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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.
  • Barron's and ESG
    This is my summary of the Cover Story; I didn't see it as an ESG story and searches on "ESG" and "sustain" produced zero results. It is a story on how technology has changed farming.
    COVER STORY (ECONOMY) “The Boom Time for FARMERS Can Last. Who Will Reap the Rewards”. AG-TECH is booming (biotech, AI, mechanization, hybrids, crop rotations). Higher grain prices and wind energy installations are helping. Farmland prices are up; institutions including pension funds are active in farmland. Grains are used for human consumption, animal feed, biofuels. But farm labor is hard to find, and many are turning to immigrants. Mentioned are AGCO, CNHI, CTVA, DE, TITN; farmland REIT FPI.
    There are couple of general fund stories too:
    FUNDS. BIOTECH funds are attractive now. They peaked in 02/2021 after a deluge of biotech IPOs following the pandemic in 2020. Mentioned are ETAHX, FBDIX, FBIOX, JAGLX, LYFIX, PRHSX, SHSAX; ETF XBI. (by MFO @lewisbraham)
    FUNDS. Barnaby WILSON, Lazard Asset Management (OCMPX, etc). He is searching the GROWTH stock rubble globally for quality stocks with good cash flows, reasonable valuations, competitive moats, pricing advantage. He avoids companies with unprofitable growth.
    LINK
  • Your tax dollars at work - US Treasury/Savings Bonds
    The bonds were still in my Mom's name. We thought about changing that while she was still alive, but it would have required us all to go to bank and do the same thing and she didn't have the stamina for it at 99.
    I don't remember if we could have done it by mailing in the bonds etc, but as you point out, that requires trip to PO and insurance and certification. I love my lost PO staff, but I do not trust the USPS to handle things with 100% efficiency. They lost my daughter's college tuition check. Almost got kicked out of school!
    Amazingly (to me, at least), it seems that even with power of attorney one cannot change the title on a savings bond.
    https://www.treasurydirect.gov/forms/sav0105.pdf
    What confused me was that the way you wrote your original post, it sounded like all siblings had to be at the bank together to cash the savings bonds. However, each bond could have been cashed alone by the individual sibling named as beneficiary on that bond. Three trips and six hours instead of one trip and two hours; not really an improvement.
    Your experience illustrates the variability in cashing savings bonds in banks. I recently helped (instructed) someone in cashing inherited savings bonds. This person's main bank was Capital One, which is how I learned that Capital One doesn't handle savings bonds. A backup bank initially informed this person that the money would have to be left in an account at the bank for some number of days, or perhaps it was weeks. Fortunately, when they actually cashed the inherited bonds, it was a quick and painless process, and the cash was made available either immediately or within a day (I forget).
    Regarding postal services: while registered mail gets somewhat more careful handling, ISTM its main virtue is insuring valuables. Nonnegotiable instruments like checks and savings bonds have no insurance value. So I don't use registered mail for them.
    https://faq.usps.com/s/article/Registered-Mail-The-Basics
    I use certified mail when I want proof of delivery (e.g. for a legal notice). Even certified mail can get lost (been there, done that). Maybe certified improves your odds of completed delivery, but there's still a risk. If TD says it didn't receive the savings bonds, all the proof in the world to the contrary won't help avoid filing for replacements.
  • Franklin K2 Long Short Credit Fund to liquidate
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1535538/000174177323000598/c497.htm
    497 1 c497.htm
    948 P1 03/23
    SUPPLEMENT DATED MARCH 1, 2023
    TO THE PROSPECTUS DATED OCTOBER 1, 2022
    OF
    K2 LONG SHORT CREDIT FUND
    (a series of Franklin Alternative Strategies Funds)
    The prospectus is amended as follows:
    The following paragraphs are added to the beginning of the “Fund Summary” and “Fund Details” sections of the prospectus:
    On February 28, 2023, the Board of Trustees of Franklin Alternative Strategies Funds, on behalf of K2 Long Short Credit Fund (the “Fund”), approved a proposal to liquidate and dissolve the Fund. The liquidation is anticipated to occur on or about May 12, 2023 (Liquidation Date); however, the liquidation may occur sooner if at any time before the Liquidation Date there are no shares outstanding in the Fund. The liquidation may also be delayed if unforeseen circumstances arise. The Fund may deviate from its investment objective and investment strategies at any time prior to the Liquidation Date.
    At the close of market on April 3, 2023, the Fund will be closed to new investors, except as noted below. Existing investors who had an open and funded account on April 3, 2023, can continue to invest in the Fund through exchanges and additional purchases after such date. The following categories of investors may continue to open new accounts in the Fund after the close of market on April 3, 2023: (1) clients of discretionary investment allocation programs where such programs had investments in the Fund prior to the close of market on April 3, 2023, and (2) Employer Sponsored Retirement Plans or benefit plans and their participants where the Fund was available to participants prior to the close of market on April 3, 2023. The Fund will not accept any additional purchases after the close of market on or about May 9, 2023. The Fund reserves the right to change this policy at any time.
    Shareholders of the Fund on the Liquidation Date will have their accounts liquidated and the proceeds will be delivered to them. For those shareholders with taxable accounts and for Federal, state and local income tax purposes: (a) any liquidation proceeds paid to such shareholder should generally be treated as received by such shareholder in exchange for the shareholder’s shares and the shareholder will therefore generally recognize a taxable gain or loss; (b) in connection with the liquidation, the Fund may declare taxable distributions of its income and/or capital gain; and (c) an exchange out of the Fund prior to the Liquidation Date may be considered a taxable transaction and such shareholders may recognize a gain or loss. Shareholders should consult their tax advisers regarding the effect of the Fund’s liquidation in light of their individual circumstances. Participants in an Employer Sponsored Retirement Plan that is a Fund shareholder should consult with their plan sponsor for further information regarding the impact of the liquidation. In considering new purchases or exchanges, shareholders may want to consult with their financial advisors to consider their investment options.
    Please keep this supplement with your prospectus for future reference.
  • Reorganization at Rondure Global Advisors
    Can anyone please explain what does reorganizing a mutual fund into a mutual fund trust accomplish? Layman's terms please if you can. Also, is this move good for the shareholders? TIA
    The first is an interesting question, and one that Yogi has addressed, but not the right question for these funds. They are already in a trust - the second line in Shadow's transcription reads: FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST.
    A more focused question would be: what does reorganizing mutual funds from one trust into a different trust accomplish? Check for changes (infrequent) in fees, waivers, clawbacks, management firms. Also shareholder voting rights (see below).
    Rondure Global Advisors has been using a trust (Financial Investors Trust) and will be moving to Northern Lights Trust III. They are both Delaware statutory trusts, so the laws governing them are the same (Delaware).
    But because they are different trusts, they have different trustees (those are the fiduciaries you vote for to represent your interests in the funds). Also, since the size of the two trusts are almost surely different, a shareholder vote will have more (or less) weight than before.
    Yogi wrote that large fund firms use trusts (aggregating their funds) for efficiency. Boutiques do the same, except that instead of aggregating their funds together in a trust they run, they join together with other boutiques in a trust they don't run. So you find funds from multiple families in a single trust.
    Here's a list of some of the funds in Financial Investors Trust. I've underlined some funds/families that have appeared in posts here:
    JCRAX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - ALPS/CoreCommodity Management CompleteCommodities Strategy Fund Investor Shares
    INDAX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - ALPS/Kotak India Growth Fund Investor Shares
    LPEFX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - ALPS/Red Rocks Listed Private Equity Fund Investor Shares
    ALIBX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - ALPS | Smith Balanced Opportunity Fund Investor Class
    SMCVX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - ALPS | Smith Credit Opportunities Fund Investor Class
    FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - ALPS/Smith Short Duration Bond Fund Class A
    FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - ALPS/Smith Total Return Bond Fund Class A
    AMWYX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - ALPS/WMC Research Value Fund Investor Shares
    CHNAX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Clough China Fund Investor Shares
    HSSAX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Emerald Banking and Finance Fund Class A
    HSPGX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Emerald Growth Fund Class A
    EFCAX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Emerald Insights Fund Class A
    ESTAX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Emerald Select trueLiberty Income Fund Class A
    ELASX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Emerald Small Cap Value Fund Class A
    GPEOX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Grandeur Peak Emerging Markets Opportunities Fund Investor Class
    FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Grandeur Peak Global Contrarian Fund Institutional Class
    FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Grandeur Peak Global Explorer Fund Institutional Class
    GPMCX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Grandeur Peak Global Micro Cap Fund Institutional Class
    GPGOX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Grandeur Peak Global Opportunities Fund Investor Class
    GPROX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Grandeur Peak Global Reach Fund Investor Class
    GGSOX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Grandeur Peak Global Stalwarts Fund Investor Class
    GPIOX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Grandeur Peak International Opportunities Fund Investor Class
    GISOX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Grandeur Peak International Stalwarts Fund Investor Class
    FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Grandeur Peak US Stalwarts Fund Institutional Class
    RMRGX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Highland Resolute Fund Class I
    RLTAX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - RiverFront Asset Allocation Aggressive Investor Shares
    RLGAX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - RiverFront Asset Allocation Growth & Income Investor Shares
    RMIAX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - RiverFront Asset Allocation Moderate Investor Shares
    RNWOX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - RONDURE NEW WORLD FUND Investor Class
    ROSOX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - RONDURE OVERSEAS FUND Investor Class
    SFGIX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Seafarer Overseas Growth and Income Fund Investor
    SFVLX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Seafarer Overseas Value Fund Investor Class
    DGIFX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - The Disciplined Growth Investors Fund
    VVPLX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Vulcan Value Partners Fund Investor Class Shares
    VVPSX - FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST - Vulcan Value Partners Small Cap Fund Investor Class Shares
    Source: https://fintel.io/ff/915802
    Here are some of the funds/families in the new trust, Northern Lights Trust III. Nothing pops out at me:
    AAMAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Absolute Capital Asset Allocator Fund Class A Shares
    ACMAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Absolute Capital Defender Fund Class A Shares
    ADOAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - ACM Dynamic Opportunity Fund Class A Shares
    TINIX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - ACM Tactical Income Fund Class I
    BWDAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Boyd Watterson Limited Duration Enhanced Income Fund Class A Shares
    CINTX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Centerstone International Fund Class I
    CENTX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Centerstone Investors Fund Class I
    CPQAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Counterpoint Long-Short Equity Fund Class A Shares
    CPAEX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Counterpoint Tactical Equity Fund Class A Shares
    CPATX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Counterpoint Tactical Income Fund Class A Shares
    TMNAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Counterpoint Tactical Municipal Fund Class A
    HYTR - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - CP High Yield Trend ETF
    FPAG - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - FPA Global Equity ETF
    GHSIX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Good Harbor Tactical Select Fund Class I Shares
    QQH - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - HCM Defender 100 Index ETF
    LGH - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - HCM Defender 500 Index ETF
    HCMNX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - HCM Dividend Sector Plus Fund Class A Shares
    HCMFX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - HCM Dynamic Income Fund Investor Class Shares
    HCMEX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - HCM Income Plus Fund Class A Shares
    HCMGX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - HCM Tactical Growth Fund Class A Shares
    LIONX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Issachar Fund Class N Shares
    GHTAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Leland Real Asset Opportunities Fund Class A Shares
    LDPAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Leland Thomson Reuters Private Equity Buyout Index Fund Class A
    LDVAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Leland Thomson Reuters Venture Capital Index Fund Class A Shares
    MVPFX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Marathon Value Portfolio
    NFMAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Newfound Multi-Asset Income Fund Class A
    NFGAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Newfound Risk Managed Global Sectors Fund Class A Shares
    NFDIX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Newfound Risk Managed U.S. Growth Fund Class I Shares
    NFDAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Newfound Risk Managed U.S. Sectors Fund Class A Shares
    LSEIX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Persimmon Long/Short Fund Class I Shares
    APSHX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Pinnacle Sherman Multi-Strategy Core Fund Class A
    IPTRX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Pinnacle TrendRating Innovative Equity Fund Class I
    RQEAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - RESQ Dynamic Allocation Fund RESQ Dynamic Allocation Class A Shares
    RQIAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - RESQ Strategic Income Fund Class A Shares
    SDFAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Swan Defined Risk Emerging Markets Fund Class A Shares
    SDJAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Swan Defined Risk Foreign Developed Fund Class A Shares
    SDRAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Swan Defined Risk Fund Class A Shares
    SDAAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Swan Defined Risk Growth Fund Class A Shares
    SDAYX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Swan Defined Risk Growth Fund Class Y Shares
    SDCAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - Swan Defined Risk U.S. Small Cap Fund Class A Shares
    TCBAX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - The Covered Bridge Fund Class A Shares
    TEBRX - NORTHERN LIGHTS FUND TRUST III - The Teberg Fund
    Source: https://fintel.io/ff/1537140
  • Dodge and Cox Annual Reports posted
    That fund has an additional 2.2% in HK. Is that all in HK companies, or does some of that reflect indirect investment in mainland China? The Reuters commentary below says that mainland China companies account for 78% of HK's stock market cap. When your fund reports its allocations, is it deconstructing the holdings or reporting where the shares are issued?
    Presumably the securities counted under HK don't include mainland Chinese companies listed in HK. Not that HK-based companies are completely devoid of Chinese political risk. For example, 0.9% of the fund's AUM are invested in AIA. This is a global insurance company, based in HK since 1947, but it started in Shanghai and reopened a branch there in 1992. Pretty clearly a HK company, though with some ties to mainland China.
    https://www.aia.com/en/about-aia/overview
    FWIW, I rely on my foreign/global funds to identify appropriate emerging as well as developed markets. I don't consider myself well enough informed to do this level of managing. And if the fund manager blows it, at least I have someone else to blame :-)
    Reuters commentary:
    At its core, Hong Kong’s unique selling point is that it’s China-by-proxy for investors; enterprises in the People’s Republic account for 78% of the market capitalisation of Hong Kong’s main boards. The Stock Connect scheme run by bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (0388.HK) lets money move across China’s capital controls in a limited way. Officials familiar with the situation say that it handles as much as 70% of all international investment flows into stocks listed in mainland China.
    https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/hong-kong-spreads-its-wings-its-bets-2023-02-23/
  • Dodge and Cox Annual Reports posted
    RE China
    [snip]
    I have serious qualms about China's human rights record and the increasing threat to world stability, but I think the major investment risks ( other than a shooting war) are
    1) I do not think you can believe their numbers and accounting, as the Government has and will continue to manipulate them and
    2) The government has intervened in aggressively in companies management when it wanted to. Jack Ma disappeared for a while remember?
    [snip]

    I share your concerns.
    The Chinese government's aspiration to expand its global sphere of influence/dominance
    (Belt & Road, South China Sea activities, etc.) is also troubling.
    Consequently, I now deliberately avoid allocating capital to Chinese companies¹.
    Professor Snowball authored an informative 2021 article regarding the risks of investing in China.
    Link
    ¹ I do own a foreign large-cap growth fund which had 12.7% of its assets in China as of 01/31/2023.
  • Your tax dollars at work - US Treasury/Savings Bonds
    Last year when I mailed the tax refund savings bonds I actually did receive, I didn't send them certified. My thinking was:
    - if the USPS loses the mail, handing them a tracking number will not locate it (I've gone through that process); or
    - if TD says it didn't receive the mail when it did, it will be pointless arguing with them since they'll still insist I file another form for reissue; or
    - if TD does receive the savings bonds, TD will send an email acknowledgement three months later (which is what happened):
    Dear Customer,
    This is a system generated email to communicate we received your Savings Bonds/Treasury Marketable Securities materials.
    Cases are worked in the order they are received in our office. Your request is important to us and will receive attention as soon as possible. Please allow up to 13 weeks for review and processing. If we require additional information, we will contact you. Thank you for your patience.
    Please retain the Customer Number and Case Number referenced above to streamline any future actions associated with this request. Also note, you may receive multiple email notifications and Case Numbers depending on the type of transaction(s) you have requested.
    If you have additional questions, please use the Contact Us link on TreasuryDirect.gov.
    We appreciate your interest in U.S. Treasury securities.
    Remember too, stamps were 8% cheaper back then (58¢) :-(
    Keeping the single savings bond in my safe deposit box raises other concerns. Will that box still be around in 30 (now 29) years? Will I? Why create an additional hassle for an executor by keeping it separate from all the electronic savings bonds?
    Cashing savings bonds at banks can have its own problems - while most (but not all) banks will redeem savings bonds, many require that you have accounts with them, sometimes long term.
    after an uptick in fraud, some banks quit accepting them
    Sept 2022, https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/us-paper-savings-bonds-taking-long-time-to-cash/
    Some banks and credit unions may be able to cash savings bonds, but that service isn’t currently available at Capital One.
    https://www.capitalone.com/learn-grow/money-management/how-to-cash-in-savings-bonds/
    To cash in a savings bond(s) at your local [U.S. Bank] you must [be] ... A signer on a U.S. Bank checking, savings or money market account that has been open for five (5) years or more.
    https://www.usbank.com/customer-service/knowledge-base/KB0209712.html
  • Thoughts on JEPI?
    While longer-term record (2020- ) is better, JEPI has been struggling since 2022 (like most other things) with a cumulative TR -3.85% and price-return -14.78%. I don't want to start another debate on yield vs TR, BUT for JEPI, HIGH distributions have been with DECLINING NAV. But I also see ROC as zero.
    Call-writing is an income generation strategy, not a capital preservation strategy.
    https://stockcharts.com/h-perf/ui?s=JEPI&compare=_JEPI&id=p09055307830
  • Thoughts on JEPI?
    Seeking Alpha has several explanations of the options strategies they use. It is pretty complicated compared to funds that use simpler covered call option strategies, like JHQAX or GATEX for example. I just started digging into JEPI and do not yet understand what factors control the yield here. Covered Calls are much easier to understand.
    JEPIX is JP Morgan's mutual fund with the same strategy as JEPI , open for a much longer time
    During the Covid Crash ( March 2020 ) JEPIX lost 25% , similar to SP500. JHQAX dropped 14% and GATEX was down only 11 to 12%, but of course neither JHQAX or GATEX yields 11%. It is unclear how long JEPI yield will continue.
    What about treasuries? Can't beat a risk free 5%!
  • Blackstone Child Labor in Slaughterhouses and Low-Road Capitalism 2
    BTW Blackstone's CEO and 20% Owner, Steven Schwarzman, took home $1.27 BILLION last year, although the stock dropped 40%.
    "Behind every great fortune there lies a great crime"
    He also was the third largest individual donor to GOP "election deniers" in 2020, and earlier equated Obama's plan to eliminate carried interest to the Nazi invasion of Poland
    I wonder if Yale and Oxford and the NY Public Library will now return the millions he has given them?
  • Thoughts on JEPI?
    My 75 y/o parents are considering putting some cash into JEPI as they want some additional income and like the yield (11.49%). They have a growth section in their portfolio (a lot of FCNTX and DODGX both of which they've held for over 35 years) and are considering JEPI for the income side of their portfolio and are willing to sacrifice capital appreciation for the extra income. JEPI has some investments that I simply don't understand and I don't think my parents do either. What are your thoughts on JEPI?
    Thanks in advance for any and all replies!
  • Dodge and Cox Annual Reports posted
    @hank, I am looking at NOTIONAL amounts that are the total positions controlled and gains/losses experienced are (almost) on those. For options, the option-delta also comes into play. Amounts invested or current values are smaller as these are leveraged derivatives.
    So, I see:
    $613.73 million (notional) in short futures.
    $846.23 million (notional) in call options
    Some of these positions may offset others.
    Unclear about currencies as only buys and sells are shown, not net positions.
    The fund AUM is $13.51 billion, so 1% is $135.1 million.
    If I was looking for something like this for my personal brokerage account, I would think of it as gross 10%+ exposure to futures and options. This is just an observation, not intended to cause alarm.
  • Blackstone Child Labor in Slaughterhouses and Low-Road Capitalism 2
    Great article in NYT today about child labor in the U.S. It’s actually pervasive:
    https://nytimes.com/2023/02/25/us/unaccompanied-migrant-child-workers-exploitation.html
    These workers are part of a new economy of exploitation: Migrant children, who have been coming into the United States without their parents in record numbers, are ending up in some of the most punishing jobs in the country, a New York Times investigation found. This shadow work force extends across industries in every state, flouting child labor laws that have been in place for nearly a century. Twelve-year-old roofers in Florida and Tennessee. Underage slaughterhouse workers in Delaware, Mississippi and North Carolina. Children sawing planks of wood on overnight shifts in South Dakota..,.
    …In town after town, children scrub dishes late at night. They run milking machines in Vermont and deliver meals in New York City. They harvest coffee and build lava rock walls around vacation homes in Hawaii. Girls as young as 13 wash hotel sheets in Virginia….
    ….Migrant child labor benefits both under-the-table operations and global corporations, The Times found. In Los Angeles, children stitch “Made in America” tags into J. Crew shirts. They bake dinner rolls sold at Walmart and Target, process milk used in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and help debone chicken sold at Whole Foods. As recently as the fall, middle-schoolers made Fruit of the Loom socks in Alabama. In Michigan, children make auto parts used by Ford and General Motors.
    The number of unaccompanied minors entering the United States climbed to a high of 130,000 last year — three times what it was five years earlier — and this summer is expected to bring another wave….
    …One of the nation’s largest contract manufacturers, Hearthside [Food Solutions] makes and packages food for companies like Frito-Lay, General Mills and Quaker Oats. “It would be hard to find a cookie or cracker aisle in any leading grocer that does not contain multiple products from Hearthside production facilities,” a Grand Rapids-area plant manager told a trade magazine in 2019.
    General Mills, whose brands include Cheerios, Lucky Charms and Nature Valley, said it recognized “the seriousness of this situation” and was reviewing The Times’s findings. PepsiCo, which owns Frito-Lay and Quaker Oats, declined to comment.
    Three people who until last year worked at one of the biggest employment agencies in Grand Rapids, Forge Industrial Staffing, said Hearthside supervisors were sometimes made aware that they were getting young-looking workers whose identities had been flagged as false.
    “Hearthside didn’t care,” said Nubia Malacara, a former Forge employee who said she had also worked at Hearthside as a minor….
    …While many migrant children are sent to the United States by their parents, others are persuaded to come by adults who plan to profit from their labor.
    Nery Cutzal was 13 when he met his sponsor over Facebook Messenger. Once Nery arrived in Florida, he discovered that he owed more than $4,000 and had to find his own place to live. His sponsor sent him threatening text messages and kept a running list of new debts: $140 for filling out H.H.S. paperwork; $240 for clothes from Walmart; $45 for a taco dinner.
    “Don’t mess with me,” the sponsor wrote. “You don’t mean anything to me.”
    Nery began working until 3 a.m. most nights at a trendy Mexican restaurant near Palm Beach to make the payments. “He said I would be able to go to school and he would take care of me, but it was all lies,” Nery said.
    His father, Leonel Cutzal, said the family had become destitute after a series of bad harvests and had no choice but to send their oldest son north from Guatemala….
    …Teachers at the school estimated that 200 of their immigrant students were working full time while trying to keep up with their classes. The greatest share of Mr. Angstman’s students worked at one of the four Hearthside plants in the city.
    The company, which has 39 factories in the United States, has been cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 34 violations since 2019, including for unsafe conveyor belts at the plant where Carolina found her job. At least 11 workers suffered amputations in that time. In 2015, a machine caught the hairnet of an Ohio worker and ripped off part of her scalp.
    The history of accidents “shows a corporate culture that lacks urgency to keep workers safe,” an OSHA official wrote after the most recent violation for an amputation.
    Underage workers in Grand Rapids said that spicy dust from immense batches of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos made their lungs sting, and that moving heavy pallets of cereal all night made their backs ache. They worried about their hands getting caught in conveyor belts, which federal law classifies as so hazardous that no child Carolina’s age is permitted to work with them….
    …But these jobs — which are grueling and poorly paid, and thus chronically short-staffed — are exactly where many migrant children are ending up. Adolescents are twice as likely as adults to be seriously injured at work, yet recently arrived preteens and teenagers are running industrial dough mixers, driving massive earthmovers and burning their hands on hot tar as they lay down roofing shingles, The Times found.
    Unaccompanied minors have had their legs torn off in factories and their spines shattered on construction sites, but most of these injuries go uncounted. The Labor Department tracks the deaths of foreign-born child workers but no longer makes them public. Reviewing state and federal safety records and public reports, The Times found a dozen cases of young migrant workers killed since 2017, the last year the Labor Department reported any.
    The deaths include a 14-year-old food delivery worker who was hit by a car while on his bike at a Brooklyn intersection; a 16-year-old who was crushed under a 35-ton tractor-scraper outside Atlanta; and a 15-year-old who fell 50 feet from a roof in Alabama where he was laying down shingles.
    Note like the Packers company owned by Blackstone above, Hearthside is owned by a private equity fund shop, this one called Charlesbank Capital Partners.
  • Smaller SP-SC 600 ETF SLY Merging into Larger SPSM
    What is the story here?
    State Street was a pioneer and first mover in the ETFs (SPY was the 1st ever ETF in 01/1993).
    For many years, the SEC had approved the ETFs as exceptions to mutual funds, and over time, these exceptions created ETFs with slightly different twists. Firms hung on to these older versions of ETFs because the newer rules were quite different. Some older ETFs also had decent past history and good liquidity due to better intuitional acceptance even when some had high ERs.
    So, many firms developed entirely new "core" versions of their older ETFs that had lower ERs, but the AUMs started out low, and liquidity was not good for institutions, but OK for retail. This is ETF industry version of having its cake and eating it too.
    That is how the "SPDR Portfolio" ETFs came about in 10/2017. These were just what the others have called their "core" ETFs (BlackRock's iShares come to mind and there are several others).
    More recently, there were reforms for the ETFs in 09/2019 and all these older ETF structures based on ETFs-as-exceptions-to-mutual-funds were dumped, and new ETF structures were developed and applied uniformly to almost all ETFs.
    Now to SLY vs SPSM.
    SPDR SLY started in 11/2005. Its current AUM is $1.8 billion and ER is 0.15%. Its benchmark was always SP SC 600.
    SPDR Portfolio SPSM started out in 07/2013 with a different SC index, that was changed to another SC index, and finally changed to SP SC 600 in 2020. Its current AUM is $5.2 billion (much bigger than the original SLY) and ER is 0.05% (much lower than the original SLY).
    So, now, after the changes to SPSM in 2020, the 2 became identical! Why not merge them?
    And that is what State Street is doing now with 06/2023 target. If anything, what took them so long?
  • BONDS, HIATUS ..... March 24, 2023
    Hi @larryB
    I was going to write about this next week, but here we are and that's great; as it relates to your and my own question, too.
    SOFR is a broad measure of the cost of borrowing cash overnight, collateralized by
    U.S. Treasury securities in the repurchase agreement (repo) market.
    There is monetary hand-holding in REPO and SOFR land. LIBOR had this function, but has been replaced with SOFR. LIBOR (London) had a few proven manipulations taking place and was given the boot for this monetary trading arena. Trillions of dollars travel these hidden electronic roads as we eat, sleep, play and other. I don't know about all of the areas using SOFR rates (lack of study time), but some large mortgage companies use the SOFR yield rate to set mortgage rates.
    SOFR New York Fed. Reserve related write up.
    This links to Part II, for the overview. I wouldn't begin to launch this in my own words. I think you'll find some quick decent reading without going crazy.
    SOFR A decent Investopedia definition
    My quick and dirty for SOFR and MMKT rates is that, as FED rates increased....then SOFR rates increased and with watching SOFR rates there is a very close connection in the yields being paid in MMKT's.
    SOFR is reported through the day on Bloomberg tv, and has remained at 4.55 during the same time frame as with the 'flat line' in MMKT yields, generally speaking. for the ones I view. There is a % range for this and I can't find my handy-dandy chart. I'll dig around and place it in this thread; as it can't be more than a few electrons away.
    Hi @Anna Thanks for the kind words. I learn from writing, too.
  • SPDR Bloomberg SASB Corporate Bond ESG Select ETF to liquidate
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1064642/000119312523048776/d287555d497.htm
    97 1 d287555d497.htm SPDR SERIES TRUST
    SPDR® SERIES TRUST
    (the “Trust”)
    SPDR Bloomberg SASB Corporate Bond ESG Select ETF
    (the “Fund”)
    Supplement dated February 24, 2023
    to the Summary Prospectus, Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information
    each dated October 31, 2022, as may be supplemented from time to time
    On February 23, 2023, at the recommendation of SSGA Funds Management, Inc., the Trust’s investment adviser, the Trust’s Board of Trustees voted to close and liquidate the Fund.
    The Fund will create and redeem creation units through April 11, 2023, which will also be the last day of trading of the Fund’s shares on the NYSE Arca, Inc., the Fund’s principal U.S. listing exchange. The Fund will cease operations, liquidate its assets, and prepare to distribute proceeds to shareholders of record on or about April 17, 2023 (the “Liquidation Date”). Shareholders of record of the Fund remaining on the Liquidation Date will receive cash at the net asset value of their shares as of such date, which will include any net capital gains and net investment income as of this date that had not been previously distributed. Any net capital gains and net investment income from the previous fiscal year, which were not distributed by the end of the most recent fiscal year-end, may be distributed to shareholders in advance of the Liquidation Date, in what is commonly referred to as a “spillback distribution.”
    Prior to the Liquidation Date, the Fund will be in the process of closing down and liquidating its portfolio, which will result in the Fund not tracking its Index and increasing its holdings in cash and/or cash equivalents, which may not be consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and strategy. Shareholders of the Fund may sell their holdings on the NYSE Arca, Inc. prior to April 12, 2023. Customary brokerage charges may apply to such transactions. From April 12, 2023 through the Liquidation Date, we cannot assure you that there will be a market for your shares.
    On or about April 18, 2023, the Fund will distribute to its remaining shareholders a liquidating cash distribution equal to the current net asset value of their shares. While Fund shareholders remaining on the Liquidation Date will not incur transaction fees, shareholders generally will recognize a capital gain or loss on the redemptions. Shareholders should contact their tax adviser to discuss the income tax consequences of the liquidation.
    Shareholders can call 1-866-787-2257 for additional information.
    PLEASE RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE
    022423SUPP2
  • Invesco liquidates some more ETFs
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1378872/000119312523048862/d471458d497.htm
    497 1 d471458d497.htm 497
    INVESCO EXCHANGE-TRADED FUND TRUST II
    SUPPLEMENT DATED FEBRUARY 24, 2023 TO THE:
    PROSPECTUSES AND STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
    DATED FEBRUARY 25, 2022, AS PREVIOUSLY SUPPLEMENTED, OF:
    Invesco PureBetaSM FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (PBEE)
    Invesco PureBetaSM FTSE Developed ex-North America ETF (PBDM)
    and
    PROSPECTUSES AND STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
    DATED DECEMBER 16, 2022, AS PREVIOUSLY SUPPLEMENTED, OF:
    Invesco PureBetaSM MSCI USA Small Cap ETF (PBSM)
    Invesco PureBetaSM US Aggregate Bond ETF (PBND)
    (PBEE, PBDM, PBSM and PBND are
    each, a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”)
    As previously announced, at a meeting held on January 20, 2023, the Board of Trustees of the Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II (the “Board”) approved the termination and liquidation of each Fund. The liquidation payment to shareholders is now expected to take place on or about June 30, 2023.
    On February 24, 2023, the Board approved a revised timeline for the termination and liquidation of the Funds. Accordingly, the Funds no longer will accept creation orders after the close of business on June 16, 2023. The last day of trading in each Fund on the Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (the “Exchange”) will be June 23, 2023. Shareholders should be aware that while the Funds are preparing to liquidate, they will not be pursuing their stated investment objective or engaging in any business activities except for the purposes of winding up their business and affairs, preserving the value of their assets, paying their liabilities, and distributing their remaining assets to shareholders. A liquidation may also be delayed if unforeseen circumstances arise.
    Shareholders may sell their holdings of a Fund on the Exchange until market close on June 23, 2023, and may incur typical transaction fees from their broker-dealer. Each Fund’s shares will no longer trade on the Exchange after market close on June 23, 2023, and the shares will be subsequently delisted. Shareholders who do not sell their shares of a Fund before market close on June 23, 2023 will receive cash equal to the amount of the net asset value of their shares, which will include any capital gains and dividends, in the cash portion of their brokerage accounts, on or about June 30, 2023.
    Shareholders generally will recognize a capital gain or loss equal to the amount received for their shares over or under their adjusted basis in such shares.
    Shareholders should call the Funds’ distributor, Invesco Distributors, Inc., at 1-800-983-0903 for additional information.
    Please Retain This Supplement For Future Reference.
    P-PS-TRUSTII2-PROSAI-SUP 022423
    ================================================================
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1418144/000119312523048856/0001193125-23-048856-index.htm
    497 1 d292792d497.htm 497
    INVESCO ACTIVELY MANAGED EXCHANGE-TRADED FUND TRUST
    SUPPLEMENT DATED FEBRUARY 24, 2023 TO THE:
    PROSPECTUSES AND STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
    DATED FEBRUARY 25, 2022, AS PREVIOUSLY SUPPLEMENTED, OF:
    Invesco Balanced Multi-Asset Allocation ETF (PSMB)
    Invesco Conservative Multi-Asset Allocation ETF (PSMC)
    Invesco Growth Multi-Asset Allocation ETF (PSMG)
    Invesco Moderately Conservative Multi-Asset Allocation ETF (PSMM)
    (each, a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”)
    As previously announced, at a meeting held on January 20, 2023, the Board of Trustees of the Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust (the “Board”) approved the termination and liquidation of each Fund. The liquidation payment to shareholders is now expected to take place on or about June 30, 2023.
    On February 24, 2023, the Board approved a revised timeline for the termination and liquidation of the Funds. Accordingly, the Funds no longer will accept creation orders after the close of business on June 16, 2023. The last day of trading in each Fund on the Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (the “Exchange”) will be June 23, 2023. Shareholders should be aware that while the Funds are preparing to liquidate, they will not be pursuing their stated investment objective or engaging in any business activities except for the purposes of winding up their business and affairs, preserving the value of their assets, paying their liabilities, and distributing their remaining assets to shareholders. A liquidation may also be delayed if unforeseen circumstances arise.
    Shareholders may sell their holdings of a Fund on the Exchange until market close on June 23, 2023, and may incur typical transaction fees from their broker-dealer. Each Fund’s shares will no longer trade on the Exchange after market close on June 23, 2023, and the shares will be subsequently delisted. Shareholders who do not sell their shares of a Fund before market close on June 23, 2023 will receive cash equal to the amount of the net asset value of their shares, which will include any capital gains and dividends, in the cash portion of their brokerage accounts, on or about June 30, 2023.
    Shareholders generally will recognize a capital gain or loss equal to the amount received for their shares over or under their adjusted basis in such shares.
    Shareholders should call the Funds’ distributor, Invesco Distributors, Inc., at 1-800-983-0903 for additional information.
    Please Retain This Supplement For Future Reference.
    P-PSM5-PROSAI-SUP 022423
  • SPDR Bloomberg SASB Emerging Markets ESG Select ETF to liquidate
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168164/000119312523048828/d404592d497.htm
    497 1 d404592d497.htm SPDR INDEX SHARES FUNDS
    SPDR® INDEX SHARES FUNDS
    (the “Trust”)
    SPDR Bloomberg SASB Emerging Markets ESG Select ETF
    (the “Fund”)
    Supplement dated February 24, 2023
    to the Summary Prospectus, Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information
    each dated January 31, 2023, as may be supplemented from time to time
    On February 23, 2023, at the recommendation of SSGA Funds Management, Inc., the Trust’s investment adviser, the Trust’s Board of Trustees voted to close and liquidate the Fund.
    The Fund will create and redeem creation units through April 11, 2023, which will also be the last day of trading of the Fund’s shares on the NYSE Arca, Inc., the Fund’s principal U.S. listing exchange. The Fund will cease operations, liquidate its assets, and prepare to distribute proceeds to shareholders of record on or about April 17, 2023 (the “Liquidation Date”). Shareholders of record of the Fund remaining on the Liquidation Date will receive cash at the net asset value of their shares as of such date, which will include any net capital gains and net investment income as of this date that had not been previously distributed. Any net capital gains and net investment income from the previous fiscal year, which were not distributed by the end of the most recent fiscal year-end, may be distributed to shareholders in advance of the Liquidation Date, in what is commonly referred to as a “spillback distribution.”
    Prior to the Liquidation Date, the Fund will be in the process of closing down and liquidating its portfolio, which will result in the Fund not tracking its Index and increasing its holdings in cash and/or cash equivalents, which may not be consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and strategy. Shareholders of the Fund may sell their holdings on the NYSE Arca, Inc. prior to April 12, 2023. Customary brokerage charges may apply to such transactions. From April 12, 2023 through the Liquidation Date, we cannot assure you that there will be a market for your shares.
    On or about April 18, 2023, the Fund will distribute to its remaining shareholders a liquidating cash distribution equal to the current net asset value of their shares. While Fund shareholders remaining on the Liquidation Date will not incur transaction fees, shareholders generally will recognize a capital gain or loss on the redemptions. Shareholders should contact their tax adviser to discuss the income tax consequences of the liquidation.
    Shareholders can call 1-866-787-2257 for additional information.
    PLEASE RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE
    022423SUPP3
  • Lazard Emerging Markets Strategic Equity Portfolio to be reorganized
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/874964/000093041323000479/c105769_497.htm
    497 1 c105769_497.htm
    THE LAZARD FUNDS, INC.
    Lazard Emerging Markets Strategic Equity Portfolio
    Supplement to Current Summary Prospectus and Prospectus
    The Board of Directors of The Lazard Funds, Inc. (the “Fund”) has approved a Plan of Reorganization (the “Plan”) with respect to Lazard Emerging Markets Strategic Equity Portfolio (the “Acquired Portfolio”) and Lazard Emerging Markets Core Equity Portfolio (the “Acquiring Portfolio”), each a series of the Fund. The Plan provides for the transfer of all of the Acquired Portfolio’s assets and liabilities to the Acquiring Portfolio in a tax-free exchange solely for Institutional Shares and Open Shares of the Acquiring Portfolio, the distribution of such shares of the Acquiring Portfolio to Acquired Portfolio shareholders and the subsequent termination of the Acquired Portfolio (the “Reorganization”). The Reorganization will become effective on or about June 22, 2023.
    In anticipation of the Reorganization, effective on or about February 27, 2023 (the “Sales Discontinuance Date”), the Acquired Portfolio will be closed to any investments for new accounts. Shareholders of the Acquired Portfolio as of the Sales Discontinuance Date may continue to make additional purchases and to reinvest dividends and capital gains into their existing Acquired Portfolio accounts up until the time of the Reorganization.
    An Information Statement/Prospectus with respect to the proposed Reorganization will be mailed to Acquired Portfolio shareholders in May 2023. The Information Statement/Prospectus will describe the Acquiring Portfolio and other matters. Investors may obtain a free copy of the Prospectus of the Acquiring Portfolio at www.lazardassetmanagement.com/us/en_us/funds or by calling (800) 823-6300.
    Dated: February 24, 2023
  • Short Term High Yield vs. CDs vs. Treasuries vs. I-Bonds
    Several posts I made over the years
    1) 2020, going to cash on 2/29/2000(link). I actually posted here too(link)
    2) In early 2022, going to cash(link).
    3) In 11/2022, going back in and why (link).
    4) I posted about one good indicator I have been using for years, called 3 line break. You can read about it (here). I explained some of my trades. If you look at 3 line break (link) it's very clear why I sold early in Feb. HYD,ORNAX are HY Munis.
    Unfortunately, no more trades in real-time.