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.
Excerpts from Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American:
"Biden’s announcement ended the month of suspense under which the Democrats have lived, and in the hours since, they appear to be coalescing around Harris with enthusiasm. Those who m…
Many investors rebalance to reduce risk in their portfolios.
Implementation of intra-asset class rebalancing can potentially
generate higher returns but this possibility should not be the primary motive.
PA governor Josh Shapiro, NC governor Roy Cooper, and KY governor Andy Beshear
are supposedly at the top of the VP shortlist if Ms. Harris is nominated.
Biden is a good man whom I respect.
He's accomplished a lot in his current term despite extreme levels of partisanship.
The U.S. president is the "leader of the free world" and must project strength.
Biden's performance in recent interviews and the …
@MrRuffles
I engaged a second independent insurance agent yesterday but their options were unappealing.
The Amica quote referenced above includes dividends.
State Farm had the lowest total cost followed by Amica.
I decided to remain with State Far…
From Form N-1A:
"The Adviser manages currency risk, when appropriate, by hedging foreign currency exposure typically,
and primarily, with forward currency contracts. A forward currency contract is an obligation to purchase
or sell a specific curren…
My auto/home insurance is up for renewal in a few days/weeks respectively.
Premiums increased significantly over the past two years.
I decided to obtain insurance quotes since I haven't shopped for coverage in several years.
I discovered several hi…
Judge Cannon's decision was very unconventional and will definitely be appealed.
She referenced Justice Thomas's statements questioning whether special
counsel Jack Smith was lawfully appointed.
AFAIK, Justice Thomas did not question appointments of…
Recent market activity may signal improved future performance for certain underperfoming segments.
Or it could be just another "head-fake."
It's premature to declare recent activity as the "Great Rotation" heralded by some prognosticators.
The Week in Charts (07/12/24)
The most important charts and themes in markets, including...
00:00 Intro
00:15 Topics
01:11 Down Goes Inflation
08:23 Here Come the Rate Cuts
16:50 The Rotation Heard Round the World
22:58 An All-Time High a Day
24:50…
"A easier fix would be to require the originators and underwriters to hold
a percentage of the loans that they originate / bring to the market."
I agree that it's a good idea for lenders to have some skin in the game!
The Week in Charts (07/08/24)
The most important charts and themes in markets, including...
00:00 Intro
00:21 Topics
01:30 Betting on a Rate Cut
06:07 The All-Time High Party Continues
12:25 Investors Getting Greedy
14:18 Apple's Highest Valuation …
I could not reproduce this issue.
I was able to login to https://big-bang-investors.proboards.com via Firefox, Chrome, and Edge on Windows OS.
Firefox version 127.0.2 - Private window (didn't try regular window, had many Private window tabs opene…
My primary reasons for becoming a Vanguard customer were: 1) good low-cost actively-managed funds;
2) firm had strong reputation; 3) firm was mutually owned vs. publicly traded.
I was never fond of Vanguard's investor website even after it was redes…
Recently transferred account from Vanguard to Schwab.
As a result, VMFXX had to be liquidated.
Used ~80% of proceeds to purchase BBBMX; used ~20% of proceeds to purchase SWVXX.
"Artisan Partners used to have an Artisan International Small Cap Fund for several years in which it was closed (I believe it was opened in 2001)."
I owned this fund years ago.
Studies have indicated exploiting the momentum factor can generate alpha.
Skilled traders who use momentum may be able to harvest some of this alpha.
Numerous studies also indicate active trading often leads to poor performance.
I contend the vast m…
Odd that Schwab apparently allows purchase of ARDBX advisor shares without an advisor and low minimum
The minimum investment for ARDBX at several brokerages:
Fidelity - $2,500
Schwab - $2,500 (Basic), $1,000 (IRA)
Vanguard - $500
"In other words, nobody knows anything...."
This sounds about right.
"... and if I continue following the advice of my Magic Eight Ball and/or my Random Ticker Selection Algorithm(tm) I'll be just fine, right?"
You'll probably be no worse off than …
The Week in Charts (06/28/24)
The most important charts and themes in markets, including...
00:00 Intro
00:16 Topics
01:47 A Tale of Two Markets
11:41 Getting Closer to a Rate Cut
14:36 Down Goes the Yen
17:51 Obesity Drug Boom
19:48 Nvidia vs. Cis…
I just transferred my Vanguard taxable account to Schwab (considerably < $5M!).
The transfer completed yesterday.
Contacted Schwab last night because there were a few discrepancies.
Vanguard may be responsible for these discrepancies.
Need to con…
Jeff Demaso commented on the Tuesday morning Vanguard outage.
"Judging by my inbox and Downdetector, Vanguard’s website and app stopped functioning on Tuesday morning."
"We all make mistakes, but Vanguard’s technology and service snafus have beco…
I never received a response to my BBB complaint filed on June 17 (seven business days elapsed).
The Customer Care Manager I've previously worked with called me today to report the missing
Confirmation Statements were now available. I just confirmed …
Baird has several good muni bond funds.
Although 30 bps is not the lowest expense ratio, it is quite reasonable.
Morningstar indicates 0.30% falls within the least expensive fee quintile
in the US National Intermediate-Term Muni Bond category.
The …
"A few families refuse to pay even the 10 basis points charged for TF funds."
Dodge & Cox and Vanguard have refused to "pay to play."
There are probably some other fund families that have also taken this stance.
For some reason, I thought Schwab and Fidelity typically charged ~25 bps for shelf space in their fund supermarkets. A 35 bps - 45 bps fee is a significant percentage of most mutual funds' expense ratios.
The median expense ratios for equity mutual …
The Week in Charts (06/21/24)
The most important charts and themes in markets, including...
00:00 Intro
00:15 Topics
01:12 A New King Is Crowned
07:53 The Running of the Bulls
11:12 Partying Like It's 1999
16:40 The Mega Cap Premium
19:17 Consumer…
"Like others here, I own a slice of GLFOX which invests in infrastructure and, for whatever reason, stays mainly in Europe. It has returned a big zero this year. Not a concern to me. I can be content with some holdings rising and some falling. If ev…
@msf,
I recently transferred my Vanguard Roth IRA to Fidelity.
A Fidelity rep opened a new Fidelity Roth IRA account for me and initiated the transfer.
I could have easily done this myself but the Fidelity rep offered his assistance.
The transfer…
