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Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
  • the July / post-Morningstar issue of MFO is live
    @Devo, that shortened link is fine as a link.
    But it won't work in the MFO Image tool to post the image here , only the full image-url would work (I am not doing this intentionally).
    https://i.ibb.co/7rGbHRJ/Screenshot-2024-07-03-at-5-13-29-PM.png
    There are other differences in these 2 links.
  • the July / post-Morningstar issue of MFO is live
    @sma3 hard to compare artgx as a replacement for artkx. artgx has a 45% North America allocation (which I think includes the 8.6% in cash money market ). ARTKX has 12% in North American and I think all of that is just cash money market.
    Since their 10-year performance is similar, I tend to agree that ARTGX's international picks must have been less rewarding than ARTKX's.
    ideally we want to look at the historical holdings or better still average historical holdings but I dont have the fool proof set of tools for that yet.
  • Buy Sell Why: ad infinitum.
    Thanks for answering my question @WABAC . I could live with 6.55 return.
    de nada @Derf. I'll add that returns have been skimmpier these past few years.
  • Buy Sell Why: ad infinitum.
    Thanks for answering my question @WABAC . I could live with 6.55 return.
  • Savita Subramanian: large cap value is the place to be for the next five years
    Um, you missed my point. But worse, you seem to have twisted what I said.
    "6% in six months would, in any other year, be considered an excellent performance. It is only in comparison to NVDA or QQQ that OAKMX looks bad."
    I DID NOT compare value stocks to NVDA. I noted what I trust many posters here are NOT aware of in relation to some LCV funds this year. That is, chances are, the LCV OEFs that are significantly outperforming their peers YTD are slanted towards Growth and/or have names like NVDA in the fold.
    Truth be told, OAKMX's 6% YTD performance thru 06/30/24 is far from "excellent" for this fund. It's 5-yr average annual TR is 16.5%, so it is trailing that on a 6-month basis. Its 10-yr average is 11.5%, so on par with that on a 6-month basis, or effectively an average TR for 6 months over the past 10 years.
    But you REALLY lost me with this zinger:
    "Almost nothing other than the Mag 7 has been up more than 5 to 10% this year."
    Here are the 226/500, or 45+% of the S&P stocks that are UP over 6% YTD.
    https://www.slickcharts.com/sp500/performance
    Excerpt:
    S&P 500 Component Year to Date Returns
    # Company Symbol YTD Return
    1 SUPER MICRO COMPUTER INC SMCI 194.51%
    2 NVIDIA CORP NVDA 147.72%
    3 VISTRA CORP VST 127.67%
    4 CONSTELLATION ENERGY CEG 76.36%
    5 ELI LILLY + CO LLY 55.55%
    6 MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC MU 55.37%
    7 ARISTA NETWORKS INC ANET 51.59%
    8 CROWDSTRIKE HOLDINGS INC A CRWD 50.81%
    9 TARGA RESOURCES CORP TRGP 50.80%
    10 NRG ENERGY INC NRG 50.66%
    11 WESTERN DIGITAL CORP WDC 49.04%
    12 APPLIED MATERIALS INC AMAT 48.61%
    13 BROADCOM INC AVGO 48.49%
    14 NETAPP INC NTAP 47.32%
    15 KLA CORP KLAC 44.35%
    16 HOWMET AEROSPACE INC HWM 44.25%
    17 META PLATFORMS INC CLASS A META 43.94%
    18 DECKERS OUTDOOR CORP DECK 40.72%
    19 NETFLIX INC NFLX 39.58%
    20 QUALCOMM INC QCOM 38.39%
    21 TERADYNE INC TER 37.85%
    22 LAM RESEARCH CORP LRCX 36.97%
    23 AMPHENOL CORP CL A APH 36.29%
    24 ORACLE CORP ORCL 35.90%
    25 LEIDOS HOLDINGS INC LDOS 34.76%
    26 GODADDY INC CLASS A GDDY 34.65%
    27 ARCH CAPITAL GROUP LTD ACGL 34.64%
    28 CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL INC CMG 34.24%
    29 TRANE TECHNOLOGIES PLC TT 33.18%
    30 ALPHABET INC CL A GOOGL 32.61%
    31 PROGRESSIVE CORP PGR 32.55%
    32 BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORP BSX 32.42%
    33 ALPHABET INC CL C GOOG 32.41%
    34 DAVITA INC DVA 32.16%
    35 DIAMONDBACK ENERGY INC FANG 32.13%
    36 AMAZON.COM INC AMZN 31.63%
    37 FAIR ISAAC CORP FICO 31.39%
    38 MONOLITHIC POWER SYSTEMS INC MPWR 31.38%
    39 GENERAL MOTORS CO GM 30.71%
    40 COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP COST 30.19%
    41 EATON CORP PLC ETN 30.09%
    42 INTUITIVE SURGICAL INC ISRG 30.07%
    43 IRON MOUNTAIN INC IRM 29.82%
    44 WALMART INC WMT 29.53%
    45 KKR + CO INC KKR 27.86%
    46 GENERAL ELECTRIC CO GE 26.50%
    47 TRANSDIGM GROUP INC TDG 26.34%
    48 MCKESSON CORP MCK 26.32%
    49 CORNING INC GLW 26.08%
    50 BROWN + BROWN INC BRO 26.07%
    51 AMERICAN EXPRESS CO AXP 25.96%
    52 FIRST SOLAR INC FSLR 25.80%
    53 SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL SYF 25.77%
    54 CITIGROUP INC C 25.74%
    55 GARMIN LTD GRMN 25.63%
    56 FIDELITY NATIONAL INFO SERV FIS 25.24%
    57 CATALENT INC CTLT 25.08%
    58 HARTFORD FINANCIAL SVCS GRP HIG 24.45%
    59 HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE HPE 24.38%
    60 JUNIPER NETWORKS INC JNPR 24.05%
    61 WELLS FARGO + CO WFC 23.87%
    62 TRACTOR SUPPLY COMPANY TSCO 23.72%
    63 MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC MSI 23.53%
    64 JPMORGAN CHASE + CO JPM 22.77%
    65 WABTEC CORP WAB 22.52%
    66 MICROSOFT CORP MSFT 22.14%
    67 EBAY INC EBAY 22.08%
    68 TYLER TECHNOLOGIES INC TYL 21.74%
    69 BANK OF AMERICA CORP BAC 21.56%
    70 VALERO ENERGY CORP VLO 21.51%
    71 WILLIAMS COS INC WMB 21.45%
    72 GE VERNOVA INC GEV 21.29%
    73 UNIVERSAL HEALTH SERVICES B UHS 21.18%
    74 ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD RCL 20.94%
    75 SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS STX 20.80%
    76 GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC GS 20.70%
    77 COLGATE PALMOLIVE CO CL 20.59%
    78 INTERNATIONAL PAPER CO IP 20.33%
    79 PUBLIC SERVICE ENTERPRISE GP PEG 20.33%
    80 EDWARDS LIFESCIENCES CORP EW 19.65%
    81 DOMINO S PIZZA INC DPZ 19.50%
    82 RTX CORP RTX 19.34%
    83 REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS REGN 18.94%
    84 DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES DFS 18.81%
    85 ECOLAB INC ECL 18.81%
    86 NXP SEMICONDUCTORS NV NXPI 18.44%
    87 HILTON WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS IN HLT 18.40%
    88 SYNOPSYS INC SNPS 18.40%
    89 MARATHON OIL CORP MRO 18.29%
    90 HCA HEALTHCARE INC HCA 18.11%
    91 FEDEX CORP FDX 17.89%
    92 MODERNA INC MRNA 17.72%
    93 WELLTOWER INC WELL 17.52%
    94 WESTROCK CO WRK 17.51%
    95 TJX COMPANIES INC TJX 17.47%
    96 MARATHON PETROLEUM CORP MPC 17.38%
    97 ONEOK INC OKE 17.25%
    98 INGERSOLL RAND INC IR 17.22%
    99 MERCK + CO. INC. MRK 17.15%
    100 REPUBLIC SERVICES INC RSG 17.13%
    101 RALPH LAUREN CORP RL 17.02%
    102 INTL FLAVORS + FRAGRANCES IFF 17.01%
    103 WASTE MANAGEMENT INC WM 16.96%
    104 CINTAS CORP CTAS 16.87%
    105 UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS INC UAL 16.82%
    106 FOX CORP CLASS B FOX 16.82%
    107 ARTHUR J GALLAGHER + CO AJG 16.51%
    108 VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INC VRTX 16.44%
    109 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC TXN 16.40%
    110 CADENCE DESIGN SYS INC CDNS 16.31%
    111 BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON CORP BK 16.23%
    112 FOX CORP CLASS A FOXA 16.21%
    113 DELTA AIR LINES INC DAL 16.11%
    114 NEXTERA ENERGY INC NEE 16.02%
    115 XYLEM INC XYL 15.66%
    116 HP INC HPQ 15.65%
    117 PALO ALTO NETWORKS INC PANW 15.45%
    118 JOHNSON CONTROLS INTERNATION JCI 15.06%
    119 DOVER CORP DOV 15.05%
    120 ANALOG DEVICES INC ADI 14.95%
    121 CINCINNATI FINANCIAL CORP CINF 14.88%
    122 QUANTA SERVICES INC PWR 14.82%
    123 UBER TECHNOLOGIES INC UBER 14.78%
    124 VERALTO CORP VLTO 14.70%
    125 ALLSTATE CORP ALL 14.43%
    126 FREEPORT MCMORAN INC FCX 14.42%
    127 APPLE INC AAPL 14.41%
    128 PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL INC PRU 14.31%
    129 AMERIPRISE FINANCIAL INC AMP 14.23%
    130 EXXON MOBIL CORP XOM 14.20%
    131 ALTRIA GROUP INC MO 14.15%
    132 BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC CL B BRK.B 14.14%
    133 VERISK ANALYTICS INC VRSK 14.02%
    134 ELEVANCE HEALTH INC ELV 13.65%
    135 DIGITAL REALTY TRUST INC DLR 13.62%
    136 KIMBERLY CLARK CORP KMB 13.56%
    137 AXON ENTERPRISE INC AXON 13.49%
    138 ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES CORP CL A ZBRA 13.43%
    139 AIRBNB INC CLASS A ABNB 13.37%
    140 CHUBB LTD CB 13.08%
    141 UNITED RENTALS INC URI 12.64%
    142 ROLLINS INC ROL 12.55%
    143 NEWS CORP CLASS A NWSA 12.55%
    144 FISERV INC FI 12.46%
    145 SERVICENOW INC NOW 12.40%
    146 EMERSON ELECTRIC CO EMR 12.27%
    147 T MOBILE US INC TMUS 12.26%
    148 AT+T INC T 12.16%
    149 WR BERKLEY CORP WRB 12.01%
    150 MARSH + MCLENNAN COS MMC 11.89%
    151 METTLER TOLEDO INTERNATIONAL MTD 11.88%
    152 PROCTER + GAMBLE CO/THE PG 11.85%
    153 KINDER MORGAN INC KMI 11.79%
    154 HASBRO INC HAS 11.75%
    155 CUMMINS INC CMI 11.68%
    156 STRYKER CORP SYK 11.63%
    157 COPART INC CPRT 11.61%
    158 EQUITY RESIDENTIAL EQR 11.51%
    159 CHURCH + DWIGHT CO INC CHD 11.51%
    160 ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES AMD 11.46%
    161 HUBBELL INC HUBB 11.21%
    162 AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP AIG 11.19%
    163 AUTOZONE INC AZO 11.00%
    164 CATERPILLAR INC CAT 10.85%
    165 WW GRAINGER INC GWW 10.77%
    166 PARKER HANNIFIN CORP PH 10.71%
    167 M + T BANK CORP MTB 10.69%
    168 SOUTHERN CO/THE SO 10.60%
    169 NEWS CORP CLASS B NWS 10.50%
    170 BOOKING HOLDINGS INC BKNG 10.40%
    171 KROGER CO KR 10.33%
    172 TAPESTRY INC TPR 10.13%
    173 CORTEVA INC CTVA 10.12%
    174 ESSEX PROPERTY TRUST INC ESS 10.10%
    175 RESMED INC RMD 10.07%
    176 GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP GD 10.07%
    177 CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP CFG 9.78%
    178 CAMDEN PROPERTY TRUST CPT 9.71%
    179 INTERCONTINENTAL EXCHANGE IN ICE 9.65%
    180 RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL INC RJF 9.49%
    181 GEN DIGITAL INC GEN 9.38%
    182 CARRIER GLOBAL CORP CARR 9.36%
    183 BUNGE GLOBAL SA BG 9.34%
    184 O REILLY AUTOMOTIVE INC ORLY 9.16%
    185 MOODY S CORP MCO 9.08%
    186 AVALONBAY COMMUNITIES INC AVB 9.07%
    187 VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC VZ 9.02%
    188 PACKAGING CORP OF AMERICA PKG 8.96%
    189 THE CIGNA GROUP CI 8.84%
    190 WILLIS TOWERS WATSON PLC WTW 8.67%
    191 STEEL DYNAMICS INC STLD 8.64%
    192 WALT DISNEY CO/THE DIS 8.53%
    193 INTL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP IBM 8.41%
    194 AFLAC INC AFL 8.40%
    195 CENCORA INC COR 8.34%
    196 PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL PM 8.04%
    197 VULCAN MATERIALS CO VMC 7.96%
    198 AMGEN INC AMGN 7.90%
    199 AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER AEP 7.88%
    200 SCHWAB (CHARLES) CORP SCHW 7.78%
    201 LOEWS CORP L 7.69%
    202 NISOURCE INC NI 7.61%
    203 OTIS WORLDWIDE CORP OTIS 7.24%
    204 FIFTH THIRD BANCORP FITB 7.22%
    205 MARTIN MARIETTA MATERIALS MLM 7.20%
    206 COCA COLA CO/THE KO 7.16%
    207 TRUIST FINANCIAL CORP TFC 7.15%
    208 CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORP COF 7.14%
    209 CONSTELLATION BRANDS INC A STZ 7.11%
    210 ABBVIE INC ABBV 7.09%
    211 UDR INC UDR 7.05%
    212 TRAVELERS COS INC/THE TRV 6.91%
    213 MORGAN STANLEY MS 6.86%
    214 TE CONNECTIVITY LTD TEL 6.72%
    215 TEXTRON INC TXT 6.67%
    216 CENTERPOINT ENERGY INC CNP 6.62%
    217 MOHAWK INDUSTRIES INC MHK 6.60%
    218 NVR INC NVR 6.57%
    219 TYSON FOODS INC CL A TSN 6.46%
    220 MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL CL A MAR 6.42%
    221 T ROWE PRICE GROUP INC TROW 6.42%
    222 AVERY DENNISON CORP AVY 6.41%
    223 GENERAC HOLDINGS INC GNRC 6.24%
    224 L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES INC LHX 6.16%
    225 EASTMAN CHEMICAL CO EMN 6.16%
    226 JACOBS SOLUTIONS INC J 6.14%
  • Savita Subramanian: large cap value is the place to be for the next five years
    @stillers
    Almost nothing other than the Mag 7 has been up more than 5 to 10% this year.
    6% in six months would, in any other year, be considered an excellent performance. It is only in comparison to NVDA or QQQ that OAKMX looks bad.
    Comparing value stocks to NVDA is really impossible, as they have almost nothing in common.
    I have always been leery of Momentum as it can turn on a dime and I am not quick enough to get on early and always get off late. Having said that I did buy a little NVDA in March.
    Consistency of earnings, reasonable prices for cash flow etc are much more useful metrics to me
  • the July / post-Morningstar issue of MFO is live
    @devo
    Any thoughts on ARTGX's international stock performance? A quick look shows ARTGX Domestic portfolio has some of the usual suspects META 4% GOOGL 4% BRK.B 4% but isn't loaded and no NVDA or MSFT, so I am unsure of how much support this would provide.
    There is not a huge overlap between ARTKX and ARTGX international portfolio at least now.
    Samsung ( both 5%) Danone ( both 4%) Novartis (both 4%) UBS ( 4% s 2.3%)
  • Buy Sell Why: ad infinitum.
    @WABAC " Stared at VWINX, which I have owned forever, and blinked. I couldn't figure out why to hold onto it. Sold it "
    Do you have an idea what your annual return was ?
    Thanks for your time, Derf
    No clue. It was bought before they were required to keep track of cost basis. IIRC, any other return info at Vanguard was the most recent ten years.
    When I added it into my watch fund at M* I just used the price it was at on Jan 1, 2012. Since then it has returned 6.55.
  • Bulls Claim Another Bear - Kolanovic/JPM
    Subscription required https://www.barrons.com/articles/marko-kolanovic-leaving-jpmorgan-chase-ce6b745a
    "One of Wall Street’s most well-known bears, Marko Kolanovic, is leaving JPMorgan Chase
    JPM.....Dubravko Lakos-Bujas will lead the markets strategy team and become the bank’s chief markets strategist.....Kolanovic’s exit from JPMorgan Chase leaves few prominent bears left on Wall Street.....(other bears who's claws have been trimmed include WILSON/MS, CALVASINA/RBC, BANNISTER/Stifel)"
  • the July / post-Morningstar issue of MFO is live
    David - Outstanding issue. Thank you.
    You & Chip are in for a real treat in Michigan’s UP. Tahquamenon Falls State Park, about 10 minutes from Paradise, is one of my favorite spots. Also near Paradise is Whitefish Point with a small shipwreck museum and from where you can gaze at the waters where the Edmund Fitzgerald (of Lightfoot fame) floundered and sank during a November storm. If you don’t mind the combined aroma of fudge & horse manure you’d enjoy Mackinaw Island, a 10-15 minute ferry ride from either side of the straits. As you no doubt know, Somewhere in Time, an 80s flick staring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymore was set on the island and contains scenes shot there. A plaque near the water marks the exact location of a memorable exchange. The Mackinaw Bridge (completed in 1957) is as awe inspiring as ever.
    Re Ian Bremmer’s remark during an interview at the M* conference …
    He believes that the “US is the most dysfunctional major democracy” and democracy’s incumbency is being challenged by disinformation, inflation, and immigration, while people rail against the “elites” in the establishment.
    Part of that assessment has long perplexed me. I sense the “rail against” aspect - residing in a very “red” part of Michigan. The resentment is real. What I don’t comprehend very well is who constitutes this elitist class? Is it the very wealthy (Bezos, Buffett, Bloomberg, etc.)? Or might it include families earning over $200,000 a year? Do retirees receiving pensions, Social Security, Medicare qualify? Does it include those with college degrees? Did Mr. Bremmer attempt to identify / qualify just who these “elites” are?
  • the July / post-Morningstar issue of MFO is live
    @devesh
    Interesting analysis but unfortunately Artisan International Value is closed except to existing accounts or advisors as is Artisan International Explorer (only advisor and institutional shares available, latter $1,000,000 minimum at Schwab)
    ARTGX seems to be similar to ARTKX in performance, but it is currently 50% US stocks, making me think it's international stock picks have done less well
  • the July / post-Morningstar issue of MFO is live
    Good items in MFO July 2024 issue.
    My Notes.
    Re @David_Snowball
    Fund family ratings are provided by MFO, Morningstar, Barron’s, et. These typically are based on asset-weighted performance of funds within the fund family. Morningstar has Parent Hub and Ratings that can be accessed from fund Quote pages. The main utility of fund family ratings seems in PR or bragging rights (no DIY investor limits to 1 fund family & then allocates $s proportionately within).
    https://www.morningstar.com/asset-management-companies/dodge-cox-BN000008L6
    Re @TheShadow
    TCW Total Return Bond Fund will be changed to TCW Securitized Bond Fund.
    My guess Is that this faddish new name won’t stick for long. Suddenly, "securitized" is an in-word.
    BNY Mellon Government Money Market Fund will disappear on or about August 27, 2024.”
    What may be going on here is that BNY Mellon has eliminated the “Dreyfus” name from all/most funds except the m-mkt funds. In fact, “Dreyfus” name is being used exclusively for all/most BNY Mellon m-mkt funds, see the list below. This is just an internal realignment of its m-mkt fund lineup, and people shouldn’t think that Government m-mkt fund category has developed some issues.
    https://im.bnymellon.com/us/en/individual/products/mm.html#overview
    In a related news, BNY Mellon/BK is also dropping "Mellon" from general use, so it would simply be BoNY. The full name BNY Mellon will be used only in legal or formal filings.
    BoNY is the oldest bank in the US and counts Alexander Hamilton among its founders. Many here may know it due to "Pershing", as in BNY Pershing. BoNY is now #13 in the list of the biggest US banks by assets. Top 5 US banks are JPM, BAC, C, WFC, GS; notably, GS got its general banking charter only during the GFC 2008 only (as did MS).
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BNY_Mellon
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_banks_in_the_United_States
  • the July / post-Morningstar issue of MFO is live
    Charles is back, with some really sharp observations from the Morningstar Investment Conference. I, likewise, chip in my 10 cents' worth. Minor snark might be involved.
    Devesh reports on his two day visit with Artisan. I report on the 10 international funds - passive/smart beta/active, funds and ETFs, developed and developing are all rep'd - with the greatest consistency of strong performance over the past 10 years.
    Lynn takes on the question, if Berkshire Hathaway were recognized as a mutual fund, which kind of mutual fund would it be?
    We formally partnered with Morningstar on a research-based article on the fund families you can trust. At base, we meld together Lipper's 3-, 5- and 10-year Lipper Leader winners for consistent returns with MFO's top family designations with Morningstar's firm success metric (that even some of the Morningstar analysts did know it existed) that is survivorship-bias free. Not to break the news, the Dodge & Cox crushes pretty much everybody.
    The Shadow tracked down an awfully lot of executions and shared word of the Primecap reopening.
    And, speaking of shared words, Charles shares word on a July 10 webinar to acquaint folks with MFO Premium's upgrades.
    Hope you enjoy!
  • Destra Granahan Small Cap Advantage Fund will be liquidated
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1492374/000182912624004564/destrainvestment_497.htm
    497 1 destrainvestment_497.htm 497
    Filed under Rule 497(e)
    Registration Nos. 333-167073; 811-22417
    Destra Granahan Small Cap Advantage Fund
    a series of Destra Investment Trust
    July 2, 2024
    Supplement to the
    Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”),
    each dated February 1, 2024
    On June 28, 2024, the Board of Trustees of Destra Investment Trust (the “Trust”), on behalf of its series, Destra Granahan Small Cap Advantage Fund (the “Fund”), approved a proposal to close and liquidate the Fund. Accordingly, effective after the close of business on July 12, 2024, the Fund will no longer accept orders from new investors or existing shareholders to purchase Fund shares (“Shares”).
    The Fund will be liquidated on or about August 6, 2024 (the “Liquidation Date”). If a shareholder has not redeemed his or her Shares as of the Liquidation Date, the shareholder’s Shares will be automatically redeemed and the shareholder will receive a liquidating distribution. The liquidating distribution may be paid in cash at the Shares’ net asset value (“NAV”) or in-kind.
    Shareholders may redeem their Shares or exchange their Shares into shares of another open-end mutual fund advised by Destra Capital Advisors LLC (a “Destra Fund”) at its NAV at any time prior to the Liquidation Date. Additionally, as described in the Prospectus, shareholders may be allowed a one-time right to reinvest the proceeds from the redemption of the Fund in shares of a Destra Fund at its NAV without an initial sales charge if the purchase is made within 90 days of the redemption date or Liquidation Date, as applicable.
    Shareholders should consult their personal tax advisers concerning their tax situation and the impact of the liquidation and/or exchanging to a different fund on their tax situation.
    Please retain this Supplement with your Prospectus and SAI for future reference.
  • New Stock ETFs Offering ‘100%’ Downside Protection Are Coming
    A huge problem during the GFC was the CDS (credit default swaps) sold by insurance companies and institutions. When the underlying credits collapsed, the CDS skyrocketed. At its worst, AIG had a liability of $150-200 billion - it was literally bankrupt many times over. It was rescued because AIG was also deeply into commercial insurance, and without a viable AIG, planes couldn't take off, ships couldn't leave the ports, etc.
    Why did AIG do such a stupid thing? The CDS were the new game in town that not only had been mispriced, but they were not stress-tested (for another reason, that is what happened with LTCM, 1994-98 too).
    Are there things today that haven't been stress-tested? Well, that is ODTE or 0-1-day options, that now have more than half the daily volume of some major indexes. Some day, people would say the same thing - why were people so crazy about the ODTE?
    Not to mention the prevailing herd mentality that "real estate would never go down...."
  • "Markets have false sense of security"
    Thanks, @WABAC, for adding the link to the article.
    For those that are color challenged (blind) -
    https://www.morningstar.com/columns/rekenthaler-report/boomer-candy-sweet-treats-or-investment-toothache
    I have not read JR's previous articles on the topic.
    I agree with striving for simplicity. DIVO is simple enough for you and I - I think we talked about it before.
    I have heard negative media comments about writing covered calls on bonds (or fixed income ETFs). In the fixed income realm, IMHO, that is probably simple when one considers the level of complexity that exists in the bond land. Perhaps, @Devo can chime in.
    I get that "simple" has an individual definition. I think if an investment can not be owned at least up to 5% of PV, it is probably not simple for that person.
    Disclosure: The only boomer candy I own are the Hedge Equity strategies.
  • Buy Sell Why: ad infinitum.
    Monday sold VG 2025 retirement fund. No more retirement funds for me ! Took a L o n g time to recover from 2022 !
    Vanguard Target Income, VTINX, has not completely recovered as of yet. Both funds, when corrected for inflation are probably not close to "recovered". I haven't moved out of VTINX (deferred) but should have and should even now but at my age, 75, I don't know where I would go. More money or less money probably won't affect my life at all since I don't spend the new money coming in from pension and SS. Don't worry though, IRMAA will get the excess starting next year.
  • Investing in 'Rule of Law' countries
    I still cannot comprehend how supposedly rational men did such an about face.
    This is from Heather Cox Richardson "Letters from an American" ( highly recomended)
    Presidential immunity is a brand new doctrine. In February 2021, explaining away his vote to acquit Trump for inciting an insurrection, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who had also protected Trump in his first impeachment trial in 2019, said: “Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office…. We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation, and former presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one.”
    But it was not just McConnell who thought that way. At his confirmation hearing in 2005, now–Chief Justice John Roberts said: “I believe that no one is above the law under our system and that includes the president. The president is fully bound by the law, the Constitution, and statutes.”
    In his 2006 confirmation hearings, Samuel Alito said: “There is nothing that is more important for our republic than the rule of law. No person in this country, no matter how high or powerful, is above the law.”
    And in 2018, Brett Kavanaugh told the Senate: “No one’s above the law in the United States, that’s a foundational principle…. We’re all equal before the law…. The foundation of our Constitution was that…the presidency would not be a monarchy…. [T]he president is not above the law, no one is above the law.”
    This decision is mind boggling.
    For example what is an "official act"? Can a President now order the military to shoot demonstrators on the spot claiming it is an official act? ( Trump wanted to remember?)
    The military swears an oath to the Constitution and consequently can refuse "illegal" orders. What is an illegal order? Are all official acts, or acts the President says are "official" legal?
    I think the investment consequences of this and "Chevron" are profound. Markets hate uncertainty. How can our times be more uncertain?
  • New Stock ETFs Offering ‘100%’ Downside Protection Are Coming
    A huge problem during the GFC was the CDS (credit default swaps) sold by insurance companies and institutions. When the underlying credits collapsed, the CDS skyrocketed. At its worst, AIG had a liability of $150-200 billion - it was literally bankrupt many times over. It was rescued because AIG was also deeply into commercial insurance, and without a viable AIG, planes couldn't take off, ships couldn't leave the ports, etc.
    Why did AIG do such a stupid thing? The CDS were the new game in town that not only had been mispriced, but they were not stress-tested (for another reason, that is what happened with LTCM, 1994-98 too).
    Are there things today that haven't been stress-tested? Well, that is ODTE or 0-1-day options, that now have more than half the daily volume of some major indexes. Some day, people would say the same thing - why were people so crazy about the ODTE?