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.
Call it docking,,,, call it a float. Call it what you will. The fact is that the money that will be used to fund your CD purchase leaves your account and until the settlement date earns no interest for you. I assume that my money is making inter…
I have used Portfolio manager for years. It was particularly useful when I had assets in several places. But dudes,,,,, we have bigger things to fret about. Maybe we should be like the Bogleheads who brag about not looking at the their investment…
@Hank. Thanks for the buy signal. Happily I have been a shareholder since 2012. Also owned YIELD PLUS and was lucky enough to get out before it blew up.
I seem to recall the term “ misery index” from the bad old days. The formula was (high)inflation rate plus (high)unemployment rate = misery. I was deeply impacted back then when I was the manager of a VW dealership. The interest on the inventory …
@ Hank. Yield plus was a hopped up money market alternative that blew up and led to law suits. Nothing to do with SCHD, dividend and div growth etf. SCHB is a broad market ETF. No connection whatsoever to SCHD,,, which is widely considered to be …
Hello Crash. Other than Equities? That is the question this year. Positions I held last year. SJNK…. PFXF. VWEHX. SCHP. PRFRX. IUSB. Since my Equity allocation is way smaller my need to do something with “the rest “ is greater. For me losin…
If you are old enough to survived the seventies,,,,, you know that time was on your side. For us seventies survivors we now have more wisdom but much less time. By the time long bonds become attractive I will be buying them for my heirs. Haha.
Hi Crash. I too invested for the divs but I am having a hard time staying to lose. Based on historical returns the share price is not likely to increase. So if I put the whole pile under my mattress and took out 3.5% every January I might come o…
@Crash. I also have a commitment to PRFRX..Divs have declined slightly Jan thru April.. Aren’t they by definition supposed to “float” up with interest rates? And the gentle but steady decline in share price leaves me cold. Not loving this one,,,,…
For market historians I have a question. Have the first five months of 2022 been the worst start to any year for moderate and conservative allocation funds? Seems like a perfect storm. Is this time really different? Maybe.
I certainly agree that it matters a great deal if you’re investor how this plays out. That’s for sure. Maybe tides are not a perfect analogy but tides have their own schedule. We sailors get a new tide book every year or did before smart phones. …
Are not downturns by whatever we choose to name them part and parcel of our economic system? I was a grad student in American history a million years ago. It’s part of the American experience. Good times. Bad times. They come and go,,,,, sure …
@ Crash. I couldn’t find the April number either. I looked at M*, Schwab and even TRP. Oddly enough the dollars were reported in
my Schwab IRA on the 29th. The number was shrinking. As much as I would like think of it as a MM I am aware of its ca…
@Crash. What are your expectations for PRFRX? Jan thru March 2022 the dividends trail the same period in 2021. The share price is slowly declining over the long run. While it’s out performing core bond funds it also has the potential for signific…
I have recency and confirmation bias. So I only pay attention to a benchmark when and if I am beating it handily. While I take my portfolio seriously,,,,,,not so much myself. Thanks for all your comments.
I tried using AOK as my personal benchmark based on my 31% equity allocation. I am down .87% YTD as of today. I must be a (timid) genius. LOL. Another 30% er,,,, VTINX is also failing to provide protection. It seems obvious that a giant slug of …
@Hank. My family owned a small business from the thirties to the eighties less than a mile from Dodge Main. Happily I didn’t follow in their footsteps.
@Hank. Detroit guy here. Just saw a Sanders product at Costco. I remember Sanders downtown and at Northland too. The hot fudge was as much a taste of Detroit as a Coney or Buddy’s Pizza.
@ Observant1…..i agree. She was lucky to get Vpmax, With no min purchase and it was generally closed at the time. Now I am encouraging her to jump on I Bonds. She is a medical professional and that low limit doesn’t seem to get her interest. H…
Thanks everyone for this thread. Since I am at 31% equity I use VTINX and AOK as my benchmarks. I am -2.01 YTD so slightly beating them. @wxman 123. I too have thought about just putting the whole thing in VWIAX. Have thought about it for years. …
@Derf. @ Crash. With the true intentions of both Powell and Putin unclear to us and perhaps to them, lots of dry powder seems very prudent. For those of us of a certain age it’s possible the last great buying opportunity of our lifetime might be…
Hi David,,,, you and I think the interest rate increases will be modest and historically I am sure they will be. This may be a leap of logic but I bet millions of investors will come unglued,,,, just like millions of “citizens” won’t get vaccinated…
@wxman123. I too would like to capture “decent yield”. I wonder if you think that the bond market has already priced in all of the rate increases the Fed is seeming committed to? I wonder how long the short term pain might last? One can only wond…
@sma3…. I agree that the duration of WWINX is all wrong for the near future. My current non equity holdings have a duration of about 1.5. Just short tips and bank loan funds. But if I let the equity allocation drive any one fund solution then dura…
Gentlemen: Thanks for the thoughtful replies. As far as using WB as a model that has to be a non starter for most seniors. A 90 % equity allocation ? Everyone has a different set of circumstances. As for us, our withdrawal rate is essentially zero…
Come on guys. Interest rates are historically low and are not the least bit connected to economic conditions.. Are the markets not way late for a revision to the mean even if interest rates remained flat? Do American investors think trees grow to…
