Hello ... and, Good Mroning! Here in the States, as I write, stock futures are up across the board along with oil. Could be a good day for stocks. Treasury yields are up which means bond prices have declined as yields and prices generally move in an opposite direction of one another.
Inspite of the decline in the S&P 500 Index yesterday my portfolio did well due to a good number of foreign markets having an up day as I have about a 30% weighting to foreign. My three best performing funds yesterday were PMDAX +1.98% (a domestic small/mid cap dividend value fund) ... DWGAX +1.23% (a developing world dividend paying equity fund) ... and, HWIAX (1.11%) a deep value dividend paying hybrid fund). Seems some investors might be in the hunt for dividends, and value, now that equity valuations appear to be streached.

I'm in the SEMRX doghouse. Fortunately I'm down only $85, but now feel like a dope for buying this fund !

There are many different features that lead someone to prefer one financial institution over another. I came up with a number of relatively minor features that I personally place some value in. Haven't found a single perfect institution though. YMMV.
- individual 401(k): free, Roth option, in-service distributions, investment options (full brokerage or house funds). See The College Investor for other features and major providers. Some brokerages provide Roth options; Fidelity and Schwab do not. Vanguard and T. Rowe Price do provide a Roth option, but limit investments to house funds.
- Retail HSA account (not through employer): free, no min cash balance required to invest. Fidelity is the only brokerage I know of that offers HSA accounts directly. Lively (an HSA provider) gives you a brokerage window to TD Ameritrade. See The HSA Report Card for detailed analyses of HSA providers.
- Cash management (bank) services: bill pay, checking, good interest (relatively speaking), ATM access. Vanguard has high interest and checking, but no bill pay or ATM card. At Vanguard and Fidelity, if your core account does not have enough cash to cover a check, they can automatically draw from another (higher yielding) MMF. Many brokerages other than Vanguard provide bill pay and ATM access with surcharge rebates. These features are not so important if you employ a regular bank account.
Schwab's ATM card charges no foreign (international) transaction fee; Fidelity's sometimes charges a 1% fee. Others tend to charge at least this much and may limit surcharge rebates to US ATMs.
- Fractional share purchases of stocks/ETFs (e.g. $100 exactly of MINT). This is something Schwab promised. AFAIK only Fidelity has delivered. (Robinhood rolled out fractional shares earlier this month but it doesn't support limit orders.) Fractional shares is the only "yet to use" feature on my list. It should make buying ETFs easier - more like mutual funds.
- Donor advised funds:low min to open, low grant min, low maintenance cost, low cost funds, wide variety of funds. T. Rowe Price seems to have the lowest "all in" (admin + fund expenses) cost for actively managed funds, but not lowest if using index funds. Fidelity and Schwab have the lowest mins and are low cost. Fidelity has a small advantage on fund costs and variety of funds. Not that one needs many funds for this type of account. It's convenient if the DAF account is with your brokerage as that makes contributing easier.
This list of 74 DAFs is about a decade old, but still gives a good sense of costs and what's out there.

SEC brings enforcement action against mgr of Semper MBS Total Return Fund.
https://twitter.com/syouth1/status/1255232240809922561?s=20

Hi @Crash, I'm thinking that S&P 500 pushing 3000 streaches things a bit. With this, I'm looking for it to trade sideways and range bound for a while. Again, earnings are going to have to come in around the $150.00+ range to support a 3000+ valuation. I don't think we are there yet. Perhaps, by late summer or early fall things will be somewhat sorted out by then with Q3 and Q4 earings looking better.

...And yet, the day's action fizzled. NASDAQ got killed. International was better, I hope, as I reach for a 2nd cup of Joe at 10:50 a.m.

Thanks for this info. I need to work through the app David linked. I imagine it’s similar to https://www.firecalc.com/
I like the idea of using the rates the IRS uses for RMDs - Which is discussed here:
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Variable_percentage_withdrawal
I am somewhat of a believer in the “Retirement Redzone” theory which says you need to be somewhat conservative in your investments in the last 5 years before retirement. But also in the first 5 years of retirement when you have 30 more years to go living off what you have.

Hi @Derf, Thaks for stopping by and reading along with your question concerning stock picking (active management) vs. Index funds in which you seek a yes (or no) answer. For me ... the answer depends ... and, I'll explain. Some actively managed funds will beat the S&P 500 Index while some will trail it. In looking back over my portfolio I have five activley managed equity funds that over a five and ten year period that have bettered the Index (SPY). Over a one and three year period I have six actively managed all equity funds that have bettered the Index (SPY). I also have some good dividend paying equity funds that pay a higher dividend than the Index and overall trail it a bit. With this, and in some cases the answer to your question is a yes and under another the answer is a no.
My thinking is that a lot will depend on how new money money gets invested. Under an Index format new money gets spread through the Index lifting all positions held. In a cap weighted Index it gets spread based upon a cap weighted basis with larger positions catching more of the money over smaller ones. In an equally weighted Index new money is spread evenly. And, in actively managed funds it gets invested upon the manager's call.
With this, there is not, from my perspective, a yes (or a no) answer to be found ... as it depends.
Skeet

Yep
The only question is will we have robust testing and contact tracing up and running when it comes back.
I strongly recommend Tomas Pueyo series for common sense and solid recommendations.
https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-how-to-do-testing-and-contact-tracing-bde85b64072e
Unfortunately no one in Washington is listening

@bee Sorry if I'm being dense. My wife has an HSA through her employer. I understand contributions are tax deferred and I also understand it converts to IRA after you retire, or if you lose your job. What I didn't know however is you can invest it right away. First, will find out if the HSA is even invested is some fund at her employer plan. Second, if possible to divert funds into external fund.
However, most important question. Isn't investing it risky? I mean what if fund tanks right about the time you need to pay doctor and you run out of cash? For us, HSA just started last year and we used a bit of it of course already, so not much there at this time.

We have had many thorough conversations here at MFO. Here's what I searched:
https://mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/search?Search=HSA
Just a few points I have gathered about how an HSA works:
HSA is triple tax advantage. Tax deductible when contributed (you have many contribution options...including mutual funds...Fidelity seems to be providing a great platform for HSA investment options).
HSA's grow tax deferred. If used after 65 for non-medical withdrawals you will pay taxes in the year you make those withdrawals much like an deferred IRA. There is a 10% penalty for non-medical withdrawals prior to 65. There is no actual RMDs, but if you plan on reimbursing yourself later don't leave tax free withdrawals on the table forever...HSA withdrawal rules change for beneficiaries after you die.
Medically qualified withdrawals are always tax free at anytime and withdrawals can be reimbursable at a later point in time (this could be many years later) if you pay out of pocket instead of your HSA. Keep track of medical qualified expenses for these reimbursements. Keep track of what you have already paid for and what you plan on being reimbursed for. Make a spreadsheet...save records.
Inheritable HSA provisions are completely transferable to your spouse as a Spousal HSA. If your beneficiary is a spouse it continues to have tax-free withdrawal status. A non-spouse inherits an HSA much like an Inherited IRA (taxable)...Inherited HSA. If your beneficiaries are non- spouse(s) make sure you reimburse yourself before you pass. In this manner you have made a tax free withdrawal (your withdrawal is tax free while alive). Even if you don't need this withdrawal you can at least pass it tax free to beneficiaries.

The staying power of Covid-19 will impact the investing landscape until a vaccine is widely available.

Chinese scientists say the novel coronavirus will not be eradicated, adding to a growing consensus around the world that the pathogen will likely return in waves like the flu.
It’s unlikely the new virus will disappear the way its close cousin SARS did 17 years ago, as it infects some people without causing obvious symptoms like fever. This group of so-called asymptomatic carriers makes it hard to fully contain transmission as they can spread the virus undetected, a group of Chinese viral and medical researchers told reporters in Beijing at a briefing Monday.

https://time.com/5828325/coronavirus-covid19-seasonal-asymptomatic-carriers/

update:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/101507/000143510920000104/usgi_497e.htm
497 1 usgi_497e.htm
U.S. GLOBAL INVESTORS FUNDS
Holmes Macro Trends Fund (the “Fund”)
Investor Class Shares
Supplement dated April 28, 2020, to the Prospectus dated May 1, 2019, as supplemented
IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE FUND’S NAME, INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND PRIMARY BENCHMARK INDEX
At the March 27, 2020 meeting of the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of U.S. Global Investors Funds, the Board approved, at the recommendation of U.S. Global Investors, Inc., the investment adviser to the Fund (“Adviser”), changes to the Fund’s name, investment strategies, and primary benchmark index, in order to highlight a focus on luxury goods-related investments.
These changes, which were summarized in a supplement to the Fund’s prospectus dated March 31, 2020, and which were expected to become effective on May 1, 2020, have been postponed pending the resolution of regulatory considerations, and will not be implemented until further notice is made to shareholders.
* * *
For more information, please contact a Fund customer service representative toll free at
1-800-873-8637.
PLEASE RETAIN FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.

Good morning. As I write, stocks are set to add to Monday's gains as the futures are up across the board both here in the States and abroad. As stocks have moved upward the VIX has been in decline and now resides in the low to mid 30's. In addition, Treasury yields now seem to be slowly rising. I'm thinking to support this upward move, in the stock market, earnings are going to have to be reflected in the $150 (or better) range for the S&P 500 Index to trade and hold the 3,000+ range mark. The Index has now regained more lost ground and it is well above of where I thought we would currently now be ... and ... on through most of the summer.

@kings53man, I have been retired for more than five years and I may use my HSA to cover medical, dental, eye, prescription meds and most recently over the counter meds not covered by my Medicare PPO.

If you've got $100K in cash, Merrill provides access to some institutional funds. Even these are pretty anemic, struggling to get up to 1/4%, unless you're willing to try one of the floating NAV money market funds created specifically for institutions. They'll get you all the way up to about 2/3%.
If all you've got is $5,000 for a MMF, they'll sell you a fixed $1.00 NAV fund (BPTXX) paying a nice round number, zero exactly! And that's for a non-sweep fund.
Here's the rate sheet: https://olui2.fs.ml.com/Publish/Content/application/pdf/GWMOL/ICCRateSheet.pdf

@rforno - Yeah. I can now proudly said it's called the Vertical Put Credit Spread. I feel so smart :-)
Seriously though, after what happened to bond, bond-like, "income" funds in the last couple of months I would rather take my own risk with money I would normally not invest. If MM funds offered something in return I would never have tried this. Few months back you could have gotten 2%. Now you can get 1.5% going to zero at Marcus, for instance. At brokerages though MM funds are not FDIC insured and after looking at how much Schwab Money Market yielded in March, I've absolutely had it.
The key is to stop being greedy and remind yourself you are not investing, and to simply take the money and run every chance you get. So far I've done well. Made another $400 odd since I started this thread. I just dunno if I can do it with larger amounts of cash and worried a bit if I mess up, so still researching a few things.
Lastly, wanted to add Vanguard sucks at options trading. Will likely ditch it for cash and go to Schwab or Fido.

Looking at the charts.
QQQ signaled a buy based on the MACD at the end of March. QQQ passed the 200 days MA in the second week of April, then passed the 50 days MA, then test the 50 days MA again and now is up and running with a clear buy.
The SP500 is still struggling, The MACD signaled a buy at the end of March, the price passed the 50 days MA twice but still is not above the 200 days MA.
It's not a secret that unemployment will hit at least 15-20% and the economy right now is in bad shape but the stock market is looking 6-12 months ahead. The assumption is that most states will open their businesses in the next 1-3 months and the economy will get better. It would still take 1-2 years to get to normal. The fiscal and monetary policies were a success so far. If the Coronavirus will come back it's going to be ugly.
The SP500 and QQQ are capitalization-weighted indexes. This means that the biggest companies matter much more than the smaller ones. There are many companies in bad shape but several of the top ones are doing just fine and why the indexes are doing better. QQQ is mostly high tech where you see it even more.
The healthcare(XLV) sector is doing great too and the (chart) looks better than QQQ or XLK.
Is the above a guarantee? of course not. I'm skeptical like many of you but the charts are based on actual prices that traders were willing to pay.

I made $500 selling OTM puts in SPY last week in my fidelity account. SPY has 3 expiry dates every week. I just sold PUTs the day before each expiry. It was ridiculously easy.

That's similar to what a trader (Darlene-someone, IIRC) years ago called a 'Chicken Bull Put' ... she sold put spreads that went out less than a week, if not day, before expiration. The long put protected the position from multi-sigma moves against it, which I thought is a good thing. Indeed, selling puts or covered calls can goose annual returns if done right over time ..... so good luck!

Global stocks gain as investors look to lockdown easing.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/shares-gain-as-investors-look-to-lockdown-easing-idUSKCN22900Z?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+reuters/businessNews+(Business+News)
U.S. stock index futures gained late Sunday, ahead of earnings reports this week from some of America's biggest companies.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-retreat-ahead-of-big-earnings-week-2020-04-26
Looks like it's going to be a good stock day in the markets today as stock futures are up across the board both here and abroad. Let's also see if high yield bonds move upward with their stock cousins. I'm beleiving they will. This indeed could turn into a strong up day (and week) for some investors especially if the shorts start to cover. As I write the VIX is in the mid 30's. If today is a strong rally day for stocks I look for the VIX to continue its decline. On March 20th I recordered the VIX with a reading of 62 with the S&P 500 Index at a valuation of 2305. Friday, I recorded the VIX with a reading of 37 with the S&P 500 Index at a valuation of 2837. As the VIX moves lower stocks trend to move higher. Should we have a strong up week in the stock market (say a 5% gain) then this will put the S&P 500 Index just below the 3,000 mark at 2980 range. For this to happen earnings, for the S&P 500 Index, will need to get marked to the $150.00 range. And, this could indeed happen. As President Trump says ... "We'll see!"
The Futures are linked below.
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx

ongoing: PTIAX YTD -2.05% My others are down by -6%. PRSNX RPSIX. I'm just not motivated to shop around.