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.
There has never been an out-of-stock situation for the US Savings Bonds. Limits are per account. So sales of I-Bonds have ballooned to about 10x, but that is still only low double-digit billions, but Uncle Sam needs/borrows trillions (-:).
It is no…
Buying I-Bonds as gifts is a good way to bypass the low annual limit. But the gifts are irrevocable. Here are some practical tips, https://thefinancebuff.com/buy-i-bonds-as-gift.html
My rule of thumb is to prefer stable-value (SV) if its guaranteed rate well exceeds the 30-day SEC yield (i.e. potential future total-return) of the bond fund under consideration. This situation may be reversing soon. The 30-day SEC yield of core BN…
These used to be FPA funds. 3 managers from FPA split in November 2020 from FPA and took their funds to a new partnership/joint-venture called Phaeacian Partners with the UK's Polar Capital (55% owner). I am surprised about the liquidations so soon.…
I was sure that there was a MFO piece on FMSDX but I couldn't find it on search. Then I realized that MFO Home is a different site than MFO Discussion, and there I found that piece by @lynnbolin2021 that I was looking for (LINK0). This piece compare…
Check out 50-50 tax-managed balanced VTMFX (obviously no-fees at Vanguard, but with transaction fees at Schwab), higher ER TAIFX (F-1 class, no-fee/NTF at Fido and Schwab).
Fido doesn't have any tax-managed mutual funds of its own but does offer ta…
Savings Bonds that qualify for educational expenses can be rolled into 529 plans. Rules are not very difficult in spite of a long list of conditions. This doesn't improve liquidity but is an exception to their taxable sale. https://www.treasurydire…
I don't think that retail investors worry too much about portfolio semitransparency.
But active ETF ERs are about 75% of comparable active mutual funds/OEF ERs. If they are about 35% of comparable active OEF ERs, that will get active ETFs going. B…
@Derf, there is no provision to "Exchange" Savings Bonds. You can only "Buy", "Redeem", or "Replace/Reissue" (if lost or stolen).
It used to be that one could "Exchange" Savings Bonds for income HH-Bonds to further extend tax deferrals, but those w…
@racqueteer, for I-Bonds, the new inflation rate will apply to existing bonds with some delay. The rate cycle starts with 6 months at the "current rate" from the purchase date, then another 6 months for the "new" rate, and so on. Think of it as appl…
@msf, you guessed correct.
I extrapolated March 2022 CPI-U (unadjusted) from January 2022, and also from February 2022 (the graph is almost linear). Then knocked off the 2nd decimal to give some wiggle room (Treasury announces rate to 2 decimal pl…
Only if cashing them after 12 months - you are totally locked in for 12 months, and then 3-mo penalty within 5 years.
Cash early in the month to get interest for the WHOLE month.
If you mean getting only the interest, then the answer is NO. You h…
There is a 3 month penalty for cashing Savings Bonds within 5 years. So, you should start to see interest posted AFTER 3 months. Don't worry, Uncle Sam is not stiffing you for interest (-:).
Housing price inflation is also not reflected in inflation indexes (CPI, PCE). This is because housing is accounted for through a mechanism of owners' rent equivalents, and rents are beginning to move up with some lag. So, when that fully kicks in, …
@shipwreckedandalone, in its Market Laboratory data tables, Barron's publishes TRAILING P/Es for indexes and the current edition has for SP500 as 25.02. I don't think Barron's presented fwd P/E for major indexes in these data tables. It does have fw…
@davfor; chart came through only for 1 yr. Use Permalink feature for posting chart as-is. After a while, even these will default to 1 yr. Alternative is to take screenshot, save on a hosting site (ImgBB, etc) and post using Image tool.
@rono, be aware of PFIC issues related to foreign funds holding physical assets. SRUUF/U-UN.to is a Canadian CEF holding uranium. These issues arise because the US funds are restricted in how they own physical assets. As the rules are different for …
@catch22, your link shows the double-hump in the yield-curve now,
https://responsive.fxempire.com/v7/_fxempire_/2022/04/chart-line-chart-scatter-chart-description-auto.png?func=cover&q=70&width=700
2Y-30Y spread has flip-flopped since last night. But generally, the middle bulge in the yield-curve is widening. Also unexplained are especially high 3Y and 20Y yields (like camel double-hump in the yield-curve) - offbeat maturities have higher yiel…
@msf, you have encountered the problem with new M* charts for CEFs that is mentioned here,
https://ybbpersonalfinance.proboards.com/thread/256/interactive-charts-newer
UTF is a high distribution CEF. Its price may not show how it did, but on adjusted-prices (approximating TR) it has kept up with SP500/SPY (both UTF and _UTF are seen on Stockcharts below, 1/1/07-now). Check out more details at CEFConnect.
https://s…
Read Barron's, but don't bet the house (-:) on anything Barron's say.
Simple reason may be that homebuilders fell along with the general market and didn't catch the latest rebound (ITB is homebuilders in the chart link below). Also, since Barron's…
Finally, 2Y-10Y spread EOD/close is negative, -6 bps. There is a middle bulge from 2 to 10 yrs. There is an odd reading for 20-yr.
https://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=$UST10Y-$UST2Y&p=D&yr=1&mn=0&dy=0&id=p66195…
Website doesn't show any data source but the use of FactSet is mentioned. May be they have 2 people doing these updates, the 1st initializes AUM to 0, then the 2nd enters the updated value (-:).
This error is not seen in any other data source (M*, …
There is a lot written on whether yield-curve inversion is good (rarely) or bad (mostly), and whether it precedes recession (often but not always).
But it does affect consumer behavior for how they invest, save and spend. What is also surprising i…
Treasury securities are backed by full faith and credit of the US. That is a higher guarantee than the FDIC insurance that is only from an agency of the US.
1. What are Treasury Securities?
United States Treasury securities, often simply called Tre…
@BaluBalu, Treasury yields have moved rather quickly. So, T-Bills and T-Notes may offer better rates than comparable CDs. This isn't usually so and CDs offer better rates.
But until that happens (as banks catch up), go for T-Bills and T-Notes.
Rev…
Yes, see an earlier press release by Vanguard,
https://pressroom.vanguard.com/news/Press-Release-VG-to-Expand-ESG-Lineup-with-Positive-Impact-Stock-Fund-011922.html#:~:text=Vanguard's new fund will seek,driving solutions to global challenges.
Foreign tickers on OTC/Pink Sheets that end in "F" (e.g. ATGFF, etc) trade on foreign exchanges and there may be additional foreign exchange fee by the brokerage (often $50 on top of the normal fees/commissions).
On the other hand, foreign tickers …
2Y-10Y spread has collapsed to only 6 bps. Middle part of the Treasury yield curve has a small bulge, so some spreads are inverted.
https://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=$UST10Y-$UST2Y&p=D&yr=1&mn=0&dy=0&id=p6619…
