when this article came out, someone brought it up in a investing facebook group i'm a part of. the person was like why not just invest in a group of these! a few months ago in the same group someone queried if they had. they had and they basically were like I chose 10 of them and only like 3 of them actually did any good. after a 5 year stint they punted recently. considering the alternative offered was to just invest in the market, i quickly uploaded the article to a AI Agent I made and asked how many of these funds have outperformed the market since the date of that article. it said 1 no longer exists and 9 of the 25 have outperformed. obviously that says nothing in regards to their place in their category (which is the more appropriate measurement) and also its been 5 years, but I thought that was interesting.
I've had a subscription to kiplingers for 22 years. My FIL renews it for me. It is super light reading but is a nice quick glance while on the throne. I don't take much of it seriously, in 2004 they released their Kiplinger 25. their top 25 mutual funds. they update it from time to time. only 1 bond fund still is in the list from 2004. none of the other 24 survived. most funds don't even last 5 years on the list. how useful is that list really to a buy and hold investor?

hank: What many today overlook, I think, is the compounding effect of inflation. So after 5 years of 7.5% annual inflation things aren’t 7.5% higher. They’re closer to 40% higher than they were at the start of the period.

FD: I can't find 40% in the last 5 years, but I see 25-26%.
From 01/2020 to 01/2024 = Biden 4 years. I see about a 23% CPI increase. The fastest 4 years since 1990.
See the CPI at
https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/consumer-price-index-cpi
=========================
Since 01/2025, we have seen hundreds of predictions, mainly by (dem) economists, about inflation, stagflation, recession, depression, and other horrific stuff within 6-12 months.
This means 01/2026.
Can you take these seriously? I don't.
Don't worry, I will be around in 01/2026 to report about it.

I was just starting out in a career in secondary education. My second year into it (1970) I landed a great job in a rapidly growing Detroit suburban system. Being on the second salary tier (based on experience) I earned whopping $7,200 for a year’s work, which seemed like an enormous sum of money then. The most memorable aspect of inflation was walking into grocery stores on the way home from work during the 70s and seeing one or two workers in every aisle marking up the individual prices on products - from jars of pickles to bars or soap. Everything was jumping in price from week to week. It was a full-time job, and back before bar code scanners were in use. The checkout clerk needed to punch in the actual product price after looking at an item. How “lame” that seems today!
What many today overlook, I think, is the compounding effect of inflation. So after 5 years of 7.5% annual inflation things aren’t 7.5% higher. They’re closer to 40% higher than they were at the start of the period.

Yes. The term Stagflation gets tossed around indiscriminately today. While 3-6% inflation (depending who you listen to or believe) is nothing to sneeze at, it is nothing like the double-digit inflation of the late 70s. And there was slow growth in addition. In the 3 years from ‘78 thru ‘80 annual inflation was running between 9 and 13.3%. And in the 4th year (‘81) it was still elevated at 8.9%. Volker did a “job” and inflation was curbed at the expense of a severe recession.
Source

@yogibearbull, thanks for your insights on inflation protected bonds. I have a couple questions or comments. My bond ladder currently consists of Treasuries, Agency, and investment grade bonds. My objective is to simplify and not buy any more individual securities.
Vanguard short-term inflation protected bond fund (VTAPX) has 20% of its bonds with maturities of 0-1 year. It follows an indexing strategy of buying bonds each quarter so that some mature each quarter. While I did not find any mention in the literature of holding until maturity, I presume that a bond that matures this quarter is held until maturity.
https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/mutual-funds/profile/vtabx#portfolio-composition
Regardless, short-term inflation protected bonds have performed much better than short-term Treasuries over the past five years.
https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/2025/07/protecting-against-tariff-induced-inflation/
The BlackRock iShares iBonds ETFs buy inflation protected bonds to replicate a rung on a bond ladder so individual inflation protected bonds mature at a specific date and the investment is returned at a specific date. For example, iShares iBonds Oct 2030 Term Tips ETF (IBIG) holds three inflation protected bonds with maturities between January and July 2030 and the fund is terminated in October 2030. For me, the simplicity outweighs disadvantages.
https://www.ishares.com/us/products/333128/ishares-ibonds-oct-2030-term-tips-etf/
Regards

During the past 45 years, Congressional Republicans were fiscally conservative
only when Democrats controlled the executive branch.
Oh, how they wailed obsessingly about fiscal rectitude!

I'm "impressed."
Many said similar stuff about Trump first term and the economy was pretty good for years until covid.
Who can forget Nobel Prize Krugman "great" forecast in 2016.
https://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/krugman-trump-global-recession-2016-231055

This clip is especially noteworthy with the designated talking heads out in public with knives out for the CBO. The contention that the Damnable Ugly Bill won't raise the debt is total insanity; who could really believe that crap?

Because the Trump administration and House Republicans have savaged the C.B.O.’s analysis, it is worth adding that Phillip Swagel, who heads the office, is a Republican reappointed at the behest of House Republicans just two years ago. At the time, they praised his “objectivity and integrity.” The C.B.O.’s analysis closely resembles independent assessments by the Penn Wharton Budget Model, the Yale Budget Lab and the Tax Foundation.

Not too surprising. VEIRIX has been whupping VYM for years.
Mistook a bond fund for an equity fund. I was under the weather that day.

CGDV has whupped the S&P 500 since its creation. It's a classic growth and income fund.
If you were strictly interested in the dividends, and your only North Star is the 500, it would have been advisable to have gotten into them around five years ago, and then held on. I'm looking at funds like ONEY, RDIV, FDVV that are beating the return of SPY over the past five years no matter what has happened to them recently. There are probably others.
On my watch list I have to go back ten years to find SPY in the top fifteen funds. Most of the funds ahead of it back in the days of ZIRP were growth funds. And then there was the predecessor to BBLU. I think it still tends to beat SPY, depending on when you bought it.
Then COVID hit. And over the last five years I see SPY down to around #37. Over three years it climbs back up to #24. Over 12 months, returns were back down to 44 despite the fact it was "setting a record." YTD? Ringing in at #50, and another "record."
If one were paying attention to the actual return, one might get the impression that for the 500, things have changed.

"If dividend stocks are so great, why did Jack Bogle—after years of research—create the S&P 500 index, not a dividend index? Most, if not all S&P 500 indexes pay dividends.
"Why did Warren Buffett endorse the S&P 500 (SPY) for most investors", see above. He's also stated on numerous occasions how he loves collecting dividends from his holdings, just doesn't believe in paying any.
"And finally, why are so many trying to sell you dividend strategies, while almost no one pushes the simple, boring, and proven SPY?
It says a lot." Yes, it says that not everyone thinks and/or invests like you say you do. Get over it.

Your usual off mark.
It's not about me it's about the data.
I didn't invent it, the guys I mentioned did it for a good reason.
This is not the off topic thread.
This is about investing. If you can educate US, do it with research.
Please get control of your anger.

I will presume that companies in the Medicaid marketplace have been 'running the numbers' regarding impacts from HR-1 and funding cuts included in the legislation.
My search is somewhat related to Michigan, but would apply to other states.
NOTE: HR 1, also known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," has significant provisions related to Medicaid dollar cuts. The Senate recently passed an amended version of HR 1 that, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), would cut gross federal Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) spending by $1.02 trillion over the next ten years. This represents cuts that are even larger than those proposed in the House-passed version of the bill.

--- July 2, closing; Medicaid affected companies
EDIT: RGC in the list is an outlier to the domestic list. It is a Chinese herbal company being gamed by the day traders.
Apologies. I should have checked the unfamiliar name.
CNC Centene Corp, -40.4%
RGC Regencell Bioscience Holdings Ltd, -29.04%
MOH Molina Healthcare Inc, -21.96%
OSCR Oscar Health Inc, -18.69%
ELV Elevance Health Inc, -11.50%

--- Several major insurance companies offer Medicaid plans, with five large, publicly traded companies dominating the market. These include Centene, Elevance (formerly Anthem), UnitedHealth Group, Molina, and CVS Health. In Michigan, Priority Health is a prominent provider of Medicaid plans, including MIChild, Healthy Michigan Plan, and Children's Special Health Care Services.
Here's a more detailed look:
Dominant Players:
Centene, Elevance, UnitedHealth, Molina, and CVS Health manage a significant portion of Medicaid enrollees nationally. These companies operate Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) in many states.
Michigan Medicaid:
Priority Health is a major player in Michigan, offering Medicaid, MIChild, Healthy Michigan Plan, and Children's Special Health Care Services.
Other Michigan Plans:
Other options in Michigan include Aetna Better Health, UPMC for You, and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan.
NCQA Ratings:
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) provides ratings for Medicaid health plans. Some Michigan plans with high ratings include Upper Peninsula Health Plan, Meridian Health Plan of Michigan, Priority Health, and Blue Cross Complete of Michigan.
Managed Care:
Many states use managed care to deliver Medicaid benefits, with comprehensive risk-based managed care being a common approach, according to Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC).

TCAF vs SPY will be a fascinating battle to watch play out over time. Need more time = 5 years.
TCAF 15.74% avg annual return vs 16.56% SPY from inception 6/14/2023 thru March 31.
TCAF higher ER which compounds over time. Other metrics in the same ballpark thus far.

"If dividend stocks are so great, why did Jack Bogle—after years of research—create the S&P 500 index, not a dividend index? Most, if not all S&P 500 indexes pay dividends.
"Why did Warren Buffett endorse the S&P 500 (SPY) for most investors", see above. He's also stated on numerous occasions how he loves collecting dividends from his holdings, just doesn't believe in paying any.
"And finally, why are so many trying to sell you dividend strategies, while almost no one pushes the simple, boring, and proven SPY?
It says a lot." Yes, it says that not everyone thinks and/or invests like you say you do. Get over it.

This debate of divvies vs the SP500 is decades old.
Until the 1970s, many profitable companies paid dividends—it was the standard.
But then came the tech revolution. It started in the '70s, gained momentum in the '80s, and exploded in the decades that followed.
That shift proved something important: dividends are an outdated concept.
Tech companies showed that instead of paying out cash, they could reinvest in R&D, acquire smaller companies, and execute massive stock buybacks—delivering far more value through total return.
Today, total return is the only game in town.
Yes, some dividend-paying companies still perform well, but dividend stocks with low performance are useless—you’re just collecting crumbs while losing real value.
I always wonder:
If dividend stocks are so great, why did Jack Bogle—after years of research—create the S&P 500 index, not a dividend index?
Why did Warren Buffett endorse the S&P 500 (SPY) for most investors, not a handpicked list of dividend payers?
Why do top managers worldwide hold a diversified mix, not just dividend stocks?
And finally, why are so many trying to sell you dividend strategies, while almost no one pushes the simple, boring, and proven SPY?
It says a lot.

In 2000, Bobby Bonilla (NY Mets/MLB) put in $5.9 million in a deferred-income contract with the following terms:
Lump-sum $5.9 million.
Defer/hold for 10 years at 8%. The balance in 2010, $13.7 million.
Uniform payout over 25 years (2011-35) at 8% assumed rate. Annual payout $1.2 million/yr on July 1 (Bonilla Day).
TIAA Video (4:49) https://players.brightcove.net/958462654001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6374946029112

"One of the original studies on dividends in the early 1960s said people shouldn’t care.
Maximizing wealth is the point, and dividends are just part of investors’ total return.
Any cash a company pays out reduces its value by an equal amount."
"Data from the past 50 years compiled by Ned Davis Research shows the annualized return of dividend payers
in the S&P 500 was 9.2% compared with only 4.3% for non-payers, and with less choppiness too."
"Dividend payers would have left you with 10 times as much wealth before taxes.
Meanwhile, owning an equal amount of every stock in the S&P 500, including payers and non-payers,
returned just 7.65%."
May be paywalled.
https://marketsam.cmail20.com/t/d-e-skuuhut-dhkydlthlk-r/

I don't usually post comments regarding The Week in Charts.
Since the first half of the year has been "crazy", I'll make an exception today.
What will the second half of the year bring for investors?
Fourth worst S&P 500 performance through first 66 trading days (-15.3%) of 2025.
Followed by tenth biggest 12-week S&P 500 total return (22.0%) from 1989-2025.
Biggest 12-week $VIX decline (-64.0%) from 1990-2025.
Frankly, I wasn't expecting this type of market behavior!
Why is the market pricing in three Fed rate cuts in 2025?
1) Stocks: all-time highs
2) Home Prices: all-time highs
3) Bitcoin: all-time highs
4) Money Supply: all-time highs
5) National Debt: all-time highs
6) CPI: averaging 4% per year since 2020—double the Fed's "target"
We'll get the non-farm payroll report this week but this isn't the jobs indicator to watch (subject to massive revisions). Better jobs indicator is 4-Week Moving Average of Continued Claims for Unemployment Insurance.
Existing single family home inventory is at the highest level since June 2020.
New single family homes for sale are at their highest levels since November 2007.
Sellers outnumber buyers by nearly 500,000.
Perhaps this is an inflection point which will lead to a lower pace of home price appreciation?
Of course, affordability is still a major problem.
Home price inflation has far outpaced wage increases for many years.

FD1000,
I didn't realize you were an auto racing enthusiast.
I'm curious why the Yugo was your platform of choice.
These cars were slow and often criticized for poor safety and reliability.
Did you swap the engine and modify the suspension?
Perhaps an LSx V8 similar to the one referenced in the article below?
https://www.thedrive.com/news/18974/this-unassuming-yugo-has-an-lsx-v-8

Never in my life have I owned a Yugo. I owned Japanese Hondas and Toyotas for decades but recently changed to Korean.
Mona is one of these posters that can't accept my portfolio risk/reward success. It's all water under the bridge. All their grim forecasts turned out to be pretty wrong. Look who's laughing last.
Thanks for asking. :-)
====================
The chances I will ever buy an American or European vehicle are slim. If the Koreans would not be reliable because I have owned vehicles for 10 years, I would buy only Toyotas.
Last week I changed my insurance and saved over 20% on (Home+Umbrella+Autos). This time I used a local independent broker with hundreds of 5-star ratings from Google, and he did it in 10 minutes.
Replacing auto parts has been expensive for many years already.
Inflation is a great excuse for many companies, including insurance companies, to raise prices even more.