Left Morningstar and came here. Mark: "I'm not trying to be snarky (I know, I'm shocked along with everyone else here who knows me) but you responded like a politician. I asked specifically about your 'discussion board' comment which you mostly if not entirely dodged around. I'll wait until you're ready.
As for the rest of your response, MFO doesn't even pretend to offer all of the things you find appealing about M* so yes, comparing the two sites on that basis is apples to oranges."
Mark, I have been out for a few hours and just got back home. I am sorry my absence has led to your conclusion that I somehow have "mostly if not entirely dodged around", and somehow you are calling my response "like a politician". I am a bit confused by your choice of words and the tone of your response.
At M*, the Discussion section is divided into various subcategories, called Investing Forums. When you start a thread, you go to the appropriate Investing Forum, that fits your Thread Topic. So, if I want to start a thread, or read someone else's thread, associated with Bonds, then I simply go to that section of the Discussion section, and I can avoid threads associated with other Investing Forum topics, not related to Bonds, that I have no interest in. Among the many Investing Forums, where you can focus your posting and reading interest, include: Dividend and Income Investing, Investing in Retirement, Mutual Funds, Fidelity Funds, Vanguard Funds, Off Topic discussions, Market Insights, etc. etc. etc.
At MFO, there is only one Discussion section, with no subcategories. Every conceivable thread topic gets introduced daily and goes to the beginning of the Discussion Section. Older threads get buried under an avalanche of new threads, with many thread topics that I have no interest in. There is one particular poster, John, who introduces about 4 or 5 or more new threads every day, that goes straight to the beginning of the Discussion section. I have a few Bond related threads, in addition to the one I started, that I try to find, but they are often on the 2nd or 3rd page of the Discussion Section, buried under a large number of new threads I have no interest in.
I simply like the M* platform, because it is kind of like a newspaper, divided into a variety of sections, found in the newspaper index on the front page. In the newspaper, I don't have to go through massive sections of the newspaper I am not interested in, to ultimately find the section I am interested in. If I want to read the Sports section of the newspaper, I can find where that is by just looking at the index to find where it is located. At MFO, you have no subdivision of similar thread topics---you have to dig through all the other stuff, to hopefully find what you are interested in.
I hope this explanation meets your criteria for directness and clarity!
Where a Global Bond Fund Finds Yield in a Low-Rate World -- Barron's/Lewis Braham @Sven echos my thoughts. I was with D&C when the roof fell in (‘07-‘09). Remember it well. But I wonder if worrying about a repeat is tantamount to “fighting the last war”. I don’t see much in their style that says their funds
must always lead on the downside. In fact, their domestic equity funds are hedged against interest rate shock by being overweight financials. A lot depends on which way the wind blows.
Oh - You can fault D&C plenty if you wish. Not as cheap as index funds. Most of their funds are bloated, making it harder for them to make tactical moves. Fewer alternatives exist under their roof (just six funds / no money market fund) than for most of the big players. And DODBX typically holds less in fixed income (around 30% currently) than similar funds. I’d prefer they received no publicity at all - because part of the ‘08-‘09 problem seems to have been that many short term investors who had been attracted by their outperformance fled in the face of falling prices, exasperating the problems.
Being of the “stable genius“ variety :), I prefer to invest directly with just a limited number of fund houses. Avoids the temptation to constantly seek out a “better” fund for any particular category - in effect jumping ship to ship. And that “stay put” style is anathema to many today. For equities and bonds my choices boil down to TRP and D&C. I suppose one might do better in selecting two houses to entrust with the bulk of their long-term
retirement money. But one could also do a lot worse.
Fund Spy: A Solid Fund for Retirees Pimco Real Return PRRIX provides worthwhile inflation-protected bond exposure, which can help preserve purchasing power in
retirement. By Miriam Sjoblom, (CFA) for M* ,Jan 16, 2020
"Despite some noteworthy team turnover, Pimco Real Return's experienced management team and extensive supporting cast of global-bond specialists continue to give it an edge in the inflation-linked bond arena. Given the importance of low fees in this competitive field, the fund's cheapest institutional share classes earn Morningstar Analyst Ratings of Silver and Bronze, while its remaining shares are rated Neutral."
Article Here
This retiree prefers to separate strategies so he sees the moving parts he's betting on -- I mean investing in.
So if I want derivatives, corporates, and securitized fare I'ld buy them separately.
Per the M* link:
It employs macro-driven strategies (driven by real growth, inflation, and country-specific analysis) and micro-driven themes (including Consumer Price Index seasonality, on-the-run/off-the-run premiums, and implied inflation volatility). Although U.S. TIPS and, to a lesser extent, other global inflation-linked bonds dominate the portfolio, the strategy can invest up to 20% in other sectors, such as corporates and securitized fare.
The approach has led to sizable off-index bets at times, a trait that distinguishes it from its more-constrained peers, including use of Pimco's bonds-plus techniques, by which the strategy gets exposure to its primary sectors via derivatives and invests the cash collateral in short-term bonds. The team may also make meaningful and swift maturity shifts, though the portfolio's overall duration has generally stayed within a year of the benchmark's. The strategy's adventurous nature can cause its performance to diverge from that of the U.S. TIPS market at times. But overall, its flexible approach, which benefits from the insights of Pimco's broad, deep bench of global-bond experts, earns a High Process Pillar rating.
But for people that don't like to own too many funds this offering from PIMCO is probably safe enough.
Fund Spy: A Solid Fund for Retirees Pimco Real Return PRRIX provides worthwhile inflation-protected bond exposure, which can help preserve purchasing power in
retirement. By Miriam Sjoblom, (CFA) for M* ,Jan 16, 2020
"Despite some noteworthy team turnover, Pimco Real Return's experienced management team and extensive supporting cast of global-bond specialists continue to give it an edge in the inflation-linked bond arena. Given the importance of low fees in this competitive field, the fund's cheapest institutional share classes earn Morningstar Analyst Ratings of Silver and Bronze, while its remaining shares are rated Neutral."
Article Here
* @dtconroeRegarding Tax Cost Ratio (TCR), I don't recall what tax rate / bracket M* uses to calculate the value. The definition M* provides is silent on the topic. For munis, with a TCR of 0% the issue is moot. Perhaps I don't understand TCR fully, but for taxable bond funds, the tax impact is tied to one's specific tax situation / tax rate and whether they are close to a breakpoint in tax brackets. The tax impact of interest / dividends for someone in the 15% tax bracket is different than for someone in the 22% bracket or higher. State and local taxes also need to be considered to get a full picture. Seems like TCR is more a relative vs. absolute measure and one needs to do further due diligence to get the full picture for their particular situation.
Bingo. There is no more 15%. It goes 10,12,22,24,32,35,37.
Most USA households will be at 22% and under because MARRIED FILING JOINTLY is up to $186.4K and especially retirees with lower income at
retirement compared to when they used to work.
Let's see how it works in reality. If we compare MWCRX to VCFAX for 3 years. Looking at M* tax tab (
link)
Performance pre-tax MWCRX 3.5% VCFAX 5.7%
Performance after-tax MWCRX 2.3% VCFAX 3%. The after tax numbers are way off for tax bracket 10,12,22 and even 24 which goes to $321.45K for Fed income
The above means that the difference between MWCRX to VCFAX is not only 0.7% but much higher.
Boost Your Retirement Income With Tricks The Pros Use
How much you can contribute to traditional or roth ira 2020 The spousal Roth IRA has been discussed here previous; but I'll add this again, as many remain unaware of this provision.
From personal experience, I've helped 12 married couples discover this little known provision. Obviously, a married couple needs to have the financial resources to fund a spousal Roth IRA; but even a few hundred dollars annually makes a difference going forward. The common circumstances I encountered were: one spouse retires several years earlier than the other, or one spouse has a temporary or permanent job loss.
"Generally, you need earned income to contribute to a Roth IRA. For married couples, there is an exception. You can contribute to an IRA for a non-working spouse, up to the maximum annual limit. A spousal Roth IRA isn't a joint account, but can be an effective way for couples to double their
retirement savings."
Aside from the IRS link below, do a broad search for spousal Roth IRA to discover more details.
IRS pub. here .....read Spousal IRA section
As always, remain curious,
Catch
How much you can contribute to traditional or roth ira 2020
How much you can contribute to traditional or roth ira 2020 Many nearing
retirement seem unaware of the IRS “
Catch-up“ provisions. Appears current law allows persons over 50 who were unable to fully fund their
retirement plan in prior years to make generous catch-up contributions later on in addition to the current yearly limit. I’m unclear whether it pertains to IRAs, but it appears that at least in some cases it does. My experience more than 2 decades ago (with a 403-B) may no longer be representative. But in my case the
“catch-up“ came in darned handy in shoring-up earlier insufficient contributions as
retirement neared.
Quick search pulled up 3 reads:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/catchupcontribution.asp - Invesropedia / general description
https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/401k-plan-catch-up-contribution-eligibility - IRS / 401K
https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-catch-up-contributions - IRS / mentions IRAs - but I’m unsure of types and amounts.
PS - I should have read
John’s article first:
“ The maximum amount you can contribute to a traditional IRA for 2020 is $6,000 if you're younger than age 50. Workers age 50 and older can add an extra $1,000 per year as a "catch-up" contribution, bringing the maximum IRA contribution to $7,000. You must have earnings from work to contribute to an IRA, and you can't put more into the account than you earned.”Perhaps my added emphasis may be helpful to some. :)
From Simon - “
Inflation (Consumer Price Index) was up 2.1% in 2019 as of last November” -
While that sounds trite in the face last year’s near 30% return on the S&P, it really depends on perspective. A 2% rise in cost of living (if you believe the numbers) would look quite different following a 30% decline in equities, especially if bonds languished or fell in value. And even at 2% a year, over 5 years you’re looking at well over a 10% increase in COL. (Remember that inflation compounds in a manner similar to how interest does.)
