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.
The available funds listed on the informational pages without an account is far from complete. With an account the available funds are many more. I own SVARX as a matter of fact and both this fund and PACLX are both available with $500 initial amoun…
Forgot to add. Free cash management is available with a minimum 25K in the account. This has to be applied for separately and comes with checks, atm card,etc
I am in no way affiliated with Firstrade so I can report without hesitation after 1 year now, that I have been, for the most part ,happy with this account that allows every, yes every of the 11,000 funds on the platform NTF. Fees occur if a transac…
Though JPST and ICSH have their places in a portfolio (I own both) I have been using the SFGI Direct online bank account( Summit Bank) the past year with great success. With these ETF's paying about .30% (30 day SEC yield) I almost double this with …
Yes as I said, quirky! But by accidentally finding this method, I am able to purchase funds that do not otherwise show up on the site. It has saved me fees as a result.
@shadow. I do not put the fund family in. When the trade page for funds comes up just put the ticker in and say, 1000.00. The fund will come up as open with the minimum. I went through all the motions until the confirm page came up and then cancelle…
@Shadow. Sorry again but you are wrong! If you log in to your account as I did, go to research, click on mutual funds,then put in the ticker the fund comes up as available with 3K initial and 100 subsequent. As I mentioned in my earlier post, the li…
Sorry @Shadow but Firstrade=Yes!!! The available funds listed are much greater if searching as a customer vs just searching without logging in. Why this is so I do not know. Initial is $3000.
@AndyJ
If I remember correctly I got the information when I called them last year. It is truly remarkable that this firm is now refusing to divulge information required for tax preparation. I wonder what the SEC would think. I just do not have the t…
@AndyJ .For 2019 IOFIX distributions included 10.71% in Federal obligations. I cannot remember how I got that figure but I would have not used it if it was not correct. Depending on the amount invested this could be a good chunk of a deduction on …
Fidelity reported it as a "Non dividend distribution". Now my interaction yesterday with Alpha Centric. Their site has no tax related information. Spoke to a rep because I needed to know if any of the dividends are from US Govt obligations which wou…
All MF's are NTF. No commission. I did not mention load. That is a separate item. In my account if you click on" research and tools", then click on mutual funds, a page appears where you choose( in small letters) the list you wish ,either load list…
If the ACH transfer is initiated before 1pm then the funds are available almost immediately, at least that has been my experience. If after 1pm the funds are available the next day. Why. I am not sure. Possibly it is based on the amount of assets in…
Every MF on the platform is NTF. Also instead of VWINX I bought VWIAX the admiral share with a lower ER with a $500 minimum. Same with the other Vanguard admiral funds so far. The site is quirky in that the M* info page shows the normal 50,000 minim…
@msf and anyone else who might know.
Do bond fund managers typically try and sell bonds before they mature to decrease the chance of losing principal? Is this why the turnover can be so high in some funds. I just have had a hard time understanding w…
Shalom-The hebrew word for peace. All ideas are welcome. I have learned so much on this site. Everyone I would expect, must do their own due diligence and come to their own conclusions. No post can or will be complete in the whole story. How about p…
I re-balance twice yearly. Also I prefer to reapportion monthly dividends/gains to positions of my own choice based on the economy, my current financial and tax situation or cash needs. Typically I would do about 40 buys/sells a year. At Wellstrade …
That was definately a concern and part of the due diligence done prior to opening the account. They have been open since 1985 and accounts are insured for losses beyond SIPC limits if stolen. In addition ,if you are using a non prior identified devi…
A non customer doing research on the Firstrade site does indeed find 3,432 no load funds listed. However to my great surprise after becoming a customer and opening an account (no minimum) that number became 11,090 no load NTF funds when you are sign…
Yes, @MSF any load fund ,I would not purchase at Firstrade and for load funds which are waived, I use my Fidelity account. I do hold PIMIX, as one of the few funds I still keep at Wellstrade. As with anything in life you pick and choose. All in all …
I have not had rejections occur as yet, with the 10 funds purchased. Also the $500 minimum for institutional funds is not available on all, but quite a few, as I noted. Also be aware the low minimum fund (investor and institutional) purchase prices…
I would add VGSTX to the above list. Very diversified and had a stellar 2020. It is a fund of funds that I have had for 25 years and has never disappointed.
@msf. Again thank you for your explanations. Net understanding is that 30 day SEC yield though not perfect is as close you will get, to be able to compare yields between bond funds. Thanks again!
@msf. Thank you for your always great explanations. Since bond funds are buying and selling bonds every day and not holding them to maturation usually, I would imagine that the SEC yield is the cumulative yield of all the bonds in the fund held unti…
Safest. Ally 11mo no penalty cd. Also consider ultra short bond funds. GSY, ICSH, JPST,TRBUX,VUSFX. I own all of the above. Sorry goofed and posted twice accidentally.
@mona. All funds including all Admiral class Vanguard funds are available at Firstrade NTF. When researching be aware that without an account open , the fund count is smaller. All funds are listed in the research function if you have an account open…
Wellstrade ( Wells Fargo) sent me a letter last month discontinuing the free 100 yearly trades of TF funds ,promised ,when I opened the account 13 years ago. So that kept me in their fold even with all the shenanagans going on, which never affect…
Keeping cash in a money market account when FNSXX ,until a few months ago was always in the top 5 for retail institutional mmkt funds, was a no brainer. Now paying 0.17% (7 day yield) it was time to move on and the cash was transferred to SFGI dire…
If one of you bond meisters (maybe msf?) can explain this to me it would be surely appreciated. I am looking heavily into bond funds now as I reach retirement .M* rates the PTIAX bond avg rating as BB in the style box area . Yet it then reports thes…
@WABAC
If you are considering CEF munis hopefully you are aware that most are leveraged in the 38% range and if there is a bond downturn in the future these funds will really get zapped because of this. If you dig deep there are a few funds with mi…
Library's in N Carolina belong to NCLIVE which is a state sponsored electronic information site that carry's many fee based internet sites and is available free to any library member in NC. Morningstar premium is one of many available, by logging i…
@ Crash
The HY title for this fund is actually a misnomer. It has a few below investment grade bonds but it really is an investment grade fund with an average bond rating of BBB. I do not know why Vanguard calls it HY. That said you could call it a…
@dtconroe.
I have thoroughly, again thoroughly, enjoyed your post and was able to evaluate some of your named funds to add to those I currently keep in my portfolio. Each post I believe has value to someone and some repetition is no problem at all,…
By the way in my account with Wellstrade , VWALX has a $0. minimum. I opened the position with way under 50K. This could be available on some members brokerage platforms also.
VWAHX has a minimum of $3000 with great metrics also. Though these funds are called Hi yield: in fact the avg bond rating for both of these funds has been BBB, investment grade, the same as PTRMX. Vanguard tends to run their hi yield bond funds on t…
