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.
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Sven
Lynn,
Thank you so much. I am planning on a 3-year ladder since I am a year away from retirement. Lots of spreadsheet work to calculate the income replacement needed. This ladder will create a steady income stream. So thank you for all your help.
I moved back to high quality bond funds this year. Some of which you covered in the SA article. For now, I will stay with agency bonds to the bond ladder. I will pick active managers for corporate bonds.
Sven
The Continuing Resolution passed is far from a clean bill. it has over 700 pages that the members supposedly to read through them and make a quick vote. As @Old_Joe eluded to, this is another case of kicking the can down the road.
Will see how M…
I prefer Adam Schiff for the next senate election. The memory of Senator Feinstein will live on for many folks for her contribution to our society.
Edit: an article from VOX.
https://vox.com/politics/23895685/dianne-feinstein-dies-california-se…
These are the “magnificent seven “ tech stocks (not Berkshire Hathaways) that contribute to majority of the gain in the S&P 500 index is year. Additionally, this implies the other 493 stocks are doing merely so so in this narrow breath environme…
@dtconroe, probably won't affect individuals as much. Shutdown will however interpret air traffic control and business travel. Also active duty soldiers will not get paid.
Following @Old_Joe's instruction.
https://ibb.co/80gFbM4
If I import the URL into the picture icon (third from the right), I do not get the picture from the URL.
@Yogibb, please advise.
Robo investing does work given time and patience. For example, many state sponsored 529 plans employ low cost broadly diversified index funds. The state adds a smaller layer of fees as the administrator. Overall fees are still very good. Automatic…
@msf, Vanguard often written things in simple language. Many may interpret Vanguard being a plain old indexer and that is simply untrue (have equally number actively managed funds).
As you posted the comparison between different PAS plans: Digita…
Recently we have started working with Vanguard PAS Select program and have a dedicated advisor. Our ultimate goal is to have a human advisor to oversee our finance if and when I go before my time, and my wife and kids will be well care for. For no…
We have the cash to stay patient. This year our bonds have made solid gain while the stocks are spotty with many disappointments. Overall it has been a modest gain that at least exceeded this year inflation rate. That is good enough for us.
Edit…
My parent’s generation pays over 1% management fees on top of costly investment vehicles. Robo advisors when designed probably do serve their customers at a reasonable cost.
Many years ago, Fidelity was my 401(k) plan administrator. A planning tool, the Financial Engines was made available in their Net Benefit portal. Here is more information on it.
https://www.edelmanfinancialengines.com/about-us/
The users have th…
@msf said, Dynamic Cash Flow Tax Plan- Roth IRA Conversion (the sample spreadsheet)
Thank you. That is very insightful to see it on a spreadsheet. These are the next set of questions I was planning to ask Vanguard.
@Observant1, if you are a F…
Preset allocation funds including target date funds do work and meet the target, but it takes patience. Yes, we set aside cash and cash equivalents for emergency.
Our personal experience is to send our kids to college using the 529 fund exclusive…
Having a more complete portfolio picture helped in our planning. Remember, the initial plan is merely a proposal. The clients need to review it thoroughly and make adjustments (asset allocation (risk tolerance), investment vehicles, and % active v…
We are in similar situation as @Observant1 with respect to Vanguard PAS. Their proposed Plan is very detailed as described above with many recommendations . Once you import external account holdings, a comprehensive customized plan can then be made…
We are fortunate to own fuel efficient cars, not Tesla for sure. Cannot imagine having a Hummer.
We exited the entire commodity futures position early this year. Guess it was premature now that oil is up again. Where is the recession that everyone…
Just read in Reuters that oil is heading up to $100/barrel. The combined cut back from major oil producers including OPEC and Russia are affecting the supply side. Higher energy cost will boost inflation again.
In the long run, recycling Li-ion batteries will be profitable as the shift towards EVs as part of the economy of scale. Reclaiming lead electrodes from spent lead acid batteries is similar to that of lithium salts used in these Li-ion batteries. In…
Thanks. High quality bonds have been so so this year but high yield corporate and BL/FR excel with high single digit total return. For now I am focus on short term high yield bonds while keeping my eyes on the gain already made on high yield corpora…
There are few pockets of bond funds that are doing well, but they are heavily overbought as @junkster mentioned. So watch for defaulting if and when recession strikes. For now short term T bills and CDs are still attractive, yielding 5.5%. We con…
Here is a detail analysis on recycling EV’s lithium ion batteries. There are more components involved and thus add complexity than those of traditional smelting process for aluminum and steel.
https://nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1682-5
@yogibb said,
stocks were mixed (cyclicals up, growth down), bonds up, oil up, gold down, dollar flat. Last week seems like a fluke. US FY24 starts on 10/1/23 but no deal yet in DC. #AAII #Sentiment #Markets
If I read you right, there is little d…
Andrew Foster and his team have posted extensive views on emerging market investing and it is not trivial matter in order to get meaningful gain. The investment landscape is changing fast and some countries are rapidly becoming “uninvestable”.
Rest in peace, Jimmy. Always a fun guy to listen to.
Buffet suffered from Merkel cell cancer, the website said.
Merkel cell cancer is very rare, according to the National Cancer Institute. Risk factors include sun exposure, having a weak immun…
Terry Savage, who writes a finance column and has been at if for a long time, was noting, rolling tbills 3, 6 months a time with "chicken money" as she calls it...she's prolly right...
Not sure where you are driving at, but I will let MFO posters…
With the potential risk of government shutdown in late September, there is no compelling reason to be add equities. Stocks are expensive today. Other sectors besides the large mega-tech stocks are trailing badly.
Will continue to rollover T bills…
Buying T bills at auction through Schwab brokerage has no fee just like buying brokered CDs. There is a set schedule at the Treasury while CDs are not. https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/221/Tentative-Auction-Schedule.pdf
Newly issued short t…
One hurdle has yet to overcome, but I think it can be solved.
There is one issue that could hamper the production of solid-state batteries though — lithium supply. Solid-state batteries could end up using a lot more lithium than traditional batter…
“The process (rate hike) still have a way to go” said Powell. This implies the rate will stay higher and longer.
https://npr.org/2023/08/25/1195908947/federal-reserve-jerome-powell-inflation-economy-interest-rates
Somehow the market likes that.
American funds (Capital Group) and Franklin have launched a number of passive and active ETFs. @yogibb has it correct that these ETFs are cousins and their respective OEFs. If you compare them side by side on their top 10 holdings and sector weigh…
No survivors. Will the Wagner group disband or someone else steps up?
https://apnews.com/article/russia-wagner-prigozhin-jet-crash-a7859e4e57f2efa2547dfbe5bdbaa1b2
