New-fangled ETFs? Investors say, “no, thanks.”

Of course, not everything new is “new-fangled,” and some of these new ETFs probably deserve more attention than they will ever receive. Yet, there’s no denying that the boom in fundamental ETFs set off a race to cash-in on their popularity by marketing new gimmicky and trendy versions.
One good thing about this Bear market is [...]

And the gimmicks just keep on coming

“Pssst. You say you wanna give to charity? Over here.”
Mutual fund allots portion of fee to charity
Maybe this will make fund fees easier to bear.
The Davlin Philanthropic Fund, which was launched in July, will donate one-half percentage point of its 1.65% expense ratio to charities picked by its investors.
“Instead of paying the fees to [...]

Apropos of green funds

“An idealist is one who, on noticing that roses smell better than a cabbage, concludes that they will also make better soup.”
- H. L. Mencken

More trouble with green funds

Sometimes it’s tougher to follow a trend than you think. The recent issue of Investment News may win the award for understatement of the month when it says that green investing is a “challenge”.
Going green isn’t easy, advisers and investors say
Identifying funds that truly invest in an environmentally conscious way is a challenge. [...]

Green funds: The latest “socially responsible” mistake

There are two reasons why investors choose “green” funds: 1. Greed, and 2. self-satisfaction.
The first choice makes you feel smart for cashing in on the green frenzy; the second makes you feel good for helping the environment. Neither has anything to do with rational investment decision-making. It’s ironic that these funds use the word “responsible”. [...]

Fund Fad leads to fraud

SEC Charges Mutual Fund Money Manager for Violating Restrictions
Pax World agreed to settle the SEC’s charges and was ordered to pay a penalty of $500,000.
Does globalization render so-called “socially responsible” funds absurd impossibilities?
We should ask the money manager at Pax World Management Corp. The question is whether he was pulling a fast one to gather [...]

Fund industry prank of the week: Chicken Little Growth Fund

05-11-07 Investors would be excused if they’d never heard of the Chicken Little Growth Fund. With an unheralded manager, an unproven hyper-aggressive strategy, and a short track record, the fund stood out from the crowd only by its gimmicky name. In short, it seemed that if ever there was a fund destined for mediocrity followed [...]

Meaningless at Morningstar

The downside to Morningstar’s popular fund tools
Jul 8, 2007
If Morningstar had not invented it, someone else would have. This does not make Morningstar’s ‘’star rating system” any more relevant. Mutual funds are not movies; if there is no predictive power in star ratings, what is their point?

BOSTON — When 1,400 fund executives, investment advisers and [...]

Loony mutual fund industry trend watch: Psychoanalysis for money managers

“Unnamed” mutual funds are signing up their money managers for therapy sessions in the hope that it will make them better stock pickers.
Who do you think picks up the bill?
This is beyond absurd: rediculous, in fact.
Professional money managers get advice to overcome bad investing habits

BOSTON — It turns out that mutual-fund managers aren’t so different [...]

Mutual fund gimmick watch

Here is an article from the Dow Jones Company that shows the juggernaut of misinformation created by the collusion between Wall Street and the financial media. To say the article is biased would be misleading.
A financial journalist interviews Christian Magoon, a Wall Street marketer. Mr. Magoon, and marketers like him, are working at break-neck speed [...]