Good article.
A large number of people have negative views regarding their financial status yet many people
still have "excess savings" from Covid stimulus checks, the economy is humming along,
the unemployment rate is very low, and inflation is declining.
Overall, folks just seem to be in a dour mood!
I can't wait until their outlook improves and they start shoveling the record $5.73 trillion
in MM funds into the stock market...

I had to go to Google to know what IRMAA is. I guess it means if you are subject to the adjustment, you are more well-off than most people. Appears the government dole is structured so the money goes to the ones who most need it. Hard to argue with that when Medicare is under so much financial pressure.

What is IRMAA?
The Medicare income-related monthly adjustment amount, or IRMAA, is a surcharge on Medicare premiums for Medicare Part B (medical insurance) and Part D prescription drug plans. It applies only to Medicare beneficiaries who have a modified adjusted gross income above $97,000 ($103,000 in 2024) for an individual return and $194,000 ($206,000 in 2024) for a joint return. If your earnings are below this threshold, IRMAA doesn't apply to you.

Hear

I had to go to Google to know what IRMAA is. I guess it means if you are subject to the adjustment, you are more well-off than most people. Appears the government dole is structured so the money goes to the ones who most need it. Hard to argue with that when Medicare is under so much financial pressure.

What is IRMAA?
The Medicare income-related monthly adjustment amount, or IRMAA, is a surcharge on Medicare premiums for Medicare Part B (medical insurance) and Part D prescription drug plans. It applies only to Medicare beneficiaries who have a modified adjusted gross income above $97,000 ($103,000 in 2024) for an individual return and $194,000 ($206,000 in 2024) for a joint return. If your earnings are below this threshold, IRMAA doesn't apply to you.

FUNDS. Another piece on high yearend CG distributions. (This piece by Lauren Foster seems to be based on a longer piece by @LewisBraham in the Guide to Wealth supplement, see below)
INCOME from EM dividend-stocks – CEMDX / CEMIX with holdings in Brazil, China, Greece, Mexico.
RETIREMENT. The good news is that Americans have $39 trillion in RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS. But the bad news is that only 54.3% have defined-contribution (DC) retirement accounts, 13% have traditional defined-benefit (DB) pensions, and accounting for overlaps, that leaves lots of Americans without ANY retirement funds beyond Social Security (1935- ). The average balance in DC accounts is only $86K. In the very old days, people worked until they died. Pensions were a creation of Industrial Revolution to make room for younger employees by luring older workers to “retire”, and the first retirement fund was by American Express in 1875. It didn’t catch on right away, and then the Great Depression came (1930s), and the SSA was created. Employees liked old pensions, but employers saw them as growing liabilities. According to the father of 401k, Ted BENNA, 401k was by accident from the short 869-word section (subtitled 401k) in the 1978 revenue Act that allowed pretax employer and employee contributions for retirements (unclear who slipped that in). Companies caught on to this quickly, and by 1983, there were already 7.1 million 401k accounts, now 60 million accounts. The great shift from old pensions to 401k/403b also started. But 401k/403b aren’t perfect, and while auto-signups and auto-escalations have helped, that hasn’t been enough (especially for lower-income and self-employed groups and small businesses). (By Kenneth Pringle who has authored some great historical pieces)
Supplement, GUIDE TO WEALTH.
Yearend tips for portfolios: Max 401k/403b, make IRA contributions and/or Roth conversions, payoff high-rate debt, deploy some tech profits into bonds, rebalance if far from targets, consider alternatives, keep cash in higher-rate money-market funds. Some stock and bond ideas are also included.
Several high 2023 yearend mutual fund distributions are mentioned: IYVAX, KLCKX, FMXKX, CREEX, DHSCX, JPDEX (tax-aware!), BTIIX (SP500!). Heavy outflows and/or manager change are reasons. The ETFs avoid this problem due to their tax-efficient design. There are also direct-indexed accounts that can do TLH; some of these accept mutual funds (in-kind) that they can slowly adjust with TLH. Mutual fund holders with huge CG distributions may also sell them ahead if their unrealized gains are not large. For individuals, excess TLH net losses beyond $3K/yr offset of ordinary income can be carried over to future years. Tax issues don’t matter in tax-deferred/free accounts. Charitably inclined may contribute highly appreciated securities to DAFs or directly to charities (but one has to itemize to claim charitable deductions). (By @LewisBraham at MFO)
Top yearend ideas from 5 financial pros:
Cheryl HOLLAND/Abacus: Family talks about finances around holidays.
Patrick FRUZZETI/Rose-Hightower: TLH, QCDs, CRTs from IRAs, DAFs.
Matthew SPRADLIN/Godfrey & Spradlin-Steward Partners: 529s – split w/spouse to max state tax benefits; use 5-yr forward for 5x annual contributions (but cannot contribute more for 5 years), individual 401k for proprietors.
Indrika ARNOLD/Colony Group: Gifting with purpose – it’s a good feeling when gift recipients benefit from gifts while you are around.
Mark MUMFORD/Hollow Brook: TLH, gifts.
LINK
Those interested may also check the International Roundtable in Part 1.

Previous discussions here have touched on the six Capital Group actively-managed ETFs, particularly CGGR, CGGO, and CGDV. As of late September, there are now fourteen, covering several asset classes. My reading of the presentation in the link below suggests that the target audience is financial advisors as opposed to individual investors. There’s a new global balanced fund, some FI, and what seems to me to be a fair amount of overlap in the equity lineup. I tried to discern the main difference between CGXU (old) and CGIE (new), funds which both fall in the international growth category. The latter might be less aggressive, as it limits ER exposure. The two dividend funds, CGDV (old) and CGDG (new) hardly differ, although the new one might be a little tamer. It’s nice to have choices among active ETFs, even if they add to proliferation. To compensate, American Funds might do something about all the ridiculous OEF share classes they sell.
https://www.capitalgroup.com/advisor/investments/exchange-traded-funds/resources/meet-the-suite.html

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/889284/000139834423020930/fp0086050-1_497.htm
497 1 fp0086050-1_497.htm
Filed pursuant to 497(e)
File Nos. 033-49098 and 811-06719
STERLING CAPITAL FUNDS
SUPPLEMENT DATED NOVEMBER 21, 2023
TO THE CLASS A, CLASS C, AND INSTITUTIONAL SHARES SUMMARY PROSPECTUS, THE CLASS A AND CLASS C SHARES PROSPECTUS, THE INSTITUTIONAL AND CLASS R6 SHARES PROSPECTUS, AND THE STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION,
EACH DATED FEBRUARY 1, 2023, AS SUPPLEMENTED
This Supplement provides the following amended and supplemental information and supersedes any information to the contrary in the Class A, Class C, and Institutional Shares Summary Prospectus, the Class A and Class C Shares Prospectus, the Institutional and Class R6 Shares Prospectus (collectively, the “Prospectuses”), and the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) each dated February 1, 2023, with respect to Sterling Capital SMID Opportunities Fund:
Sterling Capital SMID Opportunities Fund
The Board of Trustees of Sterling Capital Funds has given approval to a proposal by Sterling Capital Management LLC (“Sterling Capital”), the investment adviser to Sterling Capital SMID Opportunities Fund (the “Acquired Fund”), to effect the merger of the Acquired Fund into the Sterling Capital Mid Value Fund (“Acquiring Fund”) (the “Merger”) on or about January 26, 2023 (the “Merger Date”).
The Merger is expected to be a tax-free reorganization for federal income tax purposes. On the Merger Date, any investment in the Acquired Fund will, in effect, be exchanged for an investment with an equal aggregate net asset value in the Acquiring Fund. Therefore, as a result of the Merger, shareholders of the Acquired Fund will become shareholders of the Acquiring Fund. Acquired Fund shareholders will not pay any sales charges, purchase premiums, or redemption fees as a result of the Merger. Prior to the consummation of the Merger, the Acquired Fund expects to reposition certain of its portfolio holdings and expects that it will dispose of approximately 50% of its investments and invest the proceeds of such dispositions in securities currently held by the Acquiring Fund, or in other securities, cash and/or cash equivalents. Accordingly, the Acquired Fund may no longer be implementing its investment strategy in the time period leading up to the Merger. The Acquired Fund will incur transaction costs in connection with this repositioning, and the repositioning is expected to result in the recognition of net capital gains and the distribution of net capital gains to Acquired Fund shareholders. These distributions would be taxable to shareholders. You can find information about the Acquiring Fund and its investment policies and risks, including a prospectus, summary prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, online at sterlingcapital.com/investments/mutual-funds/. You can also get this information at no cost by emailing a request to [email protected], by calling 1-800-228-1872 or by asking your financial representative.
Acquired Fund shareholders will receive shares of the Acquiring Fund’s corresponding share class as part of the Merger. Each Fund’s Class C Shares are subject to a Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (CDSC) of 1.00% on such shares held for less than two years. Each Fund’s Class A Shares purchased in the amount of $1 million or more for which a front-end sales load waiver was received at the time of purchase also are subject to a CDSC of 1.00% on such shares held for less than two years. Class A Shares and Class C Shares received as a result of the Merger will continue to be subject to the CDSC schedule of the shares of the Acquired Fund you originally purchased.
Shareholder approval of the Merger is not required. At any time before the close of the Merger, you may redeem your shares as described in the Prospectuses. Such redemptions may be taxable transactions.
SHAREHOLDERS SHOULD RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT
WITH THE PROSPECTUSES AND STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.
-1-
STAT-SUP-1123

@Sven, see Q&A. Fido has all kinds of ETFs - nontransparent, semitransparent, transparent; also, passive, Active.
Q8: Will these ETFs be “non-transparent” or “semi-transparent”?
A: The ETFs will be fully transparent and disclose holdings on a daily basis.
Q9: Does Fidelity have any other transparent active equity ETFs?
A: Yes, Fidelity launched disruptive ETFs in June 2023 that are transparent active equity
ETFs: Fidelity® Disruptive Automation ETF (FBOT), Fidelity® Disruptive
Communications ETF (FDCF), Fidelity® Disruptive Finance ETF (FDFF), Fidelity®
Disruptive Medicine ETF (FMED), Fidelity® Disruptive Technology ETF (FDTX), and
Fidelity® Disruptors ETF (FDIF). Fidelity also offers 12 actively managed fully
transparent fixed income ETFs, as well as a number of passively managed fully
transparent ETFs that utilize third-party and proprietary indexes.
Q10: What other ETFs does Fidelity offer?
A: As part of its overall ETF offering, the 64 Fidelity ETFs this month will include twentyone actively managed equity ETFs, twelve fixed income ETFs, thirteen equity factor
ETFs, six passive thematic ETFs, eleven passive equity sector ETFs, and Fidelity ONEQ.
As a leading provider of ETFs, Fidelity’s platform offers individual investors and
advisors access to more than 2,500 ETFs, available for online purchase commission-free,
with more than $930 billion in ETF client assets as of October 31, 2023. As part of
Fidelity's commitment to financial education, the company offers educational resources
to help investors review ETF investing ideas, decide which types of ETFs may fit their
investing needs, or browse ETFs with Fidelity’s screener:
https://www.fidelity.com/etfs/investing-in-etfs.

With apologies to the Shadow if this has already been posted:
Q1: I understand that Fidelity is launching six new enhanced ETFs. What can you tell me?
A: That’s correct, Fidelity Enhanced Large Cap Core ETF (FELC), Fidelity Enhanced Large Cap Growth ETF (FELG), Fidelity Enhanced Large Cap Value ETF (FELV), Fidelity Enhanced Mid Cap ETF (FMDE), Fidelity Enhanced Small Cap ETF (FESM), and Fidelity Enhanced International ETF (FENI) will be available commission-free for individual investors and financial advisors through Fidelity’s online brokerage platforms on November 20, 2023.
The new enhanced ETFs, which were initially launched as mutual funds in 2007, are the culmination of Fidelity’s June 2023 announcement regarding the plan to convert the fund suite into ETFs.
Fidelity Statement

@WABAC: the “wide-moat” approach taken by the Van Eck MOAT considers other factors besides the existence of a narrow or a wide moat. In addition to deciding if a firm has a moat, M* establishes a fair value for the stock, expressed in stars 1 to 5, and tries to determine how far above or below that value the stock is trading. From my understanding, the fund selects 4 and 5-star for inclusion in the fund, runs some sort of screen to determine the financial strength of the company, and then, quarterly, reviews 40 of the 80 fund holdings for continued inclusion or for exclusion. A stock might be dropped for “valuation” meaning it rose enough in price to no longer be an attractive holding or it could be dropped if some material change took place. It’s also possible that more attractive candidates replace existing holdings. When MOAT came to market it had but 40 stocks, all up for review quarterly, and at one point the fund became massively overweight energy due to the PMs slavishly following the original rules. Performance suffered badly. Doubling the size of the fund and rebalancing only half of the portfolio quarterly seems to have fixed those early glitches. So, a company may have a wide moat, but it won’t become part of the fund unless it’s a “good” buy. I like my long-term mileage.

Definitely need to look at the financial strength of the insurance company you go with....what is also whacked is that the insurance business is something like your cable company...the newer customers get the best deals (or so it seems?) You'd have to be naive that someone like me who has been with State Farm for over 46 years..you think they don't have algo's that know exactly how much they can raise me every year and I won't shop them/leave? They tell me I am grandfathered in with my type of coverage and wouldn't get the same policy if I started new with them today. Also as I own 3 homes in different states and 4 automobiles with a rather large umbrella policy, I do like that they have national representation/coverage. Always, always great service with State Farm.
What I don't like is all the monies being spent on the sport ballers/commercials.
What I do recommend, go to a high end body shop and ask the owner of what insurance company provides the best service, doesn't always push for offshore crap part replacement, pays right away etc, sometimes lowest price is not best value. The body shop in my major metro area that works on all the Ferrari's Porsche's etc..told me the best insurance companies were State Farm, Chubb and Amica. Chubb is for ballers/very high worth folks, not for the common folk...
BTW, even more off topic...the guys who work there get to drive all the high end cars...best all time next level I am told is a 2005 Ford GT...blows everything else out of the water...
My wife's ex boss who retired as a very high level executive for a Fortune 500 company always shopped for insurance every year and went with the top rated/lowest quotes every year...he prolly saved a bunch of money doing that...insurance companies must know that human nature has inertia built into it and take advantage.
I do think I'm going to get a quote from Erie just out of curiousity...
Best Regards,
Baseball Fan

Nov 18th Episode...Part two:

Don't get me started on car insurance. I've been told that the majority of the cost is liability and that bumping up the collision deductible really doesn't save y'all that much monies. I then ask so okay, liability. I have four automobiles and only two drivers why can't the liability stay with the driver and not the car? This is another scam industry like visa and MasterCard loaning out monies at 20% plus and a realtor charging a percentage of the value of the home...or a financial advisor charging a percentage of assets. Is it really any different selling a $575k or $875k home.. no. Is it really that different investing $6million or $9million? No. I see these types of service industries getting clobbered going forward....

Most of my daily financial news & opinion (but certainly not all) comes through Bloomberg. I’m a subscriber, and so read their assortment of daily stories and usually watch / listen to broadcasts throughout the day. I mention that only by way of disclosure.
From their daily parade of guests (some quite knowledgeable), I get the impression risk / reward re fixed income vs. equities is about evenly balanced presently. Maybe even tilted towards fixed income (including HY). So I don’t think it’s “too late” to go into fixed if you are debating between the two choices. I’d recommend a well managed widely diversified fixed income fund (like RPSIX, JPIB or BINC) rather than taking a fling at any one particular duration or type of bond.
On the other hand, I’d guess @Derf’s question relates more to cash vs. longer term bonds. On that subject I have no insights or opinion to offer. Guess if I were concerned about it that much, cash would be the safer choice. Added gain always entails added risk.

Partial TIAA outage continues. A poster at M* received this email from TIAA today:
"Important Information about a Vendor Cybersecurity Event
Dear Policyholder,
We want to make you aware of potential delays you may experience with the servicing of your life insurance policy. Due to a cybersecurity event that has occurred with our administrative vendor, all service requests and transactions are delayed. We are working with the vendor to resolve this issue as quickly as possible and resume operations.
This event has resulted in the temporary suspension of the ability to process contract transactions, including but not limited to, the application of premium payments, investment allocation changes, cash withdrawals, systematic withdrawals, loan processing, beneficiary changes, death claim payments, dollar cost averaging, and rebalancing. The event has also affected online services, which are unavailable. We are unable to receive any requests submitted online until services have resumed.
If you are able to demonstrate a financial hardship as a result of a delayed disbursement to you, please contact us at the phone number shown below to discuss your options.
We are diligently working with the affected vendor to mitigate the impact to you until the outage is resolved. At this time, we are unable to provide to you an estimated timeline for resolution."

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/809593/000113322823006031/abfeacfrif-html6974_497.htm
497 1 abfeacfrif-html6974_497.htm AMERICAN BEACON FEAC FLOATING RATE INCOME FUND - 497
American Beacon FEAC Floating Rate Income Fund
Supplement dated November 15, 2023 to the
Prospectus, Summary Prospectus, and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”)
each dated December 29, 2022, as previously amended or supplemented
The Board of Trustees of American Beacon Funds has approved (i) the automatic conversion of the SP Class shares of the American Beacon FEAC Floating Rate Income Fund (the “Fund”) into A Class shares, and (ii) the termination of the SP Class shares of the Fund, effective as of the close of business on December 29, 2023 (the “Conversion Date"), based upon the recommendation of American Beacon Advisors, Inc., the Fund’s investment manager. Effective immediately, the Fund will no longer accept purchases of SP Class shares.
No action is needed on your part. Each SP Class shareholder will receive A Class shares in an amount equal to the value of the shareholder’s SP Class shares as of the Conversion Date. Please be advised that the net annual fund operating expenses of the A Class shares will be the same as the net annual fund operating expenses of the SP Class shares as of the Conversion Date. No sales loads, commissions or other transactional fees will be imposed on shareholders in connection with the automatic conversion of their shares. Prior to the Conversion Date, shareholders of SP Class shares may redeem their investments as described in the Fund’s Prospectus. No sales charges, redemption fees or termination fees will be imposed in connection with such redemptions. In general, redemptions are taxable events for shareholders. For federal income tax purposes, the conversion of shares of one share class of the Fund to shares of a different share class of the Fund is not expected to result in the realization of a capital gain or loss. You should consult your tax adviser to discuss the conversion and determine its tax consequences.
For more information, please contact us at 1-800-658-5811, Option 1. If you purchased shares of the Fund through your financial intermediary, please contact your broker-dealer or other financial intermediary for further details.
***********************************************************
PLEASE RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

@BaluBalu, from its SAI, QLTY looks transparent.
"The Fund’s entire portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day the Fund is open for business through financial reporting and news services including publicly available internet websites. In addition, the composition of the in-kind creation basket and the in-kind redemption basket is publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the Exchange via the NSCC."

Thanks for that @BaluBalu. Sorry it didn’t work. The FT (to which I subscribe) indicated it would be acceptable (and workable) to share this story.
Below, I have summarized most (but not all) of the article’s key points. And, I’ve quoted near the end, one especially telling sentence.
- Berkshire Hathaway cut positions in a number of blue-chip US companies in the third quarter.
- Buffett used the proceeds to boost cash.
- The company sold its remaining position in General Motors during the quarter.
- It closed out a small investment in UPS.
- It kept HP but reduced the holding by 15 percent.
- It sold off (completely) small positions in Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble,
- It reduced holdings in Amazon, Mondelez International, Markel and Globe Life (the last two both insurers).
- The Financial Times estimates that over the past year, Berkshire has divested itself of $40bn in public equity shares.
- The paper asserts (without direct substantiation) that Buffett found “5%” T-Bills more attractive.
- The paper puts Berkshire's cash position at $157bn at the end of September (a record high).
Here’s one interesting sentence quoted directly from the referenced FT Article:
“As part of its disclosure, Berkshire noted it had omitted at least one holding from the closely followed report, writing that it had requested confidential treatment from the Securities and Exchange Commission.”
The article asserts that these types of secrecy arrangements are used occasionally by Buffett to mask especially large purchases. I’d assume that’s to prevent front running or other “unsavory” attempts by investors to profit indirectly from Buffett’s trades (although the article did not so state).
Referenced Article: ”Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway cashes in on blue-chip US stocks”
Published in The Financial Times, November 14, 2023 / Byline: Eric Platt

I'm an analyst for one of the world's financial services firms (hundreds of $billions in AUA). Not sharing the name though.

TCIFX is the "Wellesley" version with 30-50% stocks, 50-70% fixed-income. Ticker TCIFX is not recognized by MFO, M*, Yahoo Finance, but Bloomberg shows it as pending. https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/TCIFX:US#xj4y7vzkg
The SAME 2 managers (Giroux, Shuggi) are listed now as in 2017. So, the excuse of some "...internal job transition involving the fund's then co-portfolio manager" may only hint that Giroux "demanded" a better role for him, and "got it" through the creation of is separate unit within Rowe Price "for him". Giroux is now a big shot at Rowe Price (CIO, unit head, portfolio manager). Now, he can play ball again - TCAF, TCIFX, etc.
https://www.troweprice.com/financial-intermediary/us/en/search.html/biokey/3616ee1e-20a0-48e6-840b-748b73b32d6c
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_R._Giroux

Can't wait to figure out which tail is wagging which dog here and what the systemic risks might look like.....
CDOs for cyber, anyone?
Cyber ‘Catastrophe Bonds’ Move Step Closer to Hitting Public Debt Markets

By Gautam Naik
November 12, 2023 at 8:30 AM ESTCyber catastrophe bonds may be about to move out of the shadows of private deal-making and into the public debt markets.
So-called cat bonds, which farm out hard-to-insure risks to capital market investors in exchange for double-digit returns, have typically been built around natural disasters such as hurricanes. But as the potential fallout of business-halting cyberattacks becomes too big to insure, issuers are seizing the moment. Beazley Plc, which owns specialist insurers across Europe and the US, is exploring a potential $100 million cyber cat bond, according to Artemis, a research firm specializing in insurance-linked securities. And Axis Capital is preparing to issue a $75 million cyber catastrophe bond, according to a preliminary offer document seen by Bloomberg. Spokespeople for Axis Capital and Beazley declined to comment on the deals. The wider market for cat bonds is likely to reach a record $40 billion this year. A lot of that growth has been fueled by the impact of climate change, as extreme weather shocks threaten to make insurers’ business models untenable. For that reason, some of the most active players in the cat bond market are reinsurers such as Swiss Re AG and Munich Re AG. Investors have been drawn to returns that trounce those of US Treasuries. This year, the Swiss Re Global Cat Bond Performance Index is up 18%, while the Bloomberg US Treasury Index has dropped about 1%. Issuers of cyber cat bonds want to protect themselves from financial losses that can follow a major cyberattack, including lost revenue, legal fees and regulatory fines. Read More: ICBC Hit by Cyberattack, Tells Clients to Reroute Trades
Insurance-linked securities “offer corporate boards and business owners a degree of comfort over their balance sheet resilience in the event of a larger cyber event,” according to a recent report co-authored by Kathleen Faries, chief executive officer of Artex Capital Solutions.
But with limited historical data to analyze, as well as increasingly sophisticated forms of cyber crime, investors face unusually high levels of risk....
< - snip - >
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-12/cyber-catastrophe-bonds-move-step-closer-to-hitting-public-debt-markets?srnd=premium