The myth about Apple, read (https://usa.kaspersky.com/resource-center/threats/mac-vs-pc-security)

Some good/interesting points, even if it comes from a company recently booted from the USA.....

It’s also not as if Kapersky doesn’t have a financial reason to make your think your computer is less secure than it is (and many of its contentions about security updates on MacOS and Safari are just plain wrong).

I’ve been forgetting who I am ever since I turned 75. Maybe I’ll take a look.
Thanks for the heads-up Yogi. I don’t post or read financial discussion boards anywhere else. Something similar happened at Amazon years ago where real names became attached to the product reviews. By going into profile settings it was possible to re-set things and revert back to the user names.

One thing being overlooked... ALL that data being fed into AI is human produced. SO.... if the auditors, financial people at companies make mistakes or enter garbage data to make the last quarter look good, last year look good, current conditions look good as often happens what is AI going to tell you? Maybe over the long term but short term it's still garbage in garbage out.

I am a computer illiterate.
Does security features in an OS translate into prevention of virus and malware being implanted in your device? If not, what are the means thru which these things get into my device? I am starting to use mobile Apps on occasion to access financial institutions.

Be careful what you click on. Better yet, don't click on anything.
My daughter transferred some money from her bank to her brokerage account the other day. The stupid bank sent her a text with a link to confirm. She asked my opinion--Dad is still good for some things :) --and I told her to call the number on the back of her bank card.

I am a computer illiterate.
Does security features in an OS translate into prevention of virus and malware being implanted in your device? If not, what are the means thru which these things get into my device? I am starting to use mobile Apps on occasion to access financial institutions.

Many times, yes. It's a combination of security features designed by the vendor (eg SIP or Gatekeeper on Macs that are on by default) or users taking steps themselves, such as downloading a more secure browser, using different security/privacy plug-ins or their browser, etc, etc.
Mobile apps from major companies/vendors tend to be trustworthy, as long as they're downloaded from the App Store and are 'certified' by Apple/Google and not downloaded from some third-party site. Further, I don't usually trust the vast majority of apps that anyone can throw up into an App Store for sale, though. That's where a lot of the problems come in, especially on Android.
I use financial apps on my iPhone w/o worry ... you can, too.
Of course, it's always good to be vigilant and if something feels funky, get it checked out by an expert!

I am a computer illiterate.
Does security features in an OS translate into prevention of virus and malware being implanted in your device? If not, what are the means thru which these things get into my device? I am starting to use mobile Apps on occasion to access financial institutions.

Not me. If @Mark and I were financial planners; this information would be of special value for our/your investment planning. :)

We owe much of our present financial independence to previous holdings of long-term Capital/American funds.

The December 2024 issue of the Mutual Fund Observer has been posted.
Dear friends,
Welcome to the Remembrance Day / Start of Winter / Invite a Viking to Christmas / December issue of Mutual Fund Observer https://mutualfundobserver.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a779898c08f5883a95650fcbf&id=3ed3901189&e=c40301c47d.
Financial markets are, in a technical sense, structurally chaotic. Beyond that structural chaos, there’s a prospect of political chaos that plays out over the weeks and months ahead. Chaos is not good for your portfolios or your sanity. Lynn Bolin and I, separately but with knowledge of what each was doing, have offered advice on crafting “a chaos-protected portfolio” (Lynn) and “a chaos-resistant portfolio” (me). Our recs are different but, we think, complementary.
Lynn also offers up advice for investing in 2025. He identifies key challenges for investors in the coming years:
1. High stock valuations and interest rates
2. Slow economic growth
3. Risk of another secular bear market
4. Sticky inflation
5. Increasing national debt and budget deficits
His analysis is somewhat at odds with the good folks at Kiplinger’s, who start with the assumption of six or seven interest rate cuts. Lynn’s prudent recs: anticipate lower long-term returns, trust active investment management during potential secular bear markets, and maybe ease back on equities if you’re of a certain age.
John Rekenthaler retired from Morningstar in mid-November. He and the other founders of Morningstar have helped guide a nearly unimaginable evolution of the power of individual investors, from a world where fund companies did not even deign to disclose the names of the people managing their funds to one where, for better and worse, investors have nearly unlimited choice and unlimited information. I wrote a short reflection on JR’s career and contributions.
Our colleague Charles offers useful new capabilities at MFO Premium (for the inflation-resistant price of $120, virtually unchanged in its decade of operation).
The Shadow keeps it real and keeps us grounded by reviewing the industry’s news, innovations, and twists in “Briefly Noted.”
And we haven’t forgotten fans of the long-scroll version (hi, Roger!): it’s here https://mutualfundobserver.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a779898c08f5883a95650fcbf&id=8dedbfe7a2&e=c40301c47d!
(This post was copied from a recently received email.)

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1103243/000141304224000954/cweil497.htm
497 1 cweil497.htm
Christopher Weil & Company Core Investment Fund
A series of PFS Funds
Supplement dated December 6, 2024
to the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information
each dated March 28, 2024
The Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of the PFS Funds (the “Trust”) has approved a Plan of Liquidation (the “Plan”) relating to the Christopher Weil & Company Core Investment Fund (the “Fund”), effective December 5, 2024. Christopher Weil & Company, Inc., the Fund’s investment adviser (the “Adviser”), has recommended to the Board to approve the Plan based on its representations the Fund is no longer a core focus of the Adviser’s business, the Fund’s assets have declined and the Adviser sees limited prospects for increasing assets, and the Adviser’s indication that it does not desire to continue to support the Fund. As a result, the Board has concluded that it is in the best interest of the shareholders to liquidate the Fund.
In connection with the proposed liquidation and dissolution of the Fund called for by the Plan, the Board has directed the Trust’s principal underwriter to cease offering shares of the Fund immediately as of the date of this Supplement. Shareholders may continue to reinvest dividends and distributions in the Fund or redeem their shares until the liquidation. While undergoing an orderly liquidation, the Fund will invest in cash equivalents and will not be pursuing its investment objective.
It is anticipated that the Fund will liquidate on or about December 23, 2024. Any remaining shareholders on the date of liquidation will receive a distribution of their remaining investment value in full liquidation of the Fund. If you have questions or need assistance, please contact your financial advisor directly or the Fund toll-free at 1-888-550-9266 or the Adviser at 1-858-724-6040.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR RETIREMENT PLAN INVESTORS
If you are a retirement plan investor, you should consult your tax advisor regarding the consequences of any redemption of Fund shares. If you receive a distribution from an Individual Retirement Account or a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA, you must roll the proceeds into another Individual Retirement Account within sixty (60) days of the date of the distribution in order to avoid having to include the distribution in your taxable income for the year. If you receive a distribution from a 403(b)(7) Custodian Account (Tax-Sheltered account) or a Keogh Account, you must roll the distribution into a similar type of retirement plan within sixty (60) days in order to avoid disqualification of your plan and the severe tax consequences that it can bring. If you are the trustee of a Qualified Retirement Plan, you may reinvest the money in any way permitted by the plan and trust agreement.
This Supplement, and the existing Prospectus dated March 28, 2024, provide relevant information for all shareholders and should be retained for future reference. Both the Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information dated March 28, 2024 have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, are incorporated by reference, and can be obtained without charge by calling the Fund toll-free at 1-888-550-9266.

Interesting:

If all this works, we may see the end of the investment management business as we know it. Instead, each person could have a personal AI that combined personal information — tax situation, financial goals, income prospects — with superior market knowledge, and that never slept or had its attention wander. These AIs could trade with each other with no need for human intervention.

asness-ai-end-human-fund-managers

What is that?

Never lose money.
https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0210/rules-that-warren-buffett-lives-by.aspx

Thank you again, @Observant1.
Everyone here should be watching these presentations; and saving them for further/future reference.
Especially important for this #39 report, IMHO; is Lesson #2 starting at the 5 minute mark, titled 'Price Targets'. A lot of time over the years and currently is spent regarding who/what to follow and/or read regarding financial thinking. The point of Lesson #2 is that those (the large, old money centers), those that one should expect to understand markets well, have problems like other 'humans', in spite of overwhelming data and 'schooling'. Somewhere here (MFO) is a write (2010 - 2012?) about about Morgan Stanley or Goldman fully getting things wrong about interest rates directions. A serious mistake.
One must be their own best student and attempt to blend whatever/whomever you choose to follow to help form one's thinking. No easy task.
A suitable topic area, for a future post.

NYSE just had a moment of silence for Art. He was my financial hero and will be sorely missed by so many.
RIP Art. This Dewar's is for you!

@dtconroe- good to hear from you again. We are in exactly the same situation as you describe. I recently bought a long-term Deutsche Bank bond at 5.75%, callable in two years (that MikeM found) from Schwab. However as msf mentions hoping for a call in two years may have been a bad move, since it seems likely that inflation may increase substantially under the new, improved political franchise. If that happens, we may be stuck with that bond for much longer than desirable.

I am not good at trying to predict the market, even for the near future. I expect some political turmoil in the near future, but I am not good at predicting politics either. CDs have been good for both my financial objectives, as well as my mental health, for a few years now. At my age, winning investing trophies is not important to me. My financial objectives are much more "modest"--just make enough TR to preserve principal, with as little stress as possible. I am not opposed to callable CDs, or even very low risk bond oefs like RPHIX, but not really interested in more risky investments than that. Other investors can chart the path that fits their financial objectives, and I realize that I am probably too conservative/risk averse, for most other investors/posters on this forum.

- Best All Around News + Financial Information - The Wall Street Journal
- Best for Investment Ideas / Insights - Barrons
- Best Deal Right Now - Reuters @$45 annually (monthly rate available). I found the internet site loaded with distracting story-related animations my Ad blocker couldn’t halt. But when I downloaded their free App they disappeared. Very readable.
- Best for Developing Stories - Bloomberg. Stories aren’t always the deepest dives, but they update 24 hours a day. When financial news breaks, you’ll see it here first. You also get the Bloomberg TV channel which is nice if your regular TV plan doesn’t carry it. I’m at (an introductory) $249 per year. But set to renew @ $100 more in 5 months.
- Best for A Long Term Perspective - InvesTech from James Stack. Monthly newsletter assessing market valuations and comparing current dynamics to historical cycles. Stack also provides an ever-changing etf investment model for his readers depending on his outlook. I don’t follow it. Can’t say it’s been the ideal allocation for the current bull market. But his gig is “preservation first.” Price is around $200 yearly. Less with multi-year packages.
- Best for Staying Sober (not succumbing to herd psychology) - “The Daily Rap” / Veteran investor Bill Fleckenstein writes a daily column looking at the day’s action. Once or twice a week there’s some deeper insights to be had. More often just a quick summary you can find anywhere. If it it was a Dull (“nothing happened”) Day Bill will tell you that. There’s a Q&A section I sometimes enjoy more than Bill’s opines. If having pro-Trump / anti-liberal messaging occasionally inserted into the discussions bothers you, you won’t like the site. If you can read thru that stuff, there’s a lot to be learned. Price is something north of $100 yearly.
- Most Enjoyable & Insightful Listening - “The Meb Faber Show” - I have access to over 50 45-minute long interviews dating back a couple years. Delightful conversations with many financial participants including fund managers. You can dig up a few on UTube. But to get the entire pack you might need to use a podcast service.
d

...yes sir, and that was also a major factor in the creation of the Off-Topic section- to move at least some of those debates out of the financial sections.

@Old_Joe, I've decided not to go to the Off-Topic section anymore due to 1 person who, for some pathetic reason, gets his pleasure in antagonizing others. Not sure why he came to this site, but to me he is a cancer.

@BaluBalu- yes sir, and that was also a major factor in the creation of the Off-Topic section- to move at least some of those debates out of the financial sections. With respect to the choice of sections when posting I do notice a deterioration in discipline as of late.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1281790/000116204424001335/frankfundswesthillsliqsupple.htm
497 1 frankfundswesthillsliqsupple.htm
West Hills Core Fund
LEBOX
a series of the Frank Funds)
Supplement dated December 3, 2024 to the Prospectus,
Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") and Summary Prospectus dated November 1, 2024.
On November 26, 2024 the Board of Trustees (the "Board") of Frank Funds (the "Trust") determined that it is in the best interests of shareholders to liquidate the West Hills Core Fund (the "Fund"), a series of the Trust, following a recommendation by the Fund's investment adviser, Frank Capital Partners, LLC. The Board has determined to liquidate the Fund with the liquidation payment to shareholders expected to take place on or about January 3, 2025 (the "Liquidation Date").
Effective at the close of business on December 30, 2024, the Fund will not accept any purchases and will no longer pursue its stated investment objective. The Fund may begin liquidating its portfolio and may invest in cash equivalents, such as money market funds, until all shares have been redeemed. Any capital gains will be distributed as soon as practicable to shareholders. Shares of the Fund are otherwise not available for purchase.
Prior to the Liquidation Date, you may redeem your shares, including reinvested distributions, in accordance with the “Redeeming Fund Shares” section in the Prospectus. Unless your investment in the Fund is through a tax-deferred retirement account, a redemption is subject to tax on any taxable gains. Please refer to the “Dividends, Distributions and Taxes” section in the Prospectus for general information. You may wish to consult your tax advisor about your particular situation.
Any shareholders who have not redeemed their shares of the Fund prior to the Liquidation Date will have their shares automatically redeemed as of that date, and proceeds will be sent to the address of record. If you have questions or need assistance, please contact your financial advisor directly or the Fund at 1-866-706-9790.
This Supplement and the Prospectus, SAI and Summary Prospectus dated November 1, 2024 provide relevant information for all shareholders and should be retained for future reference. The Prospectus, SAI and Summary Prospectus have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are incorporated by reference. Copies of each can be obtained without charge by calling the Fund at 1-866-706-9790.

There is only BlackRock nontraded BDEBT. Blackstone has nontraded BCREDIT. Next may be an interval-fund (before an etf).
https://www.blackrock.com/us/financial-professionals/literature/fact-sheet/bdc-fact-sheet.pdf