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.
It is pretty sad when your bonds and bond funds loose money all year but the alternative for bear market protection- cash- is worse.
Core funds are all underwater. Only things even a little bit positive are Floating rate, short term Munis. When rat…
Cathy's down 7% today. I bought a tiny bit 15% higher a couple of weeks ago. I think she has the right ideas but got ahead of things. IT really depends on how good her analysts are in tech and biotech in particular
My son bought $2100 in 2018 and…
The tech guy at Schwab my broker put me into contact with ( far more knowledgeable than the usual person answering the phone on tech support) said Schwab wanted to increase it's security around third parties who downloaded account transactions. Appa…
WHat has happened is by using their Schwab Bank Investor C, Quicken turns the brokerage account into a bank account. However, you can still change the transactions into the correct dividend re investments, sales etc, but you have to do it manually
…
I reached a knowledgeable guy in tech at Schwab who says they started transitioning to this new bank type authorization last month, because it is more secure and does not share our passwords with Quicken. Tha is when the "zz" started showing up.
He…
I got all my account to download. Changed password for safety's sake. Am calling Schwab technical support to find out what "Schwab Bank- Investor C" is
I have managed to restore several of my accounts by
1) ensuring that "Schwab" is listed as the brokerage name, not "zz-Schwab" or zzz-Schwab" on the account details window ( this is in the recommendations)
But this still would not allow me to "Act…
@hank
It all depends on what you need the money for. People who are depending on the market going up to pay their bills are in a dangerous place, I think.
The valuations and the placidity are both concerning. Both are the Feds fault. When they st…
Grantham's interview here with Bloomberg Wall Street Week probably says same thing, but no paywall.
Above chart reproduced here too.
https://jugglingdynamite.com/
I find some of Juggling Dynamite's stuff well worth getting
@Old_Joe
I retired in 2019 after 40 years in primary care medical practice, both self employed and as an employee.
When I was self employed, my livelihood and the salaries of all of our employees depended on the knowledge and expertise of the bill…
I have had a small position since 2019. It has done what I expected, ie buffered market declines.
March 2020 Tail was up 27% to SPY drop of 31%. It is down about 15% since I bought it, far less than inverse ETFs like SH which lost over 50%
It also…
I think we all need to be aware of the potential catastrophe if we enter a prolonged bear market. People who are depending on their equity returns to live on will be hurt very very badly.
While the 1930s are probably not a useful comparison, as th…
Great explanation of Musk sales
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/authors/ARbTQlRLRjE/matthew-s-levine?cmpid=BBD111121_MONEYSTUFF&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=211111&utm_campaign=moneystuff&sref=OzMbRRMQ
Co…
@msf
I am not advocating setting up an LLC for I bonds alone, unless you live in a state where there is no annual fee for the LLC. Even then the legal fees and accounting are probably not worth it for the ability to invest another $10,000 in I bond…
Thanks for all the input and interesting ideas.
I missed the M* article, but I have dropped a lot of their stuff as it is all nonsense.
How can you take a firm that claims to be aimed at individual investors seriously, when it includes funds (GCC…
I think it depends on how you use your sole prop. If you do not try to deduct expenses that have no relationship to the purpose of the business, I don't think the IRS cares what you do with it.
The treasury might, but it is hard to see how they wi…
@graust
Thank you for the suggestions. I had forgotten about GAAEX, although I have looked at it in the past.
Will look at them and report back.
I think you can break down the ideas into a lot of categories and find ideas and ETFs for most of th…
I asked the Treasury if an LLC with a separate TIN could buy another $10,000 and they said yes.
I think the key is the separate TIN. If you use your own SSN on the trust ( referenced above) I think the the Treasury will link the accounts and refu…
@stillers
Sorry for the slow response. I have looked at several managed futures over the years, including AHLPX AQMNX AMFAX CSAAX, but not PQTAX.
AHLPX is the clear winner with better performance ( 42% vs -3% 26% and 25% with better risk metrics …
I have tried a number of different managed futures funds over the years, and find that AHLPX has the best track record. BLNDX has beaten it with about the same risk, but I assume that is because BLNDX can use equities.
M* says BLNDX started in 1/…
If you had the stomach hang on to IOFIX from 3/2020 to now it is almost back to even. But there are those 2 weeks when it lost half of it's value.
I don't understand exactly why, other than they had a lot of thinly traded bonds that before the Co…
As I understand the IRS instructions, you have to use the total amount of all your IRAs to calculate the RMD. The amount you have to withdraw is an IRS stated percentage based on your age. The IRS website has a table you can use and most brokerages…
I have owned VTMFX for several years and am generally pleased as a core holding.
It depends really on what you want to accomplish Growth? Income? and with what risk.
Almost 10% is in FAANG ( Nvidia not Netflix) so it will take a big hit when tha…
I have always believed their "we are not money grubbing investment advisors.. we only work for you the fund shareholders, who own the company" is total BS. We you ever asked to vote on the CEO's compensation?
I suspect this cut back was precipi…
@dafor Quartz looks interesting. What do you think of it? Cost?
I tip toed into MCSMX Mathews small companies China fund, figuring it was a safer way to get Chinese exposure than the large caps ( BABA etc) that are getting all of the pressure…
The best explanation I have heard for the GOP filibuster of the debt ceiling vote, is that McConnell wants to force the Dems to use reconciliation to increase the debt ceiling. He has already said that he will force them to be the lone votes on debt…
I think all of the good news is priced into the market and then some. Trading at very high PEs based on last quarters "too good to be true" comparisons to the Covid disaster.
There may be a bump as Covid recedes, but the angst in DC will be scarey…
I would assume your first requirement is a local lawyer who can do all of the paperwork for a fee. I would probably use someone from a large firm to ensure quality and know there is a backup.
I assume this is a cash transaction? IF the buyers ar…
For my two cents ( maybe mistaken) I think that this is a twist on the argument that with deficits so high the government is squeezing out almost all the private borrowers in the economy.
Banks park money overnight at the repo facility to ensure …
There are lots of ETFs that try to move counter to the market ( SH) , or provide a floor under losses ( take your pick 5 9 13 % or higher BUFF) or buy puts ( TAIL) These should all do well during a correction.
Inverse funds unfortunately drop…
POLRX has beaten POGRX handily over the last few years. granted POLRX is 25% FANG but somehow I doubt when there is a major correction POGRX will loose less
It always amazes me how people who did such a great job for so long a time could collectively agree to violate one of the most fundamental rule of investing DIVERSIFY!
If they had remembered, betting on Valeant would have been a 5% blip, not 50%
…
VWINX current duration is 8 years. So if rates increase 2% the bonds will drop 16%, taking the fund down 11%.
The problem with comparisons to the 1980s is the SP500 started at very low PEs, so a lot of the return in VWINX was from the 30% equity …
While younger funds, I would also look at BIAVX ( investor class of BLVAX which has $100,000 minimum ) CILGX
Both BLVAX and CILGX are GOs
All have higher Martin ratios and lower UI either over their shorter life ( BLVAX CILGX) or a comparable perio…
I found the most sobering analysis focused on the jobs report with it's huge miss of expected payroll ( 235,000 ) and the large increase in hourly wages ( 0.6%)
https://www.barrons.com/articles/economy-jobs-report-fed-stagflation-51630706928?mod=p…
I too have Fido Vang and Schwab accounts, but to avoid lots of funds spread all over, I try to run each account with a specific philosophy. It is very difficult to track dozens of positions if you do not have a benchmark to compare the account to.
…
