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.
Interesting thing about that Bloomberg story - there's been no second source. Every single story cites the Bloomberg article. So at this point one might treat it as little more than rumors.
On the other hand, I dug up this NYTimes article from …
I checked to see that if you do a direct 401k to Roth IRA conversion you could recharacterize it to a traditional IRA, and you can. You may want to have this ability in case the market continues to decline after the conversion. (One cannot recha…
I don't know the min amount at Fido for getting their Amex card, but for anyone who charges 10k or more a year (making this part up) I would think it would be worth it to have an account of any sort there, even money fund, just for the 2%-on-everyth…
I find there is a certain amount of pain in pulling bills out of a wallet, which is why like Hank I was slow coming to credit cards. I made the major move several years ago when rebates started adding up to real money - roughly 1% and no fees. If…
Thanks.
The Sallie Mae looks like an interesting substitute for people who have an Amazon card. I know that DiscoverCard offers free FICO scores, but I don't see anything about their providing free credit report access (as stated in this artic…
Here's the footnote one from the Schwab quote:
1. The IRS treats a Roth IRA withdrawal made more than five years after the first tax year in which you made a contribution (including earnings) as a “qualified distribution.” This means it is not taxa…
Thanks msf for develing into this in good depth.
Just another reason, I have chosen to say away from a roth at this stage of my life now being age 67. As you explained some of its complexity it seems extremely complicated for most of us to have …
I'm thinking about dropping a USB drive into my safe deposit box (and checking that USB drive memory every year or so). I know, I know, safe deposit box. How quaint. But at least I won't be worried about hackers.
You really should watch "Ocean'…
Simple answer - assuming all dividends were reinvested, M*'s pages give you the pre-tax, total return (including dividends and price depreciation) numbers I think you are looking for:3.86% in 2011, 4.20% in 2012, 3.39% in 2013, 2.65% in 2014, and a …
First question - is your Roth qualified? To be qualified, you must have opened some Roth account at least five years ago (as in your example - 2000), and you must be over age 59.5 (or disabled, or dead, or another exception or two).
So to answer …
@msf: As of 9/3 rphyx adjusted close up 6 cents from the new year. I'm ahead of the game, or not ?
Derf
Yahoo hasn't incorporated the August dividend:
http://www.riverparkfunds.com/downloads/Distri…
And if you have no capital gains at all, you also get full credit against your ordinary income.
I understand your point, but this is not entirely correct. :-)
The ability to apply capital losses against ordinary income is capped at $3K. While yo…
It seems to be exactly what you wrote, and I'm still of the belief it's exactly wrong.
If this is such a good strategy, it's curious that it's nowhere to be found, while there are so many articles explaining how to carefully gift appreciated sto…
I could have sworn I posted this already somewhere:
Unfortunately, when current yield equals current cap gain loss, one comes out a loser. That's because the interest dividends are taxed at, say, 25%, while you only get tax credit for 15% of the…
@Old_Skeet Maybe I read you a little too literally. What it sounded like you said was:
that you were currently taking distributions from your traditional IRA ("I plan to continue with my traditional ira and take my distributions"),
that these …
If you are drawing money from IRAs above the RMD amounts (which for you right now is $0), and some of that money is going into a taxable account, then there is absolutely no reason not to put that money into Roth accounts instead of the taxable acco…
What the earlier part of the Fairmark thread is talking about is getting the "usual tuition-related tax breaks". The posters there are asserting that you get those breaks only with payments in cash, not stock. If correct, that would seem to contra…
I can't find that exact column anywhere. That problem aside, IMHO (and I'm neither an accountant nor a lawyer, nor is this advice), I don't think this will fly.
What you are doing seems to constitute a sale of a security. It may not be a cash t…
Remember that the way you declare the cost basis (at least for covered securities) is by telling your broker before the trade settles. You don't have until later when you file your tax return to decide what works best for you.
I'm not sure how Sc…
I'm sure the funds can track conversions by date, more or less. That is, the funds (or brokers) can keep track of the conversion amounts and dates for conversions you did with them. Which means that mixing two conversions together at the same cus…
Consideration: The IRS tracks the converted amounts by date, so were you to intermix two different conversions, it could get a but confusing, though the fund companies apparently have ways of computing these should it be necessary. Again, for simpl…
Comment ...
By my thinking IRA conversions were just a creative way for the government to advance and to increase the tax revenue stream. On this point, I tend to agree with you - it's what I felt when the Roth was passed (especially with the once…
I plan to split some of my BWLAX off through American Becon's nav exchange program once Bridgeway Large Cap Growth gets moved over. I'll go with the A shares in this fund since this will be a nav exchange for me.
If your shares are in a tax-advanta…
"If one believes that solar is the way of the future, hopefully those people have the patience to wait out that long-term view. In other words, if you invest on beliefs in things that you think could do good, you will still likely have your beliefs …
I've been doing that, trying to hit market bottoms. My last stab for 2015 was on the previous dip, about a week ago. If the market continues downward for the rest of the year, I'll just convert some bond funds at the end of the year and recharac…
Using BRLVX (American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value) as a model, it looks like you'll be able to purchase the migrated Bridgeway Large Cap Growth fund in a Fidelity IRA with a $2500 min (and $49.95 fee). So you might not have to rush to buy som…
It's not the vote, but the actions after the vote that matter.
"If Bridgeway Fund’s shareholders approve the Plan, the Reorganization is expected to take effect in the fourth quarter of 2015" (see above).
Having said that, Bridgeway could close th…
"Would you want to hold an IOU from someone whom you knew for a fact was broke? Why is this situation any different?"
I'm glad you asked. Every state's GO bonds are rated in the A range, meaning each state "has [at least] STRONG capacity to meet …
It wasn't a repeat! One was Large Cap Growth, the other Large Cap Value. That's what makes it so interesting. One fund at a time. Drip, drip, drip.
Sorry about the phrasing. I meant that we've seen this pattern (Bridgeway -> AB) before.
We've seen this before: Bridgeway Large Cap Value fund reorganized into American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund (MFO thread).
Apparently my speculation in that thread - that the first fund move was a one-off - was wrong. Still, it's just t…
Ten years ago (late 2005) the new manager for Giftrust (who had been appointed early 2004) raised Giftrust's performance (12 month period) to 8th best out of 240 growth funds (as ranked by Bloomberg).
From the time Giftrust started to the time it r…
I may not have been sufficiently clear. Many funds offered in VAs are not designed (from a legal perspective) to be offered for sale as securities. Even if they are structured that way, they are rarely offered for sale outside of an insurance pol…
@mcmarasco
"Does anyone know anything about the Voya versions (virtual clones) of PRWCX (ITRAX / ITRIX / ITCSX / ITCTX)? They are open according to M*, but can the average investor purchase them???"
According to test trades I just made, these clo…
Some Amex benefits go with every Amex card, regardless of who issues it, such as Small Business Saturday. Other benefits inure only to "real" Amex cards (though these seem to include the free cards like Amex Blue Cash Everyday).
A recently adde…
Finally found the news item stating Fidelity's commitment to a 2% card. NYTimes, May 15, 2015.
" Fidelity guaranteed to me early last year that it would not change the 2 percent rebate for at least 18 months. This week, it reset that clock, so an…
"Perhaps, by the close of business today price reporting will be in good order. "
NBR/CNBC reported that the "glitch" may last through this weekend, and the problem was with a software update. Just a few seconds, starting at the 12:15 mark:
I've always said RPHYX is not a good cash substitute primarily because it has never been tested during a bear market in junk bonds. ... Still, YTD it is outperforming cash and has done well as a cash substitute since its inception. It's done adequat…
Thanks for the link. Count me among those interested.
I've read elsewhere (old news) that while no sponsor will commit to maintaining a 2% card (e.g. Schwab dropped its 2% Visa several years ago), Fidelity has said that it does plan to keep the c…
