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yogibearbull
Series presented at MFO:
AAII Sentiment Surveys (weekly)
Barron's Funds Quarterly (quarterly)
Barron's on Funds & Retirement (ad-hoc; when there are several stories)
FOMC Statements (about 6 weeks)
Fund Allocations (Cumulative) (monthly)
I-Bond Rates (semiannual)
Stable-Value (SV) Rates (monthly)
Vanguard is private, so it doesn't follow the selection process used for typical public co BOD. FWIW, I have never received notifications for voting for VG BOD (some like TIAA hold only advisory votes). BOD is authorized to act on behalf of sharehol…
Big news! He is an outsider. At iShares/BlackRock, he handled many ETF launches, including the recent spot-Bitcoin ETF IBIT - the biggest among the new such ETFs.
@yugo is correct. If you use your credit card line in full, there is a penalty on the credit score. You should keep the usage % low, around 20-30% of the credit limit (per card). And 0% card offers may have initial 3-5% fee and duration of 12-18 mon…
If you hold CDs within a brokerage a/c, the FDIC coverage limits will still apply in case of bank failure. SIPC will treat them as securities under its coverage.
The SIPC coverage kicks in only when brokerage itself fails. Moreover, the brokerage c…
I think that brokers can lend securities from margin a/c only when there is a margin loan balance. One can also ask to move some securities from the margin side to cash side. Try those before downgrading the margin a/c.
My Visa card bank also says that it doesn't require travel notifications anymore because of its intelligent systems, but when my wife recently traveled overseas with it, I informed them anyway via their secure system.
When travel requirement was in…
There are gold and oil funds.
Then there are diversified commodity funds.
STATIC/FIXED Allocations: DBC [K-1], GSG [K-1; 70% energy], etc.
DYNAMIC Allocation: PDBC [1099], COMT [1099], USCI [K-1], etc.
I don't have access to PRWCX, so I am using the combo TCAF + PYLD. That mix can be adjusted for PRCFX too, so I am not buying it. But it's a good alternative to VWIAX.
FMSDX is a multi-asset fund that holds stocks, bonds and some alternatives. It is riskier than VWIAX. Although classified as conservative-allocation (CA), it is somewhere between CA and MA, taking into account its lower grade bonds.
VWINX / VWIAX i…
@fred495, because your CDs will be in different ownership categories (taxable Brokerage TOD & Brokerage IRA), they would each be covered for $250K even when at the same bank.
You may also try using the FDIC calculator that @msf linked (it requi…
You can have brokered CD from a bank, and then at bank itself, you can have personal a/c, joint a/c, IRA a/c, multiple POD/TOD CDs. Under the current system, all that can add up to a lot at the same bank. But the new FDIC limit will be $1.25 million…
The FDIC coverage is for all personal assets held at a bank with the new max $1.25 million considering various tricks. The FDIC coverage kicks in when the bank fails.
For cash and securities held at brokerage, the SIPC insurance limits would apply. …
@Crash wrote about his saga in detail about his recent transfer from Bruce to Schwab. So, this change was new & preplanned. It also involved asset allocation shift from MA to CA.
During the Covid lockdown, my wife received a letter from an IL Dept saying that an unemployment claim had been filed for her. Considering that she had been "retired" for several years, we found this strange. I called the number provided in the lett…
@MikeM, T+1 will reduce the payment time by 1 day at all brokers - whether m-mkt fund is core (Fido, Vanguard) or not (Schwab).
So, on the 0-day (trade day), buy a stock/ETF/CEF anytime during the day. Also enter m-mkt order at Schwab to fund the p…
Not an ETF, but BLDR is a builders' supply co. Revenues were steady, but earnings dropped sharply and guidance was poor.
When housing slows down, homebuilders and suppliers take the first hits.
From https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/Brokerage_Commissions_Fee_Schedule.pdf
(My italics. No mention of lots.)
"FundsNetwork No Transaction Fee Funds.
All Methods No transaction fee* Most NTF Funds will have no load…
@yugo, "Incidentally, I was also told that one can trade against their mm fund balance at Merrill - the same way one can do, say, at Schwab - can anyone confirm this?)"
That would be Fidelity, NOT Schwab.
I have to move $s manually at Schwab as it…
@msf, intrigued by the WayBack (Time) Machine, I explored it some today. It's a fantastic tool for researching the web history.
@hank noted in January that there weren’t many archives of MFO. But when one of the members visits the WayBack Machine, …
After reading through the link provided by @Old_Joe, I should add that my mutual fund cost basis settings are average-cost, but for stocks/ETFs/CEFs the highest-cost lots. I haven't played with the impact of different settings.
Schwab applies FIFO for short-term trading fees (STTF). I know this because sometimes I have adjusted mutual fund partial sale orders based on the info that the final Trade screen showed.
It should be similar for Fido. I trade less at Fido.
STTF a…
"Rollover" in a/c title is just for information. There are no differences in "Rollover IRA A/C" and "IRA A/C". Many people want to keep their Rollover $s separate, but even they can add nonrollover $s to the so-called "Rollover IRA A/C".
Typically,…
Think of Barron's article mentions of funds and/or stock as "for instance", but not comprehensive or the best or leading. In my take on this article (LINK), I noted the glaring omission of any ETFs.
"INCOME. Dividend strategies vary. OEFs LCEYX, VDI…
That's another trick.
CEFs that have managed-distribution policies set an attractive distribution rate. But if that isn't supported by fund income, the difference is ROC - return of capital (i.e. your own money). ROCs aren't taxed on distribution …
Derivatives (options, futures) generate income. So, high distributions are typical for options/futures-based funds.
Investors also use options to generate income - conservative call-writing, riskier put-selling.
Another issue at Schwab is that a scheduled cash transfer is moved AHEAD to finish on the stated date, and/or if the stated date is a holiday. This may ruin well-intended transfer plans.
https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/comment/…
@BaluBalu, when there are multiple ways of doing something at Vanguard, some are more preferable than others.
In the case you described, "Exchange" would have worked fine for simultaneous overnight exchange. If "Exchange" involves non-VG fund(s), i…
"Vanguard imho has become unfriendly to the small investor"
Well, that happened a long time ago. Some were just drinking its PR coolaid of "low-cost" and being "owned by shareholders" BS. Of course, VG must have polled its shareholders for their op…
@Sven, I am not buying more I-Bonds, but am holding the ones I have.
Comparison should be with 5-yr T-Note (4.64%) and 5-yr TIPS (2.25% + inflation).
For maturing T-Bills, also consider Treasury FRN USFR; FRNs reset (variable) rates weekly to 3-mo …
There was a question on this - why hold rates (to keep the policy tight), but reduce QT (to make the policy a bit easier). Powell said that its main tool was/is the fed fund rates and QT is of secondary significance. Reducing QT also helps with m-mk…
Post-Conference Notes by YBB
Rates are maintained - fed funds 5.25-5.50%, bank reserves rate 5.4%, discount rate 5.5%. Rate hike(s) unlikely, but may hold rates as long as necessary. Need more confidence in inflation data before rate cuts. Inflatio…
I have a small rider on activist Boaz Weinstein's ETF of CEFs with ticker CEFS. He has been quite successful against big firms.
Be careful punching tickers as CEF is something else - a Canadian gold/silver bullion CEF.
Why does the SEC approve thes…
@MikeM, deductible limits may depend on insurance co. Liberty Mutual has them as $100-5,000 or 1-10% of home value. Don't know if they will make exceptions on request.
https://www.libertymutual.com/insurance-resources/property/home-insurance-deducti…
