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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.
  • Vanguard PRIMECAP Reopens
    Primecap started out as a mid cap growth, evolving over time into a large cap that straddled the growth/blend boundary. Core launched as a large cap blend as I recall. It has usually trailed Primecap in performance, as growth has generally led value/blend for many years. I tend to think of Primecap as an AIO, covering both VPCCX and VHCAX.
    M*, Primecap: The Shades of Difference Among Its Funds
    As you've no doubt noticed, all three funds invest about 1/8 of their portfolio abroad. I happen to like this (bigger pool to fish in), though others prefer to invest strictly domestically.
  • Vanguard PRIMECAP Reopens
    Is there any ... OEF that has decent volume along those lines?
    Why should volume of an OEF matter? Perhaps availability matters, but why volume?
    Regarding availability, what that seems to be saying is that S&P 500 funds are a poor person's substitute for less widely available funds that track mega caps.
    Edit: Ironically enough, there is an ETF that tracks the S&P 100 with ticker OEF.
    XLG tracks the S&P Top 50. It has about 40% of the trading volume (in shares) of DIA, though of course a much lower dollar volume.
    Sorry. my volume question was related to ETFs. Actually, AUM probably would be more useful data for both types, come to think of it.
    And thx for the reminder - I remember OEF now that you mention it, but never heard of XLG...that looks like a good one!
  • Vanguard PRIMECAP Reopens
    Is there any ... OEF that has decent volume along those lines?
    Why should volume of an OEF matter? Perhaps availability matters, but why volume?
    Regarding availability, what that seems to be saying is that S&P 500 funds are a poor person's substitute for less widely available funds that track mega caps.
    Edit: Ironically enough, there is an ETF that tracks the S&P 100 with ticker OEF.
    XLG tracks the S&P Top 50. It has about 40% of the trading volume (in shares) of DIA, though of course a much lower dollar volume.
  • Vanguard PRIMECAP Reopens
    Go with the crowd because the crowd makes self-fulfilling decisions? Lots of people buy because prices go up because lots of people buy?
    By that reasoning, the S&P 500 (TR) should be outperforming the S&P Top 50 (TR), and yet ...
              500       Top 50
    YTD  15.82%  22.62%
    1yr    26.33%  34.10%
    3yr    11.33%  14.84% (annualized)
    5yr    15.35%  18.75% (annualized)
    10yr  12.93%  15.11% (annualized)
    All figures through June 18, 2024. The last (10yr) is a hypothetical number provided by S&P Global, since the launch date of the Top 50 index was Nov 30, 2015.
    https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/indices/equity/sp-500-top-50/?currency=USD&returntype=T-#overview
    Yes but how many people invest in the Top 50-ish? Is there any ETF or OEF that has decent volume along those lines? I haven't looked, but I doubt it. (BBLU maybe?) Ergo pretty much everyone buys the index b/c that's what their retirement plans offer.
    (I prefer more concentrated funds myself, fwiw saying.)
  • Vanguard PRIMECAP Reopens
    Go with the crowd because the crowd makes self-fulfilling decisions? Lots of people buy because prices go up because lots of people buy?
    By that reasoning, the S&P 500 (TR) should be outperforming the S&P Top 50 (TR), and yet ...
              500       Top 50
    YTD  15.82%  22.62%
    1yr    26.33%  34.10%
    3yr    11.33%  14.84% (annualized)
    5yr    15.35%  18.75% (annualized)
    10yr  12.93%  15.11% (annualized)
    All figures through June 18, 2024. The last (10yr) is a hypothetical number provided by S&P Global, since the launch date of the Top 50 index was Nov 30, 2015.
    https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/indices/equity/sp-500-top-50/?currency=USD&returntype=T-#overview
  • Vanguard PRIMECAP Reopens
    For me FCNTX had become for all intent and purpose an S&P 500 clone albeit with active management and a higher ER. It currently has 315 holdings. Also I'm not sure how much longer Danoff will remain in charge.
    As for BIAWX I invested initially because of the management team, a concentrated focus (currently 33 holdings) and the ESG theme of the fund. To each their own, you do you.
  • Vanguard PRIMECAP Reopens
    Buying into the S&P 500 seems like buying into megacaps but then adding 300 "smaller" companies for what? Seasoning? Diversification?
    If the decision is to go with megacaps, then why bother with that dreck? Or if the decision is to diversify across the market (despite smaller companies having not fared as well as megacaps in the past), consider buying into funds that truly diversify.
    MGC has outperformed VFIAX since inception, Jan 2008 (10.50% vs. 10.26%), with slightly lower volatility (16.00% vs. 16.14% std dev), and a 3 year rolling coefficient of correlation ranging between 0.997 and 0.999 (nearly perfect tracking).
    Portfolio Visualizer correlation (and performance) analysis of MGC and VFIAX
    The divergence between mega caps and the rest of the market has been most apparent in the past five years (give or take). Go with the flow or "revert to the mean"?
  • Vanguard PRIMECAP Reopens
    VPMAX has been a fine fund since inception but since I was then late to the game I invested in BIAWX to complement FCNTX. Pull up a 10-yr chart. Beat me with a stick if you want but I have since sold FCNTX and put those funds into FXAIX.
  • Current CDs are Compelling
    My Treasury positions at Schwab and Fidelity matured on June 15 (Saturday). ... Schwab did not show anything last night and added to cash this [Tuesday] AM.
    Unlike Fidelity (at least from what other posters here have written), you can trade online at Schwab without having sufficient cash in your account at the time a trade is executed. You just need to get that cash into the account by settlement day (or you are set up to trade on margin).
    In hindsight (putting on those 20/20 goggles), you could have placed your MMF order on Monday. It would have settled on Tuesday (today) and the Treasury proceeds would have covered it. The MMF would then have started accruing divs today.
    This was in an IRA. I already tried unsuccessfully that idea in that account at the end of May when I had a smaller Treasury mature. Unless there is cash in the account, Schwab does not allow me (or broker assisted) to place a buy order in the IRA.
    Have you tried with limited margin? This is not true margin (borrowing), which is forbidden in an IRA, but simply the ability to trade against unsettled cash. Or so I read:
    The Limited Margin feature allows for trading on unsettled funds ...
    Supported activities
    • Use of unsettled funds for trading
    • Option spread trading in an IRA
    Schwab, Introduction to Limited Margin
  • Current CDs are Compelling
    Hi @BaluBalu You wrote:
    My Treasury positions at Schwab and Fidelity matured on June 15 Fidelity moved the money to sweep account
    You're using the term 'sweep account', so this transaction is within a Fido Cash Management Account?? I ask, as a standard Fido brokerage has 'core positions' for cash consisting of a MMKT of one form or another.
    Thank you.
    Catch
    It is the sweep (money market) fund, as you say.
    Not every brokerage offers money market funds to act as a sweep bucket. So, I use the general term sweep account rather than the specific sweep fund. If you guys collectively agree to use Sweep Fund rather than Sweep Account, I am happy to sync up. (Whatever makes it easy for you all - I have a high sense of mortality.)
  • Current CDs are Compelling
    My Treasury positions at Schwab and Fidelity matured on June 15 (Saturday). ... Schwab did not show anything last night and added to cash this [Tuesday] AM.
    Unlike Fidelity (at least from what other posters here have written), you can trade online at Schwab without having sufficient cash in your account at the time a trade is executed. You just need to get that cash into the account by settlement day (or you are set up to trade on margin).
    In hindsight (putting on those 20/20 goggles), you could have placed your MMF order on Monday. It would have settled on Tuesday (today) and the Treasury proceeds would have covered it. The MMF would then have started accruing divs today.
    This was in an IRA. I already tried unsuccessfully that idea in that account at the end of May when I had a smaller Treasury mature. Unless there is cash in the account, Schwab does not allow me (or broker assisted) to place a buy order in the IRA. We already had a lengthy discussion about this in this forum, may be with @Catch22 (you can search).
    My Schwab taxable account is 100% equity, with a mutual fund (happens to be MM) balance of $37.79.
    I have another small Treasury maturing on July 15 (thankfully, a Monday). At that time, I will be done with Treasuries (or Agencies) at Schwab. I will just sell some longer term positions at Fidelity and buy the same at Schwab, that way I minimize the cash frictions at Schwab. I will continue to buy Treasuries (and Agencies) only at Fidelity.
  • Current CDs are Compelling
    Hi @BaluBalu You wrote:
    My Treasury positions at Schwab and Fidelity matured on June 15 Fidelity moved the money to sweep account
    You're using the term 'sweep account', so this transaction is within a Fido Cash Management Account?? I ask, as a standard Fido brokerage has 'core positions' for cash consisting of a MMKT of one form or another.
    Thank you.
    Catch
  • Current CDs are Compelling
    My Treasury positions at Schwab and Fidelity matured on June 15 (Saturday). ... Schwab did not show anything last night and added to cash this [Tuesday] AM.
    Unlike Fidelity (at least from what other posters here have written), you can trade online at Schwab without having sufficient cash in your account at the time a trade is executed. You just need to get that cash into the account by settlement day (or you are set up to trade on margin).
    In hindsight (putting on those 20/20 goggles), you could have placed your MMF order on Monday. It would have settled on Tuesday (today) and the Treasury proceeds would have covered it. The MMF would then have started accruing divs today.
  • Same Moat Approach—Now in Different Styles
    Most investors should keep it simple. The SP500 ... beats most stock funds because it represents 2 simple ideas
    1) American capitalism. ...
    A take on that:
    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/18/opinion/capitalism-inflation.html
    Stephens often is kind of a dope and this brief piece has no point after its halfway mark, but the first half sure has some eye-opening facts.
  • What allocation do you have to international equities and your favorite funds?

    I have concentrated in the right categories since 1995. See (link).
    LOL. WTF dude.
  • What allocation do you have to international equities and your favorite funds?
    @FD1000 Are you bragging or complaining? You're not tired OR proud, are you? LOL.
    Neither. It wasn't the first time I posted at crucial times. See (link). One of them was on this site.
  • Same Moat Approach—Now in Different Styles
    MOAT reconstitution / rebalancing is on Friday (6/21). Since the last quarterly reconstitution / rebalancing, the fund returned negative 2% while SPY returned positive 7% during the same period.
  • What allocation do you have to international equities and your favorite funds?
    @FD1000 Are you bragging or complaining? You're not tired OR proud, are you? LOL.
  • What allocation do you have to international equities and your favorite funds?
    "Like others here, I own a slice of GLFOX which invests in infrastructure and, for whatever reason, stays mainly in Europe. It has returned a big zero this year. Not a concern to me. I can be content with some holdings rising and some falling. If everything were rising together I’d be very worried."
    The optimal portfolio is only known in hindsight.
    Diversification means always having to say you're sorry about some investment in your portfolio!
    Your best observation ever. And no need for hindsight.
    I have concentrated in the right categories since 1995. See (link).
    Just a small example: since 11/2023, I have posted many times to own US LC tilting growth and not diversifying. See my post from 11/1/2023 (link)
    "You can just play it simple: no diversification, no predictions, no narrow range funds, looks like tilting LC growth is here to stay which = SPY/VOO or you can gamble and use some QQQ."
    Why I posted the above? my system told me. See the chart(https://schrts.co/MWCuZUMV)
    One of my fundamental rules is never to hold a fund that is not performing well. It doesn't mean #1, it means in the top 30% based on risk-adjusted performance. It's much easier when you have 3 funds, it's a lot harder with 10-15 funds.
  • Current CDs are Compelling
    Do I earn interest in my Schwab MM fund from the date when the trade to buy is executed (today) or when the trade settles (Thursday)?
    The prospectus for SWVXX / SNAXX, SNVXX / SGUXX, SNOXX / SCOXX, SNRXX, and SNSXX / SUTXX reads:
    Orders to buy shares that are accepted no later than the close of a fund (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time) generally will receive the next business day’s dividend. Orders to sell or exchange shares that are accepted and executed no later than the close of a fund on a given day generally will receive that day’s dividend.
    https://connect.rightprospectus.com/Schwab/TADF/808515605/SP?site=Funds
    That's precisely what one would expect. As with any security, you get a dividend if and only if you are shareholder of record on the record date.
    MMFs declare divs daily. You are not shareholder of record on the trade date (unless the MMF settles T+0). So you do not receive the div declared that day. Similarly, when you sell you do not give up ownership until the day after the sale. So you get the div declared on the day of sale.