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on topic here. https://seekingalpha.com/article/4634354-stew-attr...

337pct cumulative returns since inception vs 508pct for the S&P

Interesting idea.

I can't seem to figure out the expense ratio. The SA article says it's 1.21% but it's not entirely clear. Morningstar shows a 2.28 Prospectus Net Expense Ratio and 3.1 Prospectus Gross Expense ratio. Facset shows 0.95% management fee but doesn't include the rest of the fund expenses. I looked through the fund's annual report and it's not as clear as you'd hope for it to be.

A 20% discount is very large for a CEF, but realistically speak would probably not improve better than a 10% discount.

So unfortunately a potential 10% gain with a large management fee each year doesn't looks too exciting...

For many years the fund had very high expenses hence it couldn't be bought. They have made dramatic changes in the structure during past 4/5 years. It remains to be seen if the family has an exit strategy that might benefit shareholders. I own it in my Ira for the annual distributions.

337pct cumulative returns since inception vs 508pct for the S&P

PORTFOLIO VISUALIZER says STEW up 467% and SPY up 631%.

Long time ago I owned BIF (which was renamed to STEW) because it seemed like a good was to have a large BRK holding at a large (~20%) discount. Later on I realized that a large discount doesn't matter if it always stays at a large discount.

So, it's arguably worse than that. Because PV also says that BRK.B in the same period was up 769%. Along with the best Sharpe & Sortino Ratios.

https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portf...


One of the comments on that SA article said "I used to own STEW years ago but switched to SCHD. I think SCHD will provide higher total returns over time. The yields are about the same."

Since inception of SCHD this was true. STEW up 365% and SCHD up 418%. BRK.B up 463%.

To paraphrase Tuco, "If you want to own BRK, buy BRK."

For the first ten years plus, from its inception, the fund had a history of very high total expenses, over 2.5 %. I have no idea why anyone bought BIF back then or why any investor thought the fund performance could overcome that drag. In the past 5 years the controlling family has been increasingly shareholder friendly. Would Buffett buy the entire fund at a 10 discount to nav? I think he would. If anyone is interested ,this is the funds website, https://srhtotalreturnfund.com/

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