MFOHome About Commentary Discussions Funds The Best Resources Support Us!

Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In Register
Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
  • Stashing cash, Summer 2024
    What purpose is RPHIX currently serving in a portfolio? Perhaps, looking for active management in anticipation of drop in yields at the short end? But at 1% ER? I think @WABAC or some one else already commented recently about this high ER. Also, one can see why @rforno’s complains about high ER on some money market funds.
    YTD, USFR has kept up with RPHIX with lower volatility. I will be surprised if there are not MM with lower volatility and similar 3 mo return as RPHIX.
    Every time frame I have looked at (1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, and 5 years) RPHIX has outperformed USFR. Expense ratios can be important, but ultimately don’t matter if the returns after the expense ratio are better.
    Chinfist in Other Investing
  • Nvidia “Leapfrogs” Apple in Value
    Didn't Amazon drawdown like more than 85 percent? I knew of a colleague who went all in with INTC Intel in the 90s. Bought a nice summer home by the coast.
    Diamond hands my friends diamond hands... besides stillers will let you know when to bail...and ya really think the money printer won't go into overdrive if the market gets whacked?
    Maybe crazy not to jump in with both feet? Not me.
    Baseball_Fan in Other Investing
  • Reality check
    @Sven - Naw - No apology necessary. I can’t speak for others on how they use technology. Just wanted to make clear I’m not anti-technology - except for not wanting to carry a “live” telephone in my pocket everywhere I go.
    It’s been just fantastic watching the evolution of technology over my 78 years. I used to have to compute grades for kids on a big loud clunky mechanical adding machine. Took hours and hours after work at the end of a marking period. Then in about 1975 I bought a simple plug-in desktop calculator at Montgomery Ward for around $100. What a marvel it was. Made my job so much easier. Later - probably in the 80s - I purchased a Commodore VIC-20, my first computer. Fun to play with but close to useless for anything except playing games. Bought an Apple 2-e sometime after that. Big leap. Than in the early 90s my employer bought us all an IBM computer that ran Microsoft. (The trade-off was that we had to commit to a number of hours of in-service training after work.) On and on it goes …
    Take care Sir
    hank in Other Investing
  • Current CDs are Compelling
    DIfferent strokes for different folks.
    Geographic proximity will vary from person to person. There's a Schwab office just a five minute walk away from me. (The walk to Fidelity is about an hour, i.e. 3 miles, but it takes me over a national landmark, with views of a national monument and a local landmark.) More important to me is that Fidelity will notarize papers for me and give me a medallion stamp on the spot while the Schwab office doesn't have a notary on staff and sends papers to its back office for medallion stamps.
    I opened a Vanguard taxable account precisely for access to a MMF, specifically VUSXX. SNSXX pay ¼% less, while FDLXX with a whopping 42 basis point ER isn't even yielding 5%. Vanguard isn't and has never been my preferred brokerage, but it has offered fund products I could not match elsewhere.
    Years ago I (re)opened a Schwab account because of its (then) high interest checking account that provided an ATM card with no foreign exchange fees and full rebates. As with Vanguard, that's not something that would make Schwab my preferred brokerage, but at the time it was enough to get me in the door.
    What Schwab did right was reduce the mins on lots of funds (including institutional share classes). There's often a reduced min at Fidelity as well for institutional shares within IRAs, but you wouldn't know this without an account where you can make test trades. The downside at Schwab is that each purchase will cost $49.95 (or more), while Fidelity usually charges $5 when investing "automatically".
    Someone pointed out to me that Schwab also has an automatic investment system for funds. But when I called Schwab on Friday to ask about this, I was told that the only funds that are eligible for auto invest are NTF funds. (Perhaps the rep was mistaken?)
    When I explained that I was looking around for a VBS replacement, the rep asked for contact info so that he could send me some information. He would also have my local office contact me to provide an overview of services. I agreed and will see what I hear from them soon.
    msf in Fund Discussions
  • Rainy Day in Goldland
    Since GLD inception 11-18-2004 recent history:
    CAGR SPY 10.07% VBINX 60/40 7.38% and GLD 8.52%.
    shipwreckedandalone in Other Investing
  • Fido first impressions (vs Schwab)
    I perceive a rather high intellect on the board and a community that is generally well informed on the subject of investing. For an older (+50) experienced investor I’m wondering what, if anything, a dedicated advisor might add. If it’s “nuts & bolts” stuff (like finding lower cost options, estate planning or answering tax questions) than that would be great. If somebody else wants to alter my risk profile (assuming more risk / less risk) or push me into investments I’m not comfortable owning, than I’d question their worth and probably resist any efforts to alter my approach.
    hank in Other Investing
  • Current CDs are Compelling
    VMRXX: 5.28% SEC yield + 0.10% ER = 5.38% gross yield
    VMFXX: 5.27% SEC yield + 0.11% ER = 5.38% gross yield
    Vanguard taxable MMF table
    For more safety (backed by full faith and credit of Treasury), VUSXX has a gross yield that's a basis point lower. Repos (used by the other funds) are overcollateralized with government securities but are not directly backed by the government.
    The role of MMFs as cash investors in repos has increased over the last 20 years. One reason for the increase is the growth of assets under management in government MMFs, which are required to invest at least 99.5% of their assets in cash, U.S. government securities, or repos collateralized by cash and government securities.
    https://www.sec.gov/files/mmfs-and-repo-market-021721.pdf
    msf in Fund Discussions
  • Current CDs are Compelling
    At Schwab $1.00 minimum. SWVXX 1 YEAR +5.27. Their prime money market, should be similar to VMRXX.

    SWVXX is not currently paying 5.27%--it resets every 7 days, and is currently paying 5.16%. Its rate has been dropping for about the past 2 months. SNAXX is the Institutional Class counterpart, that is currently paying 5.3%, but requires $1 million investment to purchase it. If you intend to buy any MMkt rate currently, it is highly unlikely it will stay that high for the next 12 months, given the recent performance trend of it going lower. Everyone has an opinion, that may or may not be accurate, but I think MMkt rates will drop around .5% over the course of the next 12 months.

    You may be right. How I handle this is while putting a good chunk of the income segment of my portfolio in money market funds, I have also put money into bond funds rather than CDs, so if money market yields go down from interest rates going down, bond funds (at least investment grade) will go up in value. I had been buying CDs starting a few years ago, once they matured I put them into money market funds and bond funds (some investment grade, some multisector or high yield). I now prefer the flexibility of money in money market funds and not locked into a CD, and my bond funds have exceeded what I would have received in CDs. If anything, a good substitute for a CD would be the ETF MINT (and not be locked in) or a good short term bond fund. I could turn out to be wrong, but that’s what I have been doing.
    I don't know how long I will emphasize CDs, but for now, I will take advantage of CDs in an 18 month ladder. If CD rates deteriorate, I have a sizeable number of CDs maturing throughout 2025, and will reserve the option of reinvesting those proceeds into something different--I will cross that bridge when I get to it. I like CD ladders, as I always have a CD maturing every few months, giving me ongoing cash availability for adjustments in my investing options. I have historically invested in bond oefs, since I retired--I can always return to that option if necessary, but I will ride the cd horse as long as rates stay high.
    dtconroe in Fund Discussions
  • Current CDs are Compelling
    At Schwab $1.00 minimum. SWVXX 1 YEAR +5.27. Their prime money market, should be similar to VMRXX.

    SWVXX is not currently paying 5.27%--it resets every 7 days, and is currently paying 5.16%. Its rate has been dropping for about the past 2 months. SNAXX is the Institutional Class counterpart, that is currently paying 5.3%, but requires $1 million investment to purchase it. If you intend to buy any MMkt rate currently, it is highly unlikely it will stay that high for the next 12 months, given the recent performance trend of it going lower. Everyone has an opinion, that may or may not be accurate, but I think MMkt rates will drop around .5% over the course of the next 12 months.
    You may be right. How I handle this is while putting a good chunk of the income segment of my portfolio in money market funds, I have also put money into bond funds rather than CDs, so if money market yields go down from interest rates going down, bond funds (at least investment grade) will go up in value. I had been buying CDs starting a few years ago, once they matured I put them into money market funds and bond funds (some investment grade, some multisector or high yield). I now prefer the flexibility of money in money market funds and not locked into a CD, and my bond funds have exceeded what I would have received in CDs. If anything, a good substitute for a CD would be the ETF MINT (and not be locked in) or a good short term bond fund. I could turn out to be wrong, but that’s what I have been doing.
    Chinfist in Fund Discussions
  • Current CDs are Compelling
    At Schwab $1.00 minimum. SWVXX 1 YEAR +5.27. Their prime money market, should be similar to VMRXX.
    SWVXX is not currently paying 5.27%--it resets every 7 days, and is currently paying 5.16%. Its rate has been dropping for about the past 2 months. SNAXX is the Institutional Class counterpart, that is currently paying 5.3%, but requires $1 million investment to purchase it. If you intend to buy any MMkt rate currently, it is highly unlikely it will stay that high for the next 12 months, given the recent performance trend of it going lower. Everyone has an opinion, that may or may not be accurate, but I think MMkt rates will drop around .5% over the course of the next 12 months.
    dtconroe in Fund Discussions
  • Current CDs are Compelling
    At Schwab $1.00 minimum. SWVXX 1 YEAR +5.27. Their prime money market, should be similar to VMRXX.
    Art in Fund Discussions
  • Current CDs are Compelling
    Any investor with $3,000 can BUY VMRXX paying 5.29%.
    Looks like a Vanguard Money Market Fund--I can't get it at Schwab, where all my brokerage assets are located. I can get a comparable fund, with that interest rate, at Schwab with a $1million cash investment. I don't know if it is available at other brokerages, or what comparable funds are available at other brokerages.
    dtconroe in Fund Discussions
  • Current CDs are Compelling
    What is the difference between VMFXX and VMRXX, except for the 1 or 2 basis points 7-day yield difference?
    VMRXX product summary from VG website: "The fund invests at least 99.5% of its total assets in cash, U.S. government securities, and/or repurchase agreements that are collateralized solely by U.S. government securities or cash (collectively, government securities). The fund invests more than 25% of its assets in securities issued by companies in the financial services industry, which includes securities issued by certain government-sponsored enterprises. The fund is considered one of the most conservative investment options offered by Vanguard. Although the fund invests in short-term U.S. government securities, the amount of income that a shareholder may receive will be largely dependent on the current interest rate environment. Investors who have a short-term savings goal and are interested in a fund that invests in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies may wish to consider this option." [Bold added]
    The sentence in Bold is not there in product summary for VMFXX, their default sweep fund. Is that the only difference between these two products?
    BaluBalu in Fund Discussions
  • Current CDs are Compelling
    Any investor with $3,000 can BUY VMRXX paying 5.29%.
    stillers stillers in Fund Discussions
  • Nvidia “Leapfrogs” Apple in Value
    Per Jesse Felder
    Over the past 32 trading days, NVDA has gained more than $1 trillion in market cap. To put that into some sort of perspective, the 6-week gain is greater than the total market cap of BRKA, which Warren Buffett has spent 6 decades in building.
    While it sells for PE of 70 it's 5 year average is 68.
    What happens when everyone who thinks they need NVDA chips has bought enough?
    sma3 in Other Investing
  • Reality check
    We have been on guided tips and almost suffered casualties. One was pure stupidity by an experienced woman.The other an almost drowning in a big whirlpool.
    On the trips we have taken with guides, they all have had Sat Phones and guns for emergencies, because they have a responsibility to their customers. We have been camping in wilderness national parks, self guided and had the people next to us admit the had guns. It was not a good feeling and we did not talk politics!
    Since 1983, my wife and I and then with son have done 19 trips to BWCA, Quetico or another canoe wilderness in Canada, Algonquin Park. There have no major incidents other tan on badly sprained ankle (mine, fortunately on next to last day) and a fish hook in an arm.
    Our last trip was in 2017, when I was 65. Now at 71 I am thinking of buying an Emergency Response Beacon just in case.
    That is still not a cell phone. I will use mine to take pictures
    sma3 in Other Investing
  • Reality check
    @sma3 & @Sven
    I have been fortunate in my life time to have made several trips into the BWCA (or BWCAW as it's labeled now). A handful of those trips were made well before cell phones or even SAT phones were in existence. To me the BWCA is called a 'wilderness area' for a reason and you accept that knowing that it's the price you pay for admission. I go there to escape all of societies(?) conveniences and to experience life by one's skills, wits and knowledge. It's glorious.
    I can see where it gives many pause however and just within the last month SAT phones were used to summon Search & Rescue assistance for two groups of canoeists HERE. The first ended tragically while the second fared better. My guess is that many more SAT phones will be rented out to canoeing parties in the coming years.
    As for cell and/or smart phones, I've always left mine in my vehicle upon entry. Cell service in the BWCA is very spotty at best and most definitely should not be relied upon. Smart phones are good for taking great photo's though and they tend to be small and light weight.
    Mark Mark in Other Investing
  • Reality check
    From this week’s Barron’s:
    ”the top three stocks in the S&P 500—Microsoft, Nvidia, and Apple—have accounted for 20% of the index for six days in the past two weeks. May 28 was the first time on record that the S&P 500’s top three stocks were worth more than 20% since at least 2000 …”
    ”Just 3 Stocks Rule the Market. Why You Should Be Worried.” - Teresa Rivas in Barron’s - June 10, 2024
    Wouldn’t ”Index investing” yield even better returns if these 3 accounted for 100% of the S&P?
    hank in Other Investing
  • Fido first impressions (vs Schwab)

    If you've got at least $10K in cash in your IRA, you can open up a position in FZDXX ($10K min for retirement accounts). It's currently paying 5.15%. Fidelity officially requires one to maintain at least $10K in the fund, but generally it is quite forgiving so long as you don't bring the balance down to zero.
    This is not a core fund, so any time you have cash in the IRA (e.g. non-reinvested divs), you'll have to move it to FDRXX yourself or the cash will sit in your "Cash, Held in Money Market" fund.
    To answer the original question: click on the cash link as described above. You may see a "Change Core Position" button if other options are available.

    Thanks for the tip on FZDXX...I've had retirement accounts at Fido for a very long time and never heard of a reduced minimum for such accounts, until now. Just made the switch!
    wxman123 in Other Investing
  • Fido first impressions (vs Schwab)
    @FD1000 how did you get Schwab to waive the $49.95 fee on transaction fee funds?
    Mona in Other Investing