Link to Jan 27 Episode:

… dive into the real risks facing the markets with global value investor Matthew McLennan. As markets climb a wall of worry, McLennan shares his insights on protecting yourself from inevitable declines and sticking to a disciplined investment approach.
We explore the key concerns and opportunities in the financial landscape. Stay tuned for valuable insights from McLennan, Co-Head of the global value team at First Eagle Investments, discusses the multiple risks facing “complacent” markets and his strategies to navigate them.

Its a mite different from Vanguard 500- and seems like great returns- would you agree?

Volatility: The beta on FALN is 0.95, almost tracking the rest of the Market. That seems tolerable to me. I want to initiate a bond fund/ETF in my taxable account that will spin off dividends which I can then redeploy.
Barron's shows 5.3% yield, Stock Rover shows 5.9% yield. Either way, it's hefty, and I'll take it. Not so juicy as TUHYX (7.39%) nor PRCPX (6.86%). I'm hanging onto those, too.
Bonds of all sorts in the portfolio = 37% right now.

Had TRP accounts for 25 years...the site sucks!!! Way harder to research and navigate that site than Fidelity!!! Glad I made that move!!! Consolidation is big help!

Glad your experience was what it was.
My experience of Fidelity's website is: Run away! Run away, and be very afraid!
Complicated, clunky.

Had TRP accounts for 25 years...the site sucks!!! Way harder to research and navigate that site than Fidelity!!! Glad I made that move!!! Consolidation is big help!

The 3 year chart says it all.
https://schrts.co/TmZRSSMB
Below is a 5 year chart. I added CBLDX.
https://schrts.co/HWUMzpcV

No more NHYDY Norsk Hydro. It was up today while a lotta other stuff was down. So I cashed out and dumped the proceeds into the PRTXX MM. Maybe I'll get smart. Keep some legal tender handy in order to buy low, sell high. My loss was $117.65, TRP tells me. I'll believe them. It won't take long to make up the difference. No tears here. Some political/environmental decisions from the gummint of Norway have not helped. Aluminum price is down, though in China, it's up. But that has not compensated enough. Latest guidance indicates the dividend will be at least slightly reduced. So, adios.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1355064/000158064224000502/swbc_497.htm
MUTUAL FUND SERIES TRUST
AlphaCentric SWBC Municipal Opportunities Fund
Class A: MUNAX Class C: MUNCX Class I: MUNIX
(the “Fund”)
Supplement dated January 26, 2024 to the Prospectus, Summary Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, each dated August 1, 2023.
______________________________________________________________________________
The Board of Trustees of Mutual Fund Series Trust has concluded that it is in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders that the Fund cease operations. The Board has determined to close the Fund and redeem all outstanding shares on or about February 27, 2024 (“Liquidation Date”).
Effective immediately, the Fund will not accept any new investments and may no longer pursue its stated investment objective. The Fund will begin liquidating its portfolio and will invest in cash equivalents until all shares have been redeemed. Any capital gains will be distributed as soon as practicable to shareholders and reinvested in additional shares, unless you have previously requested payment in cash. Shares of the Fund are otherwise not available for purchase.
ANY SHAREHOLDERS WHO HAVE NOT REDEEMED OR EXCHANGED THEIR SHARES OF THE FUND PRIOR TO FEBRUARY 27, 2024 WILL HAVE THEIR SHARES AUTOMATICALLY REDEEMED AS OF THAT DATE, AND PROCEEDS WILL BE SENT TO THE ADDRESS OR ACCOUNT OF RECORD. If you have questions or need assistance, please contact the Fund at 1-844-223-8637.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR RETIREMENT PLAN INVESTORS
If you are a retirement plan investor, you should consult your tax advisor regarding the consequences of a redemption of Fund shares. If you receive a distribution from an Individual Retirement Account or a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA, you must roll the proceeds into another Individual Retirement Account within sixty (60) days of the date of the distribution in order to avoid having to include the distribution in your taxable income for the year. If you receive a distribution from a 403(b)(7) Custodian Account (Tax-Sheltered account) or a Keogh Account, you must roll the distribution into a similar type of retirement plan within sixty (60) days in order to avoid disqualification of your plan and the severe tax consequences that it can bring. If you are the trustee of a Qualified Retirement Plan, you may reinvest the money in any way permitted by the plan and trust agreement.
You should read this Supplement in conjunction with the Prospectus, any Summary Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information for the Fund, each dated August 1, 2023, as supplemented, which provide information that you should know about the Fund before investing. These documents are available upon request and without charge by calling the Fund toll-free at 1-844-223-8637 or by writing to 4221 North 203rd Street, Suite 100, Elkhorn, Nebraska 68022.
Please retain this Supplement for future reference.

https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0001432353/000143235324000011/ck0001432353-20221130.htm
Global X MSCI China Industrials ETF, Global X MSCI China Communication Services ETF, Global X MSCI China Financials ETF, Global X MSCI China Energy ETF, Global X MSCI China Materials ETF, Global X MSCI Next Emerging & Frontier ETF, Global X MSCI Portugal ETF, Global X MSCI Pakistan ETF, Global X MSCI China Consumer Staples ETF, Global X MSCI China Health Care ETF, Global X MSCI China Information Technology ETF, Global X MSCI China Utilities ETF and the Global X MSCI China Real Estate ETF
https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0001432353/000143235324000016/ck0001432353-20221031.htm
Global X Carbon Credits Strategy ETF
https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0001432353/000143235324000009/ck0001432353-20221130.htm
Global X Health & Wellness ETF, Global X Green Building ETF, Global X China Biotech Innovation ETF, Global X Cannabis ETF and the Global X Metaverse ETF

I also like ultra-ST FCNVX. Recently, its higher ER class was eliminated and its net ER now is 25 bps. It may be the only Fido mutual fund, besides Fido m-mkt funds, without any trading restrictions.
MY ST mix at Fido and elsewhere is T-Bills (no longer rolled at maturity), m-mkt funds, FCNVX, USFR, ICSH, muni VMLUX.

muni funds, yes, of course, but i'm wondering what else might fit the bill, at least to some degree. i hold funds like RSIVX and CBLDX in my IRA but the possible tax consequences make me leery of holding them elsewhere. so far, i've only been able to come up with the CLO-bank-loan etf JAAA, which has a M* 3-year tax-cost ratio of 1.37, along w/ a very appealing standard deviation of under 2. First, what do you all think of that ETF? Second, what do you think of it in a taxable account? And lastly do you see any better alternative with equally low SD?
Returns-wise, it looks steadier even than RSIVX and CBLDX, which ain't no mean feat, even though who knows what the future may bring, etc etc and so forth. https://stockcharts.com/freecharts/perf.php?JAAA,RSIVX,CBLDX&n=265&O=011000

5-year comparison tonight, 25 Jan, '24:
RPHIX +17.02%
TUHYX +26.92%.

Can't swing a cat in The Valley of the Sun without hitting a Waymo. I've seen as many as three at a time early in the morning.
This has always seemed like a solution in search of a problem. When the kids take my keys away I'm not going to waste money on the upkeep and insurance of any kind of vehicle when I can hail a ride for doctor's appointments or have Ensure, pet food, and Depends delivered.
And as long as I can drive, why would I spend the money to turn that over to a machine-- even if we had the money? If it's a sports car, I want to drive it. If it's a chauffeured buggy, I'ld like a human to say "Of course sir."
I'm wondering if I'll even be alive by the time one of these machines hits the used market. Thinking of riding around in a used Waymo makes me think of Max Headroom.

Following are edited excerpts from a current report in The New York Times:
Cruise Says Hostility to Regulators Led to Grounding of Its Autonomous Cars
A law firm’s review found that executives had failed to fully explain an October crash, which the Justice Department is also investigating.
Cruise, the driverless car subsidiary of General Motors, said in a report on Thursday that an adversarial approach taken by its top executives toward regulators had led to a cascade of events that ended with a nationwide suspension of Cruise’s fleet and investigations by California and federal authorities, including the Justice Department.
The roughly 100-page report was compiled by a law firm that Cruise and G.M. hired to look into whether Cruise’s executives had misled California regulators about an October crash in San Francisco in which one of its vehicles dragged a woman 20 feet. The review found that while the executives had not intentionally misled state officials, they had failed to explain key details about the incident.
Cruise also said the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as state agencies and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, were investigating how it had handled the incident.
The report is central to Cruise’s efforts to regain the public’s trust and eventually restart its business. Cruise has been largely shut down since October, when the California Department of Motor Vehicles suspended its license to operate because its vehicles were unsafe and the company misrepresented the incident. It responded by pulling its driverless cars off the road across the country, laying off a quarter of its staff and replacing Kyle Vogt, its co-founder and chief executive, who resigned in November, with new leaders.
Cruise hopes that the investigation will help repair its reputation and clear a path for it to restart its self-driving business. It believes that its problem was the outgrowth of a leadership team that made quickly building out a business a priority over the safety of its operations.
In Cruise’s absence, Waymo, which was started by Google, has become the only self-driving car operation offering taxi rides in San Francisco. Though Waymo’s fleet of roughly 250 cars has had few major incidents, the City of San Francisco sued the State of California last month for allowing Waymo and Cruise vehicles to operate without tighter regulations.
The report described Cruise as a disorganized company embroiled in disagreement and confusion over what had happened and how to handle it. Though engineers and dozens of people inside the company knew that its car had dragged the woman, key senior executives, including the chief legal officer, said they hadn’t known before meeting with the D.M.V.
G.M., which bought Cruise in 2016 for $1 billion, has stepped in to steer the company. It installed its general counsel, Craig Glidden, as president of Cruise and made him responsible for overseeing the investigation and helping to evaluate how the business should proceed. Mr. Glidden is trying to change the culture of the company to put more emphasis on safety and transparency with regulators and the public.
Even before the Oct. 2 accident, Cruise’s cars were generating headlines for other issues, including a collision with a fire truck and an incident in which one of its cars drove into wet concrete and got stuck.

Note: Text emphasis in this report was added.

Following are edited excerpts from a current NPR report:
The GM-owned driverless car company Cruise is under investigation by several federal agencies for an October crash that seriously injured a pedestrian.
The company on Thursday said it is being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in addition to California agencies. Cruise said it is "fully cooperating" with the regulatory and enforcement agencies that have opened the investigations.
In the Oct. 2 crash, a vehicle struck a pedestrian and sent her flying into the path of the self-driving Cruise car. The Cruise vehicle then dragged the pedestrian for another 20 feet, causing serious injuries.
Cruise, which owns a fleet of robotaxis in San Francisco, then failed to adequately inform regulators of the self-driving vehicle's full role in the incident. Since then, Cruise's driverless ride-hailing services have been paused in all markets. The CEO resigned, along with other senior executives.
Cruise also hired outside law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan to investigate the incident. In a scathing report, released Thursday, the law firm said Cruise's interactions with regulators revealed "a fundamental misapprehension" of the company's obligations to the public.
The company says it accepts the law firm's conclusions and is focused on "earning back public trust."
"Poor leadership" cited as one reason for the Cruise's failing
In its initial explanations of the crash to the public and to regulators, Cruise did not acknowledge that the robotaxi dragged the pedestrian. Instead, it focused on the fact that the collision was originally caused by another vehicle.
The law firm did not conclude that Cruise intentionally misled regulators. The report states that Cruise did attempt to play a full video for regulators that showed the pedestrian being dragged, but "internet connectivity issues" repeatedly caused the video to freeze. And instead of pointing out the video's significance, "Cruise employees remained silent, failing to ensure that the regulators understood what they likely could not see."
Letting a video "speak for itself" when the video couldn't even play didn't quite rise to the level of concealing the truth, the law firm concluded. But the report said it revealed a lot about Cruise's corporate culture.
"The reasons for Cruise's failings in this instance are numerous: poor leadership, mistakes in judgment, lack of coordination, an 'us versus them' mentality with regulators, and a fundamental misapprehension of Cruise's obligations of accountability and transparency to the government and the public," the law firm wrote.
Personal Comment: Despite obvious similarities in failure to accept responsibility for basic safety requirements, the Cruise company is not believed to have any connection with the Boeing Corporation. However, it would seem that there is a high degree of potential interchangeability in upper management between the two companies.
Note: Text emphasis in the NPR report was added.

Taking dividends is a lot easier than figuring out total return. The money just shows up if you aren't reinvesting. No doubt there's lots of academic arguments over this.

Not really.
Example: you can use a simple index = SP500 = FXAIX at Fidelity to sell shares every month for a specific amount ($2-4K) on a certain day and let it run for years, problem solved and you know exactly how much you get every month.
The only thing that matters is total returns which include the distributions.

@hank
You noted: Seriously … I’m convinced that moving from TRP to a Fido brokerage account several years ago took 2-3 years off my life. Horrendous experience.
Horrendous regarding which organization? Thank you.

-
Thanks for the ”catch” Catch. Some may remember the episode from about 3 years ago. In fact, you were one of the members who answered technical questions and provided encouragement.
- In the first half of 2021 I initiated a transfer of assets from TRP to Fidelity (cash method).
- A paper check from TRP arrived at Fido after about 2-3 weeks.
- Fido opened an account and deposited credited the proceeds from this check.
- I than purchased several different funds.
- 1-2 days later TRP cancelled the check (refused to pay).
- I learned of this only after Fido had sold the funds I’d purchased (at a loss to me).
- Fido notified me I was in violation of SEC rules (“free-riding”) and their own policies as well.
- I struggled for answers with a number TRP’s (mostly inept) phone reps over several days.
- 15-20 minute phone “holds” in the middle of discussions were common over this period.
- TRP admitted error, apologized and said they would rectify it.
- After 7-10 days another check from TRP arrived at Fidelity.
- All 4 of my accounts (Roth, Trad, 2 TOD) were placed on 90 day probation.
- Being on probation prevents using / reinvesting / proceeds from sales of investments for a number of days (until after Fido receives the funds). Further “infractions” could lead to being bared from trading.
Arrrgh!

I wouldn't sleep on debit card risks which I think are just as significant, or even more so, than check writing risks.
https://www.techchecks.net/resources/debit-card-or-check-which-one-is-safer
It all comes down to a person's attention to their respective risks and steps taken to mitigate them. I for one have never known anyone who had their bank account drained due to a check writing issue, but do know someone who had theirs drained via debit card fraud, having not recognized or notified their bank of the loss for over 60 days.
https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/credit-card-vs-debit-card-safer-online-purchases
Excerpt BOLD added:
Debit card fraud
According to the EFTA, your potential liability for fraudulent debit card transactions is virtually unlimited. You have up to 60 days to report a lost or stolen card under the EFTA. After that, you simply lose whatever money was taken, even funds siphoned from linked accounts. The exact liability limits under the EFTA are:
Lost or stolen card reported before unauthorized transactions: zero liability.
Lost or stolen card reported within two days: $50 liability limit.
Lost or stolen card reported within 60 days: $500 liability limit.
After 60 days: no protection.
It's important to note that if your card is not physically lost or stolen, you have 60 days to report fraudulent transactions with zero liability. If only your card number is stolen, the 60 days start from the date of the statement on which a fraudulent transaction appears.

AAII Sentiment Survey, 1/24/24
BULLISH remained the top sentiment (39.3%; above average) & bearish remained the bottom sentiment (26.1%, below average); neutral remained the middle sentiment (34.8%, above average); Bull-Bear Spread was +13.2% (above average). Investor concerns: Elections, budget, inflation, economy, the Fed/FOMC, dollar, Russia-Ukraine (100+ weeks), Israel-Hamas (15+ weeks), geopolitical. For the Survey week (Th-Wed), stocks were up, bonds down, oil up, gold up, dollar down. Other Sentiments have been slipping too since mid-December. #AAII #Sentiment #Markets
https://ybbpersonalfinance.proboards.com/post/1328/thread