Suggestions for the Librarians

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AshKK
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Suggestions for the Librarians

Post by AshKK »

I don't have any particular papers to suggest here, but have a suggestion for the organization of the library.

Take for example, the Commodities library. It lists 22 papers "in no particular order". I am amazed at the collection of papers there, and I thank the librarians for their effort in finding them and placing them all in one place.

This organization might be useful for a researcher who knows quite a bit about Commodities and can appreciate the nuances between one author's opinion vs another's or someone who just wants to read up in detail on the latest academic research on commodities.

On the other hand, the information there can be overwhelming to a novice, who just wants to understand what the basics of commodities are before asking a "dumb" question about commodities to the diehards.

So my suggestion is to organize the papers within each specific topic into something like "basics", "intermediate", "advanced" etc or something reasonable so it becomes easier for folks to find the information might look for.

Thanks in advance.
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Post by oneleaf »

I also like AshKK's suggestion.

I think Asset LOCATION would be a good topic. Perhaps the post could start off with Taylor's basic guideline for tax location (with his permission), followed by a few articles that explains it in more detail? I would think this would be good for newbies.

Thanks!
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Agree

Post by gbs »

I like AshKK's ideea too only that I think that the readers should decide which papers are for Basics, Intermediate or Advanced reads.

Please post your suggestions here as you read the papers and I will reorganize the content as we go along.

gbs
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categorizing some papers in the Commodity section

Post by AshKK »

Hi gbs,

I have read the papers - items 1, 12, and 22 - in the Commodities library. Item 1 is a brief paper (4 pages) that introduces one to Commodity Futures. Item 12 is a more detailed paper that Item 1 references. Item 22 from Bill Bernstein, suggests that users read item 12, and gives Bernstein's take on Commodity Futures.

In my humble opinion, all three are "basic" read. Within the basic section, I would sort them as 1, 12, and 22 - in that order.

I hope others too offer their opinions on these and other papers.
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Levels

Post by gbs »

Thank you AshKK,

I will make the changes.

Kind regards, gbs
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Post away

Post by gbs »

Hi guys feel free to post away I just hope to be able to keep up with you :)

gbs

P.S. For simba: Thank you for your contribution; I deleted the performace link to VTMSX because it will be overwhelming to have links for every fund.
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Policy

Post by gbs »

Phoenix posted this as the Library policy:
When the Librarians create a new topic, either by splitting a message out of the suggestion topic or copying from another forum, they will lock the topic so that no forum member can post replies. The only unlocked topic will be the stickied suggestion topic.
This is his board and I will comply to the policy.

If we arrive to a different understanding in time I hope that we can construct a posting policy that will make everybody happy. (I would like you to be able to post within topics and make additions.)

For now please continue to post your suggestions here.

Thank you, gbs
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Post by Phoenix »

You're obviously an obedient person, gbs, ;) but there is already a very good indication that I got the policy wrong when I dashed it off this morning. :oops:

Simba's post in this thread while it was still unlocked seems to me to fit in perfectly. As long as a Librarian is satisfied that a reply fits within a topic - and a Librarian can cut a reply out of a topic if he thinks not - then that's the place for it.

Unlock any topic you like if you want forum members to add their own items. I will count on you and Barry to keep the library as neat and tidy as you want it to be. The policy has been changed accordingly.
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Fire Away!

Post by gbs »

Thanks Phoenix,

gbs
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Recommended Reading

Post by simba »

I didn't see a separate topic for Books, hence I am posting this here. Phoenix/gbs please move this it to the appropriate topic in the reference library.
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To orthros

Post by gbs »

Hi Orthros,

I moved you post from the "Risk" to the "Books" section, because I think it would be better to have directly readable links in the topic sections.

We can reorganize the Books section on topics later on.

Thank you for your contribution!

gbs
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Glossary

Post by coastn »

'Sorry if this exists on this new board already, but I need a glossary. I've goten much of the jargon down, but some is still elusive, and there does not appear to be anywhere handy to go. This must be even more difficult for fresh newbies. Stuff like DFA, fama/French, SPM or DSM (I may have just made those up - but there seems to be an unendiing supply of three-letter entities.)

If I understand sticky correctly, this sounds like a sticky.

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Good point

Post by gbs »

Hi David,

Thank you for your suggestion!

"glossary" created.

gbs
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For kcyahoo

Post by gbs »

kcyahoo,

I moved your post from "Glossary" to "Books", because I would like to have directly readable links in the topic sections.

Thank you for your contribution!

gbs
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Thanks

Post by coastn »

gbs -

Thanks for the opening of the glossary sticky. 'Sorry I posted something there that should have been put here. You can delete that one anytime convenient.

There is no entry in the glossaries posted for SWR or RMD, as stated in the other forum

Also, and I knot this is all volunteer stuff and I appreciate that, the glossary should include some brief definition of the odd ones, like ff/. Many are self explanatory, but some are not.

How does one influence the main forum to get people to use descriptors other than the symbols. For me, since I do not have all the symbols committed to memory, it's vdery frustrating to read some of these posts.

-David
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For coastn

Post by gbs »

Hi David,

I see the "library" growing with the help of individual contributions and suggestions such as yours.

I can make a parallel with the EMH (efficient market hypothesis): the library is far from perfect but the more individual contributions and suggestions are added that reflect a real need the more perfect it becomes.

Perhaps one of our posters who understands what SWR, RMD and FF mean will be kind enough to add those definitions.

gbs
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Acronyms (aka WTF?!)

Post by orthros »

GBS, could we have an Acronyms post? I know a lot of them, but I still scratch my head from time to time.
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Post by orthros »

NM. Just saw the other post. Duh. :oops:
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Post by gbs »

orthros,

I added your RMD definition to the initial list.

gbs
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Post by simba »

gbs wrote: I added your RMD definition to the initial list.
gbs - Do you think the acronyms should be hyper links so in case someone wants to know more than the acronym they can click on the link?
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For simba

Post by gbs »

yes, I think it is a good idea. Alternatively we can place the extended explanation in-place.

gbs
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International Investing

Post by edge »

Although it may be common knowledge that international and maybe emerging market stocks are an excellent addition to a diversified portfolio - it would be nice if we had a reference describing how and why international investing has worked in the past.
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Edge

Post by Barry Barnitz »

I have added a topic on international stocks.
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Links to Other Libraries / Resources

Post by Socrativestor »

This topical library is great. Thanks to all.

But what about a sticky / thread with links to other libraries (such as Eric Haas's as www.altruistfa.com) and online reference resources?
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Books

Post by Socrativestor »

I'd also like to second the idea of having a books thread. I know this may be redundant with diehards.org -- especially if this forum is going to be hosted there. But still ... a reference libarary is a reference libarary and one without "books" just doesn't seem complete.

(In fact, if duplication is an issue, then I'd suggest eliminating the list at diehards.org and pointing people here.)

Thanks again.
--Socrativestor | "Neither of us has any knowledge to boast of, but he thinks that he knows something which he does not know, whereas I am quite conscious of my ignorance."
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Post by gbs »

Socrativestor, we already have a book section.

Re: Sticky thread to link to other libraries...
I would like to avoid a possible conflict of interests and so we have to be very careful when adding links to other sites. Need more opinions on this especially from Mel and other experienced posters.

Coastn, Mel: I added/corrected as per your observations. Had to delete your posts from there (glossary) please post in this thread comments and suggestions as your comments would not be deleted from here ever. Contributions can be made to the topic threads.

gbs
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Note to simba

Post by Barry Barnitz »

I added a link to the Vanguard topics page, including a link to annual and semiannual reports to your two links.

Thanks for your contributions.
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Post by Barry Barnitz »

Ash;

Thanks for catching the error on the Academics topic page; I corrected it and edited out your post to keep things tidy :wink:

I will be adding links to this page as we go on, perhaps with a few thumbnail references to the primary focus of the research.

Forum members should feel free to request any academic researcher they for whom they wish access, and we will try and comply.
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Post by AshKK »

Welcome, Barry. I should have pointed out my correction here, that post should indeed be tidy.
Ash | | The 82nd Boglehead.
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Post by AshKK »

Ash | | The 82nd Boglehead.
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Contributions

Post by gbs »

Hi AshKK,

Thank you for your contribution!

I added your post to the library.

You and anybody else please feel free to add contributions directly to the topic of interest in the library if you feel that is on topic and does not contain unrelated comments.

Use the existing format as a guide.

And
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Post by TnGuy »

How about a topic (titled "Data", perhaps?) of sites and sources that carry 'raw data' such as yearly returns, etc? Could also have Excel info and help here, too.

TrevH on the other forum has been very gracious with the sharing of his data and sources. His most recent post in this regard carried return figures from 1972-2004 at The Journal of Financial Planning.

In the "International Stocks" thread here, 'Cyber Bob' linked to the TAM ASSET Excel spreadsheet that carries CRSP data from 1927-2005.

In searching the web I ran into this Russell Index site where you can access the return for all of their indexes dating from 1994-2006.

Here are the past 10 years (1997-2006) performance for Vanguard Funds (though I'm sure someone else knows of a site where data dating back much further is available).



I'm new to playing around with all of this in Excel, so I'm sure there are many good sites and sources out there I have no idea of yet. I look forward to learning and sharing much more.


David
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Fro TnGuy

Post by gbs »

Hi TnGuy,

A data repository was part of my initial proposal: http://diehards.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33

I am still looking for the best format for it. We might start a new Forum section as soon as we decide on a policy. We have to be very careful to not infringe on copyright work.

If you guys have suggestions please post them here.

gbs
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To Librarian

Post by kcyahoo »

I think posts on the bulletin board can be updated. How about taking the new book suggestions and adding them to the list on the post named "Books".
This post could be broken down into multiple sticky's.
Bogle's Books
Swedroe's Books
Ferri's Books
Asset Allocation
Catch All
etc.
GBS, Thank You for your contribution to this board.
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Post by orthros »

GBS, I know this is a post somewhere else, but what are you thoughts on a Library link for "Your current AA/portfolio holdings"? One post per user that could be updated/changed as needed?

I think it would be a great way to glean what the more mature investors on here actually do to make the rubber meet the road, if they were willing to share.
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Re: To Librarian

Post by gbs »

kcyahoo, thank you for your contributions as well!
kcyahoo wrote:I think posts on the bulletin board can be updated. How about taking the new book suggestions and adding them to the list on the post named "Books".
This post could be broken down into multiple sticky's.
Bogle's Books
Swedroe's Books
Ferri's Books
Asset Allocation
Catch All
etc.
GBS, Thank You for your contribution to this board.
I had that on the to do list but would like to wait a bit more in this open format before we reorganize the "books" section of the library.

For example a once a month re-filing of the "books" thread would do it.

gbs
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For orthros

Post by gbs »

Hi orthros,
orthros wrote:GBS, I know this is a post somewhere else, but what are you thoughts on a Library link for "Your current AA/portfolio holdings"? One post per user that could be updated/changed as needed?

I think it would be a great way to glean what the more mature investors on here actually do to make the rubber meet the road, if they were willing to share.
I think having a personal history of AA maintained by the original poster is a GREAT idea!

If the user is willing to share the rationale behind the AA that would be awesome.

But I would suggest to host the personal AA histories in a dedicate subsection of the main forum and perhaps add there threads that will host links to personal finance blogs, non-commercial finance web pages and commercial finance web pages.

GREAT SUGGESTION!

gbs
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Re: To Librarian

Post by simba »

kcyahoo wrote:I think posts on the bulletin board can be updated. How about taking the new book suggestions and adding them to the list on the post named "Books".
This post could be broken down into multiple sticky's.
Bogle's Books
Swedroe's Books
Ferri's Books
Asset Allocation
Catch All
etc.
GBS, Thank You for your contribution to this board.
Since these are just links - should there be sticky's for beginner/intermediate/advanced?
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All

Post by gbs »

Obviously there are many ways of sorting the entries into the "Books" section.

We will have to decide together on what is the best way of doing it.

gbs
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lazy portfolios?

Post by simba »

How about a topic for all the lazy portfolio's?

Considering the number out there, we may have to split them up individually (Eg: Scott Burns/Bill Bernstein/Paul Farrell etc)

I know there are multiple places where you can get these but having it one place (ofcourse providing links/crediting the original author) would be beneficial to all.
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Re: lazy portfolios?

Post by gbs »

Hi simba,
simba wrote:How about a topic for all the lazy portfolio's?

Considering the number out there, we may have to split them up individually (Eg: Scott Burns/Bill Bernstein/Paul Farrell etc)

I know there are multiple places where you can get these but having it one place (ofcourse providing links/crediting the original author) would be beneficial to all.
This was my suggestion to a similar question posed by kcyahoo.
I think having a personal history of AA maintained by the original poster is a GREAT idea!

If the user is willing to share the rationale behind the AA that would be awesome.

But I would suggest to host the personal AA histories in a dedicate subsection of the main forum and perhaps add there threads that will host links to personal finance blogs, non-commercial finance web pages and commercial finance web pages.

GREAT SUGGESTION!"
I think your addition completes kcyahoo original idea. As I said I like it but would prefer to have it implemented outside of the library in a dedicated sub-forum.

gbs
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Update

Post by gbs »

Reference Library posting policy updated.

All links to web-pages that were off-topic deleted from the Reference Library in oder to avoid potential conflicts of interest.

Suggestion for new sub-forum posted in the "Forum Issues and Administration" section.

http://www.diehards.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=267

gbs
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Academic Research Links

Post by Barry Barnitz »

I have edited and alphabetized our Academic Research links; at some point we may have to co-ordinate the listings into either one or perhaps segmented alphabetized posts in order to have an easy to use reference page.

My edits in this section will be to stylize entries in advance of any future consolidation.

Also, at this juncture, GBS and I think we should reserve this section to academic peer reviewed research in order to maintain consistency and integrity.
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Post by shadowrings »

Coworker directed me to this link last night when we were discussing bond fund investing in general and municipals, state tax rates, and which state taxes what at what rate.

http://www.investinginbonds.com/learnmo ... id=2&id=62

Site is operated for education purposes by the Bond Market Association, does not forbid hyperlinks to thier information, but does include standard copyright protection statement. Decent starter/intermediate information on municipal, government, corporate and MBS/ABS bonds.

Not certain if appropriate to post this here for library consideration or not.

regards,
vickie
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Post by norm »

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Post by JMacDonald »

Hi,
How about a section on ETFs? I don't have any suggestions because I would like to learn more about them myself. I am sure that there is plenty of information out there. Thanks.

Best Wishes,
Joe
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For Norm

Post by gbs »

Hi norm,

We will wait a little longer to see if a new sub-forum is created that will host the model portfolios together with the other links see:

http://diehards.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=267

gbs
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For JMacDonald

Post by gbs »

Hi JMacDonald,

Good suggestion ETF section created.

gbs
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For simba

Post by gbs »

Hi simba,

First thank you for your contributions :)


I deleted this:
from one of your posts in the library because it opens the door to adding links to all the providers and ETF products out there with a good change of blurring the purpose of the topic.

gbs
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Post by heyyou »

Those Periodic Tables of Returns helped me see the randomness of returns, both relative to one another and positive and negative. Some years, bonds have the only positive returns, while other years bonds have the lowest returns.
The Callan table may be the original one, others from Templeton and Janus (yes, diversification from that poster child) include more asset categories like REITs, commodities, and emerging markets. The Janus one has an annual average of the listed returns, showing how a 1/N portfolio performed. All of them could use a dark bar representing zero between the two smallest and adjacent negative and positive returning asset sub-classes.
Please consider including the Periodic Tables somewhere with diversification information, if they are not there now.
Thank you.
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