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.
One's TTM, one's SEC. See M* for both yield figures side by side.
See also MFO discussion: Difference between TTM Yield and 30 day SEC yield:
http://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/18413/difference-between-ttm-yield-and-30-day-sec-y…
I thought the whole idea of investing in actively-managed bond funds was due to the demonstrable effect good portfolio management can have on performance. If that is still the case, then I do not understand why the accuracy of past performance numbe…
@msf- thanks again for your help on this stuff. I did miss the "little balloon", but in going back to take another look they both seem to have the same balloon note, so all things being equal, something still doesn't add up.PGBOX has (unless waived)…
@msf: Schwab says YTD (as of 5/31) return for WOBDX is 3.16% vs -0.78% for PGBOX yet the only difference between the two seems to be an ER of 0.59% for WOBDX vs 0.76% for PGBOX.
Can that be right? The historic ratings summary for WOBDX is also sign…
You'll find that PGBOX is open through Schwab OneSource™.
Unless you were planning on investing $2M, it doesn't really matter whether Schwab offers the select class shares (WOBDX) to new investors. All the brokers seem to require that, even in I…
Comparing TGBAX to Barclays Agg makes no sense to me. We use the Citi World Govt Bond Index as a benchmark, and it stacks up well. Under-performs for 1 and 3 year (mostly because of last 12 months), beats 5 years and wallops 10 years. Yup, that's t…
I've repeatedly addressed most of the opinions in this column (recognize that outside of some of the numbers, it's almost all opinion masquerading as fact). For example:
"Among the key moments for retirement savers is when they change jobs or ret…
Instead of HDV, how about VYM? More diversified (400+ vs. 73 stocks), lower turnover (11% vs. 63% vs. category avg 34%), lower cost (if you amortize the Fidelity commission as a one time cost). They share 14 of the largest holdings (though HDV s…
PYMDX is also somewhat higher up the credit quality chain, according to the literature and from the percentages by rating I got from Pimco a few months ago. Pimco doesn't publish credit quality figures for oef's, but the CSRs will give them out ov…
Fun with numbers. NCHRX, another misclassified California muni junk bond fund, shows numbers just like VWAHX, and for the same reason - it's been tossed in with investment grade funds for comparison.
VWAHX NCHRX
1Mo.: 1 perce…
I don't care what you call it, so long as It's The Real Thing™
I've lived much of my life in two regions of the US, several years in a third, and a few years in a fourth. The quiz didn't come up with any of them for me.
It seems to think tha…
Much of the outperformance of the high yield munis, especially PYMDX, can be attributed to their exposure to tobacco bonds. Morningstar had an informative article (which I can't link) to the dangers lurking there. PYMDX - over 15% in tobacco bonds…
VWAHX is an excellent fund with a great long term record. But compared to investment grade bond funds, it has been a somewhat erratic performer, with three bottom quintile performances in the past decade (bottoming out at 97th percentile in 2008),…
MMHAX and PYMDX look less risky than NHMAX because they are of shorter duration (8.6 and 7.0 years vs. 10.1 years). Neither existed in 2008 (though the institutional share class PHMIX did), which also tends to make them look better.
In the case…
First suggestion: Don't Panic! This strikes me as a bit of fear mongering to drum up support against consumer protection regulations.
Hello,
I recently was informed by my broker, during a recent account review meeting, that upcoming changes might…
@varmint &MFO Members: Varmint is correct that time is on you side, and VWAHX has a excellent long-term record. VWAHX is ranked #3 in the Muni High-Yield Bond Fund category by U.S. News & World Report.
Regards,
Ted
http://money.usnews.com/f…
Did I read you right, that you want to use muni bonds in IRAs? Some custodians won't even allow this. For example, Fidelity does, but not online:
"The security you are attempting to trade is a tax-free mutual fund. Retirement accounts are preve…
I couldn't help but notice (or not notice) the absence of any dates when the biased routing to G1 Execution Services occurred.
In 2014, E*Trade Securities was fined $2.5M along with E*Trade Capital Markets (then a unit of E*Trade Financial Corp, no…
Here's another article, this one with a paragraph explaining the argument behind the brokerage window complaint. That is, by selecting available funds, Fidelity is allegedly exercising discretionary authority which makes it a fiduciary and not mer…
The article says that "the average manager is likely to do no better than the market, before fees". This of course is wrong. The average dollar is likely to do no better than the market, at least assuming that funds for all intents and purposes a…
Why stop with new money after you stop working? So long as you're eligible to contribute use outside money, at least if you've got any ordinary income.
If you don't, you can follow a suggestion from one of the articles - take the money out of …
@MikeM - You're reading the rules correctly. But remember there's a tradeoff. The IRA rollover is an HSA contribution, so you lose the ability to contribute that amount to the HSA from ordinary income.
Of course, if you have no ordinary incom…
Well, you could take the Republican approach to federal largesse - simply decline it. I believe there's no rule saying that you have to take SS at age 70. There just isn't any value in declining to take - you don't increase your benefits in late…
HSAs - You can only transfer money from an IRA, not from a 401(k). So in a sense the question of whether to use 401(k) money to fund an HSA is a nonissue. The 401(k) money would have to be transferred to an IRA first, at which point we've reduced…
Paying for a Roth conversion out of proceeds is usually pointless, and in this case, likely counterproductive. I feel like I post something like this once a year (and twice on leap years :-)), so let me try a three line summary:assuming tax rates …
Taking a page out of the article - internet posts are more or less effective depending on how they are presented. No, I'm not going to use all caps (THATS SO TEENAGE-ISH !!!).
Just mention the byline: Michael Lewis. Fun read.
While there are vague trends, the "error bars" are so huge as to make time of year trading an exercise in futility. It also depends on the time period you're looking at. There seem to be few consistencies: September seems to be on average worse …
In the taxable arena, I have a hard time justifying the added risk of any bond fund over the safety of an FDIC-insured bank account. One might eek out a quarter percent or so additional return, but at a cost of volatility along with interest rate …
Not trying to create more work/problems for you - just offering suggestions if you're trying to distribute more. It's hard to argue that 60/40 is not prudent, in the absence of some special need.
FWIW, the article also says that if you reinvest f…
I've always been fond of BCHYX (yet another misclassified fund, as it is generally grouped with long term Calif. munis, not HY).
Perhaps something to investigate is what constitutes "dividend and interest" for distribution purposes. A first quest…
What might help are comments and reviews of his 2008 book, A World of Wealth, How Capitalism Turns Profits into Progress, FT Press (2008). One finds general agreement on his conservative, perhaps libertarian leanings, and clear writing.
"He's a…
I don't find these questions so black and white, so I don't consider #1 to be nonsense. I'd like to believe each of us has some threshold beyond which we won't invest, though that may be different for each of us.
For me, it takes a lot to cross t…
To the best of my knowledge we've never received 5498 from any of our 5 IRA fiduciaries. [...] I do receive 1099-R from each every year showing distributions - if any. Maybe the reason for no 5498 is that 2016 will be the first year I'm required to…
See Form 5498 - all IRA custodians/trustees are supposed to file this with the IRS and give you a copy. It gives the amount you had in the account at the end of last year, whether you are required to take an RMD, and if so, how much.
@Tony - great find! I'd been wending my way back through IRC changes, but hadn't gotten back to 1962 yet.
FWIW, your reference appears to be chapter three from The Truth About Protecting Your IRAs and 401(k)s, by Steve Weisman.
http://www.amazon.…
@Hank - I appreciate your efforts in trying to make sense of the reported figures. It does seem that people at 2x the average household income ought to be able to handle a bill that amounts to 1% or less of their annual pay.
I think we both got a…
The AP version of the study, while generally factual, strikes me as slanted for sensationalism. The study was about people's perception of the economy and how that related to their personal situation. Of the eight key findings listed, difficulti…
Here's the "exclusive poll released Thursday":
http://www.apnorc.org/PDFs/EconViews/economy report draft_v5_DTP Formatted_new image.pdf
Wasn't it just a few months ago that virtually the same percentage of people couldn't deal with a $500 emergency…
