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.
"why haven’t smart folks who know better stood up for the rule of law and the constitution?"
I see three potential reasons:
a) they're afraid of losing their jobs or not being re-elected
b) they're afraid of being violently targeted (including thei…
Old_Joe,
Thanks for the link to the excellent NYT article by Peter Baker.
"As President Trump threatens a wide-ranging crackdown on mainstream media institutions
and political opponents, his aides and allies have cast the administration’s moves as…
"Back to my initial question - Do you think the stampede into IG corporates (and shrinking premium)
is a sign of investor appetite for risk?"
Not neccessarily.
It may just indicate that investors prefer IG corporates instead of Treasuries despite r…
On Friday, the BLS postponed releasing an annual report regarding consumer expenditures.
This latest development brings additional concerns about the agency's operations
after Donald J. Trump fired the BLS commissioner last month.
https://www.msn.c…
From today's Markets A.M. newsletter by Spencer Jakab.
State Street strategists note that equity exposure for institutions and U.S. households is at or near record highs.
This information seems to contradict the equity outflows reported by Morningst…
[snip]
From Friday’s WSJ: ”In another sign this week’s rate cut lifted investor confidence and appetite for risk,
the premium that investors demand to hold investment-grade-rated companies’ bonds
instead of Treasurys hit its lowest level since 1998.…
"U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and his counterpart in the House of Representatives,
Hakeem Jeffries, on Saturday demanded a meeting with President Donald Trump
to avoid a government shutdown when funding ends on September 30.
In a lett…
Charlie Kirk didn't deserve to get killed.
But yes, he definitely was not a saint!
Mr. Kirk is being canonized only because he was well-liked by Trump and other prominent Republicans.
"But when Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were slain in an …
The Week in Charts (09/19/25)
The most important charts and themes in markets and investing...
00:00 Intro
00:24 Topics
00:58 Back to Easing
09:26 What’s More Bullish: Rate Cuts or Rate Hikes?
14:21 Is the Small Cap Breakout Finally Here?
20:32 Ani…
"Senate Repubs voted down the Dem stopgap plan too.
Each party voted down the other's proposal, by party-line vote, except for two Repubs and one Dem."
Thanks for providing this additional information!
I always used HDD.
Several years ago I changed everything to SSD other than my 1TB HDD for backups.
My laptop recently started spewing SSD messages that it may be failing.
I never knew SSD has limited use, apparently there are only so many read/wri…
@FD1000,
Trump is an incompetent president who is incapable of leading the country effectively.
He has divided U.S. residents with his all-encompassing pursuit of absolute power.
Some prominent Republican figures are now voicing concerns regarding …
"In recent years, antifa has been used in reference to participants in left-wing protests against police brutality and racism in the United States from the mid-2010s and to counter-demonstrators at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, …
I didn't realize that Western Digital spun off its SSD division into SanDisk earlier this year.
They are now focusing on HDDs.
"Meanwhile, Western Digital is focusing on the evolving opportunities in the HDD market.
'As AI accelerates and impacts i…
"No, democracy and the First Amendment aren't in jeopardy."
Your assertion is factually inaccurate.
Democracy and the First Amendment are under assault by the Trump administration.
"Lib hypocrisy has been on display in the last several days."
Rea…
The Week in Charts (09/12/25)
The most important charts and themes in markets and investing...
00:00 Intro
00:21 Topics
00:37 Easy Money Is Back
06:35 Ignoring Inflation
11:48 Jobs Market at Inflection Point
18:37 Easing Into a Mania
25:11 Spending…
"but they said that starting a ETF is expensive so unless something has changed, these things have to recoup so much before they just shut em down."
I've read that an ETF needs to have ~$100M AUM to be economically viable for the sponsoring firm.
I…
I'd guess that the vast majority of the 988 ETFs that launched over the past year are also worthless.
"Of the 988 ETFs that launched over the past year, 530 fell into at least one of 7 types:
Leveraged/inverse (208), single-stock (181), buffer (140…
The U.S. has declined under the second Trump regime.
Many U.S. residents are rightfully concerned about Trump's policies and executive overreach.
Our country's competitive advantages have been diminished in many important ways.
It will take some tim…
If you haven't done so already, you may want to read Prof. Snowball's
recent article titled "Thinking more broadly: Bonds beyond vanilla."
https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/2025/09/thinking-more-broadly-bonds-beyond-vanilla/
From Markets A.M. newsletter by Spencer Jakab.
On this day in 1974, stocks tanked in reaction to President Gerald Ford's pardon
of Richard Nixon amid fears it wouldn't bring full closure to the Watergate scandal.
But it was a great time to buy: The…
When I transferred an account to Schwab last year they offered me fee waivers for Fidelity and Vanguard funds.
I didn't even ask for this—I guess Schwab was eager to accumulate additional AUM from one of their rivals.
I asked Schwab to waive transac…
@yogibearbull mentioned MYGAs is a prior post.
MYGAs are functionally similar to CDs.
You could earn a 5+% yield with very little risk (assuming AM Best ratings are accurate).
2-year MYGA, insurance company rated "A" by AM Best, yields 5.15% ($70K…
The onshoring of manufacturing requires huge investments of capital and it will it take considerable time.
If onshoring does indeed occur, it likely will not lead to an appreciable increase in jobs.
Automation will be widespread in these factories/p…
I didn't find prior commentary regarding this recent SEC ruling which impacts closed-end funds.
"Before regulators formally lifted the informal rule on Aug. 15, 2025, closed-end funds
and their cousins—interval and tender offer funds—that put more …
The three founders of Primecap Management Company—Howard Schow,
Theo Kolokotrones, and Mitch Milias—were senior portfolio managers at Capital Group.
Primecap Management implements an investment approach similar to Capital Group
where multiple portfo…
"I think Fidelity has the worst mutual fund screener of all the major brokerages."
Vanguard doesn't appear to have a "traditional" fund screening tool.
They do have a fund comparison tool which can be used to compare up to 5 mutual funds or ETFs.
…
"One thing to consider, you might be missing out on some good funds
that don't accurately fit in an M* style box, so may not be accurately starred."
Good point.
This is especially important when screening unconventional funds which are more likely…
"I’m done responding to distractions.
This thread is about good things happening, and that’s what we should be recognizing."
@FD1000,
Many of the issues brought forth could be considered distractions when one doesn't believe
that violating the law…
