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.
M* data doesn't show ROC for PONAX / PIMIX.
PONAX / PIMIX does set a monthly distribution level at the beginning of the year and it does so conservatively so that there may be an extra yearend distribution (still from income).
ROCs are more common…
After some false starts, my WEP & GPO repeal related payments have been approved & should start soon.
Short story is that I wasn't getting any Social Security. So, I had to apply for spousal benefits to claim WEP/GPO adjustments. SSA websit…
Pimco is well-known for using derivatives and has a lot of experience with them. I worry more about firms who have just started using them because they see others do it. Prospectuses have lot of boiler plate language on derivatives - similar to pres…
Yahoo Finance has an open link with good background information on naming of Michelle Bowman as the Fed's new Vice Chair for Bank Supervision. As Michael Barr stays on as Fed Governor, no Fed vacancy is created by this (he resigned from the VC posit…
Bond market is multiple times bigger than the stock market.
The biggest stock fund is $1+ trillion.
The biggest bond fund is only low triple-digit billions.
PIMIX is still a baby among giant funds. Its AUM (MFOP data) bottomed at $111.1 billion o…
@rforno, all Medicare signups and premium determinations (IRMAA included) are through SSA. Once signed up with Medicare, then you deal with them (or Medicare Advantage insurer) for claims, etc.
So, under the current system, ALL people around 65 or …
Good luck calling the SSA. I had to call them again last week because My Social Security a/c got locked. There was a 2-hr wait, so I chose the callback option, and it came after 3 hrs, 20 min. I was told it was because of customer request, and I tol…
There is a line of thinking that the current small-caps (SCs) are different from those of the past.
Many companies are remaining private for much longer - several are unicorns. Money from private-equity and venture-capital is easy. There are few pu…
For SP500, the break below 200-dMA was UGLY today.
Nasdaq Comp, R2000 and DJ Transports were already below 200-dMA.
Only DJIA remains at 200-dMA - it may follow others this week.
% stocks above 50-dMA remain negative (comparing with Friday).
$N…
@Observant1, thanks for pointing out the Houston location.
It seems that Google and Wiki (and I) only know about West Loop in Chicago.
On this "slow" market day, I wonder where else are West Loop in the US? Chicago, Houston, ??? And what's looping? …
"West Loop" has meaning in Chicago. I looked up the fund literature but didn't find any Chicago connection. Anyone knows history of the fund name?
Chicago Downtown is called Loop because the L-tracks (L is for elevated commuter trains; in very old …
@BaluBalu, I don't know. I was under the impression that the SEC issues an authorization letter for trading that is transmitted to the exchange. I think that such a letter may have been issued in the confusion of transition at SEC and it seems to be…
New questions are already being raised after PRIV started trading on 2/27/25. Its name is being changed effective 3/21/25; basically, as further correspondence between SSGA and SEC explains, "Apollo" is being dropped from the name because while Apol…
@BaluBalu, presentation is certainly confusing.
Fair Value and Current Price displayed are real-time or daily prices.
Star-ratings are updated monthly (analyst-generated), but may be updated more frequently for computer-generated Q-ratings. So, …
This was speculated here, https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/comment/188477/#Comment_188477
No Cabinet Secretary would let the first-pal dictate how to run his/her Department.
The DOGE kids may have continue to have their mischi…
Be careful with the CEF leverage reported that is debt/Total Assets.
CEF holders experience the effect of much higher leverage that is debt/Net Assets.
https://ybbpersonalfinance.proboards.com/post/471/thread
Europe has been in/near-recession. Stocks are anticipating better times ahead. The best time to buy stocks (anywhere) is during the recession when the worst seems over.
The US is already at a super-perfection high level. Make allocation adjustments…
M* looks at structural differences between SPY (UIT) and VOO. SSGA later introduced SPLG that is similar to VOO and IVV in structure.
https://www.morningstar.com/funds/spy-vs-voo-which-sp-500-etf-should-you-own
CME FedWatch is now showing 3 cuts in 2025. There are based on fed fund futures trading data, not surveys.
https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/interest-rates/cme-fedwatch-tool.html
There are data on "domestic" contents for US cars. Recall that EV credits used "domestic" content, so, it isn't a stretch to use them for tax deduction. Of course, the first-pal Musk would benefit the most.
In the published reports so far, "domesti…
Deal involves BlackRock/BLK (Larry Fink; NYC), BLK subsidiary GIP (Global Infrastructure Partners; NYC-based private-equity) that it bought just last year and GIP portfolio company TIL (Terminal Invest Ltd; Switzerland-based). So, it looks like Larr…
On ambulances, our local community now bills $3,400+ & $15/mile for 911 ambulance calls. It says that payments are not required from residents, but it wants insurance info to collect some money from insurance.
New tariffs on China are in addition to the existing tariffs.
If trade war escalates, China may also put tariffs in rare-earths EXPORTS, besides restricting exports.
Treasury is definitely part of the Executive branch, under the Treasury Secretary who reports to the President. It's the Fed that has been independent in the recent times. In any federal department, all it takes now is for the DODGE Kids to holler f…
Publishing academic articles in conference proceedings or journals is not too difficult, nor is trying to publish a book (forget about making money on them), but try publishing Letters to the Editors - that's TOUGH ! And when they do publish, they t…
Here is how gold is reacting. Lot of gold is being shifted from London to NYC ahead of possible tariffs that may also apply to the import of gold. London standard is 400 oz, but the US Comex standard is kilogram bars (kilo-bars; 32.151 troy oz), so …
@Sven, Atlanta Fed GDPNow provides a real-time estimate of the GDP. Normally, 2025/Q1 GDP would be released few weeks after the quarter-end, initial reading and then subsequent revisions - so, Spring/Summer.
But it's concerning that Atlanta Fed's a…
Thing to remember about securitized debt is that there are only 2 genuine AAA credits in the US - JNJ and MSFT, but thousands (millions?) of AAA securitized credits.
US Treasury are rated AA+ by S&P and Fitch, Aaa by Moody's (that may also chan…
Add CLOs too.
Noted in Barron's - Economy:
Atlanta Fed GDPNow is projecting economic contraction for 2025/Q1 of -1.5% (real) vs +2.3% previously, while Piper Sandler switched to -2% from +2% previously.
From website info, QDI for 2024:
SPY 100% (UIT, so cannot use many strategies)
ETFs can use strategies such as using futures to manage cash flows, securities lending, and that can lead to < 100% QDI.
SPLG 88.04% (calculated) (also by SSGA)
IVV 8…
Barron's has also raised concerns, https://www.barrons.com/articles/social-security-checks-doge-cuts-musk-0862aa39?mod=past_editions
My summary for those who cannot access Barron's article (LINK):
"RETIREMENT. DOGE is now going after the SSA. The …
These are annual fund family rankings that Barron's has published for years. These are based on asset-weighted fund family performances over multiple timeframes - but the story lead is always with annual rankings.
So, one wouldn't expect, say, a b…
That will make it easier for the Fed and the OCC to approve Capital One/COF and Discover/DFS acquisition/merger if the DOJ doesn't object.
I have COF accounts and I wasn't happy with the practices of COF. It introduced new types of a/c with higher …
AAII Sentiment is contrarian for the stock market, so don't sell when Bull-Bear Spread is very low.
However, poor sentiment may hurt consumer spending, and the Fed watches UM Sentiment that hit a low in 2022 and was rebounding until recently.
https…
I think Government Agencies count too, but not repos. Strange that Agency + Treasury add up to Repos.
Will check from Schwab site.
Edit/Add. Schwab 2024 Supplemental Info shows 33.33%
https://www.schwabassetmanagement.com/resource/2024-supplementary…
Brokerage Consolidated 1099 may include Supplemental Info (not sent to IRS) that has all transactions for the year. Schwab includes it in its paper mailing, but I have to download it at Fido.
