imported post
Since there have been a few questions about being in the I Fund with the uncertain Dollar situation, et. al., here are a few comments. First, I think Mike is right. Over time, the I Fund should track the EAFE closely, but the daily valuations can be quite different, as we saw yesterday. Rod's right, too...it'sa bummer to see a 0.7% gain on the EAFE yesterday and then find out the I Fund lost a nickel! :shock:
Re: concerns with the I Fund and the Dollar vs. other currencies, I don't consider this--at least not directly. I'm just not knowleable enough. If I could really forecast the Dollar vs. Yen, Dollar vs. Euro, etc., I'd be daytrading the currency markets and making a killing.

Seriously,some ofthe best minds and trading systems in the world are employed on the currency markets.And even if I really couldtrade currencies well (very few people can), that would only help me understand a part of what makes the I Fund tick. There's more to it than just the Dollar vs. EAFE currencies.
Instead,themodel I use to select the C, S, or I fund issimply based on theirpricemovements.It's a little complex, and uses a lotof "smoothing"to detect the long-term trend, but it's solely based on price.It's a variation of a system that others have used to successfully switch among sector funds, value/growth funds, and even U.S. and international stocks. ButI only invest in C, S or I when theoverall stock model determinesstocks are theplace to be. If conditions are too risky, I stay out of stocks completely.
When you think about it, the price of a fundhas all the relevent information: it's what all investors, money managers, trading systems, etc., think the fundis worth based on future expectations, economic trends, currency projections, etc. That's why I stay in a fund as long as the overall price trend is strong, regardless of current events or daily market "noise." Looking back, even withthe dailyhubbub over what the Dollar will do next, I'm happy to have been in the I Fund since mid-Oct. It's appreciated about 11%. The S Fund hasdonea littlebetter, and my model may switch to the S Fund very soon. But this is all about trying to find something that works well (not perfectly) over time. I've found ifyou find something that works and then overtweak it, it almost always backfires on you.
Take care, and hope everyone has a great Christmas!
John