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.
I’m not usually an early adopter, but I bought 400 shares of TCAF yesterday. I’m pairing it with FADMX, and hopefully the combination will approximate PRWCX. I’ve been following PRWCX for a long time, with plans to transfer some of my other TRP fund…
T Rowe Price wouldn’t let me invest in PRWCX, so I sold my largest TRP holding (TRPBX) and bought TCAF. I’m going to pair it with a multi-sector bond fund, probably FADMX.
I’ve held TRPBX for many, many years but its performance has steadily decli…
I can still access my M* portfolios and watchlists through their app, but not if I go through their website. When I try to access portfolio view through their website, it goes to a page showing their membership fees. Sorry M*, but your content is no…
In the BB thread on how to beat PRWCX, I suggested the new ETF TCAF for equity and multisector bond funds (PONAX / PIMIX, FADMX, etc), and then wait of the record to develop (as there isn't any history to show), but posters there like to post histo…
FBALX is not far behind PRWCX and it’s open to new investors, has a low expense ratio, and has very consistent returns. I’m considering opening a position in TCAF, would prefer a fund rather than ETF for various reasons.
My Roth IRA is mostly with …
Personally, I’m very optimistic about balanced funds right now because this is the first time in years that bonds are paying healthy yields. Even with the market crash in 2022, my primary balanced fund (FBALX) has decent three and five year returns.
FYI, I tried to make a same-day exchange from a T Rowe Price fund to an ETF in the same family and the account rep told me they can’t do this. He said I would have to sell the fund first and then buy the ETF the next trading day. Likewise, he said I…
FYI, I just received my first call notice for a 2-year CD I bought in March. The yield was 5.5%, and I found a non-callable replacement yielding 5.15%, so that’s OK. I assume that most of the longer term CDs I bought back will be called sooner or la…
I am a long term investor with TRowe Price, and they have maintained large stakes in foreign stocks and bonds in their allocation funds for many, many years. Over the past decade or so, this has been a huge drag on the returns for their balanced, al…
My point is most Republicans DO care about money and property. When their beliefs start costing them real money, at least some of them might start looking at things differently. If they can’t insure their homes and property, then they could face rea…
Florida is next.
Sooner or later, insurance costs might be the factor that drives climate-change deniers to see the light. There is no doubt that climate change is fueling more extreme weather events and thus property damages. Wildfires, droughts,…
Another benefit with Fidelity, at least for us, is that they have many local offices where you can talk to real people in person. I have handled all of investments for decades, but my wife can take advantage of the local office and their advisors if…
Nothing different because I assumed the issue would get resolved at the last minute because that’s what has happened in the past. The consequences of default are so dire that everyone except the biggest whack jobs would not want to default. Admitted…
When I first started investing 30+ years ago, I was considering Vanguard, Fidelity and TRowe Price. Vanguard’s minimum investments were too high, and I opted for TRP because they were friendly to small investors. I later started an account with Fide…
I’ve owned ARTKX for 13 years, and it’s my only foreign fund that hasn’t disappointed. I’ve diversified into other foreign funds over the years and haven’t found anything that compares. However, if I wasn’t able to invest in ARTKX and wanted a forei…
Crash, If you have a Fidelity account, you can choose from hundreds of new-issue CDs, many with yields exceeding 5%. I have constructed two CD ladders extending up to 5 years with total yields about 5.1%. Similar options are available at Schwab and …
Fortunately, I registered my wife and daughter at the time I bought the I-Bonds for them, but the process for creating gift accounts is confusing so that didn’t happen. Also you had to wait at least 5 business days after buying the bonds to transfer…
I continue to hold international stock funds but have let the percentage decline as they continue to underperform. Most foreign funds are doing relatively well so far this year, but I never have high expectations because they have disappointed so mu…
I dumped my TIPs bond fund but holding the rest of them, about 35% of my total portfolio. Most bond funds now have healthy yields, and I think the worst of the slaughter is probably over. I am holding more cash in money markets and CDs than ever bef…
Unfortunately, I wasn’t paying attention to calls when I set up my CD ladders. I just went for the highest available yields for each step in the ladders. I’ll know better next time.
That’s what I figured. So, even though I have a 5-year ladder, the CDs are likely to be called if interest rates drop very much. Thanks for the article.
I’m willing to keep my I-Bonds at least another six months at that rate. They are exempt from state income taxes, which adds a little more to their value, and perhaps inflation will not drop as expected. However, I’m not buying any new I-Bonds as lo…
Andy, I believe that FIPDX’s duration is quite a bit higher now than when I first bought it. However, I don’t see how it can appreciate much unless rates drop a lot because it yields next to nothing. Seriously, the yield from my fund in February was…
My question was somewhat rhetorical and I don’t plan to sell all of my bond funds. But I do think I’ll sell at least one fund (FIPDX - a TIPs fund) and put the proceeds into a CD ladder. As a TIPs fund, I am astonished that it’s my worst performing …
I’m loving the higher yields on cash. I retired six years ago, and this is the first time I’ve been able to get decent returns on cash, except for a brief period a couple years ago. As a result, I haven’t held as much in cash reserves as a retiree p…
Never mind. I just realized that one of the extra Treasury payments for this month is our tax refund. However, I still don’t understand the extra payment in February.
One of many reasons why I never got an Alexa is that it overhears your conversations, and then you start getting ads for things you mention to your family. This is just creepy and invasive. It’s like having an advertising spy in your house. Sure, Go…
FYI, Nova on PBS had an episode on cryptocurrency this week. I haven’t watched it yet but to view it on streaming. One of my core financial practices is to stay away from investments I don’t understand and I’m clueless about crypto.
I’m planning to pay the estimated tax by September 15, but I’m still confused about the requirements for Roth conversions. I usually do my conversions in October, so I pay the estimated taxes in January of the following year. However, I’ve done two…
My credit union used to be very competitive on CDs and money market rates. Now they don’t even come close to Fidelity’s offerings. Even a 5-year CD is only yielding 0.85% at my credit union, and its MM is yielding only 0.4%. Needless to say, I don’t…
Apparently, M* does not rely on its traditional users for income. It has been driving away users for years. I used to visit M* daily, and now I rarely ever use the site. No love lost from my viewpoint.
@Catch22,
I don’t know the source of his image, but comparable rates are easy to find on Fidelity’s CD page. They are sorted by maturity dates, and you can easily find the best rates for any time period.
Hi @Charles
What is the source and date of…
I just created an 18-month CD ladder with cash that was sitting in a money market earning nothing. Overall, my ladder is yielding 2%, which isn’t great but much better than 0.2%. The CDs mature every 3 months, so I can take advantage of further rate…
My main point is that there’s plenty of blame to around. The current inflation is not simply due to actions on inactions by the current administration, but perhaps more so by business leaders and the general public.
Nobody likes high gas prices. Ho…
