Yes, no load and no fee at Schwab. I just made an order. 1.42 ER is a higher than I like, but Smead has proved to me to be a manger worth the fee and a good investment. We shall see if the domestic success transfers to international as well.

We are inundated here in SE MI by TV ads for several online sports books. All of them appear to offer “risk free” wagers to the newcomer. The fine print at the end of the ad gives a phone number for those who have a problem with gambling.

Let’s not get moralistic here. How many employees have wasted their company match 401 K money by “borrowing” against it in their working years or taking highly speculative market risks with it? Any of us can login to our accounts and make any number of risky plays 24 / 7. We just don’t call it gambling. Unfortunately, there’s no cure for stupidity.

Here’s 7 High Risk Funds You Can Buy (Click arrows to scroll L - R)
Sorry your days are being disturbed by those ads Ben. I don’t like them either. Michigan is getting to be a challenging place to live. Between the nuts plotting to kidnap our governor and the stoned drivers I frequently need to dodge while driving (because the state’s legalized pot) - YIKES
ARTICLE: Online Gambling Tax Revenue in Michigan Far Exceeds 6-Month Predictions
“After just six months of legal online gambling in Michigan, tax revenues have already exceeded the initial industry predictions, with the state taking in almost $90 million so far in 2021, nearly doubling what some experts had first expected.”
“ Most of the online gambling tax revenue will go to help finance the Michigan School Aid Fund which covers the per-pupil foundation allowance, special education, at-risk programs, school lunch and breakfast, vocational education, and many other costly aspects of public education.
“Also benefitting from these online gambling tax revenues is a fund for state firefighters afflicted with a certain type of cancer as well as a state fund through the Department of Health and Human Services meant for compulsive bettors whose gambling has gone beyond recreational.”

And the roughly 27 million Medicare Advantage enrollees, who receive Medicare coverage through private insurers, must check with their carriers if they will pick up the tab
IOW, for these private insurers, nothing¹ has changed. Before Jan 15, they like all private insurers could voluntarily pick up the tab², but didn't. And after Jan 14, they could still pick up the tab, but don't. At least I haven't found one that does. So far, I've checked Humana, UnitedHealthcare, and Aetna.
¹ Technically there was a change even for these insurers: their exposure after Jan 14th could be limited to $12/test should they voluntarily add coverage.
² "Insurers can, but are not required to, reimburse enrollees for OTC COVID-19 tests purchased prior to January 15."
Source for both footnotes: HealthAffairs.org. Excellent article with links to government releases.
Covid-19 has been a bonanza for health care providers. That's why the $12 cap was imposed. Testing labs are not subject to caps. By not covering home tests, the government (original Medicare, Medicaid) and private insurers (Medicare Advantage) wind up more likely to be gouged. Penny wise and pound foolish.
Consumer Reports: "U.S. rules allow labs to charge whatever they want for tests"
https://www.consumerreports.org/covid-19/how-much-should-it-cost-to-get-tested-for-covid-19-a1011758904/

It's probably not fair... but... I've been watching PRBLX closely and even appreciate the Parnassus sell sheet showing the volatility being less than SPY during market corrections.
YTD:
FXAIX -3.91
PRBLX -4.34
Not fair in that its just a snippet of time...and perhaps we are not in correction territory for anything other than Nasdaq but... still watching the fund on the sidelines.

+1

CTFAX, Columbia Thermostat Fund, should have adjusted/increased equities as follows:

Should be up to 25% equities, from 10%.
Rick

For those waiting on better valuations to buy Equities, at what point would you be a serious Buyer? Do you have a specific plan in place?
What about Bonds (yeah, what about Bonds) - are any type/class of bonds worth holding in 2022?
Current S&P 500 PE Ratio: 25.85
Mean: 15.96
Median: 14.88

If you are on the sidelines congrats. Don’t see much fear in this market just everyone wanting to buy the dips. A lot of complacency. I guess that is what the past twelve years have conditioned investors to do. Should we actually get something more than a garden variety correction ala late 2018 and February/March 2020 would use a Zweig momentum buy signal to get back in. Worked like a charm after those two brief sell offs as well as the longer bear of 2008.
As for bonds the scary consensus is buy floating rate/bank loan funds as they are the place to be during periods of rising short term rates. Can’t argue with that ( and I have an allocation there) other than it seems a bit too pat and overwhelmingly embraced. If you get a really bad bear market in stocks/junk bonds, the floating rate/bank loan category will not protect you,

Hi Crash,
I remember that line. He said many times and I loved it. Glad to see you're in bonds. I forget.....where do you live now? Silly me. Want to say Hawaii for some reason. I don't get here much anymore, so I forget. Please forgive me.
Hank and Wxman123,
Great posts! He usually gets skinny after such posts, i.e., FD. I'm sure God will justify the silence once he has time. And awe you with the plan he uses
God bless
the Pudd

For those waiting on better valuations to buy Equities, at what point would you be a serious Buyer? Do you have a specific plan in place?
What about Bonds (yeah, what about Bonds) - are any type/class of bonds worth holding in 2022?
Current S&P 500 PE Ratio: 25.85
Mean: 15.96
Median: 14.88

Hi @hank
The below article is related to this thread, as some ARK funds travel the electronic gambling choices.
As you have mentioned electronic gambling a few times over the past several months, I had this article dropped into my email today; which is an overview of gambling monies in Michigan for 2021.
Remain curious,
Catch

Via SeekingAlpha just now..

Cathie Wood believes that if a market bubble is growing, it is being created within value stocks and not growth names.
"In our view, the real bubble could be building in such so-called "value" stocks with much higher valuations in the context of a five-year investment time horizon as opposed to last year," Cathie Wood wrote in ARK's latest quarterly report.
Wood added: "Meanwhile, the valuations of many innovation related stocks have been cut in half."
Moreover, in ARK's quarterly commentary report it also states: "In our view, long-term inflation fears are overblown because inventories are stacking up in the face of weak consumption."

LOL the valuation of innovation stocks has been halved ... because they were overpriced to begin with and only got extremely moreso as time went on!!!!! And it's hilarious to hear her talking about long-term perspectives, since she's a short-term momentum player in her funds.
It's like she's saying "it's not MY holdings that're risky, but YOURS, so there! *blows raspberry*"
more from SA about her YTD performance...
ARK Innovation ETF (NYSEARCA:ARKK) -20%, ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (NYSEARCA:ARKF) -18.9%, ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (BATS:ARKQ) -12.4%, ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (NYSEARCA:ARKW) -18%, ARK Genomic Revolution Multi-Sector ETF (BATS:ARKG) -21.6%, and ARK Space Exploration ETF (BATS:ARKX) -9.9%.
I want to know what color her straightjacket will be ... and what she's smoking.....

@Puddnhead, did you know it is Jerome "Curly" Howards birthday today. No Yuks... he would be 119.

"Remind me to kill you later." ---Moe.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/19/politics/senior-citizens-medicare-free-covid-tests-retailers/index.html
".....As part of its effort to contend with Covid-19, the Biden administration is requiring health insurers to cover the cost of home tests for most Americans with private insurance.....Consumers can buy home tests online or in stores and have them paid for at the time of purchase or get reimbursed by submitting a claim to their insurer. They do not need to visit their doctor or get a prescription to obtain the free tests.....Insurers must pay for up to eight tests per covered individual per month under the program, which launched Saturday.....However, Medicare is not subject to this requirement, so the tens of millions of senior citizens and Americans with disabilities in the traditional Medicare program cannot get reimbursed.....And the roughly 27 million Medicare Advantage enrollees, who receive Medicare coverage through private insurers, must check with their carriers if they will pick up the tab....."

What are your thoughts on live odds ?
I figure it gives me a chance to lose more than once!

The odds change continuously on the DKNG app. That’s what makes it so entertaining. If a game is completely out of hand or near the end, the live odds / betting are suspended.
So yes. You can continue to throw money at the faltering team of your choice during the contest just as you can try to catch a “falling knife” investing. You can “sell” one position for cash and than “buy” a new position on the other team anytime during the live contest. This allows you to loose money on both teams during the same contest. Just as you can loose money on more than one stock or mutual fund on any given day.
:)
DKNG: at $22.50 today. I guess that’s about a 70% drop from 12 month high of around $75.00
Another way to put it … Today you can buy 3X as many shares for the same amount of money as you would have 10 months ago, and have some change left over.
PS - Great game between Wisconsin and Northwestern last evening. A Wisconsin player sunk a 3 pointer from the other end of the court with a second remaining on the clock in the first half. Check it out.

“Here is your big chance FD, you lost little you say, OK, tell us how you are positioned and when you change your allocation,”

The figures are somewhat apples and oranges.
The 4 US government-provided tests are per residence, one time only (for now).
The 8 private insurer-covered tests are per person, per month.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/the-federal-website-for-free-virus-tests-is-here-how-does-it-work
Even among private insurers, it's only some of their customers who are covered for home tests. For example, United Health Care Medicare Advantage (usually branded AARP) writes about home test kit coverage:

UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan members: This particular benefit does not apply to Medicare Advantage members. Learn more

UNH is a private insurer. It now constitutes 3% of PRWCX, which has been on a buying spree.
https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/xnys/unh/ownership

I think that there is a government order/guideline for all health insurers to cover up tp 8 home tests for free after January 15. Insurers are rolling out implementations - whether by reimbursements or through regular plan coverage. All receipts should be saved for home tests purchased after January 15; prior home tests not covered.
This is in addition to the 4 free home test kits that can be ordered through the post office.
These home tests have 70-90% accuracy, and a negative test doesn't mean that one is in the clear. Also, multiple tests are better than single tests.

Let it go down, please. The more, the better...for me.
What I find funny is when someone "knows" the reason why it went down. So many predictions by so many "experts" have been wrong(link).
So why did stocks go down? The only true reason is because there are more sellers than buyers.

Me, me, me. Some things never change do they?

When you are a good trader, you don't care what markets are doing and why I lost so little today.

Here is your big chance FD, you lost little you say, OK, tell us how you are positioned and when you change your allocation, just this once.

Let it go down, please. The more, the better...for me.
What I find funny is when someone "knows" the reason why it went down. So many predictions by so many "experts" have been wrong(link).
So why did stocks go down? The only true reason is because there are more sellers than buyers.

Me, me, me. Some things never change do they?

When you are a good trader, you don't care what markets are doing and why I lost so little today.

Derf, I don't post anywhere what I own or trade, sorry.
Generally, I own, in the last several years, only 2-3 funds. See (link).
Today I was down just -0.02%(it's the correct figure).