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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.
  • MUTUAL FUNDS WHY?
    This added efficiency should be true for most ETFs, except for Vanguard's, which for complicated reasons I'm too tired to explain aren't more efficient than Vanguard's index mutual funds as they are actually another share class of those funds.
    IMHO this perspective is backward. This added efficiency is true for Vanguard ETFs as well - so far they have been able to dump all gains onto APs. As a result, it is not that Vanguard's ETFs are less efficient than those of other families, but that Vanguard's OEF share classes are more efficient than mutual funds of other families.

    Most of Vanguard's ETFs were created as a new share class of an existing mutual fund.
    Former Vanguard CIO Gus Sauter even patented (expires 2023) this innovative solution.
    This solution increases the tax efficiency for associated mutual funds.
    Dan Wiener from "The Independent Advisor for Vanguard Investors" compared the after-tax returns of Vanguard ETFs with their corresponding mutual funds.
    Some ETFs had a small advantage of several bps but the same was true for some mutual funds.
    There also were ETFs and mutual funds which generated identical after-tax returns.
    The following Bloomberg article from 2019 discusses Vanguard's mutual fund taxation in more detail.
    Link
    Here's Barry Ritholtz's take.
    Link
  • MUTUAL FUNDS WHY?
    In my humble opinion, (using @msf numbers) - 3,582 mutual funds vs. 85 ETF's
    What I quoted was a 2017 piece that gave the number of NTF OEFs and ETFs then available through Fidelity. (Now all ETFs are traded w/o commission.)
    Fidelity's screen shows 2426 ETFs and 80 ETNs available.
    https://research2.fidelity.com/pi/etf-screener
    (FWIW, Schwab's shows 2195 ETFs
    https://client.schwab.com/secure/cc/research/etfs/etfs.html?path=/research/Client/ETFs/Screener/FundFinder )
    Fidelity's fund screener shows 10624 "funds" (share classes), including leveraged, inverse, and closed funds.
  • Tactical Plays for rest of 2021 and near term
    Been trading ~ 2% portfolio in aggressive stocks like Arkk sens anvs past few wks
    Rest in long term vehicles -indexes qqq sp500 dji vti brk.b bac...
  • QYLD: Covered Call ETF
    https://www.google.com/amp/s/seekingalpha.com/amp/article/4432955-qyld-covered-call-etf-11-9-percent-yield
    QYLD: Covered Call ETF - 11.9% Yield
    Jun. 3, 2021 4:36 PMGlobal X Funds - Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF (QYLD)QQQ, SPY
    Summary
    Covered call funds provide investors with strong yields and outperformance during flat markets, at the expense of lower capital gains and long-term returns.
    QYLD is a covered call ETF tracking the Nasdaq 100 index.
    11.9% yield, what can go wrong?
  • MUTUAL FUNDS WHY?
    @davidrmoran Don't assume I didn't check. In my humble opinion, (using @msf numbers) - 3,582 mutual funds vs. 85 ETF's "seems to be a limited number to me" in comparison. I've offered that I don't own ETF's and am interested in learning more about what I'm missing. <--That's an open admission that I don't know what I don't know.
    You seem to keep having a problem with my posts. May I suggest you just ignore them or me? I will gladly do the same for you.
  • Best No Load and NTF Funds Available at Fidelity
    VALUE vs. GROWTH: Circling back to this and @stillers mention of PARWX ... My MSEGX (LCG) is down 1.30% YTD and PARWX (LCV) is up 24.65% - YIKES! A quick comparison scan of Fidelity Growth vs. Value Index funds shows the same . . . a massive move from growth to value this year. The shift to value has been mentioned a bunch but when it's staring you in the face... it becomes even more real. On the bright side FMSDX has been a nice addition.
  • Tactical Plays for rest of 2021 and near term
    Good question. I’m not seeing anything near term. I prefer to call those “spec plays” anyway. As to “tactical” plays, I scale in or out slowly over months or years. So it’s a matter of portfolio weight or emphasis. I’ve lightened up a bit on the commodities / NR area just because it’s done so well. I’ll continue to lighten up there in “smigits”, but like the area too well to abandon it. BTW, I’ve plugged in PRELX as an (unlikely) substitute inside my real assets sleeve. And it’s beginning to move. A less dicey play on inflation than pure commodities.
    I’m looking at what to add at Fido when I have some money there. Kinda like their utilities fund, FSUTX, which would replace some of my commodities exposure. Last evening I went back and re-read David Geroux’s December 2020 Fund Report for PRWCX. In it he makes a compelling case for utilities (which constituted 10% of his holdings at the time). I’m more convinced after reading that than ever. A real long-shot is Fido’s less than 2 year old Infrastructure fund FNSTX. At only 50 mil AUM, should it pop - you’d make out like a bandit. It’s mostly outside the U.S. Heavily in Italy and Spain for reasons unclear. (Maybe they like olives & wine?) However, that’s a pretty far-fetched gamble. It could just as easily go the other way.
  • MUTUAL FUNDS WHY?
    He may be looking at an old commission schedule. Before Fidelity (and nearly everybody else) went commission-free on stocks and ETFs, Fidelity offered mainly iShares and OneQ (the only ETF Fidelity had at the time) with no transaction fee:
    Fidelity ranks competitively, too, with 3,532 NTF mutual funds and 85 commission-free ETFs, including dozens of iShares ETFs
    Kiplinger, Aug 2017
    https://www.kiplinger.com/article/investing/t023-c000-s002-we-pick-the-best-online-brokers.html
  • MUTUAL FUNDS WHY?
    OK, I’ll give an example of why I chose a mutual fund over a comparable ETF. For small cap exposure in my IRA, I had used a small cap index fund, DISSX, with an expense ratio of 0.50% for many years. Realizing that I could get slightly better returns from IJR, which follows the same index with an ER of 0.06%, I looked into switching. However, I then discovered that Fidelity has a small cap index fund (FSSNX) with an ER of 0.025% and even better returns, so I switched to it. So, in this case, the Fidelity index mutual fund had lower expenses than a comparable ETF. If your a stickler, iShares has an ETF that follows the Russell 2000, the same as FSSNX, also with a higher ER.
    Other than the lower ER, I can do same-day transfers of money between FSSNX and other Fidelity funds, which is a big advantage to me, since many of the other funds in my IRA are with Fidelity.
  • T Rowe Price ETFs in registration
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1795351/000174177321001758/c485apos.htm
    T. Rowe Price QM U.S. Bond ETF
    T. Rowe Price Total Return ETF
    T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF
  • MUTUAL FUNDS WHY?
    I've held FCNTX since 1986. In July, 2019 I made my first sale to open a position in BIAWX for both curiosity and speculation that Danoff may float the idea of retiring. Since then FCNTX has increased in value 32.8% while BIAWX has gone up by 52.6%. My curiosity has been satisfied but Danoff is still a rockstar.
  • property/home prices
    Putting my home of 26 years in the burbs of CHI on the market next week...spent the past several weeks, cleaning, fixing, prepping...every few weeks I wait the prices in the neighborhood go up by $10k....we'll see what happens. Going with fixed fee listing, not gonna pay a realtor high 4, low 5 digits to do a few days work as the homes sell so fast. No inventory is right unless you want to buy a home for $1.5MM+, then plenty to choose from as many north shore burbs types flee the tax man of Illinois and no reason to go into downtown CHI town, crime out of control, way out of control, no thank you to the cook county state's attorney who does not do her job...you could spin whatever narrative you want, just go into the city and drive around. Drug abuse rampant. Criminal justice reform legitamcy has a point but after that point the narrative is one thing, reality is another.
    Never beeen to Traverse City, been to Pentwater, South Haven...all real nice places, nice folks, looking forward to getting up to TC later this year!
    Seems you get that...meaning the exporting of inflation...wealthy new yorkers sell their condo, buy somewhere else with half the money and have the other half to spend, invest etc. Meanwhile locals like the home appreciation but then can't afford the increase in tax assessments. Lot of trouble with affordable housing all across this country. Thank you to the Fed and CB...keeping interest rates too low, debasing our currency...increasing inequality across the board...
    Good Luck to All,
    Baseball Fan
  • Tactical Plays for rest of 2021 and near term
    I'll stick with my chosen funds. Finally, circumstances are presenting me with the chance to dabble a bit. ENIC, a Chilean electricity provider is at 52-week low, after the election. 7% div.
    Bombardier BDRBF.
    You bought WOOD. Watch WFG. West Fraser Timber.
  • Tactical Plays for rest of 2021 and near term
    Typically, I'm buy and hold and have made few changes in my IRA's in past 5-7 years. I like to be a little more aggresive/strategic with a % of my 401k. I purchased WOOD and GLTR in January...Previous small positions were in ARKK, FM, SLV and GLD.
    Any ideas you have just for sharing purposes...
  • MUTUAL FUNDS WHY?
    FLPSX is about 15% of my Rollover IRA.
    I've let it ride since August 2011.
    The total gain in a little less than 11 years is 304%.
    It's been one of my "invest and don't mess with it" positions.
    Ditto for FDCAX (up 421% in the same time period).
    David
  • property/home prices
    @AZRph : A very good point you've made !
    @royal4 : Thanks for reporting back. Gal PAL had a hard time selling condo about 1 1/2
    years ago for in the $165 K range. About 6 weeks ago it sold for $215 K. !!
    Enjoy the summer, Derf
  • Woke Companies and Fund Families
    +1 Lewis. 1950 is too recent for the anti-woke crowd-They want to go back to 1850. And the White Supremacy ETF symbol(avoiding some inflammatory choices) is WASP !
  • property/home prices
    hank's keen observation about non-stop flights into TVC tells a story about money and locations.
    The Traverse City area and other shoreline communities to the north along Lake Michigan have a long past with wealth. From about 100 years ago, the vast amount of monies spent in these areas for property and houses arrived from an industrial based wealth class from Chicago and Detroit. A summer play land for the wealthy.
    In the mid through late 1980's we vacationed in this area for a variety of reasons....besides being a magnificent area that is easy on the eyes and the cranium.
    One of our observations when driving the "old" wealth communities (Harbor Springs, NNE of Traverse City and others) and the houses, is that one could view several auto license plates in the driveways.......Illinois, Florida and Michigan plates. The cars, generally speaking; were not baseline Chevy's or Ford's.
    Likely 3 generations of an old money family on vacation for the entire summer, in particular the Florida plates, and folks escaping the Florida summer heat.
    This observation revealed its own story, of course, IMHO.
    Northport, N of Traverse City; has a current listing for 2.31 acres of vacant land, which has 814 feet of shoreline. At $2.6 million, the result is $3,300 per foot of shoreline. This may be one of the most expensive for the Michigan side of Lake Michigan; but it is not uncommon the expect to pay $2,000 per foot of shoreline for undeveloped property.
    However, leaving the wealth side of things; a wonderful family vacation may be had in all of these areas, including great state parks alone the shoreline.
    We've driven many of the county and state roads along these shorelines.
    Traverse City and other larger locations are "busy" in the summer, but one may travel the shoreline a bit farther north and enjoy relative "quiet" and much beauty.
    Good Hart and Cross Village sat. map
    Traverse City and surrounds map
    Thanks, @hank; for pulling the memories.
    If there were a MFO class reunion, this area would be my pick. 'Course, the real draw would be my paying for the lodging for participants.
  • IQDAX- If it's opaque, just maybe there's a reason?
    Updated Liquidation Plans
    As we have described in previous updates and FAQs, the Fund has been working diligently with outside experts to analyze the pricing of the Fund’s portfolio at February 18, 2021 and prior periods. That process is ongoing. Simultaneously, the Fund has been undergoing a process to estimate its potential debts, obligations and liabilities, including, without limitation, all contingent, conditional, or unmatured debts, obligations and liabilities known or reasonably ascertainable by the Fund in order to determine an appropriate reserve to satisfy these liabilities. That process is also ongoing.
    Although these efforts are continuing, in order to commence distributing the Fund’s assets to current shareholders as quickly as possible, on May 24, 2021 the Fund submitted a draft Plan of Distribution to the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for its review. The draft Plan of Distribution anticipates an initial distribution of fund assets to current shareholders, but it does not specify the amount of such interim distribution. Accordingly, the Fund requested, and SEC staff has granted, an extension to June 7, 2021 for the Fund to submit a final Plan of Distribution that sets forth all initial reserve amounts and proposes an aggregate amount for an initial distribution of assets to current shareholders.
    The Fund is making every effort to meet the June 7th deadline so that the SEC staff can complete its review of the Plan of Distribution as soon thereafter as possible. After the SEC staff completes its review of the Plan, the Fund will post it on this website and mail it to shareholders.
    The Fund anticipates that it will be able to make an initial distribution to current shareholders within 30 days after the SEC staff completes its review of the Plan.
  • Woke Companies and Fund Families
    Somehow I thought a combination of the recent Florida house appraisal story, this sort of legislative history (https://www.npr.org/2017/05/03/526655831/a-forgotten-history-of-how-the-u-s-government-segregated-america), and the new delving of the Tulsa massacre might clarify to whites offended by the word 'racist' what 'systemic racism' means.