but I've been avoiding that.

I own some Wellesley with an ER of 0.15%, but the rest is in Admiral Class Indexes with ERs from 0.12% to 0.05%.

I have no real interest in the "best" fund. I keep costs low and I index. I stopped worrying about funds and AA a long time ago. Hopefully you'll reach that point one day.

 

[Boho]

Index funds vs a diversified portfolio of medium to low cost (<=1%) managed funds. That's what I'd like to know. I got the 1% from the article With fund expenses, how high is too high? which says "For mutual funds that invest in large U.S. companies, look for an expense ratio of no more than 1%."

 

[nash031]

I have a feeling this portfolio is a disaster waiting to happen. Buying now, "extensive research" that doesn't lead to discovery of a fund minimum... When/if this takes a dip with the rest of the market, and underperforms because of fees and loads, I predict a bad sell and an individual who is going to end up disappointed.

The quote "I have way too much cash that I have to put somewhere" is just alarming. Strikes me as someone who is craving action, which is in line with other threads about speculative positions. Interesting reads, but man, lots of red flags.

 

[harley]

Index funds vs a diversified portfolio of medium to low cost (<=1%) managed funds. That's what I'd like to know.

Don't forget that each of the funds within your diversified portfolio of medium to low cost funds has it's own management costs, too. So you're likely paying somewhere in the vicinity of double what you would pay just owning the funds outright. And that could easily be 10-20 times more (or even more) than the cost of owning the index.

I got the 1% from the article With fund expenses, how high is too high? which says "For mutual funds that invest in large U.S. companies, look for an expense ratio of no more than 1%."

Absolutely completely unbiased reporting too. Pay no attention to the companies who buy all the ads paying for the magazine. There's a reason these mags are called financial porn.

If you think you have found/can find an actively managed fund that can consistently beat it's index by more than the difference in their management costs and other add on costs, go for it. I, and I believe most of the people here, freely admit we don't have that skill, so our best bet is to minimize costs and just ride along with the market ups and downs. But you need to do whatever makes you happy.

 

[Boho]

I have a feeling this portfolio is a disaster waiting to happen. Buying now, "extensive research" that doesn't lead to discovery of a fund minimum...

I'm not sure what that even means. You're responding to a post where I linked to a CNN article that says what's expensive for a fund. Yes, I trust CNN, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal (on financial matters only), etc. over something said on Bogleheads or Vanguard about their own funds.

When/if this takes a dip with the rest of the market, and underperforms because of fees and loads, I predict a bad sell and an individual who is going to end up disappointed.

I think I try to sell high and buy low more than anyone on this forum. If the market is dropping at a certain rate, yes, I'll start thinking "it will probably keep going for a while" but I wouldn't be sure what to do. I'd really like some solid information on that. What rate and extent of dropping indicates it will keep going and that you should sell? I think if I asked I'd just get a lot of cop outs and stories about people selling when they should have waited for it to bounce back up. I don't believe that's always the right thing to do but I won't claim to know exactly when it is.

The quote "I have way too much cash that I have to put somewhere" is just alarming. Strikes me as someone who is craving action, which is in line with other threads about speculative positions. Interesting reads, but man, lots of red flags.

I have over $6,000 in savings, which is almost 6 months expenses, plus $8000 cash in a brokerage account (it was $20,000 until yesterday). I think that's too much by most people's standards. I'm still working on what to do with the $8000.

 

[Boho]

I have a feeling this portfolio is a disaster waiting to happen. Buying now, "extensive research" that doesn't lead to discovery of a fund minimum...

Oh, I figured it out. Yeah, I bought a bond fund a couple of days ago. I think it was my only fund that gained yesterday. With the fund minimum issue, that's not a fund quality issue and it wasn't on my mind. It takes care of itself. If I try buying too little, I can't buy. I tend to look now but that information still isn't always available. For example, I don't see a minimum for IJJ on Fidelity's or iShare's website and it's not worth looking at more pages.