Thusly, do not take these blogs as "go buy these stocks", but that we are studying them.
Blue Chip “Mirroring Funds”
Most mutual funds are simply a bad buy. You’re paying institutional investors a fee each month to manage your account, and it’s been proved that the actively traded (vs. index) funds often boast high fees, and low returns. These “mirror” funds are either ETF’s or unique funds that are well managed, with low expense ratios.
SPDR DJ Global TITANS ETF Symbol: DGT
https://www.spdrs.com/product/fund.seam?ticker=DGT
Rationale: This ETF mirrors perfectly and is easy to trade. The SPDR® DJ Global Titans ETF, before expenses, seeks to closely match the returns and characteristics of the Dow Jones Global Titans Index (ticker: DJGTR). Our approach is designed to provide portfolios with low portfolio turnover, accurate tracking, and lower costs
Third Avenue Value Fund Symbol: TAVFX
http://www.thirdavenuefunds.com/ta/
Rationale: We’ve invested here with Marty Whitman, who we believe equal to Buffet, but as one of the greatest value investors in the world. We usually enter and exit TAVFX with 20 to 25% returns in 6 months, if we time it right, and have returned over 65% annually several times, when value stocks were prime. It’s a core position for any conservative investor.
Zweig Total Return Fund Symbol: ZTR
(also a bond fund)
http://www.etfconnect.com/select/fundpages/other.asp?MFID=3867
Rationale: “The fund seeks high total return over full-market cycles by investing primarily in high quality bonds and to a lesser degree stocks. The fund will normally invest between 50% and 65% of its total assets in the highest quality fixed-income securities and between 25% and 35% in equity securities. Our objective is to participate solidly in rising stock and bond markets and protect the bulk of those gains in declining markets.”
This is a closed end ETF that is currently 10% below Net Asset Value, making it a bargain, and paying a dividend annually of 10.84%. The great stock trader Martin Zweig advises the fund.
Blue Chip Bonds
Aberdeen Asia Pacific Fund Symbol: FAX
The Fund is managed by Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Limited and advised by Aberdeen Asset Management Limited. The Fund's shares trade on the NYSE AMEX under the symbol "FAX".
Rationale; In order to achieve its investment objective, the Company may invest up to 80% of its total assets in "Asian debt securities", and may be denominated in an Asian Country currency or in Australian, New Zealand or U.S. dollars. At least 20% of the Company's total assets will be invested in "Australian debt securities. This is a closed end Fund, at a 9% discount, and currently paying dividends of .47 a share per month thru June of this year. Safe international income, at a discount. Long-term hold
Treasury Inflation Protected Securities Symbol: TIPS
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/products/prod_tips_glance.htm
Barclays 20+ Year Treasuries Symbol: TLT
http://us.ishares.com/product_info/fund/overview/TLT.htm?c=JAC01&gclid=CLCe94OF9JsCFRJ4xgod_Gxf_w
Proshares Ultrashort 20+ Year Treasuries Symbol: TBT
http://www.proshares.com/funds/tbt.html
Rationale for U.S. Treasuries, short and Long: TIPS are inflation protectors. TLT is a long term Treasury, so a deflation protector. TBT plays long-term treasuries short.
We use all three instruments as a large part of our CASH porfolio.
Emerging Markets
The Templeton Fund is our core investment. We often find “break out” emerging market stock that we also invest in.
Templeton Emerging Market Fund Symbol: EMF
http://quote.morningstar.com/etf/chart.aspx?t=EMF
Rationale: Mark Mobius is simply the greatest student of Templeton, and understand the Global markets well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Mobius
Real Money Commodities
Spyder Gold ETF Symbol: GLD
http://www.spdrgoldshares.com/s ites/us/value/
Silver Standard Resources Symbol: SSRI
http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=SSRI.W&rpc=66
or we often use Silver (SLV)
Canadian Exchange Fund Symbol: CEF
Rationale: All three ETFS/funds invest in core commodities and are excellent barometers for the price of Gold or Silver. We trade both options and long trades on Gold and Silver.
CEF invests in actual gold and silver bullion and is a very underpriced, not yet known, core way to invest in Gold and Silver.
We believe the world should be, and will be again, on the Gold Standard.
