Thanks @Observant1 for the “probing” article on Americans’ current love affair with stocks. In reading I became curious about the author. From the linked article: “The typical salary for a journalist in the United States is $49,887 per year”. Had no idea they were so underpaid.
Gunjan Banerji was born in 1992. For some perspective …. That year Louis Rukeyser’s Wall Street Week was completing its 22nd season on PBS. 5 years had passed since the global stock market “flash crash” of ‘87. She would have been 6 or 7 when the tech sector sizzled and 8 when the bubble burst in 2000. (Maybe some nervous playground banter?) She would have been 16 in 2008 during the depths of “the great financial crisis” (and subsequent 50%+ drop in the S&P). No doubt, this great unwinding of stock market mania was discussed / analyzed to extent in her high school business / social studies classes during these teen-age formative years.

Many listened to his radio shows or subscribed to his newsletter "Marketimer" - despite its name, it didn't promote active timing. His approach was simple and steady investing and he focused on financial freedom. He rarely made big calls, but when he did, those moved the markets. I think that we was aware of this, so he made/published big calls rarely.
From X/Twitter LINK,
https://tipswatch.com/2024/09/04/remembering-bob-brinker-and-his-life-changing-advice/

BF,
No pension or any other safety net here.
As to planning tools, the only one I use is the M* portfolio which I started using about 7 years ago when I realized that I had way more cash than I thought I had which meant I was unrealistically risk shy.
I have only spent on what I needed and had worked when work was available. All the good things that happened to me are not because I planned any of them. My success rate of my long term planning is near zero if not zero. I do not plan for financial outcomes, and hence, I do not need to use any tools. May be I fall under your category of "wing it as man plans and God laughs."

Hi@Anna
Yes, INDEED !!! 8,760 hours, one after the other.....
Our house is completely and fully acknowledged that we are where we should be with financial comfort; from becoming informed investors and students of sound monetary practices starting in the late 1970's, and mental reasoning; which should include a large amount of prudence; or call it 'common sense'.

With 9% of my holdings being reported as “other,” I’m curious what all that includes.

Just guessing:
- Precious metals, real estate / timberland / farmland?
- Physical infrastructure - like buildings, toll roads, railroads, communications satellites?
- Positions in non-dollar denominated currencies thru the FX markets?
- Options to buy something?
Other ideas?
I think it’s significant in assessing risk because if these “other” assets are as risky (or riskier) than equities, than your portfolio might contain substantially more risk tied to the broader financial markets than a lower “equity” number might lead you to believe.

BaluBalu said
"I have not been following this thread well. So, pardon my enquiry. Why are you guys following the price ticks of this thing? Is there are catalyst, such as vesting, dilution, etc., tied to a price level? "
many reasons those fascinated with the financial sector are following djt.
the history of scams in financial markets is endless, but never has such a influential and powerful politician continuously checked every box known to be a marker or EVIDENCE of a market scam.
in summary, this is very different from any other meme event in history, and a substantial number of retail investors are still HOLDING and BUYING djt.
am not going to recap the whole redflag history here of the controlling shareholder and the step-by-mistep evolution of djt.
the complexity of the the lockup and lawsuits pose an amazing real life case of game theory, for those more interested in just the mathematics.
i would end with the notion that out of those who had invested among the entire history of financial scams, one will find the label 'rube' quite apt. newsflash, many on the internet use much worse terminology daily, including the djt namesake.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/10/politics/pence-book-excerpt-trump-power/index.html

”I wonder where the hell they find these financial "journalists". I guess the same place they find the so-called "analysts" who simply follow each other around staying close to consensus "thinking". Maybe they recruit in middle schools!
(Comment by “Mr. Skin” / Bill Fleckenstein’s Daily Market Rap - 8/29/24 / subscription required)
My own thought is to apply a different twist to Marie-Antoinette’s famous “Let them eat cake”. In good times the media and their porn-star analysts deliver to the adoring masses that possessing the outer appearance of cake. Later there may occur a nasty case of indigestion.

Passive ETFs require daily holding disclosures
A common conception but the rule is actually the opposite. Based on the premise that investors already have a very good if not exact idea of what's in a fund that passively tracks an index, disclosure of such a fund's daily holdings is generally not required.
From NASDAQ, under passive ETF listing requirements is this requirement, applicable only to leveraged ETFs. "Regular" passive ETFs need not comply.

Passive ETFs which seek a return based upon a multiple (positive or inverse) of the underlying index performance, must disclose the following information regarding the portfolio on their website daily:
• The identity and number of shares held of each specific equity security
• The identity and amount held for each specific fixed income security
• The specific types of financial instruments and characteristics of such financial instruments
• Cash equivalents and the amount of cash held in the portfolio

https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/assets/ETP_Listing_Guide.pdf
It's true that the vast majority of passively managed non-leveraged ETFs disclose portfolios daily. Vanguard is the notorious exception that proves the rule.
While it discloses daily the holdings of its standalone ETFs, it discloses only monthly holdings of those ETFs that are share classes of its OEFs. For example, VYM (a share class of VHYAX) currently shows holdings as of July 31.

Each Vanguard fund relying on Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act (e.g., standalone ETFs) generally will seek to disclose complete portfolio holdings, including other investment positions, at the beginning of each business day. These portfolio holdings, including other investment positions, will be disclosed online at vanguard.com. ... Each Vanguard index fund, other than those Vanguard index funds relying on Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act (e.g., standalone ETFs), generally will seek to disclose the fund’s complete portfolio holdings as of the end of the most recent month online at vanguard.com, 15 calendar days after the end of the month.

Vanguard SAI supplement, July 19, 2024

Quite frankly, while the overall government's policy may affect the financial condition of the country, this notion that the President in office is responsible for everything that happens is a real stretch. As someone who appreciates logic, it's appalling to me to see its absence in the 'thoughts' of so many around me!

From the article,
"In years where stocks declined, eg the global financial crisis in 2008 or the bear market in 2022, the call options expired worthless but did provide investors with additional income that reduced the drawdowns*."
*(YBB Note) By tiny amounts. Basically, covered calls didn't provide downside protection unless some puts were bought using the covered call income.

I will do this on positions with large gains that I wish to protect (ideally a zero-cost 'collar'), such as large dividend payers. I don't do it very often, but it can work well in that scenario. But CCs alone are rarely worth doing unless it's on a stock that doesn't really move very much -- which also means the premium you might get for the call makes it more trouble than it's worth.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1437249/000158064224004810/mdp_497.htm
497 1 mdp_497.htm 497
MDP LOW VOLATILITY FUND
Class A Shares - MDPMX
Class I Shares – MDPLX
Supplement dated August 26, 2024 to Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information dated May 31, 2024
The Board of Trustees of Valued Advisers Trust (the “Board”) authorized an orderly liquidation of the MDP Low Volatility Fund (the “Fund”), a series of Valued Advisers Trust. The Board determined on August 23, 2024 that closing and liquidating the Fund was in the best interests of the Fund and the Fund’s shareholders.
The Fund’s investment adviser informed the Board of its view that it no longer is economically feasible to continue managing the Fund because of the Fund’s small size and the difficulty encountered in attracting assets.
The Fund is no longer accepting purchase orders for its shares, and it will close effective as of September 24, 2024 (“Closing Date”). Shareholders may redeem Fund shares at any time prior to this Closing Date. Procedures for redeeming your account, including reinvested distributions, are contained in the section “How to Redeem Shares” in the Fund’s Prospectus. Any shareholders that have not redeemed their shares of the Fund prior to the Closing Date will have their shares automatically redeemed as of that date, with proceeds being sent to the address of record. If your Fund shares were purchased through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary and are held in a brokerage or other investment account, redemption proceeds may be forwarded by the Fund directly to the broker-dealer or other financial intermediary for deposit into your brokerage or other investment account.
The Fund is no longer pursuing its investment objective. All holdings in the Fund’s portfolio are being liquidated, and the proceeds will be invested in money market instruments or held in cash. Shareholders may continue to reinvest dividends and distributions in the Fund or redeem their shares until the Closing Date. Any capital gains will be distributed as soon as practicable to shareholders and reinvested in additional Fund shares, unless you have requested payment in cash.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR RETIREMENT PLAN INVESTORS
If you are a retirement plan investor, you should consult your tax adviser regarding the consequences of a redemption of Fund shares. If you receive a distribution from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA, you must roll the proceeds into another IRA within 60 days of the date of the distribution to avoid having to include the distribution in your taxable income for the year. If you are the trustee of a qualified retirement plan or the custodian of a 403(b)(7) custodian account (tax-sheltered account) or a Keogh account, you may reinvest the proceeds in any way permitted by its governing instrument.
For additional information regarding the liquidation, shareholders of the Fund may call (833) 914-3344.
You should read this Supplement in conjunction with the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, each dated May 31, 2024, which provide information that you should know before investing in the Fund and should be retained for future reference. These documents are available upon request and without charge by calling the Fund at (833) 914-3344.
PLEASE RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

From the article,
"In years where stocks declined, eg the global financial crisis in 2008 or the bear market in 2022, the call options expired worthless but did provide investors with additional income that reduced the drawdowns*."
*(YBB Note) By tiny amounts. Basically, covered calls didn't provide downside protection unless some puts were bought using the covered call income.

These are two of the least expensive and most flexible VAs around. Fidelity charges 0.25% and 0.10% for over $1M in the VA. TIAA charges anywhere from 0.50% (under $100K) to 0.35% (up to $500K) and 0.25% (over $500K). But all those go down to 0.10% independent of value after ten years.
Fidelity tends to include the second cheapest share class of VA portfolios (think "retail") while TIAA tends to include the cheapest share class (think "institutional"). All in, the two have similar costs for the first ten years, then TIAA becomes much cheaper.
The real question, though, is how their underlying portfolios perform. I've looked up (via Financial Times search) all the portfolios open to new investors. Below is the table I built for myself (slightly edited for formatting here). Note: the M* ratings are for the portfolios themselves.
On the VAs' websites you'll find different ratings. That's because what you're seeing are there the ratings of the funds including the annuity fees. Since the annuity fees of both of these VAs are so low, those star ratings tend to be mostly 4s and 5s. The ratings of the funds themselves, included here, give a better picture of the funds' performance.
Since there are so many funds, I've split the table into two posts - broad equity in the first, sectors and fixed income in the second.

Fund					Class	ER	Ticker		M* 	Lipper	Annuity
Allocation Portfolios
Conservative Allocation
Fidelity VIP FundsManager 20		Inv.	0.55%	0P00003EYS	4	3/2/5/5	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP FundsManager 30		Inv.	0.57%	0P0001Q617	-	-	Fidelity
Moderately Conservative Allocation
Fidelity VIP FundsManager 40		Inv.	0.62%	0P0001Q618	-	-	Fidelity
Franklin Income VIP			Cl 1	0.46%	0P00003BNK	5	4/3/4/5	TIAA
Nuveen Life Funds Balanced			0.51%	TLBAX		5	4/4/4/5	TIAA
Vanguard VIF Conservative Alloc.		0.13%	0P0000TNLX	4	5/5/5/5	TIAA
Moderate Allocation
Fidelity VIP Asset Manager		Inv.	0.61%	0P00003ESQ	2	3/3/4/4	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP Balanced			Inv.	0.51%	0P00003ESS	5	5/5/2/5	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP FundsManager 50		Inv.	0.70%	0P00003EYT	3	4/3/4/4	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP FundsManager 60		Inv.	0.71%	0P00008YBH	3	2/2/3/4	Fidelity
Vanguard VIF Balanced Portfolio			0.21%	0P00003BRZ	4	5/5/3/5	TIAA
Vanguard VIF Moderate Alloc.			0.13%	0P0000TNLY	3	4/4/3/5	TIAA
Moderately Aggressive Allocation
Fidelity VIP Asset Manager: Growth	Inv.	0.72%	0P00003ESP	3	3/3/2/4	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP FundsManager 70		Inv.	0.74%	0P00003EYU	3	4/4/2/4	Fidelity
Aggressive Allocation
Fidelity VIP FundsManager 85		Inv.	0.78%	0P00003EYW	4	4/4/1/4	Fidelity
Target Date
Fidelity VIP Investor Freedom 2010		0.44%	0P00003ET2	3	x/x/5/x	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP Investor Freedom 2015		0.48%	0P00003ET4	4	x/x/5/x	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP Investor Freedom 2020		0.51%	0P00003ET3	5	4/4/4/4	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP Investor Freedom 2025		0.54%	0P00003ET5	5	5/5/3/4	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP Investor Freedom 2030		0.58%	0P00003ET6	5	5/5/2/4	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP Investor Freedom 2035		0.63%	0P0001OWHR	-	-	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP Investor Freedom 2040		0.68%	0P0001OWHT	-	-	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP Investor Freedom 2045		0.69%	0P0001OWHU	-	-	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP Investor Freedom 2050		0.69%	0P0001OWHV	-	-	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP Investor Freedom Inc.		0.40%	0P00003ET8	3	2/2/5/5	Fidelity
Tactical Allocation
Morgan Stanley VIF Global Strat.	Cl. I	0.90%	MIMPX		3	2/2/2/3	Fidelity
PIMCO VIT All Asset Portfolio		Inst.	2.04%	0P00003EXR	3	3/4/4/1	TIAA
Global Allocation
BlackRock Global Allocation VI 		Cl. 2	0.92%	0P00003E89	4	3/3/3/3	Fidelity
DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation	Inst.	0.28%	0P0000XY87	5	5/5/4/5	TIAA
US Equity Portfolios
Large Cap Blend					
ClearBridge Variable Growth Port.	Cl. I	0.85%	QLMGOX		1	1/2/2/3	TIAA
DFA Equity Allocation			Inst.	0.32%	0P00019RXP	2	5/5/4/5	TIAA
Fidelity VIP Growth & Income		Inv.	0.57%	0P00003ES4	4	5/5/5/4	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP Index 500			Init.	0.09%	0P00003BWH	4	5/5/5/5	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP Total Market Index		Init.	0.11%	FVIDX		3	4/4/4/5	Fidelity
Nuveen Life Core Equity Fund			0.52%	TLGWX		4	5/5/4/5	TIAA
Nuveen Life Large Cap Resp. Equity		0.22%	TLCHX		3	3/3/4/5	TIAA
Nuveen Life Stock Index Fund			0.08%	TLSTX		3	4/5/4/5	TIAA
Vanguard VIF Capital Growth Port.		0.34%	0P00003DVM	4	4/4/5/5	TIAA
Vanguard VIF Equity Index			0.14%	0P00003BS4	4	5/5/5/5	TIAA
Vanguard VIF Total Stock Mkt Index		0.13%	0P00003DVK	3	4/4/4/5	TIAA
Large Cap Growth
Fidelity VIP Contrafund			Inv.	0.64%	0P00003ESR	4	4/4/4/4	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP Dynamic Cap Apprec.	Inv.	0.70%	0P00003ESX	4	4/4/4/4	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP Growth			Inv.	0.65%	0P00003ES7	5	5/5/4/5	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP Growth Opportunities	Inv.	0.67%	0P00003ES3	4	5/5/1/5	Fidelity
Janus Henderson VIT Forty Port.		Inst.	0.55%	JACAX		3	3/4/3/5	TIAA
MFS VIT Mass. Inv. Growth Stock Port.	Init.	0.73%	0P00003CPY	3	3/3/4/4	TIAA
Nuveen Life Growth Equity Fund			0.52%	TLGQX		3	2/3/3/5	TIAA
PSF PGIM Jennison Blend Portfolio	Cl. II	0.86%	0P00003CBD	3	2/1/4/2	TIAA
Large Cap Value
DFA VA Large Value Portfolio		Inst.	0.21%	0P00003CUU	2	2/2/3/5	TIAA
Fidelity VIP Equity-Income		Inv.	0.55%	0P00003ESO	4	4/5/5/5	Fidelity
Franklin Mutual Shares VIP		Cl. 1	0.68%	0P00003CBB	1	1/1/4/4	TIAA
Nuveen Life Large Cap Value Fund		0.52%	TLLVX		4	4/4/4/5	TIAA
PSF PGIM Jennison Value Portfolio	Cl. II	0.82%	0P00003DP6	3	3/4/5/2	TIAA
PVC Equity Income Account		Cl. 1	0.49%	0P00003CN9	3	3/2/4/5	TIAA
Mid Cap Blend
Fidelity VIP Mid Cap			Inv.	0.65%	0P00003ESF	4	5/5/3/5	Fidelity
Vanguard VIF Mid-Cap Index			0.17%	0P00003C89	3	3/2/3/5	TIAA
Mid Cap Growth
Franklin Small-Mid Cap Growth VIP	Cl. 1	0.83%	0P00003DB4	3	2/3/1/4	TIAA
PVC MidCap Account			Cl. 1	0.55%	0P00003BO4	5	5/3/3/5	TIAA
Wanger Acorn					0.95%	WUSAX		2	1/1/1/3	TIAA
Mid Cap Value
Fidelity VIP Value			Inv.	0.68%	0P00003ESN	4	5/5/3/4	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP Value Strategies		Inv.	0.67%	0P00003ESM	4	5/5/2/4	Fidelity
Janus Henderson VIT Mid-Cap Value	Inst.	0.68%	JAMVX		3	3/2/4/5	TIAA
Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Port.		0.98%	FMVUX		4	4/4/3/1	TIAA
N-B AMT Mid Cap Intrinsic Value		Cl. I	1.02%	0P00003CPW	1	1/1/2/3	TIAA
Small Cap Blend
Fidelity VIP Disciplined  Small Cap 	Inv.	0.40%	0P00003EWG	3	5/5/2/5	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP Extended Market Index	Init.	0.12%	FVIJX		3	3/3/1/5	Fidelity
Nuveen Life Small Cap Equity Fund		0.53%	TLEQX		4	5/5/2/5	TIAA
Small Cap Growth
ClearBridge Variable Small Cap Gr	Cl. I	0.80%	QLMSIX		2	1/1/1/5	TIAA
Small Cap Value
DFA VA U.S. Targeted Value Port.	Inst.	0.29%	0P00003D0Y	4	5/5/1/5	TIAA
Macquarie VIP Small Cap Value Ser.	Std.	0.78%	0P00003C1W	3	3/2/1/4	TIAA
Royce Capital Fund - Sm Cap Port.	Inv.	1.15%	RCPFX		3	3/3/1/1	TIAA
International Equity
Diversified Emerging Markets						
Fidelity VIP Emerging Markets		Inv.	0.97%	0P0000A9FS	4	5/5/2/4	Fidelity
John Hancock Emerg Mkts Val Trust	NAV	1.03%	JHVTX		3	4/4/4/4	TIAA
Lazard Retir. Emerging Markets Port.	Inv.	1.15%	0P00005XR9	3	4/2/3/3	Fidelity
Morgan Stanley VIF Emerg. Mkts Eq.	Cl. I	1.25%	MEMEX		3	4/4/2/2	Fidelity
Templeton Developing Mkts VIP Fund	Cl. 1	1.10%	0P00003CRI	3	4/4/2/3	TIAA
Foreign Large Blend	
Fidelity VIP International Index	Init.	0.16%	FVIGX		3	3/4/4/5	Fidelity
Nuveen Life International Equity		0.60%	TLINX		3	4/3/3/4	TIAA
Vanguard VIF Total Intl Stk Mkt Indx		0.11%	0P0001ANO3	3	3/3/4/5	TIAA
Foreign Large Growth
Fidelity VIP International Cap Ap	Inv.	0.86%	0P00003ESC	5	5/5/3/3	Fidelity
Fidelity VIP Overseas			Inv.	0.81%	0P00003ESH	4	5/5/3/5	Fidelity
Vanguard VIF International Port.		0.33%	0P00003CRA	3	4/2/1/5	TIAA
Foreign Large Value
DFA VA International Value Port.	Inst.	0.27%	0P00003CY8	4	5/5/3/5	TIAA
Foreign Small/Mid Blend
DFA VA International Small Port.	Inst.	0.40%	0P00003CN3	4	x/x/2/x	TIAA
Foreign Small/Mid Growth
Wanger International				1.14%	WSCAX		2	x/x/1/x	TIAA
Foreign Small/Mid Value
Matson Money Int'l Equity VI Port.		1.14%	FMVIX		3	3/3/3/1	TIAA
Global Large Cap Blend
Invesco V.I. Global Core Equity		Ser. I	0.98%	0P00003CZL	2	2/2/3/2	Fidelity
MFS VIT Global Equities Series		Init.	0.92%	0P00003D4V	2	2/2/3/3	TIAA

Finominal (2017- ) is a UK-based fintech committed to independent and free financial information (don't they all start that way?).
https://finominal.com/AboutUs?country=US

...also interesting that no one has mentioned bitcoin...are we just a bunch of older dudes fighting the last war or are we going to open our minds and skate to where the puck is headed not where it is and has been?
Looking forward for this exercise, I am considering "continuity of fund managers", what are their ages and what is the bench strength and financial soundness of the fund company?

What is this "bitcoin" you speak of?
As regards fund managers, I keep looking at AQR funds. They stunk it up a few years back, and then changed out a bunch of their managers. Since then, they have been performing very well. Can they be trusted?
HMEZX - a super steady merger-arb fund, but the Fund Manager (Dondero) has a checkered past. Is there hidden risk there?

I noticed nobody has proposed for consideration a portfolio solely made up of ETFs...kind of surprising as there are many model portfolio's like that floating out there..."The Lazy Portfolio", the three ETF portfolio, etc...
Also find it interesting that some are looking at past results as a comparison...last 15 years relatively low inflation until recently...also tremendous fiscal and monetary stimulus. Who knows that the future holds...some of you might remember a few years ago when I mentioned high grade rubies, you can fit a million dollar of them in your sock and no one would know..also interesting that no one has mentioned bitcoin...are we just a bunch of older dudes fighting the last war or are we going to open our minds and skate to where the puck is headed not where it is and has been?
Looking forward for this exercise, I am considering "continuity of fund managers", what are their ages and what is the bench strength and financial soundness of the fund company? Maybe need some international exposure as what if dollar weakens substantially?
What other inputs are folks pondering that maybe haven't been discussed yet?

Just as we were extolling the services of credit unions, I received an email today informing me (see the quoted text below) that my information was compromised. I closed the account a couple of years ago and that was the last of the small financial institution relationship I had.
"What Information Was Involved?
The information in the accessed databases included first and last name with Social Security number, Driver’s License number, date of birth, and/or email address. Not every data element was present for every individual."
That is an extensive breach which makes me think their data segregation was not proper.
"[W]e contained the threat by proactively disabling all unauthorized access to our network, restoring all data, and immediately commencing a prompt and thorough investigation. We also notified law enforcement. As part of our investigation, we worked very closely with external cybersecurity professionals experienced in handling these types of incidents. The investigation revealed that an unauthorized party gained access to our network on May 23, 2024, leading to access to the databases on June 29, 2024. Following the investigation and a thorough review of the data involved, we confirmed on August 14, 2024, that the accessed databases contained your personal information."
Patelco does not say if they paid the attackers but they say they restored all the data. I think in most cases the Ransomware attackers delete the information accessed if they are paid. How can I find out if they paid the Ransomware attackers?
"What You Can Do
To help protect your information, we are offering a complimentary two-year membership of Experian IdentityWorksSM Credit 3B. This product helps detect possible misuse of your personal information and provides you with identity protection services focused on immediate identification and resolution of identity theft."
I already have credit frozen at all three credit unions (Experian calls it "security freeze"). Experian had said that they send you an alert every time someone tries to access your credit file. I recently opened a B0A account and evidently BoA checks your credit file but I have not received any alert.
Does anyone have experience with "Experian IdentityWorksSM Credit 3B"? Any negatives in signing up for this service?
Thanks.

Apologies @bee. Will stop screwing around. ”Preparing for Rate Cuts”
- Well, the conventional wisdom is to lengthen out maturity bit. If I wanted to put a lot of $$ into bonds I’d aim for around 3 years maturity. Farther out is a gamble if inflation reignites.
- Two short term ETFs: I use LSST for a short term bond fund. There are lower fee options if that’s critical to you. On my radar is TDTT which adds an inflation-protection component - also about 3 years maturity. Very low fees.
- For more conservative folks an ultra-short might get you a bit extra as rates fall. TBUX looks excellent in that category.
- I’d say keep your inflation hedges up. Lower rates may eventually push it higher.
- There’s an old expression: “Buy the rumor. Sell the news”. The presumption is that stocks will go even higher if the Fed cuts rates. Maybe yes. Maybe no.
- The financial world may look much different following the November election. Enjoy the fun for now. Hope it lasts a couple more months. But don’t get too giddy.

We still have a safe deposit box at another bank that we kept for transition to BoA. My desire to consolidate financial institution relationships down to two (or at best three) is not going so great.
I would be ashamed to work at an institution that has a customer satisfaction rating of 1.6 out 5. May be the new crop of American workers are all Buddhas!
Any way, part of my reason to post about BoA is to let the forum members know that however bad our brokerage experiences are, judging by banking experience, brokerages appear to be quite good. It seems there are worse companies in America for customer experience. Banking experience impacts wider society than us brokerage customers.

If anyone here has a self directed BMO brokerage account, please share your experience.
(My family has a small relationship on the banking side (walking distance to my home) and the BMO branch people are always very customer focused and the manager sits in the open for people to go talk to.)

BMO is the Bank of Montreal (I checked up on this awhile ago when I was considering BMO Alto for an online savings account):

The Bank of Montreal was founded in 1817, making it Canada’s oldest incorporated bank. ... Today, the various components of the Bank of Montreal are collectively known as BMO Financial Group.

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bank-of-montreal
While the bank has a US operation, even with a branch near you, its self-directed brokerage appears limited to Canadian residents:

Opening a BMO InvestorLine Self-Directed account is easy. Here’s what you’ll need:

• to be a Canadian resident (you live or have eligible ties to property, family or social services in Canada)
  
• a valid Social Insurance Number (SIN)
  
• to be at least the age of majority in your province or territory

Maybe it's that they don't charge transaction fees on mutual funds that caught your attention?
https://www.bmoinvestorline.com/selfDirected/pdfs/SDFeeSchedule_E.pdf
That's offset by their charging $9.95 (Cdn) for stock and ETF trades, except for 95 NTF Canadian ETFs.