The world is awash in ETF and mutual fund research, newsletters, and commentary from every conceivable angle. But the world needs one analytical effort in this corner, albeit with a specific focus. What’s been missing is a regular update of low-cost, index fund proxies of the major asset classes. For strategic-minded investors looking to build and manage multi-asset class portfolios, the choices are overwhelming. Yes, there are many, many possibilities for combing through the list. But for those of us who want a short list that cuts to the chase, the menu of options is limited for finding good choices fast. With that in mind, today I’m launching a semi-regular series of updates on the short list of products within a given asset class, beginning with broad-minded U.S. equity funds.

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Stimulus Is Maligned, but Options Were Few
The New York Times | Feb 29
Britain — which has its own currency and enjoys low interest rates — offers perhaps the best parallel to the United States. In 2010 the coalition government of David Cameron came into office promising to undo the stimulus policies of its predecessor. It cut spending across the board, asking government departments to slash budgets by 25 to 40 percent. And it shot Britain’s incipient economic recovery in the foot. By the end of last year the British economy was still 4 percent smaller than it was before the recession started four years earlier. And it is expected to contract a little more this year. Even after budget cuts, the government’s debt is bigger, compared with the size of the economy, than when Mr. Cameron took office. By comparison, despite criticism of its size and composition by both the right and the left, the stimulus by the Obama administration did add to jobs and growth. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates it will have contributed at least 1.6 million jobs and perhaps as many as 8.4 million by 2013.

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