USAA Opinion pages

James48843

Well-known member
USAA posted some of their experts opinions on the state of the market:

https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_blogs...y=newsroom&postkey=our_experts_read_the_rally

USAA serves a great number of Military active, reserve, and retired members.

Here is a sample. You can click on the link above for all their opinions.

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Our Experts Read the Rally

Posted on Sep 11, 2009 | Category: Latest News

artIm_investingRally_2009.jpg



USAA equity fund sub-advisors share their views on investing in the recovery.

After a devastating 18 months through March 9, the U.S. stock market has soared with the temperature, as investors grew increasingly confident about the prospects for economic recovery. In early August, we surveyed USAA's equity fund sub-advisors to get their views on investing in the recovery.


A Long, Hard Slog

Mike Schroer, Renaissance, co-subadvisor of USAA Growth Fund :

"We think recovery will take hold, but high unemployment and consumer retrenchment will make it a long, hard slog, not a straight line up. Stocks are no longer ridiculously cheap, but they're not expensive compared to no-risk alternatives. Profits will improve, especially for companies that can generate top-line revenue growth. Those with a combination of better earnings growth than the market and lower valuations are poised to outperform. The lingering effects of the crisis will probably mean that investors put a premium on companies with stronger balance sheets and higher credit ratings."


Low-Quality Rally Creates High-Quality Values

Donna Murphy, GMO, co-subadvisor of USAA Income Stock Fund :
"We did not — and do not — believe that the fundamentals supported such a large move off the March 9 lows. However, this low-quality nature of the rally gave us the opportunity to invest in some very high-quality companies with plentiful cash, high profit margins and low valuations. Holding these more defensive stocks might expose us to some temporary underperformance if risky assets continue their run, but we're happy to lean against the market's short-term emotions in exchange for accruing long-term value. "



Mispricing Still Exists

Scott Hazen, UBS, co-subadvisor of USAA Growth and Income Fund :
"We're cautiously optimistic about the economy and continue to see areas of opportunity, but this remains an environment that demands active management. After having taken on more risk ahead of the market bottom in March, we've been reducing risk as the rally has extended, shifting assets from consumer discretionary back to consumer staples. We believe there is still mispricing in the market — some sectors appear expensive while others are cheap — and we're working to take advantage of it."



(more at https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_blogs...y=newsroom&postkey=our_experts_read_the_rally )
 
I've been a happy member of USAA for nearly 20 yrs. I'm sure I pay a little more in automobile insurance than I could get from GEICO and other companies, but I feel that USAA's customer service is worth my loyalty.
 
I read skepticism in the USAA's outlook on the market. With unemployment numbers high and with the dollar's devaluation - you'd have to be skeptical.
 
In light of the news recently about credit card interest rate hikes I made a phone call to USAA for clarity.
According to them, they have not planned on raising any members rates. I'm sure they meant those that pay their bills. As it should be.
 
call them - never transferred balance to my USAA acct.

they have a quick telephone service - no long waits on the phone
 
I use USAA for my banking, and used to have them for a credit card. We are credit card free now, but I never had any problems with USAA. Highly recommend them, their customer service is excellent.
 
Awesome service. I use them for everything, literally -- banking, asset management, brokerage, IRAs, insurance, pet sitting (not really) ...

I'm buying a house through them now and I just got my USAA referred realtor assigned yesterday. They even did a background check on the realtor!

For new novice investors, they push their own mutual funds pretty hard, which I'm sure every bank does. But, I found their mutual fund approach to be too conservative for younger groups with more time to absorb risk. And they won't mention a simple index fund unless you specifically ask, which most brand new investors don't know to do. So, I would echo others comments - I think they are more skeptical/protectionist as investment managers and I think they miss some upside because of that.

$5.95 for trades once you use up the freebies (20?). Options trades are a little higher. If you do go the fund route (index or mutual) their expenses are among the lowest. Not sure how frequently you can change funds without penalty.
 
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