Just updated all ratings to MFO Premium site, using Refinitiv data drop through Friday, 31 October 2025. Monthly flow tools updated through October and the daily FLOW tool updated through Friday.

gardner's wizardry' is basically high correlation to momemtum, which has\having a great run regardless.

https://www.wsj.com/finance/blackrock-stung-by-loans-to-businesses-accused-of-breathtaking-fraud-6de5c3a7?st=AEci9D

Thanks for the link. Great read.

@StayCalm, that's an amazing fraud story in WSJ.
A chain of fake companies was setup with fancy websites and the companies operated on paper only for 5+ years. But they took real loans (private-credit) with fake collaterals. The likes of HPSInvestments/BlackRock (BLK) and BNP Paribas were duped and their $500 million private-credit loan simply disappeared. Apparently, during a routine audit, a fake email was noted, then another, then the realization that all documents were fake, and the companies too.
This sounds worse than Tricolor and First Brands failures. May be Jamie DIMON was right with his cockroach comment.
Actually, Dimon may know more. Years ago, HPSInvestments grew out of JPM, was spun out and grew on its own for a while, and was acquired by BLK only in 2025. Larry FINK is so rapidly expanding BLK with acquisitions that it may not have had time to look deep into HPSInvestments and its private-credit clients, including the reported fake companies.

"
Mona
September 27 Flag
@bee: Take a look at FISMX. Similar country allocations to VINEX. Better 5-year performance and about the same 3-year performance. VINEX has better performance over the past 3-years.
Anyone taking a buy approach of the three funds mentioned?
I may take a second look after RMD.
Thanks for this comment @Mona & @bee

VOO and QQQ (or QQQM) are the only funds I would purchase.
Very liquid, low expense ratios, low frictional costs, and ample diversification.
Active management is nonsense in my opinion.

Passive funds like VOO and QQQ are tough to beat for investors
who are primarily interested in the highest U.S. large-cap returns

¹.
Investors may realize higher success rates for actively managed funds
in other categories like bonds (broadly speaking) or emerging market equities.
¹ Some investors deliberately select less risky large-cap funds.

Tech has been tough to beat over the last ten and fifteen year periods. So QQQ has been tough to beat outside a tech sector fund.
However, if you were the buy and hold type, there was a window five years ago where you could have picked up a number of funds that are still beating QQQ despite everything since then. Just for fun, I'll mention three small-cap value funds: VSMIX 26.05, BSCRX 21.65, and RWJ 19.72 to 19.21 for QQQ.
Will those funds maintain their leads? Who can say? Sometimes it helps to get lucky. If you had bought DODGX, VFINX, and QQQ on March 24, 2000, your investment in DODGX would have grown by 1024% to 598% for VFINX and 534% for QQQ.
March 24, 2000 was the day the S&P 500 peaked before the bust--if Perplexity can be believed. Let's try March 31, 1999, QQQ's first day. Since then, DODGX 1,168%, QQQ 1311%, and VFINX 739%. As with comedy, timing is everything.
VOO ain't what it used to be. Actively managed BBLU has been beating it for fifteen years with less tech and less volatility. Tech-heavy funds like FELG and SCHG also beat it.
Over the last five years it has become rather easy to beat. Just the other day I bought EISIX, which has been beating it for five years; so have BSCRX, AICFX, and AFIFX for that matter. Then there are any number of growth-oriented funds that are doing it.
But what if I had bought VOO and VSMIX five years ago, and continued to invest 100.00$ a month since then. I would guess that the day you actually bought would make some difference. But I'm not going to parse that when Portfolio Visualizer can get me close enough--dinky linky. For those that don't follow links, you would have 44K in VSMIX to 32K in VOO. The worst year for VSMIX was +4.58 versus -18.19 for VOO. Will VOO catch up to VSMIX some day? Maybe. Stay tuned.
Forgot to include QQQ in the previous scenario. Here you go. DFL: VSMIX still winning.
Buy tech? Absolutely. Buy the S&P 500? If it floats your boat, why not?

My SIL has been buying 50/50 VOO/QQQ for years now. He can already retire.
In the early 1990s, a good friend invested in ten individual stocks, putting about $3,000 into each. The rest of his monthly contributions went into the S&P 500.
Nine of those stocks didn’t amount to much — but the tenth, Microsoft, grew into more than $1.5 million.

VOO and QQQ (or QQQM) are the only funds I would purchase. Very liquid, low expense ratios, low frictional costs, and ample diversification. Active management is nonsense in my opinion.

In terms of US equities, I am currently only investing in two alternative funds which have been doing well over the past one and three months:
QLENX (Long/Short) which is up 1.6% over the past month, and 8.4% over the past three months. And:
QDSNX (Multi-strategy) which is up 1.5% over the past month, and 5.9% over the past three months.
So far, so good. However, I am not planning to add to either fund at this time.

Just finished reading his book. Great read.

+1 Agree
Numbers are strange things in that there’s often more behind the raw data (like dividends) than first meets the eye. But it is worth noting that, according to Sorkin (interview), the initial drop of around 50% in “the market” in 1929 was largely recouped by year’s end when the market had pulled back to only a 17% loss for the year. Major publications in summarizing the year’s top stories didn’t even find that notable enough to highlight.
It was in the years following ‘29 that the real unraveling occurred. By about ‘39 or ‘40 the market had fallen by 90% from its 1929 high. A lesson might be that dips and relatively quick recoveries are what we’ve become accustomed to. A prologued near decade-long decline can’t be completely ruled out and something I doubt any of us are prepared for. It’s the time span that I find most intriguing. The ‘07-‘09 fiasco by comparison lasted only about 15 or 16 months by my memory.
Have a nice day!

TSP F Fund is total bond market (investment-grade) and is similar to AGG, BND, SCHZ.
Stable-value TSP G Fund has no downside risk. Note that its crediting rate update hasn't been posted for 1+ month - 4.25% was the September rate.

Thanks @yogibearbull. I’m quite comfortable holding the G fund when I’m getting paid 4.25% for almost no risk. I’m curious what are your thoughts on the F fund in terms of risk/reward vs G?

Best guess (based on annual statement calling this GO VR with maturity 11/1/43) is CUSIP 74514L3T2. The GO means General Obligation; I'm guessing that TRP used VR to mean variable rate. It's actually a CVIS.
That's a really funky type of bond. A few years ago I helped someone who held this specific bond with their taxes. Not going to revisit.
Quick Bloomberg summary:

contingent value instruments ... only repay if sales-tax revenue collections surpass budgeted estimates.
The CVIs are taxable and do not carry interest.

Not assessable to non-subscribers. Try link below that provides the same information.
https://cnbc.com/2025/10/29/there-were-two-fed-dissenters-miran-wanted-a-bigger-cut-and-schmid-voted-for-no-easing-at-all.html

31 Oct, '25:
re-hashing what's probably been the subjects of discussion all day long. ...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2025-10-31/real-yield-10-31-2025-video

Stable-Value (SV) Rates, 11/1/25
TIAA Traditional Annuity (Accumulation) Rates
25 bps cuts
Restricted RC 4.75%, RA 4.50%
Flexible RCP 4.00%, SRA 3.75%, IRA-101110+ 3.75%
(TIAA Declaration Year 3/1 - 2/28)
TSP G Fund pending (previous 4.250%).
Options outside of workplace retirement plans include m-mkt funds, bank m-mkt accounts (FDIC insured), T-Bills, short-term brokered CDs.
#StableValue #401k #403b #TIAA #TSP
https://ybbpersonalfinance.proboards.com/post/2281/thread

Rotating small amounts out of US and Global into International in my account. Wife was overweight small cap (conservative, deep value) which is now going into global bonds and all-cap international. Nothing more than 5% moves in either, however. No longer putting $$$ into US Bond funds -- putting into stable value and global bond funds instead.

Most boring investor here. Swapped Wellesley for global Wellesley. Addling to PRSIX as +5% CD’s mature.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318342/000139834425020089/fp0096061-1_497.htm
497 1 fp0096061-1_497.htm
Bahl & Gaynor Income Growth Fund
Class A (AFNAX)
Class C (AFYCX)
Class I (AFNIX)
A series of Investment Managers Series Trust (the “Trust”)
Supplement dated October 31, 2025 to the currently effective
Summary Prospectus, Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information.
*** Important Notice Regarding Proposed Fund Reorganization ***
The Board of Trustees of Investment Managers Series Trust has approved an Agreement and Plan of Reorganization (the “Plan”) for the Bahl & Gaynor Income Growth Fund (the “Target Fund”), a series of the Trust, providing for the reorganization of the Target Fund into the Bahl & Gaynor Income Growth ETF (the “Acquiring Fund”), a series of ETF Series Solutions. The reorganization of the Target Fund is subject to approval by its shareholders.
The Acquiring Fund has substantially similar investment objectives and similar principal investment strategies as the Target Fund. Bahl & Gaynor, Inc. (“Bahl & Gaynor”) serves as investment advisor to both the Target Fund and the Acquiring Fund.
The Plan provides for the Target Fund to transfer all of its assets to the Acquiring Fund in return for shares of the Acquiring Fund and cash in lieu of fractional Acquiring Fund shares (if any), and the Acquiring Fund’s assumption of the Target Fund’s liabilities. Shareholders of the Target Fund will receive shares of the Acquiring Fund and cash in lieu of fractional Acquiring Fund shares (if any) equal in value to the shares of the Target Fund held by the shareholder prior to the reorganization. The reorganization is not expected to result in the recognition of gain or loss by the Target Fund or its shareholders for federal tax purposes (except with respect to cash received by shareholders in lieu of fractional shares, if any). Bahl & Gaynor will bear the costs related to the reorganization.
The Target Fund operates as a mutual fund and the Acquiring Fund operates as an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”). ETFs may provide benefits to shareholders compared to mutual funds, including additional trading flexibility, increased transparency, and the potential for lower transaction costs and enhanced tax efficiency. Additional information regarding the differences between mutual funds and ETFs and potential impact to shareholders will be included in the proxy statement noted below. In order to receive shares of the Acquiring Fund as part of the Reorganization, Target Fund shareholders must hold their shares of the Target Fund through a brokerage account eligible to hold and trade shares of an ETF. Shareholders holding their Target Fund shares through accounts that are not eligible to hold shares of an ETF will not participate in the reorganization and will instead receive a cash distribution equal to the net asset value of their Target Fund shares in full redemption of their Target Fund shares. Such cash distribution may result in the recognition of gain or loss for federal tax purposes. If you are unsure about the ability of your account to accept Acquiring Fund shares, please call 1-833-472-2140 or contact your financial advisor or other financial intermediary.
The Trust will call a shareholder meeting at which shareholders of the Target Fund will be asked to consider and vote on the Plan. If the required shareholder approval for the reorganization of the Target Fund is obtained, the reorganization of the Target Fund is currently expected to take effect in the first quarter of 2026.
Shareholders of the Target Fund will receive a proxy statement with additional information about the shareholder meeting, the proposed reorganization, and the Acquiring Fund. Please read the proxy materials carefully, as they will contain a more detailed description of the proposed reorganizations.
Please file this Supplement with your records.

US Savings I-Bonds Rate, 11/1/25 – 4/30/25
Total 4.03% (vs previous 3.98%)
Fixed rate is 0.90%, the semiannual inflation is 1.56%.
www.treasurydirect.gov/savings-bonds/i-bonds/
Keep in mind the following:
1. There is a 3-month interest penalty for selling in years 1-5.
2. Interest accrues monthly on the 1st of the month but is added to the principal only at 6-monthly intervals from the purchase date. So, simple interest applies from the month of purchase up to 6 months, & then is compounded (i.e. added to the principal) at 6-monthly intervals.
3. Buy late in the month, or sell early in the month, to get full month interest.