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.
If you are covered by an employer plan, then income limits apply for full or partial deductibility of T-IRA contributions. There are no income limits for nondeductible T-IRA contribution (and that is why Backdoor Roth work).
Higher income limits ap…
Well, SVB took in deposits that were way more than its business lending and investing activities. It then parked that excess money into low-rate Treasuries.
It didn't have to do that. It could have stopped taking the deposits by offering very unatt…
@Old_Joe, imagine that YOU are deep pocket investor called for the rescue. Say, the SVB/FDIC want to unload $10 billion in 2% coupon 10-yr T-Notes. You will own this lousy-rate portfolio that will return you 2% guaranteed in 10 years, not before. So…
As I posted in the "SVB Thread", Schwab is the 8th largest US bank holding company. It is subjected to annual Fed stress-tests. Obviously, the brokerage side has SIPC (& additional) coverage, while the banking side has FDIC coverage.
As for th…
I do have linked Schwab Bank account with my Schwab Brokerage account. I don't know too much specifically about the Schwab Bank, but Charles Schwab is #8 bank holding company (it is also included in annual Fed stress tests). Schwab Bank is also an …
Bond volatility MOVE is fine. My complaints are that it is Treasury blend and I would prefer clean MOVE-10 (for 10-yr Treasuries), etc; and that it is not widely available (so at Yahoo Finance, but not at StockCharts). I include it in my weekly Barr…
Several tweeters at Twitter are noting that closing a bank during the market hours is a rare emergency. Typically, it is done Friday afternoon AFTER the market close to reopen on Monday.
Typical FDIC intervention - close the bank on Friday, reopen on Monday under new ownership.
Many confuse similar rescue for brokers (by SIPC) and insurance & annuity companies (by state regulators) - but those may take months or years to workou…
SVB Financial/SIVB had a masterfully BAD timing. Several of its filings at Edgar/SEC showed up yesterday (see the link below) - a huge AFS* portfolio for sale, a large capital raise by issuing stock, preferreds, etc, on the day after the shutdown an…
If the idea is to keep up with inflation (CPI), shorter-term (=< 5 yrs) TIPS held to maturity would do that approximately. Then, roll them over and over. Make a ladder. Chart below shows CPI vs 2 common TIPS funds, ST and IT/LT; default timeframe…
@msf comments made me look at other sources for the 72T-SEPP modification. Ed Slott's IRA Help has a slightly different take on it. It says that previously, the entire IRA under 72T-SEPP had to be rolled over (say, to a different IRA provider/sponso…
BTW, fed fund rate is the overnight rate for banks to borrow from each other. Discount rate is the rate at which troubled banks may borrow from the Fed Discount Window (looks like it was shut for crypto-friendly Silvergate/SI that is shutting down a…
@msf, I have put that text under quotes now (it was implied before). It is from the M* article by Denise Appleby (@ApplebyIRA at Twitter, LINK). I acknowledged on Twitter that her's was the first time that I saw this about 72T. It wasn't in any of t…
@bee, excellent points.
I have been tracking implications of the new Secure 2.0 for individuals and there are several. This about 72T came to my attention only recently.
The Rule of 55 is also good but, as you noted, it doesn't apply to old 401k/…
I am not sure that it was a big loss as far as dividend MAPIX is concerned. As its lead manager, he was responsible for its recent shift from dividend to growth. Now that he is gone, the team there may go back to the original dividend focus. After a…
@catch22, 360 CD deal looks OK to me (5% for 11-mo CD) - as can you see from the rate schedule, it is a promotional offer as the rate for 11-mo sticks out. I also looked at "Read Disclosures" at the bottom, and didn't see any catch. It may be hoping…
There are several ex-China ETFs - EMXC, KEMX, MEMX.
Mark Mobius story was all over Twitter over the weekend. Since then, there have been some denials of any new changes by the HSBC and Chinese state agencies. It is clear that something ticked off M…
This is my summary of the Cover Story; I didn't see it as an ESG story and searches on "ESG" and "sustain" produced zero results. It is a story on how technology has changed farming.
COVER STORY (ECONOMY) “The Boom Time for FARMERS Can Last. Who Wi…
VIX is a way to assess the short-term volatility of SP500. It is imperfect because its current and real-time measurements differ from the historically realized volatilities. VIX cannot be traded directly, but only through VIX futures. There are seve…
I don't know how much money the US Hindenburg Research could make on its short positions on Adani Group. Shorting is severely restricted in India. So, Hindenburg was only speculating with derivatives and some Adani-bonds ( < $10 billion outstandi…
Silvergate/SI is an FDIC insured bank. It runs an interface SEN (exchange) that connects its clients with the crypto world - it claims to be only a middleman. It is one of the handful of banks still providing some banking services to the crypto worl…
Cyclicals have widely varying P/Es. So, counterintuitively, that have low P/Es at/near peaks (high earnings and cashflows) and high P/Es at/near a bottom.
Going, going, gone?
There is news that Silvergate/SI delayed filing reports with the SEC and raised going-concern issues. It seems that it had to suddenly pay back the large FHLB loan (why it got that loan in the first place was my question then; d…
At Fido, it is roundtrip within 30 days. Other brokers may have different rules. There are many market-neutral funds, so you should find a few that are no-load/NTF a Fido.
http://personal.fidelity.com/products/trading/Trading_Platforms_Tools/excessi…
@Derf, that I don't know specifically about Rondure situation.
But this sort of stuff grows unwieldly and unexpectedly over time - like weeds. And firms try to streamline things at some point.
You will be surprised to know how some of Vanguard fun…
Most fund firms put several of their funds within "trusts" or "series". That allows for streamlined fund governance and operations, including creating or shutting some funds within. This way a large fund firm with 100+ funds will be keeping track of…
Fund Allocations (Cumulative), 01/31/23
There were minor shifts due to market rebound. The changes for OEFs + ETFs were based on a total AUM of about $28.59 trillion in the previous month, so +/- 1% change was about +/- $285.9 billion. Also note th…
@dstone42, it is better to buy Treasuries at brokerages for several reasons. There are NO FEES or commissions (auctions or secondaries). Transactions are EASY. If you have to sell before maturity (not recommended), you CAN - if you held them at Trea…
Just put paper I-Bond in your bank locker. Cashing them at banks should be possible even far down the road, while getting them into the TD account is a hassle - if the Post Office delivers. Definitely use at least the Certified Mail (if not Register…
While longer-term record (2020- ) is better, JEPI has been struggling since 2022 (like most other things) with a cumulative TR -3.85% and price-return -14.78%. I don't want to start another debate on yield vs TR, BUT for JEPI, HIGH distributions hav…
@hank, I am looking at NOTIONAL amounts that are the total positions controlled and gains/losses experienced are (almost) on those. For options, the option-delta also comes into play. Amounts invested or current values are smaller as these are lever…
DODBX Annual Report: Pg 13 has details on short positions. The notional amounts seem high considering the fund AUM of $13.51 billion. Related explanations/descriptions are on pg 18.
What is the story here?
State Street was a pioneer and first mover in the ETFs (SPY was the 1st ever ETF in 01/1993).
For many years, the SEC had approved the ETFs as exceptions to mutual funds, and over time, these exceptions created ETFs with sl…
Modern AWD are really FWD much of the time. But if any slippage is detected (e.g. by differences in wheel RPMs), the RWD portion kicks in. Some call this part-time 4WD or auto-4WD. The AWD designs vary too - some normally have front, rear split of 1…
Annualized CPI, PPI, PCE were ALL higher than expected. That is BAD.
However, the (wholesale) PPI was LESS than the (retail) CPI and that is good.
The AAII Sentiment Indicator collapsed (see a nearby thread). Don't sell much when the Sentiment is …
