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.
Embedded Images at MFO
@stayCalm, MFO allows only the images hosted elsewhere, so you need their URLs.
Some sites such as M*, etc allow images both ways - direct uploads from PC and URLs from image hosting sites. These uploaded images from PC to …
Notes from FOMC releases & Powell's press conference:
Rate hikes will start soon (March). The fed fund rate will become the primary tool of Fed monetary policy. Expected will be gradual +0.25% rate hikes, but +0.50% hikes were not ruled out.
T…
The actions on Mon, Tue & overnight Wed as captured in the futures markets at 30 min is simply impressive.
https://www.cmegroup.com/market-data/delayed-quotes/equities.html
One options indicator I follow is $SKEW (Stockcharts, etc) or ^SKEW (Yahoo, etc). When puts are more expensive than calls (due to high demand from the hedgers), then SKEW is high (140+); otherwise, SKEW is low/moderate (120s-130s). This is a refinem…
For the 2nd day, someone is doing heavy duty selling (institutional rebalancing?) in the morning until about 11:00 AM Eastern, and then dippers come in around the lunchtime and onwards to reverse much of the morning action. VIX remains elevated at 3…
It is just the final step of the acquisition of BMO funds by Columbia Threadneedle that happened late last year. https://www.bmogam.com/us-en/institutional/important-announcements-regarding-bmo-funds/
VIX also had a huge reversal but remains high - a VIX of 29.90 still projects daily volatility of +/- 1.6% (high). What was interesting was the muted SKEW (EOD value), i.e. the traders weren't rushing to buy puts. This relatively high VIX and relati…
I had experience with OppenheimerFunds in 2008. It was IL 529 manager at that time. It stuffed lot of HY in the core bonds and allocation/balanced funds. This was stupidity if not fraud. That all turned ugly during the financial crisis. There was ev…
M* has 4* that is backward-looking based on past performance only.
M* Forward-looking Analyst Rating is Neutral.
Moreover, M* has had many negative comments & pieces on ARK.
Hard to blame M* on this.
I checked SPD prospectus, fact sheet, etc. They only mention put options overlay with some graphics but don't define downside protection parameters. So, it looks like buying pig in a poke.
@stayCalm, by name, JHEQX /JHQAX sounded like long-short fund but when I checked its portfolio at M*, it showed only longs, no shorts; M* classifies it under Options-Trading. Then, I dug deeper and found that it has 5-20 put options-overlay strategy…
JHEQX /JHQAX uses options spreads - it quarterly buys 5% OTM SP500 puts, sells 20% OTM SP500 puts, so the protection kicks in when SP500 is down between 5-20%. There is no protection for the first 5% down, or for more than 20% down. It is an options…
Mutual fund NTF platform restrictions are simply by days and the penalty is just the commissions. Brokers also keep track of shares free from restrictions and shares still under restrictions.
But frequent-trading restrictions are more nuanced and a…
The US Government bought $1.3 billion worth of Covid home test kits for free distribution from the Chinese iHealth Labs/Andon Health. A new chapter in US-China relations?
It is now 2-day settlement for stocks, ETFs, CEFs and only 1-day settlement for mutual funds. It is the same for taxable and tax-deferred/free (IRAs, 401k/403b) accounts. Days are business days.
New online brokers' rankings should be coming out in a few weeks. Here are those from last year, LINK.
There are also other rankings from Kiplinger, etc. LINK2
I think that OP @larryB is now more puzzled about TIPS.
BTW, the Fincash site you quote shows wrong denominator for Macaulay Duration - it should the the sum of the cash flows (not the bond price), so the weighting is indeed by the present values o…
Duration is present-value-weighted timing of bond cash flows. So, as off-the-run (existing) TIPS accumulate inflation-adjustments to be paid only at maturity, their durations are higher vs nominal treasuries that don't change their cash flow pattern…
European 5G frequencies 3.4-3.8 GHz
US 5G C-band frequencies (T, VZ) 3.70-3.98 GHz
T-Mobile 5G frequency (band 41) 2.5 GHz
Other frequencies are in use too, but the above are relevant for airplane instrumentations that have used 4+ GHz for decade…
I tried to look through website and prospectus but the strategy was unclear - some combo of long Treasuries with options overlay.
Looking at its chart, it does have positive correlation with 10-yr Treasury yields, but looking at some hi-lo values,…
See a response (4th reply) on the 5G C-band by "Bentley", a retired pilot, in a M* thread (unfortunately, his post alone cannot be cited).
https://community.morningstar.com/s/question/0D53o00005sqKJLCA2/aaii-sentiment-survey-11922
TIPS have higher durations than Treasuries of comparable maturities, so they are hit worse from rising rates. Almost 25% of TIPS are held by the Fed, a price-insensitive buyer. And TIPS funds behave quite differently from individually held TIPS to m…
Mark Twain, "If you don't like the weather in New England, wait just a few minutes."
But it applies to Chicago as well where we got up this morning with 7 degF.
Iceland? Nah! 45 degF today.
Yep. No one knew about 5G then. Actually, it is a relatively recent knowledge that mid-band offers the best compromise for 5G speed and range. And other parts of the mid-band are being used by other things. So, that leaves only the US C-band for T &…
@MikeM, a big issue with 401k/403b loans is that they become immediately due if you leave the job for any reason.
Other things are plan dependent, e.g. the plan may not allow contributions while a loan is outstanding, and in that case, employer mat…
FCC sold those C-band frequencies/spectrum (3.70-3.98 GHz) for $80+ billion. So, the FCC, and the companies who bought that spectrum (mostly T, VZ), want to push ahead; T-Mobile uses a different part of mid-band for its 5G. They are throwing stuff l…
Many airlines are canceling flights due to an unexpected 5G issue (not Omicron, not weather) - the US C-band (3.70-3.98 GHz; part of the mid-band) that just turned on can cause interference with plane instrumentations (nearby 4+ GHz used) & some…
This is an issues for Russell 2000 as well as the completion/extended-market indexes. Almost 35-40% companies in these indexes are unprofitable (no earning or no revenues). Refining these indexes into growth & value doesn't solve this basic issu…
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/19/politics/senior-citizens-medicare-free-covid-tests-retailers/index.html
".....As part of its effort to contend with Covid-19, the Biden administration is requiring health insurers to cover the cost of home tests for m…
