mutual fund recommendations.....

[AUMM]

so i have decided to start investing money in mutual funds..... i am very new to this area of investing but I am looking to make a pretty sizeable investment. Anyone have any recommendations on funds to consider? Here are some that I am looking at currently...

VFINX (everyone has recommended this one)

some Japanese Funds
PRJPX
Text
FJSCX
Text
FJPNX
Text

all are no load funds and have reasonable fees...

does anyone see anything wrong with these funds? or have any other recommendations. any help would be appreciated..!

 

[DaveSimmons]

For worldwide index funds I like VEURX and VEIEX (Europe and Emerging) but I could see adding a tiny bit into one of those funds if you don't want VPACX with its 0.32% expense ratio.

 

[AUMM]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
For worldwide index funds I like VEURX and VEIEX (Europe and Emerging) but I could see adding a tiny bit into one of those funds if you don't want VPACX with its 0.32% expense ratio.

is there a reason why you would only invest a tiny bit into the japanese funds?

 

[Terumo]

PRJPX -- Avoid. There's a scandal with Mitsubishi. Same goes for the banking industry (which is still in danger of collapsing). Follow the Japanese newspapers (English editions) to see by how much.

FJSCX -- Doesn't appear to have Merck style disaster holdings.

FJPNX -- Avoid. Too much banking/financial stocks.

Japan is just beginning to emerge from a double-dipped recession. But it's banking industry is still in shambles with terrible debt still on the books. It's going to take a huge reform before it's straightened up. With the privatization scheme for their postal pension funds in the future, even more so (it's the largest savings institution in the world they're trying to privatize).

Terumo

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: AUMM

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
For worldwide index funds I like VEURX and VEIEX (Europe and Emerging) but I could see adding a tiny bit into one of those funds if you don't want VPACX with its 0.32% expense ratio.

is there a reason why you would only invest a tiny bit into the japanese funds?

I should have said "tiny percentage" rather than "tiny amount."

I say a tiny (percentage) because there is only so much to allocate, and I wouldn't put more than 30-40% into worldwide funds. Since you want to cover Europe and emerging markets, that might mean an allocation like:
VINFX - 45%
small cap - 15%
VEURX - 15%
VEIEX - 15%
VPACX - 10%

Or even smaller percentages for the worldwide funds (10-10-10) to allow 50% VFINX and 20% small-cap.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Go to http://www.morningstar.com and find out what they think.

Edit: Here are their ratings:

FJSCX *****
VFINX ****
FJPNX ****
PRJPX ***