Thanks for the explanation, daniel. I do hope that any "financial helpers" who received any compensation for distributing this "investment" are pursued, convicted and held responsible for the financial losses of victims. And where is the financial press, commercial broadcasting industry, the SEC and state securities regulators?? Transparency just might keep others from falling for future frauds.

Come on, @Crash- nobody does anything for nothing in the financial world. Nothing new here... it's a given. Of course friction fees/expenses/charges are built in somehow. Would you perform a service for a financial institution on an ongoing basis for free? I very much doubt it.
Look at Amazon for a minute- "Free Delivery" for Prime members, right?
Let's see now- Amazon bought a huge fleet of Mercedes delivery vans, and pays a huge number of drivers to make those deliveries. But Amazon really likes their customers, so they absorb all of that cost so that they can give you FREE delivery. Right?
Sure thing. We all know that those costs are built into Amazon's pricing. It's the way the world works. So why the continual whining about that, as if it's some sort of surprise?

...as if it's some sort of surprise: then don't tell me it's "free."

Come on, @Crash- nobody does anything for nothing in the financial world. Nothing new here... it's a given. Of course friction fees/expenses/charges are built in somehow. Would you perform a service for a financial institution on an ongoing basis for free? I very much doubt it.
Look at Amazon for a minute- "Free Delivery" for Prime members, right?
Let's see now- Amazon bought a huge fleet of Mercedes delivery vans, and pays a huge number of drivers to make those deliveries. But Amazon really likes their customers, so they absorb all of that cost so that they can give you FREE delivery. Right?
Sure thing. We all know that those costs are built into Amazon's pricing. It's the way the world works. So why the continual whining about that, as if it's some sort of surprise?

Hi@Derf et al
A bond plan: Ah, yes. When rates begin to subside. So, I/we have to think we know and can witness as a meaningful shift and one that has legs, that will travel for more than 3 months. A tough task, yes?
The "immaculate" bond plan is: Maintain our cash in FZDXX MM at 3% and then attempt to catch a wave with investment grade bonds; buying at enough of a depressed price to make the money on the price ride upward. A purchase would likely be a dollar cost average, barring some type of special financial event. At this point, the bond purchase would be AGG, bond etf.
I feel the CD plans discussed have full merit and are a good plan, too. If I traveled that path, I would keep 6 month and/or 1 year laddered combo. I am not convinced the FED can keep pushing rates for more than 1 more year without causing too much economic damage, high inflation or not; which for the most part they can not control, due to conditions beyond their control (being political, war and climate). If rates continue to climb, we'll have a continued higher yield with FDZXX MM.
As to the below. I watch several different bond types for movements related to yields. These 2 below have traders involved, for the most part, versus the average retail investor. They have distinct price actions that I've followed for several years. I'll be watching these 2 for clues, too.
And, as important; is that I am able to dedicate time to research and view Bloomberg. Yes, one can learn from tv programs.
The first two TBT and TMF are M* links, if you want to look. They will link to "quote", but you may select any of the other tabs for other data. The third is the relationship, of the two, to interest rate changes.
TBT Ultra Short 20 + YearTreasury
TMF Bull 3X 20+ Year Treasury
TBT vs TMF chart Starting Jan. 2020 to date.
Sleep time here,
Catch

From sources other than the above link it appears that his general financial approach is generally similar to the one recently introduced by Jeremy Hunt, which replaced the disastrous Liz Truss version.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/hong-kong-stocks-suffer-worst-single-day-rout-since-2008-as-xi-consolidates-power-11666596592
Hong Kong stocks suffered their worst single session since the 2008 financial crisis after Chinese leader Xi over powered to maintain control
Anyone buying china etf Yinn or FXI

10/22 Episode:

Clements will give us his perspective on the much-changed financial climate we find ourselves in and offer portfolio and financial planning adjustments for rising interest rates and inflation.

Sven nailed it...Financials. Oakmark, as a firm, typically has a higher allocation to Financial Stocks in most of it's funds. That hasn't been the best sector over the past decade and can be impacted by rising interest rates. Also, OAKIX is overweight Cons Cyclicals buy 17% realtive the index.
As far as the GOLD rating...M* has a unique criteria and I'm not using that to make investment choices. They love Oakmark, most of us found better performing, lower cost alternatives to OAKIX!

Oct. 21, '22:
https://wealthtrack.com/portfolio-financial-planning-adjustments-for-rising-interest-rates-inflation/

Hi all on this page, I have already posted this to the Private TBO victims board, but wanted to post it here in the public as well. If anyone has any thoughts or can help us?
Hi All, below is the research that my husband has done on the APPF (Authorized Push Payment Fraud). In the UK they have laws and basically automatically reimburse victims like us in situations like this. The US is behind. But there is hope. Here is his research:
Making the Case the Fraudster's Banks are Guilty of Negligence and Ought to Reimburse the Fraud Losses
The argument in short is the banks should have prevented the fraudster from opening accounts with the banks to stole our money. Moreover, the banks should have carefully monitored the accounts for suspicious activity, preventing the fraudster from stealing our money. Such suspicious activity includes withdrawing our money immediately or very soon after it was deposited, cashing large checks instead of depositing them, transferring our deposited money into crypto currencies, performing in-person bank activities in quasi-disguise (a cap and a medical mask), etc.
The fraud is called Authorized Push Payment Fraud, or APP fraud:
This fraud "happens when fraudsters deceive consumers or individuals at a business to send them a payment under false pretenses to a bank account controlled by the fraudster. As payments made using real-time payment schemes are irrevocable, the victims cannot reverse a payment once they realize they have been conned." (https://www.fico.com/blogs/what-authorised-push-payment-fraud)
The responsibility of the banks to detect fraudster's opening or holding an account(s) with their bank falls under the principle of Know Your Customer, or KYC:
This "refers to due diligence that banks and other financial institutions must perform on their customers before doing business with them. Know your customer policies are usually required by governments and enforced by bank regulators to prevent corruption, identity theft, financial fraud, money laundering and terrorism financing. Most Know Your Customer frameworks are based on four components: 1) customer identification, 2) customer acceptance, 3) transaction monitoring and 4) ongoing risk management. Requirements vary by country, but the collection of basic identity documents, comparison against certain name lists (‘politically exposed persons’ or PEP lists, for example), and analysis of transaction behaviors are most common." (https://fraud.net/d/kyc-know-your-customer/)
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations are also relevant.
"AML is a set of regulations, laws and procedures that detect and prevent criminals from disguising illegal funds as legitimate income. AML policies help banks and financial institutions combat financial crimes. AML regulations require banks to collect customer information, monitor and screen their transactions and report suspicious activity to financial regulatory authorities. Additionally, the AML holding period requires deposits to remain in an account for a specified amount of time (at least five trading days in the U.S.). Banks can use this holding period to help in anti-money laundering and risk management." (https://www.jumio.com/aml-guidance-banking-finance-2021/)
Financial scams and frauds using banks has greatly increased in recent years. Victims of fraud are unaware of this development, but banks are well aware of it and therefore ought to be even more diligent than ever. In other words, banks are more culpable than ever for insufficient Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering practices in a setting where financial fraud has significantly increased and banks know it.
"Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud losses have now outstripped fraud losses on bank and credit cards for the first time. Impersonation scams more than doubled (up 123%), investment scams rose by 95% and romance scams were up 62%." (https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/20949/could-poor-bank-kyc-part-the-problem-of-fraud) Given this, banks should be especially diligent to prevent their banks from being involved in APP scams.
Articles
https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/20949/could-poor-bank-kyc-part-the-problem-of-fraud
https://www.paymentsjournal.com/is-poor-bank-kyc-enabling-a-spike-in-fraud/
https://www.benthamsgaze.org/2022/04/29/us-proposes-to-protect-bank-customers-from-authorised-push-payment-fraud/
https://www.financierworldwide.com/when-are-banks-liable-for-not-spotting-fraud#.Y00vQb1Ol5Y
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/20/federal-watchdog-to-tighten-bank-rules-around-money-transfer-scams-.html
https://www.pymnts.com/bank-regulation/2022/congress-drills-bank-brass-on-authorized-push-payments-fraud/
https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/uk-banks-told-reimburse-customers-tricked-by-scams-2022-09-28/
https://www.addleshawgoddard.com/en/insights/insights-briefings/2022/finance/app-fraud-three-key-legal-developments/

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1418191/000141304222000878/walthfocusedsupp.htm
497 1 walthfocusedsupp.htm
WALTHAUSEN FUNDS
Walthausen Focused Small Cap Value Fund (WSVIX)
Supplement dated October 20, 2022 to
the Prospectus dated June 1, 2022
The Board of Trustees of Walthausen Funds (the “Board”) has determined based on the recommendation of the investment adviser of the Walthausen Focused Small Cap Value Fund (the “Fund”), that it is in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders that the Fund cease operations. The Board has determined to close the Fund and redeem all outstanding shares on or about November 21, 2022.
Effective at the close of business October 20, 2022, the Fund will not accept any purchases and will no longer pursue its stated investment objectives. The Fund may begin liquidating its portfolio and may invest in cash equivalents such as money market funds until all shares have been redeemed. Any capital gains and ordinary income will be distributed as soon as practicable to shareholders. Shares of the Fund are otherwise not available for purchase.
Prior to November 21, 2022, you may redeem your shares, including reinvested distributions, in accordance with the “Instructions For Selling Fund Shares” section in the Prospectus. Unless your investment in the Fund is through a tax-deferred retirement account, a redemption is subject to tax on any taxable gains. Please refer to the “Dividends and Distributions” and “Taxes” sections in the Prospectus for general information. You may wish to consult your tax advisor about your particular situation.
ANY SHAREHOLDERS WHO HAVE NOT REDEEMED THEIR SHARES OF THE FUNDS PRIOR TO NOVEMBER 21, 2022 WILL HAVE THEIR SHARES AUTOMATICALLY REDEEMED AS OF THAT DATE, AND PROCEEDS WILL BE SENT TO THE ADDRESS OF RECORD. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR NEED ASSISTANCE, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR DIRECTLY OR THE FUNDS AT 1-888-925-8428.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR RETIREMENT PLAN INVESTORS
If you are a retirement plan investor, you should consult your tax advisor regarding the consequences of a redemption of Fund shares. If you receive a distribution from an Individual Retirement Account or a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA, you must roll the proceeds into another Individual Retirement Account within sixty (60) days of the date of the distribution in order to avoid having to include the distribution in your taxable income for the year. If you receive a distribution from a 403(b)(7) Custodian Account (Tax-Sheltered account) or a Keogh Account, you must roll the distribution into a similar type of retirement plan within sixty (60) days in order to avoid disqualification of your plan and the severe tax consequences that it can bring. If you are the trustee of a Qualified Retirement Plan, you may reinvest the money in any way permitted by the plan and trust agreement.
This Supplement and the existing Prospectus dated June 1, 2022, provide relevant information for all shareholders and should be retained for future reference. Both the Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information dated June 1, 2022, have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, are incorporated by reference and can be obtained without charge by calling the calling the Fund at 1-888-925-8428 or by visiting the Fund’s website at www.walthausenfunds.com.

A bit creepy that they might use Apple Watch data to monitor the insured and what the implications to healthcare privacy might be: https://forbes.com/sites/barrycollins/2022/10/18/apple-will-launch-health-insurance--in-2o24-says-analyst/?sh=42fa1f1e62db
Part of me thinks this is way outside their area of expertise. Yet if they price the insurance aggressively low based on the data they collect, I could see it being a financial success. Then again, all sorts of discrimination cases could emerge about premium pricing.

Ummm, so New York and most of American financial infrastructure is now a radioactive smoking garbage pile. OK, who pays off this bet?

"transactions had been inadvertently omitted from his financial disclosures."
Note use of passive tense to deflect responsibility.
“I take very seriously my responsibility to be transparent about my financial transactions and to avoid any actual or perceived conflicts of interest.”
Must have been someone else.
"He said that he had 'come to learn [] that ... the transactions directed by third parties ... should have been listed on my annual financial disclosure forms.”
So the omissions weren't "inadvertent" after all. He deliberately omitted the transactions based on his purported misunderstanding that arose despite his taking his responsibilities very seriously.
Ah, rhetoric. Which reminds me. I need to review Aristotle's 28 lines of argument for a rhetoric class debate tomorrow.
https://kairos.technorhetoric.net/stasis/2017/honeycutt/aristotle/rhet2-23.html

I invested with David Herro’s Oakmark International fund back in the 90’s, but found better substitutes since then. Herro’s concentrated approach, often in financial sector, has volatile swings in both directions. Not my type of investing as the fund trailed the developed market index badly in some year. Think Oakmark funds today are team-managed as part of their succession plan.
Former Oakmark managers, David Samra and Daniel O'Keefe left to ARTKX and ARTGX. Both have better record than Herro and being more consistency. @AndyJ is right that ARTGX is still open while ARTKX is closed to new investors. I do wish Artisan management fees could be a tad lower.

Hi Old_Joe
Thanks for sharing the write. I watched her speak several times on Bloomberg and thought that she didn't seem to have a practical thought in her head. She didn't seem to have any connection with the first plans that had been laid regarding taxes and other; and surely didn't connection that to anything as to an impact into the British financial system. But, such is the case for a full blown Libertarian. Not unlike Rand Paul from Kentucky. He decries all the evil programs of the Federal government, but won't say no for aid into his state over the past two years for tornado and flood relief funds .
'Course, this was a lot like the one way false push into Brexit, and IMHO; how the British votes were mislead.

Yes, right now Britain is in the midst of a real mess, thanks in large part to the libertarian-influenced changes introduced by Prime Minister Elizabeth Truss.
Her interest in and links to various right-wing libertarian groups has been known for years, but has not really received much attention currently.
However, a recent perspective from the New York Times takes a look at her background. Here are some excerpts, heavily edited for brevity:

LONDON — For the past decade or more, Tufton Street has been the primary command center for libertarian lobbying groups, a free-market ideological workshop cloistered quietly in the heart of power. In September, it stepped out of the shadows. The “mini-budget” presented on Sept. 23 by Kwasi Kwarteng, Britain’s finance minister and key ally of Prime Minister Liz Truss, clearly owed a debt to Tufton Street.
The plan spooked the financial markets, sent the pound crashing and forced the Bank of England to intervene to halt a run on Britain’s pension funds. It was, in economic and political terms, a disaster — something made plain on Monday when the government, in an attempt to mitigate the damage, scrapped a planned tax cut for high earners. But the package was more than folly. It was the consummation of plans designed on Tufton Street, and of an alliance with Ms. Truss stretching back years. Under her watch, Britain has become a libertarian laboratory.
In Ms. Truss, they found a friend. After a youthful dalliance with the Liberal Democrats, the new prime minister’s belief in small-state libertarian politics has been a mainstay of her political career.
Appointed head of international trade, Ms. Truss seized the chance to staff her operation with libertarians. In October 2020, just a couple of months before the start of Britain’s new life outside the European Union, Ms. Truss appointed several pro-Brexit, free-market figures to advisory bodies in her department.
This battalion of free-market thinkers has now been welcomed into 10 Downing Street. Five of the new prime minister’s closest advisers are Tufton Street alumni, including Ms. Truss’s chief economic adviser and her political secretary, and at least nine Tufton Street alumni are scattered across other major government departments.
Under Ms. Truss, once nicknamed the “human hand grenade” for her ideological obduracy, the libertarian right has detonated the British economy. The cost, for all but the richest, could be incalculable.

There's a 100% chance of babblespeak in financial "forecasting".

Also, if it helps - I have that pos`s bank information that he used to receive all our money. The bank wire information is Truist Financial. His bank account number is:
1340017489258. The Truist swift number is SNTRUS3AXXX. And we all know the account name he used was HMC Trading LLC. I wonder if Truist knows they were the conduit (or one of them) for this major fraudulent scheme?

@msf
Thank you for your follow up information.
Michigan.gov inheritance tax
Michigan.gov estate tax
'Course, not everyone will have the same circumstance(s) in dealing with financial assets.
And no one should proceed without proper consultation from a competent tax attorney in one's state/or states.