Sapphire's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.comuser/271052/comments http://seekingalpha.com/article/149523-exploiting-cef-market-sector-inefficiency-with-fof?source=feed#comment-603064 603064
I have really enjoyed learning more about closed end funds and choosing my own, as I find it a very interesting asset class. But for those who don't have the time or inclination to do this, I think FOF is a good vehicle with less downside risk than many individual closed-end funds out there. It will be interesting to see how it performs long-term.

Thanks for the article -

Sapphire

On Jul 26 08:45 PM Joe Eqcome wrote:

> Sapphire
>
> I applaud the fact that you did your own research and pick out a
> portfolio with which you are comfortable. Kudos!
>
> To the extent that FOF is trading at a 3.7% discount and FOF’s management
> fee is around 1%, you’d have approximately a four year payback period.
> So, if you wanted to own the shares for less than 4 years it might
> be appropriate.
>
> The other issue is the cost of trading. When you buy FOF, depending
> on the amount, you will usually pay a single commission fee. For
> most on-line brokers is less than $10. If you buy 20 individual stocks
> you’ll be paying the equivalent of $200 for the portfolio. So, this
> is a cost to be considered.
>
> For someone like yourself, doing the research and picking your own
> stocks is great way to learn about the CEFs and empowers you to learn
> more.
>
> I hope this is helpful.
>
> Joe Eqcome]]> Sun, 26 Jul 2009 22:49:21 -0400
I have really enjoyed learning more about closed end funds and choosing my own, as I find it a very interesting asset class. But for those who don't have the time or inclination to do this, I think FOF is a good vehicle with less downside risk than many individual closed-end funds out there. It will be interesting to see how it performs long-term.

Thanks for the article -

Sapphire

On Jul 26 08:45 PM Joe Eqcome wrote:

> Sapphire
>
> I applaud the fact that you did your own research and pick out a
> portfolio with which you are comfortable. Kudos!
>
> To the extent that FOF is trading at a 3.7% discount and FOF’s management
> fee is around 1%, you’d have approximately a four year payback period.
> So, if you wanted to own the shares for less than 4 years it might
> be appropriate.
>
> The other issue is the cost of trading. When you buy FOF, depending
> on the amount, you will usually pay a single commission fee. For
> most on-line brokers is less than $10. If you buy 20 individual stocks
> you’ll be paying the equivalent of $200 for the portfolio. So, this
> is a cost to be considered.
>
> For someone like yourself, doing the research and picking your own
> stocks is great way to learn about the CEFs and empowers you to learn
> more.
>
> I hope this is helpful.
>
> Joe Eqcome]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/149523-exploiting-cef-market-sector-inefficiency-with-fof?source=feed#comment-602266 602266
I looked at FOF, but opted instead to diversify into about 20 closed-end funds that I chose myself. I notice that the funds I picked are also within FOF's portfolio. However, I think I got them at better discounts and therefore a much better overall yield than FOF has been paying, particularly considering the heavily discounted prices many popular CEF's were selling at earlier this year. Others who do not wish to do this much research, monitoring, and juggling may find FOF a fairly safe alternative way to diversify into a number of CEF's, however.

One concern I had is since FOF charges a management fee, as do all the CEF's in its lineup, could not the discount - which is small at this point - be negated by a "fees on top of fees" issue?]]> Sat, 25 Jul 2009 23:29:41 -0400
I looked at FOF, but opted instead to diversify into about 20 closed-end funds that I chose myself. I notice that the funds I picked are also within FOF's portfolio. However, I think I got them at better discounts and therefore a much better overall yield than FOF has been paying, particularly considering the heavily discounted prices many popular CEF's were selling at earlier this year. Others who do not wish to do this much research, monitoring, and juggling may find FOF a fairly safe alternative way to diversify into a number of CEF's, however.

One concern I had is since FOF charges a management fee, as do all the CEF's in its lineup, could not the discount - which is small at this point - be negated by a "fees on top of fees" issue?]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/141262-a-poor-man-s-cef-portfolio-that-performs?source=feed#comment-532046 532046 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:32:55 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/119323-high-yielding-retirement-strategy-utilizing-bond-etfs?source=feed#comment-380751 380751 Mon, 09 Feb 2009 08:54:46 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/119283-nine-companies-buck-the-trend-raise-dividends?source=feed#comment-380747 380747 Mon, 09 Feb 2009 08:50:38 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/111851-last-minute-sales-remain-in-closed-end-funds?source=feed#comment-344863 344863 Sat, 03 Jan 2009 12:18:39 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/112916-paulson-kicks-competitors-while-they-re-down?source=feed#comment-343851 343851 Thu, 01 Jan 2009 22:48:54 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/112882-alpine-total-dynamic-dividend-fund-diverse-flexible-with-smart-management?source=feed#comment-343790 343790
I've been adding to it regularly, as I think it's a great value at with significant upside potential. This fund now trades at a discount but in the past has sometimes traded at a premium. ]]> Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:44:52 -0500
I've been adding to it regularly, as I think it's a great value at with significant upside potential. This fund now trades at a discount but in the past has sometimes traded at a premium. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/105017-ten-highest-yielding-quarterly-dividend-stocks?source=feed#comment-301703 301703 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:39:26 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/104643-seven-highest-yielding-stocks-going-ex-dividend-in-november?source=feed#comment-300832 300832 Sat, 08 Nov 2008 15:22:35 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/86986-3-portfolios-for-a-steady-cash-flow?source=feed#comment-300743 300743 Sat, 08 Nov 2008 12:04:01 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/103456-10-high-cash-high-yield-no-debt-stocks?source=feed#comment-296475 296475
Regarding Ted's concern, the only way around the unstable dividend dilemma that I've ever found is to buy discounted bonds which hopefully won't default and holding them to maturity and/or until you realize some capital appreciation, which can be sporadic. ]]> Sun, 02 Nov 2008 14:36:38 -0500
Regarding Ted's concern, the only way around the unstable dividend dilemma that I've ever found is to buy discounted bonds which hopefully won't default and holding them to maturity and/or until you realize some capital appreciation, which can be sporadic. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/89125-trading-closed-end-funds-an-update?source=feed#comment-296468 296468 Sun, 02 Nov 2008 14:20:28 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/50739-understanding-closed-end-funds?source=feed#comment-296460 296460
The present discounts and dividends make many closed-end funds appear as though they are now they deal of a lifetime - and maybe some of them are. But one thing which confused me, until I found cefa.com on which to research them, was that many closed-end funds include a return of capital in their dividend, making the dividend appear much higher than it actually is.

With the high dividends and present discounts to NAV, I'm tempted to buy more closed-end funds in case those huge discounts narrow someday. But I'd like to know from the author or someone familiar with them - what is the probability of one of these funds closing if some of its holdings fail and just disappear? Do they replace that stock, preferred stock, or bond holding with another, as is done with open-end funds? The "closed-end" part, and what disadvantages or drawbacks that may possibly entail, is a little mysterious to many investors like myself. ]]> Sun, 02 Nov 2008 14:07:43 -0500
The present discounts and dividends make many closed-end funds appear as though they are now they deal of a lifetime - and maybe some of them are. But one thing which confused me, until I found cefa.com on which to research them, was that many closed-end funds include a return of capital in their dividend, making the dividend appear much higher than it actually is.

With the high dividends and present discounts to NAV, I'm tempted to buy more closed-end funds in case those huge discounts narrow someday. But I'd like to know from the author or someone familiar with them - what is the probability of one of these funds closing if some of its holdings fail and just disappear? Do they replace that stock, preferred stock, or bond holding with another, as is done with open-end funds? The "closed-end" part, and what disadvantages or drawbacks that may possibly entail, is a little mysterious to many investors like myself. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/101989-ten-high-yielding-stocks-going-ex-dividend-in-november?source=feed#comment-291157 291157 Sun, 26 Oct 2008 22:35:06 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/101995-is-the-media-partially-responsible-for-the-panic?source=feed#comment-291152 291152
On one hand, I appreciate being informed of what's going on. But I have to wonder how many thousands of people read what I did that morning, panicked, sold everything and made their paper losses real. ]]> Sun, 26 Oct 2008 22:20:27 -0400
On one hand, I appreciate being informed of what's going on. But I have to wonder how many thousands of people read what I did that morning, panicked, sold everything and made their paper losses real. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/100613-13-stocks-going-ex-dividend-in-november?source=feed#comment-286828 286828 Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:57:27 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/96704-bondholders-are-unjustified-big-winners-in-treasury-plan-hussman?source=feed#comment-266552 266552 Fri, 26 Sep 2008 21:24:09 -0400