With the impending FED rate cut(s), I have been dipping my toe into the bond arena.
I'm currently interested in the MUNI area to augment the intermediate-term muni MF I already hold. I'm finding it somewhat difficult to narrow down the way I would like to. I'm looking for a solid fund with very good risk/reward, solid returns and reasonable SD (under 10) and a more "conservative" downside capture ratio with a good upside ratio (if this makes sense).
**I am open to MF or ETF (prefer active) and to this point have identified three candidates.
FEHAX (First Eagle High Yield Municipal): might be a bit performance chasing, but doing extremely well with the new PM of 6 or 7 months. It's metrics are impressive, but again new PM with a very short track record with this fund
ABHFX (American High-Income Municipal): very good metrics and returns and track record
CGHM (Capital Group Municipal High-Income): Brand NEW ETF, about three months new. From what I can tell, It appears to be a cousin of ABHFX. I believe the share they same managers, objectives and some metrics that I can find.
Any thoughts, ideas, other suggestions are very welcome! Thx. Matt

Sold SR/A (now callable) a few cents under par. The cap gains received are a years' worth of dividends and I can move the money into other opportunities.

He claims he does not need the money. Right?

Yeah, he "claims" a lot of things.

If he didn't need the money in 2016 or 2020 or 2024, he's sure doing a lot of grifting for dollars. Maybe it's true that he doesn't NEED money, it's just that he'd prefer paying his lawyers with other people's money and not his own.

You could make an argument for him "betting on himself" winning the 2024 election, thus immediately boosting the share price of DJT.
As for the grifting, selling bibles, selling gold sneakers, selling his soul, now Trump plans to help launch his sons' Crypto business. It wasn't bad enough that he made billions though his son-in-law, Kushner, via Saudi investments.

He claims he does not need the money. Right?

Yeah, he "claims" a lot of things.

If he didn't need the money in 2016 or 2020 or 2024, he's sure doing a lot of grifting for dollars. Maybe it's true that he doesn't NEED money, it's just that he'd prefer paying his lawyers with other people's money and not his own.

I'm asking the same question. For me, looking for yield with minimal downside for capital.

The following questions might help narrow down your choices:
Are you playing for yield or capital gains or a combination of the two? For each what are your expectations and which time frame?
Edit: you can share the answers and directly ask the bond experts (a la Junkster) for help with fund choices.

"China suspended the operations of PricewaterhouseCoopers for six months and imposed a record penalty over lapses in its auditing of China Evergrande Group. The accounting firm was fined 441 million yuan ($62 million) for its work on Evergrande’s inflated financial reports from 2018 to 2020. Regulators also ordered the closure of PwC’s branch in Guangzhou. PwC has been under scrutiny since China launched one of the biggest investigations of financial fraud in history. Authorities have said developer Evergrande’s main onshore unit Hengda overstated its revenue by 564 billion yuan in the two years through 2020. PwC “turned a blind eye” to Evergrande’s fraud, securities regulators said."
I want to know how much PWC paid to CCP to get away with a meagre $62M fine. That is peanuts.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/919160/000121390024078504/ea0214544-01_497.htm
497 1 ea0214544-01_497.htm 497
GUINNESS ATKINSON FUNDS
SmARTETFS ADVERTISING & MARKETING TECHNOLOGY ETF
Supplement dated September 13, 2024
to the Fund’s Prospectus, Summary Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) each dated May 1, 2024
The Board of Trustees of the Guinness Atkinson Funds (the “Trust”) has approved a plan to liquidate and terminate the SmartETFs Advertising & Marketing Technology ETF (“MRAD” or the “Fund”). The Board’s determination was based on the size of the Fund and the recommendation of Guinness Atkinson Asset Management, the Fund’s investment adviser. The plan of liquidation provides that the Fund will cease its business, liquidate its assets and distribute its liquidation proceeds to all of the Fund’s shareholders of record. As of the close of regular trading on the NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) on October 30, 2024 (the “Closing Date”), MRAD shares will cease trading on the NYSE Arca and will be closed to purchases by investors. In order to facilitate the Fund’s continued operations until liquidation, MRAD will continue to permit purchases and redemptions of creation units in the Fund until it is delisted from the exchange. Final liquidation of the Fund is currently expected to occur on or before November 6, 2024, but this date may be extended. Shareholders will receive liquidation proceeds as soon as practicable after the liquidation date.
The Fund will be de-listed pursuant to the New York Stock Exchange’s procedures. Shareholders may sell their MRAD shares prior to the close of regular trading on the Closing Date and customary brokerage charges may apply to such transactions.
As the liquidation of the Fund approaches, the Fund will deviate from its investment objective, investment strategies and investment policies as set forth in the Prospectus and will instead engage in business activities to wind down the Fund in an orderly manner and liquidate the Fund’s portfolio. During this period, the Fund will engage in transactions designed to convert the Fund’s assets to cash and a larger portion of the Fund’s assets will be held in cash and similar investments in order to prepare for orderly liquidation and to meet anticipated redemption requests. This may adversely affect the Fund’s investment performance. The impending liquidation of the Fund may also result in creation unit redemptions. Shareholders remaining in the Fund may bear increased transaction expenses incurred in connection with the disposition of the Fund’s portfolio holdings. Any such transaction costs would reduce any distributable net capital gains.
If a shareholder has not redeemed his or her shares by the Closing Date, the shares will automatically be redeemed, and proceeds will be sent to the shareholder of record. Liquidation proceeds will be paid in cash at the Fund’s net asset value per share as of the close of business on the liquidation date. Once final liquidating distributions are complete, the Fund will terminate.
The redemption of shares held by a shareholder as part of the liquidation generally will be considered a taxable event for Federal income tax purposes and may cause shareholders to recognize a gain or loss. Before the final liquidation, the Fund may make distributions of income and capital gains. These distributions will have the tax and other consequences described in the Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information. A shareholder should consult with the shareholder’s tax advisor to discuss the Fund’s liquidation and the tax consequences to the shareholder.
The dates set forth in this supplement may be changed without notice by the officers of the Guinness Atkinson Funds.
INVESTORS SHOULD RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1526787/000119312524217981/d863235d497.htm
497 1 d863235d497.htm NATIXIS ETF TRUST - 497
Supplement dated September 12, 2024 to the Natixis Loomis Sayles Short Duration Income ETF’s Summary Prospectus, Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, each dated May 1, 2024, as may be revised or supplemented from time to time.
Natixis Loomis Sayles Short Duration Income ETF
On September 12, 2024, the Board of Trustees of Natixis ETF Trust (the “Trust”), on behalf of the Natixis Loomis Sayles Short Duration Income ETF (the “Fund”), upon the recommendation of the Fund’s adviser, Natixis Advisors, LLC (“Natixis Advisors”) approved a Plan of Liquidation for the Fund pursuant to which the Fund will be liquidated (the “Liquidation”) on or about September 30, 2024 (“Liquidation Date”). Any shares of the Fund outstanding on the Liquidation Date will be automatically redeemed on that date.
Effective at the close of business on September 16, 2024, the Fund will no longer accept orders for the purchase of Creation Units. It is expected that September 25, 2024 will be the Fund’s last full day of trading on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”). Pursuant to this schedule, NYSE Arca is expected to halt trading in shares of the Fund after the market close on September 25, 2024.
Beginning when the Fund commences liquidation of its portfolio (expected on or around September 13, 2024), the Fund may not pursue its investment objective or engage in normal business activities, except for the purposes of winding up its business and affairs, preserving the value of its assets, paying its liabilities, and distributing its remaining assets to shareholders. During the time between market close on September 25, 2024 and the Liquidation Date, because the Fund’s shares will not be traded on NYSE Arca, there can be no assurance that there will be a market for the purchase or sale of the Fund’s shares.
In connection with the Liquidation, any shares of the Fund outstanding on the Liquidation Date will be automatically redeemed as of the close of business on the Liquidation Date. The proceeds of any such redemption will be equal to the net asset value of such shares after the Fund has paid or provided for all of its charges, taxes, expenses and liabilities, including certain operational costs of liquidating the Fund. The distribution to shareholders of these liquidation proceeds will occur as soon as practicable, and will be made to all Fund shareholders at the time of the Liquidation. Additionally, the Fund may declare and distribute to shareholders any realized capital gains and all net investment income no later than or in connection with the final Liquidation distribution. Natixis Advisors, investment manager to the Fund, may or may not, depending on the circumstances, distribute substantially all of the Fund’s net investment income and any net realized capital gains prior to the date of Liquidation.
Shareholders of the Fund may sell their shares of the Fund on NYSE Arca until the market close on September 25, 2024, and may incur customary transaction fees from their broker-dealer. Prior to the Liquidation Date, Authorized Participants may continue to submit orders to the Fund for the redemption of Creation Units. See “Buying and Selling Shares” in the Prospectus.
Although the Liquidation is not expected to be a taxable event for the Fund, for taxable shareholders, the automatic redemption of shares of the Fund on the Liquidation Date will generally be treated as a sale that may result in a gain or loss for federal income tax purposes. Instead of waiting until the Liquidation Date, a shareholder may voluntarily sell his or her shares on NYSE Arca until the market close on September 25, 2024, and Authorized Participants may voluntarily redeem Creation Units prior to the Liquidation Date, to the extent that the shareholder wishes to realize any such gains or losses prior thereto. See “Taxation” in the Prospectus. Shareholders should consult their tax advisers regarding the tax treatment of the Liquidation.

Here's a non-paywalled link to the Barron's article Mark referenced above.
Trump Media Stock Is Still Falling

More sinking:
"According to Barron’s calculations, if Trump Media’s share price falls below $13 a share, Trump’s paper gains since his company’s merger with the special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corp. rapidly vanish. That’s because as the share price declines, the value of Trump’s 114,750,000 shares also drops. A share price of $12.88 would send the value of his shares below the $1.478 billion private valuation of his stake in Trump Media as of Dec. 15, 2023.
As of Thursday’s close, Trump’s stake was valued around $1.8 billion, down from more than $5.7 billion on March 26, when the merger took place."
Barrons Article today.
With apologies because I cannot find a non-paywalled link.

"The corporate tax rate changes introduced by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) have different expiration dates:
Main corporate tax rate:
The TCJA lowered the main corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. This change is permanent and does not have a set expiration date. It will remain in effect unless new legislation is passed to change it.
Full expensing of capital investments:
The TCJA allowed for 100% bonus depreciation (full and immediate expensing) of certain capital investments. This provision began phasing out in 2023 and is set to fully expire after 2026, unless extended by new legislation.
Interest expense limitations:
The TCJA introduced new limitations on the deductibility of business interest expenses. These rules are permanent, but some specific provisions have different phase-in periods.
International tax provisions:
Many of the international tax provisions introduced by the TCJA, such as the Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) rules, are permanent.
It's important to note that while the main corporate tax rate change is permanent, many other business-related provisions of the TCJA are set to expire or change after 2025.
As always with tax law, there's the possibility of new legislation being introduced that could alter these expiration dates or make other changes to the corporate tax structure."
[Bold Added]
The above commentary is from Claude and is consistent with my recollection of the current tax laws and as such at this time I am good with my first question.

@yogibearbull,
"2017 TCJA is good until 12/31/25. That means that not much will change for individual or corporate tax rates for the tax filing years 2025 and 2026. But things would change after 2 tax filing years."
Congress can change existing laws, notwithstanding the effective date of the those laws.
Below are some answers from Claude -
"The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 did not significantly change the individual long-term capital gains tax rates. Here's an overview of what remained the same and what minor adjustments were made:
Basic rate structure:
The TCJA maintained the same three-tier rate structure for long-term capital gains that existed before the law:
0%
15%
20%
Income thresholds:
The income thresholds at which these rates apply were kept, but they are now indexed to inflation using a different measure (chained CPI) which generally results in slower increases over time.
Additional Net Investment Income Tax:
The TCJA did not change the additional 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax that applies to individuals with income above certain thresholds.
Collectibles and certain small business stock:
The 28% maximum rate on long-term capital gains from collectibles and certain small business stock was maintained.
Unrecaptured Section 1250 gain:
The 25% maximum rate on unrecaptured Section 1250 gain (related to depreciation on real estate) was also kept in place.
Holding period:
The one-year holding period to qualify for long-term capital gains treatment remained unchanged.
While the TCJA made significant changes to many areas of the tax code, the treatment of individual long-term capital gains remained largely the same. The most notable impact on capital gains taxation was indirect, through changes to ordinary income tax rates and brackets, which can affect the overall tax situation of investors."

Assuming there is a grid lock in the new Congress next year (House controlled by Democrats and Senate controlled by Republicans), from what I understand the subject tax rates should remain unchanged in 2025 as well. Is my understanding correct?
On the off chance, Democrats continue to hold the Senate majority (assume razor thin majority) (and assume Democrats return to controlling the House), how do you anticipate the subject tax rates to change?
Edit: Added "LT" in the title to eliminate needless discussion about LT vs ST
Thanks

The fund status is closed to all investors (see prospectus). Only div reinvestments are permitted.
This fund was formerly a State Street Research fund (not to be confused with SSgA). FWIW, there is a sibling fund, formerly SRLAX, now MDFGX. It was created and managed in the late 90s by STSEX's manager at the time, Pete Woodworth.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/big-cap-stocks-state-street-manager-looks-for-return-on-capital-1-25-99
The two funds appear to have continued using the same managers, as M* reports nearly identical teams (including changes) over the past decade. Until 2017 MDFGX's performance was virtually identical to STSEX's. Since then, STSEX has gone on wild rides (both up and down) but otherwise followed a similar trajectory. I'd guess that its huge (excessive?) bets on single stocks accounts for that.
Both funds are extremely concentrated. However, while 1/3 of STSEX is invested in Microsoft, "only" 10.37% of MDFGX is. The latter fund is not quite as concentrated, and actually turns over stocks once in awhile (21% turnover ratio).
If what you're looking for is a large cap 0% turnover fund, there's LEXCX. It's even more concentrated than STSEX, and like that fund, has BRK.B as its second largest holding (15.68%).

I also checked ultra-ST FCNVX prospectus & it's still exempt from frequent trading.
As is FMNDX.
The frequent trading rule quoted applies just to Fidelity funds. Other NTF funds purchased at Fidelity are subject to a completely different short term trading rule.
Note also that any trades of $10K (not $1K) or less are ignored. This was changed in 2020 even though it isn't reflected in the cited text.
https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/mutual-funds/2020-08-31-Excessive-Trading-Policy-Web-Post.pdf
The wording that Fidelity used in the quoted part of its Excessive Trading Policy is, um, unfortunate. A round trip (a buy and sale w/i 30 days) is not a round trip violation; it's simply a round trip transaction. Fidelity corrected its wording in that 2020 update.
A violation occurs if you make a second round trip within 90 days:
Shareholders that place a second roundtrip transaction in the same fund within a 90-day period will be blocked from making additional purchases and exchange purchases into that fund for 85 days.
Now that's a violation.
While yogi's interpretation of the 2 round trip violation is consistent with Fidelity's wording, I don't think that's Fidelity's intent.
Round trip 1 = Buy shares on 1st of month, sell some on 2nd of month
Round trip 2 = Buy shares on 1st of month, sell some other shares on 3rd of month.
The underlying idea is that you don't rapidly (frequently) trade in and out of a fund. That's not what you're doing here. Somewhat the opposite. Instead of buying $10K worth of shares and then dumping them all the next day (putting stress on the fund), you're spreading the sale over several days, thus reducing the stress on the fund.
But now consider this 2 round trip violation:
Day 1 = buy $30K
Day 2 = sell $15K (round trip 1)
Day 3 = sell $15K (round trip 1A)
Day 87 = buy $11K
Day 93 = sell $11K (round trip 2)
That second round trip is not within 90 days of round trip 1, but it is within 90 days of round trip 1A. So there appears to be a violation - two round trips within 90 days.
Pardon the obvious suggestion here: try asking Fidelity.

I can’t ever recall owning a Fidelity fund. Here’s what they say about “round rip” violations:
Roundtrip Transactions
We monitor the number of roundtrip transactions in shareholder accounts. A roundtrip is a mutual fund purchase or exchange purchase followed by a sell or exchange sell within 30 calendar days in the same fund and account. For example, if you purchased a fund on May 1, selling the fund prior to May 31 would incur a roundtrip violation. It is important to remember that share aging FIFO (First In First Out) is not considered when buy and sell transactions are evaluated for roundtrips.
Certain transactions are exempt from roundtrip violations. These include:
Trades for $1,000 or less. (Please note that if more than one buy order or sell order for a given fund is executed on the same day in the same account, the $1,000 threshold is based on the total dollar value of all orders for that fund.)
Any transactions in Fidelity Money Market Funds
Dividend and capital gains reinvestments that are sold within 30 days
Orders placed via Fidelity Automatic Investments or Automatic Withdrawals features
From: Fidelity's Excessive Trading Policy
As I read the above, you could invest $10,000 in a new Fidelity fund on the first day of the month (just a randomly chosen date) and then proceed to transfer out $1,000 a day over the next 10 consecutive days without incurring a violation. Am I right or wrong in that reading?
Thanks.

As I mentioned in the most recent thread on this topic, we'll be taking out RMDS when we have to. Our goal is to avoid withdrawals from our taxable investments. I suppose the next step after that would be to realize capital gain and dividend distributions.

I did not realize that you are supposed to invest 100% of your retirement accounts with equities. I never have. In fact equity %age in my retirement accounts is far lower than in my taxable accounts - not saying that is the right strategy, just stating facts. I could be completely wrong in my approach but my favoring taxable accounts for equity allocation has to do with expected lower tax rates on cap gains vs ordinary income and mutual fund distributions vs ETF distributions. I never had any equity or allocation mutual funds in my taxable accounts. It will be good to start a thread asking forum to share their %age equity in retirement vs taxable accounts.

NOTE:

My intention, at this time; is to present the data for the select bond sectors, as listed; through the end of the year (2024). This 'end date' will take us through the U.S. elections period, pending actions/legislation dependent upon the election results, pending Federal Reserve actions and market movers trying to 'guess' future directions of the U.S. economy. As important during this period, are any number of global circumstances that may take a path that is not expected; and/or 'new' circumstances. In the 'cooking pot' we currently have the big ingredients of the middle east and also, how much damage Ukraine may inflict upon Russia and the response.

W/E September 6, 2024..... Weak equity = +++ returns for quality bonds
--- With downward pressures, this week, in most equity sectors, quality bonds performed as would be expected, with very good price gains.
Bond NAV's had very good positive pricing through the 4 day week, with slight pull backs on Friday only. *** I'm going to attempt to discover going forward, if there becomes any selling more directed towards the end of the week(s). A few numbers for your viewing pleasure.
FIRST:
*** UST yields chart, 6 month - 30 year. This chart is active and will display a 6 month time frame going forward to a future date. Place/hover the mouse pointer anywhere on a line to display the date and yield for that date. The percent to the right side is the percentage change in the yield from the chart beginning date for a particular item. You may also 'right click' on the 126 days at the chart bottom to change a 'time frame' from a drop down menu. Hopefully, the line graph also lets you view the 'yield curve' in a different fashion, for the longer duration issues, at this time. Save the page to your own device for future reference. NOTE: take a peek at the right side of this graph to find the yield swings of the past week, and for the current yields for the last business day.
For the WEEK/YTD, NAV price changes, September 2 - September 6, 2024
***** This week (Friday), FZDXX, MMKT yield continues to move with Fed funds/repo/SOFR rates; and ended the week at 5.15% yield. MMKT's yields remain basically unchanged for the past weeks. Fidelity's MMKT's continue to maintain decent yields, as is presumed with other vendors similar MMKT's. Yields were down a few 100's of a percentage.

--- AGG = +1.25% / +4.47% (I-Shares Core bond), a benchmark, (AAA-BBB holdings)
--- MINT = +.09% / +4.13% (PIMCO Enhanced short maturity, AAA-BBB rated)
--- SHY = +.54% / +3.76% (UST 1-3 yr bills)
--- IEI = +1.06% / +4.29% (UST 3-7 yr notes/bonds)
--- IEF = +1.63% / +4.41% (UST 7-10 yr bonds)
--- TIP = +.60% / +3.92% (UST Tips, 3-10 yrs duration, some 20+ yr duration)
--- VTIP = +.27% / +4.06% (Vanguard Short-Term Infl-Prot Secs ETF)
--- STPZ = +.33% / +4.05% (UST, short duration TIPs bonds, PIMCO)
--- LTPZ = +1.55% / +3.62% (UST, long duration TIPs bonds, PIMCO)
--- TLT = +3.51% / +3.36% (I Shares 20+ Yr UST Bond
--- EDV = +4.86% / +2.73% (UST Vanguard extended duration bonds)
--- ZROZ = +4.77% / +1.08% (UST., AAA, long duration zero coupon bonds, PIMCO
--- TBT = -6.36% / -1.07% (ProShares UltraShort 20+ Year Treasury (about 23 holdings)
--- TMF = +10.38% / -3.66% (Direxion Daily 20+ Yr Trsy Bull 3X ETF (about a 2x version of EDV etf)
*** Additional important bond sectors, for reference:
--- BAGIX = +1.31% / +4.69% Baird Aggregate Bond Fund (active managed, plain vanilla, high quality bond fund)
--- LQD = +1.38% / +4.54% (I Shares IG, corp. bonds)
--- BKLN = -.28% / +4.93% (Invesco Senior Loan, Corp. rated BB & lower)
--- HYG = +.23% / +6.53% (High Yield bonds, proxy ETF)
--- HYD = +.78%/+4.87% (VanEck HY Muni)
--- MUB = +.70% /+1.75% (I Shares, National Muni Bond)
--- EMB = +.21%/+6.73% (I Shares, USD, Emerging Markets Bond)
--- CWB = +.20% / +4.00% (SPDR Bloomberg Convertible Securities)
--- PFF = +.48% / +8.09% (I Shares, Preferred & Income Securities)
--- FZDXX = 5.15% yield (7 day), Fidelity Premium MMKT fund
*** FZDXX yield was .11%, April,2022. (For reference to current date)
Comments and corrections, please.
Remain curious,
Catch