6
Apr
2015
A Test Too Tough
Just in the last 30 days, Jeff Sommer for the New York Times has written two articles about the persistence of performance among actively managed mutual funds. On March 14, in an article titled, ‘How Many Mutual Funds Routinely Rout the Market? Zero,’ Sommer wrote that not a single actively managed mutual fund had consistently beaten the market since the bull market was born in 2009. Using data from the… Read More
2
Apr
2015
Equal Weight: Something New Under the Sun?
As you might hope and expect, we are constantly looking for ways to improve returns, reduce risk, or in a perfect world, both. That means that we are always looking at strategies, evaluating their pros and cons and trying to figure out whether they are better than we are currently doing. One interesting strategy that we’ve looked at over the years that is simple to understand is to buy the… Read More
1
Apr
2015
Cat Bonds: Profiting from Tranquility
In the last six or seven years, a growing number of esoteric hedge fund strategies have made their way into mutual funds available to mom and pop investors like us. I’ve fussed around with a lot of these products in my own account in an effort to learn more about them and, don’t worry, you haven’t missed anything. One of the newer offerings buys ‘catastrophe bonds,’ or cat bonds, and… Read More
31
Mar
2015
Beat the Market in Bonds
One way to judge the performance of a mutual fund or ETF is to compare the results to a relevant benchmark, which is usually an index that has relatively similar characteristics. Another method is to compare your fund to a group of funds that are basically pursuing the same strategy. Admittedly, we don’t use this approach very often, even though I think it would make our job a lot easier… Read More
27
Mar
2015
Warren Buffett’s Special Access
Warren Buffett is the master. There was never any real doubt about that in my mind, but the Heinz/Kraft deal that was announced yesterday is another reminder that the Oracle of Omaha hasn’t lost his touch. Over the past few years, Buffett has been on a buying spree, probably to help set the course for Berkshire Hathaway in the coming decades knowing that he might not be around to steer… Read More
26
Mar
2015
It’s Tax Time (for Suckers)
Tax time is fully underway at Acropolis as we help clients and their accountants get the information they need to prepare their taxes. It’s a cumbersome process for everyone (although the accountants have it the worst by a long-shot) that concludes with writing a check to the government. People might not be so bothered by the whole process if they felt that their money was going to good use, but there… Read More
25
Mar
2015
And the Yields Keep Tumbling Down
Last year, one of the big stories was falling yields. Much to everyone’s surprise the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note fell from an even three percent to 2.17 percent. After falling sharply early this year into mid-January, yields started to rise and ultimately retraced their steps just a month later. Just as people started to think, ‘Okay, this is it – now interest rates are going to rise,’ yields started… Read More
24
Mar
2015
ALM Insights – March 2015
ALM Insights is focused on banks and other institutions that use their portfolio to manage risk on both sides of their balance sheet. It takes an in-depth look at securities investment strategies, balance sheet and asset/liability strategies, regulatory topics and general economic information. To view this issue, click the image below. In This Issue: At Least We Aren’t Europe Bond of The Day – When Does 2% ≠ 2%? More Problems… Read More
24
Mar
2015
Fund Manager Beats Market for 40 Years
The most recent issue of Bloomberg Markets magazine featured a photo of a stately gentleman with a blazing headline that read, ‘This Fund Manager Has Consistently Beaten the S&P 500 for 40 Years.’ The article highlights the performance of The Nicholas Fund (ticker: NICSX), a $3.6 billion mutual fund run by Albert Nicholas, who started the fund in 1969. The article says that he has outperformed the S&P 500 by… Read More
23
Mar
2015
The Fed’s New Drug of Choice
Even though I was out of town last week on vacation, I generally keep my ear to the ground for market news and last week that was especially true because the Fed was expected to move one step closer to raising interest rates. For at least a year, the Fed has maintained that they would be ‘patient’ about the timing of raising rates. I assumed, like most people, that the… Read More