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 have considered Treasury based MM funds, but am choosing to use a more "diversified" MM fund at Schwab, where they will use some high quality corporates, and other Government offerings besides treasuries. I qualified for SNAXX in 2020 in my IRA a…
4.3% nonCallable Cds have virtually disappeared for now. Doubtful they will reappear anytime soon. I had a Bank CD mature, and I decided to reinvest it back into a 12month CD at the same bank, at 4%. Schwab brokerage CDs do not look very attracti…
Lots of articles coming out about a very small rate cut in December, but possibly more of a flat environment in 2025. Floating Rate Bond OEFs tend to do well in a relatively flat environment, so it is a category to keep an eye on. I am a retired f…
I'm using SUTTX at Schwab as a holding operation, waiting to see what our shiny new and improved administration winds up doing re inflationary possibilities.
Using a MM fund at Schwab seems like a viable option. When my CDs mature, I will likely pl…
... I also moved a large percentage of my "taxable" Schwab account, in 2023, to CDs in a local Bank account--those Bank Account CDs can be sold before maturity, with a less "painful" early redemption fee. Also, with all of my Schwab brokerage acco…
@dtconroe : For someone that uses CD's as much as you do, I would have thought that your ladder would have reached out a few more years.
Different strokes for different folks, Derf
Hi Derf, no I have not made a long term c…
Just for clarification, I fully understand the illiquidity issues of CDs, especially when bought through a brokerage like Schwab. To cope with that illiquidity, I set up a short duration ladder at Schwab for the brokerage CDs--that is why I have 1/…
I have not mentioned MMs, where I have been holding a large chunk of my maturing CDs. I have chosen to use the highest yielding MMs at Schwab, which holds a broad range of investing categories, including US and foreign government and corporate sour…
Good point, Old Joe, that's why I am putting some of the proceeds of any maturing CDs into bond OEFs like CBLDX, DHEAX, ICMUX and RCTIX.
I am also putting money into two low risk market neutral funds like QQMNX (SD=7.2%) and JMNAX (SD=4.4%), and H…
@dtconroe- good to hear from you again. We are in exactly the same situation as you describe. I recently bought a long-term Deutsche Bank bond at 5.75%, callable in two years (that MikeM found) from Schwab. However as msf mentions hoping for a call …
I would say a solid money center bank callable bonds, callable Agency bonds, PAAA, and RPHIX are all good choices. Instead of either / or, you can split between them.
I owned very low risk bond oefs for many years. RPHIX was a long term holding, a…
Not everyone's cup of tea, but I have been getting added yield by buying "callable" bonds where the "next call date" is a year or 2 out there. I'm making the assumption a 5, 10 or even 20 year cooperate or gov. agency bond will be called at first ca…
So good to hear from you @dtconroe. Was concerned about your absence. You have so much to offer when it comes to fixed income investing.
Re ” … or jumping back into the more active investing options “
A couple years older here and never been th…
Over the years, I have chosen varying ways of taking my RMDs, at differing ways. When I was heavily using a Bond OEF strategy, I chose to take my RMDs on a monthly basis, from the monthly and predictable PIMIX monthly dividends. A few years ago, PI…
JPMorgan callables are sucker bait. They will be called, and as soon as possible.
I reserve the term "sucker bait" for introductory high yield bank CDs that automatically roll over to some lower rate before you can get out. Even if you get a free t…
I have noticed MM rates at Schwab have started declining again--not major drops but it seems every 7 days, the rates have reset and dropped a bit. Who knows what the Feds will do, but no doubt there is increasing pressure on them to cut rates.
Just took a look at available CDs at Schwab. There has been a huge reduction of CD offerings over the past few weeks. I would say the "Compelling" period has passed for now, and there are only a handful off offerings for any term over 6 months. L…
When I moved to Schwab from Fidelity, Schwab was matching "cash incentives" offers, from competing brokerages. They matched an E-trade offer for me.
Did they match the terms of the offer or just the amount? Merrill requires one to maintain the b…
@msf,
The Merrill cash bonus offer looks better than anything I have seen elsewhere. I did not see the program end date if there is one.
I would be interested in an ACAT transfer from Fidelity IRA to Merrill IRA. I checked a few Fidelity funds…
I also posted this as a separate subject, but since we're looking at CDs here I thought that I'd ask here also-
I'm wondering if any of you folks have a preferred site for checking bank safety ratings for use in buying CDs?
Thanks!
https://www.depo…
I use: https://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/health.aspx
Go to this website, and click on "Banks", and it will give you a bunch of information about specific banks, including Bank Ratings.
The nature of free/competitive market is that NOTHING stays at top forever. Well, maybe, Fido HSA that has ranked #1 in over a half-dozen years that I have been watching.
Brokerages have their pros and cons. I can say this because I have accounts a…
There are institutional share classes and institutional investors. Schwab has designated more funds as accessible only to institutional investors / advisory platform; some of these funds are accessible to retail at Fido but the institutional share c…
I don't know much about the Vanguard Brokerage, except for what I read. I know it traditionally is such a low fee brokerage, that you get some benefits for more of a "passive" based approach to investing, especially buy and hold long term investing…
At Schwab $1.00 minimum. SWVXX 1 YEAR +5.27. Their prime money market, should be similar to VMRXX.
SWVXX is not currently paying 5.27%--it resets every 7 days, and is currently paying 5.16%. Its rate has been dropping for about the past 2 months. …
At Schwab $1.00 minimum. SWVXX 1 YEAR +5.27. Their prime money market, should be similar to VMRXX.
SWVXX is not currently paying 5.27%--it resets every 7 days, and is currently paying 5.16%. Its rate has been dropping for about the past 2 months. …
Any investor with $3,000 can BUY VMRXX paying 5.29%.
Looks like a Vanguard Money Market Fund--I can't get it at Schwab, where all my brokerage assets are located. I can get a comparable fund, with that interest rate, at Schwab with a $1million cash…
Stillers: "I find nothing compelling about a 1-yr CP CD rate of 5.45% when VMRXX is paying 5.29%. On a $100K investment, the difference over the 12-months is ($5,450-$5,290 or) $160 IF the MMkt rate holds steady for the full period. That piddly diff…
IMO, the most compelling CP CD rates are at 5 years. This is a moment in time that will pass far quicker than many here think. Not sure what is compelling about 1-12 mo rates when Prime MMkt funds are paying just about the same and provide full fl…
dtconroe: I am sorry. I seem to have sort of hijacked your thread. So, this is my final post on this thread.
No problem--CD commentary seems to have played out.
Just about the same situation here. I'm trying to get my wife comfortable using the Schwab site but it's going to be a challenge.
I don't expect my wife will ever go to the Schwab site and make investing choices on CDs. I do expect that she will …
I am sort of going the other way. As my CDs mature, I am redeeming them. The last one will mature in about 2 months. Putting the cash in our MM fund for right now. It is paying a fraction over 5.25%, but plan to later go with a I-T Bond Fund.
…
I went and looked -- there's a one-year CD from Wells Fargo at 5.4% right now.
Yep, shorter maturities (3mo, 6mo, 9mo, 12mo) are adding higher yielding CDs the last few days. 5.4% seems to be available from many well-known banks, including the 5.4%…
Follow up--the 1year CD paying 5.3% disappeared before I could purchase it today. As an alternative, I bought a 9 month CD paying 5.35%. This was acceptable for me as I was seeking a short term CD for my taxable account. I focus on liquidity more…
I understand that each person has to look in the mirror, make some very personal assumptions, and then invest accordingly. When I look in the mirror, I see a relatively healthy person, with a family history of living into my mid to late 80s. But I…
I am redeeming cds as they mature and moving the cash to my VG MM fund, 5.27%. If cds start paying better than the MM, I may invest again at my cu. I only buy cds at my credit union. It has always paid a good rate. I will not shop around for a fe…
Bought an 18 month non-callable CD this week at Schwab, to replace one that matured last week. The CD pays 5% interest, and is from an A rated bank. The 18 month CD fits well into a CD ladder I have in place. As a retired person, I am very comfor…
I continue to use CDs as long as they keep paying 5% or more. Currently at Schwab, they have a significant number of non-callable CDs. For me in retirement, it is a very comfortable, no risk way, to make the 4 to 6% TR that I seek in retirement. I…
With CDs maturing, it is a bit surprising (at least to me), that CDs have started ticking back to the 5+% level for the 1 year and 18 month durations. Along with 5+% level MMs, that gives a pretty attractive and safe array of investing options, wit…
