Crunch time for portfolio managers. I read in Barron’s this weekend that the average US stock mutual fund manager is about 5% ahead of the S&P 500 this year, according to Lipper. OK, but it’s the below-average performing PM that really needs the juice right about now, with 10 weeks or so left to make…
Mutual Funds
We Are NOT The Champions: 25 Worst S&P Stocks of 2009
Right about now is when they start picking through the trash. As the Taxpayer Rally marches on, there is a huge temptation for managers to go “dumpster diving” for stocks that have underperformed. I think we’re approaching that point right here with the S&P 500 sporting a year-to-date gain of 16.5% (and a much bigger one…
About That Hedge Fund Renaissance You Were Told Of Yesterday
For some reason, yesterday I heard the soundbite that “Hedge funds are back! On pace to have their best month/quarter/year since blah blah blah” repeated at least a dozen times. Absurd. I can think of several high net worth people I’ve spoken with in just the last few weeks that would give up a firstborn…
Hot Links: Phonehenge
Hot Links for Labor Day Reading… The 8 worst mutual funds that should be dumped now. (Morningstar) John Carney on the Kudlow Report talking about the FHA’s financial condition. (Clusterstock) Speaking of the FHA, Trader Mark sees some ominous signs in the default rate of loans. (FundMyMutualFund) Did inflation help bring down the Roman Empire? …
China Pulls Out All the Props
In the face of the possible Panda Bear Market we discussed here yesterday, it seems that the guys who pull the levers in China have opted to prop up stocks rather than let nature take it’s course. According to Reuters, they have three viable options to consider as the central bank tightens rates: Halt New…
Hot Links: Blodget & Spitzer Sittin' in a Tree
Stuff I’m Reading this Morning… Not just tent cities anymore, more like a Tent Metropolis in Nashville, TN. (WSJ) The SEC kids were dropping off resumes after auditing Bernie Madoff. Nice. (NYP) Felix Salmon saw the Scariest Billboard of the Day in NYC yesterday. (Reuters) My favorite read of the week: Lunch and a discussion…
TrimTabs: Bond Funds Over Stock Funds
Investment Flows While bond funds posted an estimated inflow of $16.1 billion on the first nine trading days of June, all equity funds posted an estimated outflow of $2.1 billion. Source: TrimTabs.com According to the TrimTabs Weekly Liquidity Report, investors continue to favor bond funds over equity funds with $16.1 billion headed to fixed income…
Creating a Bailout Army of Retail Investors
I’m actually OK with this one. If the taxpayers are going to be on the hook for the losses, they should get a crack at the upside, too (hopefully there will be an upside). And if that opportunity comes in the form of retail funds created by quality organizations like the Pimco‘s and the BlackRock‘s…so…
Barron's Buzz: January 4th, 2009
Quick thoughts on this week’s Barron’s… Bubble in Treasuries? Yeah, probably…Read the cover article, called Get Out Now by Andrew Bary and you decide. Kopin Tan does the obligatory “cash on the sidelines about to come into the market” story in The Trader column. I’ll admit, the figures are huge, but they’ve always seemed huge,…
Graduating in a Bear Market? Wall Street's Not Hiring.
With graduation approaching for the Class of 2009, college seniors are scrambling to find jobs by the spring. Let’s hope they don’t have their hearts set on Wall Street. By the time the big unwind is through, Wall Street (and peripheral sectors) will probably have lost more than a quarter of a million jobs. Unlike ’87 or ’01-’02, most of these jobs won’t be coming back.
