drbagel

Total Rating:
0 / 0

31 Comments

    • Sun Jun 22nd 12:17 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Time to Change Country Mix in World Market-Cap
      I think some of the domestic overweight is driven by risk avoidance inherent in the investment industry. While trying to find a 529 plan, I discovered that almost all were 80-100% domestic in their stock allocations. I think these companies chose overly conservative portfolios for their ready made investment options. Why? It seems there is an assumption that consumers who use such products are not smart enough to assume investment risk. I'm not sure.
      View article »
    • Sun Jun 22nd 08:44 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Time to Change Country Mix in World Market-Cap
      some interesting question. I wonder what the usual country weight would be for someone in the UK. Do they Massively overweight domestic stocks? I'm sure Dutch investors (or other smaller countries) dont invest 85% in domestic companies.
      View article »
    • Fri Jun 13th 07:18 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      ETFs For When Oil Falls
      Banks are very negatively correlated with oil right now. KBE is -.9 with USO over the last year according to SSGA website. Why? Inflation. Oil is an inflation hedge and a drop in oil would by highly disinflationary. Lenders, like banks, loose money on inflation as borrowers make fixed payments in increasingly more worthless currency. So add KBE to your list of oil hedges.
      View article »
    • Mon Jun 9th 09:43 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Comparing Commodity ETFs/ETNs
      Just to clarify, the target (base) weight of the underlying components of DBC are somewhat different and are probably the more important numbers over the long haul.
      Energy 55%
      Grains 22.5%
      Gold 10%
      Aluminum 12.5%

      I think DJP has the best mix but I would be afraid to allocate such a large portion of my portfolio to a single corporate bond (which is what DJP is, essentially)

      XME is a nice way to gain commodity exposure without funky tax consequences (its a stock fund), with low costs (35 basis points), with limited energy exposure (35% coal) and with virtually no oil and gas exposure (these are already well represented in the S&P 500.)

      I own none of these.
      View article »
    • Thu Jun 5th 13:54 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      'Gold as Money' Means a Potentially Massive Rise in Valuation
      The problem with discussing the gold standard, is that almost nobody remembers how it works anymore. A fractional gold standard like Bretton Woods fixes the value of a currency, say the dollar, to a specified amount of gold. Since gold is scarce, heavy, and earns no interest, most people want to hold notes or paper investments which represent a specific value and will do so as long as they know they can exchange it any time. This results in most currency circulating as paper. This is similar to fractional reserve banking where deposited money is available on demand as long as most people don't demand it simultaneously. This allows currency in circulation to far outnumber gold in reserve. A Bretton Woods like standard is about fixing the VALUE of money to gold, not the 100% backing discussed in the article above.
      View article »
    • Sat May 17th 07:44 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Government Inflation Data at Odds with Reality
      It seems that nobody talks about the other great way to tame inflation. Across the board tax cuts increase demand for money. Inflation occurs when there is too much money OR not enough demand for it. Higher taxes (Obamanomics) will worsen this problem greatly. Jimmy Carter all over again.
      View article »
    • Fri May 2nd 11:04 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Gold as an Investment? Think Again
      This is a well written article. A true gold bug plans to earn the big bucks as everyone else crashes and burns. While it is true that all paper currency regimes have ended and that gold is the final common medium of exchange, going long on catastrophe is a piss poor long term strategy.
      View article »
    • Thu Apr 24th 12:28 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Do ETF Investors Care About Expense Ratios?
      Once the money is in the ETF, an investor cant switch without triggering cap gains taxes (unless its in a retirement account). First to market is a huge advantage.
      View article »
    • Wed Apr 2nd 11:17 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      The Myth of Gold as an Inflation Hedge
      Gold is money. It is the final common money in our society. It will always be accepted and it will always have value. That does not mean, however, that it will always maintain its value or appreciate in a given time period. Investing in gold has a cost. The opportunity cost of missing out on going concern investments, driven by profit margin and adapting to the economy as it changes. In such, a long term bet on gold is a cash position and an overall bet against the financial markets. I'm not sure I want to take that bet. I will use it as a hedge, though.
      View article »
    • Sat Mar 29th 13:46 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      iShares Launching 5 New International ETFs Including Israel, Thailand and Turkey
      I have to wonder how much interest there will be in ACWX. State Street's CWI and Vanguard's VEU are already out there in the all world except US class. Of the two, Vanguard is cheaper at 25 basis points. CWI tracks the same index as ACWX and charges the same 35 basis points. I guess Barclays just wants to have a complete lineup. I suppose it offers a tax harvesting opportunity.
      View article »
    • Thu Mar 20th 19:39 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Another Weak Target-Date Fund
      I'm not sure why a fund that targets a 40+ year time horizon should have a medium term bond exposure. Someone in this situation requires no income, only growth. If there is bond exposure, I would expect it to be ultra long, maybe even something like EDV.
      View article »
    • Thu Mar 6th 19:35 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Comparing Income Taxes: Clinton vs. Bush
      It never ceases to amaze me how people may refuse to act in their own best interests. Taxes, if left unchecked, always drift up. There are an unlimited number of worthy causes on which the government can spend other people's money, but that doesn't make it the government's money. I look for every opportunity to vote for people who oppose this constant upward pressure on taxes.

      I thank Dr Perry for his article. I ask certain contributers here if vulgarity and emotionalism really help their cause.
      View article »
    • Sat Feb 23rd 08:38 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Commodity Analysts Believe the Party's Over
      Nothing goes up forever.
      View article »
    • Sat Feb 23rd 08:37 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Commodity Analysts Believe the Party's Over
      Nothing goes up forever.
      View article »
    • Fri Feb 15th 13:11 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      UEM: Most Diversification Possible in a Single Fund
      I agree that UEM has some value. It is close to being a moderate growth asset allocation ETF. I wonder if risk targeted asset allocation ETFs are on the horizon.
      View article »
Loading...
Symbols:
Authors:
Quick Links:
Contribute an Article Become a Seeking Alpha Contributor

Transcripts

More Transcripts»