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.
In Chicago, they're 199.99999% confident :-)
https://strong.academic.wlu.edu/humor/the-dead-vote-in-chicago-elections/ (humor)
Thanks for the reminder. My local BOE system shows that the post office received my ballot 1.5 weeks ago, but that it …
Now you're on a slippery slope toward a traditional portfolio asset distribution and away from a barbell (zero risk and high risk, nothing in the middle). Once you add bonds, you're proposing a different allocation regimen with likely higher risk …
The equity profiles are quite similar, .....
Important to note significant differences between the two funds in equity holdings: VWINX 36% with HBLYX holding 44%.
True the equity/bond asset allocations are a bit different. Still, the equity profil…
"In the past, both BlackRock and Vanguard have expressed a preference for such 'direct engagement'".
We've discussed the problems with this before. At least currently, Vanguard is the largest shareholder in WFC, and Blackrock is number 2. Ei…
A barbell approach to asset allocation can work. It's one of several approaches to dealing with sequence of return risk. I've posted more than once about this. It's also what Buffett was suggesting with his recommendation of 10% short term Tre…
I'm less concerned than some others with the modest increase in duration of DODIX. To explain why, I'm going to have to go into why I feel that MBS durations understate risk. Negative convexity. Bear with me here.
I'll try explaining this by a…
The issue in the trials was safety of the vaccine generally. One of the purposes of phase 3 clinical trials is to test the safety of pharmaceuticals in a broad population sample. Each trial was paused to allow the companies to determine whether …
FWIW, I just checked with Fidelity (phone) and VWINX is eligible for Fidelity's Automatic Investment Program. As with other funds, a $250 min for each addition.
If this is for a buy-and-hold or a buy-and-gradually-sell long term position, it may be cost effective to simply pay the one time fee and amortize it over years. That is, think of it as, say, a $15 fee/year for five years. Compare the fee with t…
Passing on the loss is a plus; the problem is that while this is a loss existing shareholders have "earned", they now have to share that benefit with other shareholders. Their benefit (an embedded capital loss) is getting diluted. Were the fund n…
The "combo" actually is just the proxy that incorporates the registration (prospectus) by reference. It does contain links to the prospectuses on p. F-13 (near the bottom of the file Shadow linked to).
Here's the link to the acquiring fund's (Que…
Could you cite sources and explain your thinking? I've occasionally sold, or declined to buy, funds because I fundamentally disagreed with the manager's approach. But when investing in actively managed funds I generally take the view that I'm buy…
I wonder why Mondrian (financial parent of Rothko) started a second EM fund when it had been running MPEMX for several years. MPEMX is hardly a great fund, but it still managed to outperform the soon to be liquidated Rothko. Over RKEMX's lifetim…
I might have thought that a consumer discretionary fund with a ticker VCR would date back to the 80s. Turns out the fund started in 2004.
At least they had the sense not to name it BMAX.
Books, cooked books, and lies. By everyone.
If someone holds two jobs (4.9% of workers in 2017), neither job is likely over 35 hours/week. According to the "True" (nice rhetoric) Rate of Unemployment ("TRU") calculation, these workers may be co…
Companies like Xfinity do this all the time with there new customer offers while longtime customers have their fees jacked up.
Ah yes, the practice of benefiting new customers at the expense of existing customers. It's very common, though not oft…
In USAA's case, their customers are also their shareholders so in sense I should see some of these dollars making improvements at USAA.
There is an increase in USAA's revenue and thus an addition to its balance sheet. What USAA will do with that m…
Could you clarify? You suggest that Schwab is treating one class of customers (not potential customers) different from others. That sounds like you're saying that once TD Ameritrade clients became Schwab customers (via acquisition) they were no l…
With Vanguard creating a brokerage would that be investor owned or is only the (original) Vanguard investor owned ? Only asking to see if those still holding (original) Vanguard investors due money if sold to say Schwab
When a company is acquired, i…
What can I say? It's still working for me. I even tried a second browser just to make sure there wasn't anything cached.
The markets were open (and way up) yesterday. But the banks were closed, which is why Fidelity wouldn't count yesterday as…
Broadly speaking, value funds can be put into two different categories: absolute value and relative value. Absolute value funds look at individual stocks, estimate their intrinsic value (how much the company should be worth based on assets, project…
Brian Rogers was also the first manager of T. Rowe Price Value fund (TRVLX). He managed it for nearly a decade. Over that span, TRVLX returned a total of 154%, while PRFDX returned 121%. That's about a 2% difference per year. Even back then PR…
I admit to being skeptical of monoline muni bond insurers after their 2008 collapse. Keep that in mind when reading my comments.
The basic function of insurance is to spread risk. So long as one can expect defaults to be isolated cases and not th…
In the current interest rate environment, I would require "near cash" to:
(a) be only slightly volatile - the more volatile a fund is, the longer one might have to wait to cash out even accepting a modest loss;
(b) have relatively small max drawdow…
Where is the Republican and Fox News outrage about the violent dangerous "radical right?" https://aol.com/article/news/2020/10/08/6-people-charged-in-plot-to-kidnap-michigan-gov-whitmer/24645091/
Or are we just going to get more footage of "riots" i…
A good promo piece, generally informative. Though as it is written to promote Betterment's service, it tends to gloss over some things, and hype others.
management strategies like tax loss harvesting require liquid securities that trade more than …
Yes, the IRS might vigorously pursue your small potatoes. For several years, though underfunded, the IRS has chosen to continue auditing low earners at the same rate while reducing the number of audits on high earners.
https://www.propublica.org/ar…
If it was your name alone on the check, you had the cash in hand. Though you elected to give that cash to Vanguard, it was you endorsing the check - no different from my sending you a check for money I owed you and you endorsing it over to some thi…
For the most part, this is a solid, sensible piece, worth the read. However, one part, quoted below, gives me pause. The recommendation is solid, the representation of the tax laws, less so.
For example, while selling VOO (Vanguard S&P 500 ET…
As Lewis and others have pointed out, story headlines can be, well, flaky. The print version of this story has the title "The Right Bond Funds for an Uncertain Future".
That print version may be available for free online via your local (or not …
With an IRA transfer, there's always the possibility that the old trustee will mistakenly make the check payable to you, rather than to the new trustee in trust for you (or FBO, ...).
There's also a matter of time out of the market between liquidat…
Are you really trying to transfer your IRA from T. Rowe Price brokerage? That has a $50 closeout/transfer fee. Or are you trying to transfer an IRA mutual fund account? That has no transfer fee, but also is not a brokerage account.
In theory, br…
Facebook and Twitter blocked these posts.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/06/facebook-removes-trump-post-falsely-comparing-coronavirus-and-the-flu.html
Trump response: "REPEAL SECTION 230!!!" of the Communications Decency Act.
Section 230 says that …
The absence of universal coverage, combined with high deductibles and copays, made it less likely for people with symptoms to seek medical help, thus endangering them and the rest of us.
This is packed with more than many people acknowledge. Hig…
The calculation that caps Treasury returns in the mid-single digits is straightforward.
"0.6% (the current yield on the 10-year note) "
Assume one can't go negative on nominal yield.
Then price appreciation is limited to what you get when rates …
Economic growth can come in many ways. From more workers (and requisite capital to sustain productivity/worker). From longer hours, e.g. converting part time jobs to full time jobs. From increased worker productivity, e.g. from better training, …
@FD1k
>> 3) Healthcare got a lot more expensive since Obama care.
cites?
Here's one for ya:
https://www.statnews.com/2019/03/22/affordable-care-act-controls-costs/
@msf did a lot of substantiated posting in this area back when. I'm not go…
