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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.
  • Texas pulls $8.5 billion from BlackRock funds, and in related news ...
    The last thing Boeing needs is financial restructuring. They need to reinstitute the pre-McDonnell Douglas merger ethos where engineering trumps cost cutting.

    +1
    The McDonnell Douglas merger precipitated Boeing's descent.
    McDonnell Douglas management increased outsourcing which led to declines
    in both aircraft quality and employee morale. Various "accidents" (some preventable)
    involving Boeing aircraft in recent years have tarnished this once fine company's reputation.
    As someone who's seen BA in the intergenerational portfolio for many many decades, agree completely!
    (I only hold a toehold for sentimental reasons nowdays - I sold 95% of the position just as the 737 MAX fiasco started to tank the stock, so I thankfully got out quite nicely near the high)
  • Texas pulls $8.5 billion from BlackRock funds, and in related news ...
    The last thing Boeing needs is financial restructuring. They need to reinstitute the pre-McDonnell Douglas merger ethos where engineering trumps cost cutting.
    +1
    The McDonnell Douglas merger precipitated Boeing's descent.
    McDonnell Douglas management increased outsourcing which led to declines
    in both aircraft quality and employee morale. Various "accidents" (some preventable)
    involving Boeing aircraft in recent years have tarnished this once fine company's reputation.
  • Texas pulls $8.5 billion from BlackRock funds, and in related news ...
    Parnassus Funds 2016 Annual Report (Feb 9, 2017):
    I’d like to give you an update on Wells Fargo and its unauthorized opening of accounts. While some of our shareholders have urged us to sell our shares, we believe that Wells Fargo is a far better bank than what is portrayed in the media, and that this is the most important time for an ESG investor to be involved. We met with CEO Tim Sloan in December and had a productive conversation about the bank’s remedies for its customers and employees, discriminatory banking practices towards minority and low-income customers, as well as its financing of the Dakota Access Pipeline. We would not have been able to have this dialogue had we sold our position. While we don’t disclose the results of our engagements, rest assured, we continue to engage with the highest levels of management on these issues.
    Parnassus Funds 2017 Annual Report (Feb 9, 2018)
    Responsible Investing Notes
    ...
    On a brighter note, I’m delighted to share with you a positive development with Wells Fargo, which has worked hard over the past year to repair its damaged reputation. From eliminating sales goals in its Community Banking division to replacing three board members, Wells Fargo has taken significant steps to improve its relationships with its customers, stakeholders and shareholders. ...
    One issue we believed Wells Fargo needed to address was its involvement in the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) project. This controversial pipeline project caused an uproar across the nation, leading to closely watched protests and negative sentiment towards companies involved in its construction. A consortium of seventeen banks, including Wells Fargo, lent money to finance the DAPL.
    We concluded from our discussions with Wells Fargo that they could not have predicted the consequences of financing the DAPL. More importantly, we became convinced Wells Fargo would not have financed the project had it known how much it would upset its customers, shareholders and stakeholders. We understood that Wells Fargo was contractually obligated to finance the project, but we believed the bank could take action to repair its relationship with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. In February, as part of our engagement with Wells Fargo about the DAPL, we asked the bank to donate its profits from financing the DAPL to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Wells Fargo indicated they would consider this donation.
    Over the course of the year, we engaged in multiple calls and meetings with Wells Fargo, urging the bank to act. We had three calls with Wells Fargo’s Head of Corporate Responsibility and Community Relations, Jon Campbell. We met with Wells Fargo’s CEO Tim Sloan, and later in the year with incoming Board Chair Elizabeth Duke. During each conversation, we discussed our proposed DAPL donation. In October, Wells Fargo acknowledged to us that financing the DAPL had affected the bank’s relationship with the American Indian and Alaskan tribes that are customers of the bank. In December, Wells Fargo announced a five-year $50 million commitment to the American Indian and Alaskan tribes, which was significantly greater than our request. These monetary grants, to be issued starting in early 2018, will target environmental sustainability, economic empowerment, and diversity and social inclusion programs focusing on the impacted tribes.
    Parnassus Investments statement, March 9, 2018
    You may be aware that several Parnassus funds initiated positions in Wells Fargo stock well over a year ago. Initially, the firm had positive fundamental and ESG profiles. At the time, Wells Fargo was widely considered to be one of the top banks in America, with a strong focus on workplace, diversity and inclusion, and philanthropy.
    As the bank’s community sales scandal and Dakota Access pipeline controversy became headline news, Parnassus immediately began using its substantial holding in the firm to engage top executives. We met with Wells Fargo management—including the CEO and key independent Directors—multiple times to share our perspective on events and suggest potential remedies. We also voted our proxy shares according to our responsible investment policies, including voting against the candidates for the Wells Board of Directors that had served on the Risk Committee for many years.
    While our discussions led to positive changes within the company, troubling new issues continue to emerge. Significantly, the Federal Reserve has decided that the problems at the bank are serious enough to warrant their active involvement in Wells Fargo’s business decisions for an indefinite period of time.
    As events continue to reveal further deterioration in both the fundamental and ESG profiles of the bank, we do not believe that further engagement from Parnassus will be effective. In short, Wells Fargo is not a suitable holding for our portfolios at this time.
  • Texas pulls $8.5 billion from BlackRock funds, and in related news ...
    @rforno
    I seem to remember PRBLX being criticised for this and responding in some way, but it would be hard to locate now.
    As far as financial shenanigans are concerned there are several funds that claim to look for it so as to avoid it. The one I remember from years ago was Robert Olstein who made a big deal out of being able "look behind the numbers" focusing on cash flow with a "forensic analysis"
    OFAFX has not exactly blown out the lights.
    Parnassus told me they still 'had faith' in things and were 'monitoring the situation' but that seemed like a pro-forma response for folks like me/us who questioned things at the time. :(
  • Texas pulls $8.5 billion from BlackRock funds, and in related news ...
    @rforno
    I seem to remember PRBLX being criticised for this and responding in some way, but it would be hard to locate now.
    As far as financial shenanigans are concerned there are several funds that claim to look for it so as to avoid it. The one I remember from years ago was Robert Olstein who made a big deal out of being able "look behind the numbers" focusing on cash flow with a "forensic analysis"
    OFAFX has not exactly blown out the lights.
  • Distributing money out of Inherited Estate DC / 403(b)
    Keep in mind I'm not a lawyer, so take this for what it is worth, i.e. you're on your own.
    "Fidelity decided to pass them into B's estate".
    That sounds like Fidelity followed the beneficiary designation of A's defined contribution plan. So long as B did not predecease A (but see below*) the transfer was likely automatic, regardless of the absence of paperwork. That is, the automatic nature of the transfer meant that the account formally (technically) became B's upon A's death even though it wasn't actually transferred at that time.
    B's "virtual" account had no beneficiary designated since there was no paperwork done before B died. So B's "virtual" account became the account of B's estate. That brings us back to the situation where there's an estate defined contribution plan that must be distributed within five years.
    Edit: The five years is assuming that the RMD period (for B) had not yet begun. Otherwise, it seems that the withdrawal schedule would be based on B's life expectancy. If inherited DC plans follow the same rule as inherited IRAs (haven't checked yet), each year's RMD would be calculated by subtracting one year from the previous year's life expectancy, not by referring to tables every year. That is, if B's life expectancy were 15 years now, then next year one would divide assets by 14, the next by 13, and so on. This could be another source of confusion and why you are seeing various rules.
    Again, just speculating here.
    * did B predecease A from a legal perspective?
    If B's death is close enough after A's death, then state law may create a "legal fiction" that B died before A for purposes of inheritance. This situation is called "simultaneous death".
    Many states have default laws ... including the Uniform Simultaneous Death Act ... Generally speaking, these laws establish a rule that when two individuals die within 120 hours of each other, each individual will be treated as having predeceased the other. Thus, if a husband and wife die at the same time or within 120 hours of each other, and the husband’s will distributes 100 percent of his property to his wife at his death, the wife is treated as having predeceased her husband,
    https://wilsonlawgroup.com/simultaneous-deaths/
    This varies from state to state, and the text above describes how it applies to wills. It seems logical that something similar would apply to beneficiary designations. But I haven't seen that in writing.
    If a state simultaneous death law applies to beneficiaries, and if the two deaths were close enough together to trigger that law, then Fidelity could (should?) have treated the situation as if B died first. That is, it could (should?) have designated you as the beneficiary of A's account.
    That Fidelity didn't do this suggests that either "simultaneous death" doesn't apply to beneficiary designations, or the two deaths weren't close enough in time to trigger that law.
    Somewhat moot, though, since the fact of the matter is that the account currently belongs to B's estate.
  • Texas pulls $8.5 billion from BlackRock funds, and in related news ...
    ESG is just one data point for investors but the GQP makes a biiiig to-do over it to stir up culture-war outrage in new and exciting ways for them to control things -- and ... ahem ... limit 'choice' in one way or another. (yay, freedumb!)
    I don't invest in ESG funds specifically b/c there's no guarantee the managers will stick to their guns. To wit: Parnassus kept WFC in PRBLX for *years* despite numerous 'G' scandals, lawsuits, and failures.
  • Distributing money out of Inherited Estate DC / 403(b)
    Could you clarify the situation? It sounds like the defined contribution plans did not indicate a beneficiary, so by default the estate inherited the assets. Further it sounds like the assets are still in the DC plans, just owned by the estate of the deceased.
    If that's what has happened, you seem to be asking how long does the estate have to move the assets out of the DC plans?
    For a regular inherited retirement account the answer is pretty straightforward,
    Perhaps. Worth looking at, for background. If an IRA owner dies with no beneficiary named, the IRA is retitled as an estate IRA. One has 5 years, not 10, to move the money out of the IRA assuming that death occurred before RMDs were required to begin.
    Here's a page from Fidelity that illustrates the complexity even with IRAs:
    https://www.fidelity.com/building-savings/learn-about-iras/inherited-ira-rmd
    Sections of interest:
    >Estate beneficiary: If the original depositor of an IRA names their estate as the beneficiary of their account, or did not leave beneficiaries on their IRA, the IRA funds may go to their estate.
    -and-
    Death on or after 1/1/20, [and asset recipient is an] estate entity, non-see-through trust beneficiary of the original depositor's IRA. [elsewhere this is called a nonperson beneficiary]:
    [Death before RMDs begin] Move inherited assets into an inherited IRA in the name of the estate or non-see through trust and withdraw the balance by December 31st of the year containing the 5th anniversary of the original depositor's death
    [Death after RMDs begin] Move inherited assets into an Inherited IRA in the name of the estate or non-see through trust and begin taking RMDs the year following the year of the original depositor death using their age in the year they passed away.
    Tax treatment of estate-owned DC plans should be no different.
    Inheriting a 403(b) Plan: What to Do & How It Works
    https://www.missionsq.org/products-and-services/403(b)-defined-contribution-plans/403(b)-inheritance-beneficiary.html
    A “nonperson beneficiary” is an estate, trust or charitable organization. This type of beneficiary has the following options:
    • Account owner dies before the required beginning date.... In that case, the account must be depleted by December 31 of the year that includes the 5th anniversary of the account owner’s death.
    • Account owner dies on or after required beginning date then the entity may use a life expectancy calculation based on the remaining life expectancy of the decedent.
    Ascensus concurs:
    The SECURE Act identifies three groups of beneficiaries: eligible designated beneficiaries, noneligible designated beneficiaries, and nonperson beneficiaries.
    ...
    The third group of beneficiaries consists of nonperson beneficiaries (i.e., entities, such as trusts, estates, or charities). Nonperson beneficiaries of account owners who died before their required beginning date (RBD), which is the deadline to begin RMDs, remain subject to the 5-year rule and—with the exception of certain see-through trusts—must distribute the inherited assets within five years.
    https://thelink.ascensus.com/articles/2024/2/14/understanding-the-10-year-rule
    That's all from the tax perspective. From the estate administration perspective (state law), I'm not convinced that even in the "simple" case of an estate IRA one is allowed to delay five years. My understanding is that the executor (or administrator) is allowed however much time is necessary to distribute estate assets, but not more. For example:
    N.J.S.A. 3B:10-23 holds that an executor “is under a duty to settle and distribute the estate of the decedent in accordance with the terms of [the will] and applicable law, and as expeditiously and efficiently as is consistent with the best interests of the estate.…”
    https://www.natlawreview.com/article/executor-won-t-distribute-estate-what-can-i-do
    Usual disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice. It is just general information that may not apply to your situation.
  • PKSAX/PKSCX/PKSFX - Virtus KAR Small-Cap Core Fund - any backdoors?
    @Devo thanks for the tip.
    Just quickly checked out AVALX. I like that it is underweighted in technology and it looks to have had a pretty good run over the last 5 years. Definitely, on par with PKSFX.
    But the -39%/-50% max drawdowns at AVALX vs -18%/-18% at PKSFX over 5/10 year windows under same managers - at least, if you believe Mstar - are worrisome.
    Open to any other suggestions.
  • Distributing money out of Inherited Estate DC / 403(b)
    I've recently inherited some DC & 403(b) funds which - by the grace of Fido - ended up in an Estate account.
    I've talked to several CPAs / CFFs and still could not get a clear picture re how many years I have to distribute the funds out of these accounts. For a regular inherited retirement account the answer is pretty straightforward, but for an estate IRS website alone seems to give no less than 3 different answers.
    Does anyone here have a clue or a good reference?
  • Tim Buckley led meteoric growth at Vanguard, knew when to say 'no'
    Thanks, Mona!
    It's interesting that Vanguard is considering external candidates for the CEO position.
    Perhaps they're seeking transformational change in order to maintain or improve
    their standing in the ultracompetitive asset management industry?
    "Vanguard’s next leader should be 'someone who can fix their technology,'said Dan Wiener,
    a New York asset manager and cofounder of the Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors newsletter."
    “'They need to fix their tech and service,' concurs the newsletter’s publisher and Wiener’s longtime chief of research, Jeff DeMaso, citing investor complaints."
    Messrs. Wiener and DeMaso have disclosed Vanguard's tech and customer service deficiences for years. Maybe, just maybe, Vanguard will ameliorate these issues someday!
  • Texas pulls $8.5 billion from BlackRock funds, and in related news ...
    The hypocrisy of a state supposedly devoted to individual freedom and "small government" telling its citizens where they can and cannot put their money is too rich for words.
    The lists do not make sense in the context of The Texas Permanent School fund which is an institutional investment fund supporting Texas schools, not a 401k or pension fund. While Blackrock managed some of their money they obviously did to use retail mutual funds to do so.
    Blackrock has come under fire recently for abandoning it's "green" goals and not doing enough to stop funding oil companies etc, but Texas is obviously aiming at Larry Fink for having raised such concerns about Climate Change several years ago. His backing off isn't enough and now he is being picked out as a political target and to make headlines for Abbott and Paxton.
    I doubt it is a coincidence that this comes just as Paxton's criminal trial for investment fraud is about to start.
    Many other US firms, not on the list, have huge "ESG" commitments and funds, such as the seven Billion dollar Blackstone Green Private Credit Fund (the largest fund of it's type), and GMO Climate Change Fund, but they are not on the list.
    I wonder if the mutual fund list is aimed at the The Texas teachers Retirement fund both a defined benefit plan and a 403b plan with mutual funds that people can choose.
    The mutual fund list doesn't make sense either. It is only a fraction of "Climate Change Funds" available, and seems like it was selected by running a screen ( maybe at MFO?) for 0% energy investments, "ESG " in the name ( but there are dozens of funds not here) or based on M* Sustainability score or some such other marginal criteria.
    As most fund companies have ESG funds, a complete list would eliminate almost all companies
    Why didn't they prohibit investments in the entire families of those funds, like Vanguard and Fidelity, also? Maybe because they would be open to plan participants suits for not managing the retirement accounts in the most cost effective manner possible. Yale Hospital just had to cough up $1,000,000 in a class action suit for not negotiating downward a Fidelity fee.
    The spreadsheet is very useful for screening for Climate Change funds. I own several.
  • Texas pulls $8.5 billion from BlackRock funds, and in related news ...
    Texas has identified 10 firms with which it will not invest because their ESG screened funds "immeasurably damages our state’s oil and gas economy." The firms affected are, almost without exception, European firms (Schroders PLC) with some American operations. The list of 348 individually banned funds and ETFs includes the Brown Advisory Sustainable Growth Fund (BIAWX) which is in my portfolio and all versions of the ESG-screen S&P 500. The link downloads an Excel spreadsheet. Tab one are the forbidden companies and two tab are the forbidden funds.
    The largest move pursuant to that policy is the newly announced decision by the Texas State Board of Education to pull $8.5 billion from BlackRock for suspicion that it's pursuing sustainable investments as a way of "privileging liberal goals." BlackRock argues that it factors in ESG metrics because they are financially significant data points. Illustrating what some might perceive as hypocrisy, BlackRock and others also highlight the fact that they continue to invest heavily in the fossil fuel industry. Fox News describes the withdrawals as "a stunning blow to the ESG movement."
    In related news, as of 19 March 2024, the ESG-screened version of the S&P 500 has outperformed the full S&P 500 over the past year. And the past two years. Also the past three years, four years and five years (per Morningstar interactive chart of SNPE versus VOO.
    Across multiple time periods, ESG screened funds with some US equity exposure (US centered, global, mixed asset) perform about as well as non-screened funds; that is, 51-55% have top half returns since inception, over three years, over five years ...
  • abrdn Emerging Markets Sustainable Leaders Fund will be reorganized
    Unless you can stand volatility, I would avoid China for now. Investing in a country without the rule of law and where one man can decide to take over entire industries is a risky proposition. That is unlikely to change in the near future although Xi has probably learned a lesson the hard way since he threw Ma in jail.
    The unknown debt situation,overbuild CRE ( you think the US is bad?) and collapsing property companies are not good signs. It will take several years before they sort this out and they may never.
    What if Xi decides he needs a nice little war to divert the public's attention from his mismanagement?
  • abrdn Emerging Markets Sustainable Leaders Fund will be reorganized
    EM ex-China was in response to Fed TSP move to shift its I Fund from broad MSCI EAFE to something ex-China/HK, and that is now MSCI ACWI ex-China/HK.
    So, a reality is that such ex-China/HK indexes have been developed after some huffing and puffing. Whether this commercially catches on, $78 billion TSP I Fund won't care.
    A few years ago, Asia ex-Japan indexes were developed for commercial reasons when Japan just couldn't get up. Let us see how they will do in the current Japanese market run to new all-time highs (in yen; still ways to go in $s).
    https://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2023/11/tsp-board-oks-new-international-fund-index-time-without-china/392049/
    https://www.tsp.gov/plan-news/2024-02-05-I-Fund-benchmark-index-change-in-2024/
  • abrdn Emerging Markets Sustainable Leaders Fund will be reorganized
    … of the Fund into the abrdn Emerging Markets ex-China Fund (the "Acquiring Fund"), a series of the Trust.

    As the geopolitical friction rises between China and the west, many managers ask the question of whether China is
    investible from investor’s perspective. Additionally, China’s economy has not fully recovered since their second wave of COVID pandemic. And their +30 % weighing in major EM indices adds to their underperformance.
    Other mutual funds have already offer EM funds excluding China, iShares also made several ETFs excluding China such as EMXC.
    Agree with the geopolitical tensions, but from what I see - i don't see a ton of advisors choosing EM ex china funds nor clients asking for that. That's a level of granularity I don't know if people care about? There are 15+ EM ex china funds on the market and none of them are sizable with what looks liek flows continuing to passive EM (with china) funds.
    I do wonder if this EM ex China is a real thing or just a sign of the times and will be irrelevant in 5 years.
  • GMO: the quality anomaly
    JUQA GQLIX ( or USBOX or QLTY) pretty close to FUQIX over 3 5 years
    Not much difference.
  • GMO: the quality anomaly
    am a GMO philosophy fan, but not of their expensive offerings.
    here is what didn't happen :
    45 years ago, GMO had only one fund based on their quality metrics, and never needed to offer anything else.
  • Fido Double Secret Probation
    This thread has gone in many directions.
    Some points I would like to make.
    Banks, TSA (and some others) have secrecy by the law. They aren't supposed to tell you the details. It may seem unfair, but don't blame the Reps.
    Just ask Warren Buffett when he was visited by the FBI a few years ago when he made several cash withdrawals around $10K (not even pocket change for him?) from his local bank - his folksy explanation was that his wife only liked cash (not cards or checks), while the FBI wanted to make sure that he wasn't being blackmailed. Or, the late Senator Ted Kennedy whose name was on TSA no-fly list for some reason while he himself may not have been the target - he even mentioned his airport TSA experiences in frustration in a Senate speech and asked the President to do something about it.
    I have good experiences with chats too, except some robo-chats. In one instance, I thought that robo-chat would transfer to a human-chat, but it didn't. So, I responded, that the issue was beyond a robo-chatter, and he/she/it replied, sorry that I felt that way and wished me a good day.
  • Biden's budget assumption: interest rates might actually be "higher for longer"
    From the Wall Street Journal's analysis of the economic assumptions released with the Biden budget:
    Economic forecasts released Monday as part of the White House’s 2025 budget proposal assume that three-month Treasury bill rates will average 5.1% this year, the same as in 2023, before declining to 4% next year and 3.3% in 2026.
    The White House sees the average 10-year Treasury note yield rising to 4.4% this year from 4.1% last year and then declining gradually to 3.7% by the end of this decade.
    My recollection is that 5% is dead average for the 10 year note over the past century. Good news: I recall hearing it from Kai Ryssdal on a Marketplace podcast. Bad news: can't track it down.
    Those sort of interest rates remind investors that there is an alternative to stocks, which might well occasion a shift from equities and at least the tiniest bit of discipline on the part of managers (fund and otherwise). Jon Sindreu at the Wall Street Journal published an interesting project that suggests that cash might handily beat stocks over the next 12 years and would be pretty competitive with them over the next couple years. His projection of asset class returns, based on "quarters similar to today," puts the two-year APR for stocks at 7.something percent, cash at about 7% and bonds at over 8%. The dominance of stocks would return unless you had a time horizon of five years or more ("How to Invest? More than ever, it depends on who you are?" Wall Street Journal, 3/15/2024)
    I wish the White House (or anybody else) a lot of luck trying to predict where interest rates will be a year or two out.
    I also recall hearing, years ago, that the long-term average for the 10 year Treasury being around 5%, but I know I didn't hear it from your source.
    I have to laugh, or maybe yell, at young people today whining about 6-7% mortgage rates (which are also normalized, if memory serves). I bought my first house in 1975 and paid 8.5% which was the going rate. It went up into double-digits a few years later.
    Maybe the era we're in with "high" (normalized) interest rates will encourage young people to not borrow so much, and instead try to live more within their means. I learned that valuable lesson from my father, who was a struggling young man when the Great Depression hit. Most people today cannot comprehend what those people went through.
    As for cash being competitive with other asset classes, I have about 11% of my retirement portfolio in a 5.2% money market, which makes for a nice stable portion, yet still earning something -- unlike it would have a few years ago when "cash is trash."