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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.
  • Lebenthal Ultra Short Tax-Free Income Fund will be liquidated
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1295908/000158064224002881/lebenthal_497.htm
    497 1 lebenthal_497.htm 497
    LEBENTHAL ULTRA SHORT TAX-FREE INCOME FUND
    A Series of Centaur Mutual Funds Trust
    Supplement dated May 29, 2024, to the Summary Prospectus, Statutory Prospectus and
    Statement of Additional Information, each dated February 28, 2024
    Effective immediately, the Lebenthal Ultra Short Tax-Free Income Fund (the “Fund”), a series of Centaur Mutual Funds Trust (the “Trust”), has terminated the public offering of its shares and will discontinue its operations effective July 10, 2024. Shares of the Fund are no longer available for purchase and, at the close of business on July 10, 2024, all outstanding shares of the Fund will be redeemed at net asset value (the “Transaction”).
    The Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”), at the recommendation of the Fund’s investment advisor, DCM Advisors, LLC (the “Adviser”), determined and approved by Written Consent of the Board on May 29, 2024 (the “Written Consent”), to discontinue the Fund’s operations based on, among other factors, the Advisor’s belief that it would be in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders to discontinue the Fund’s operations. Through the date of the Transaction, the Advisor will continue to waive investment advisory fees and reimburse expenses of the Fund, if necessary, in order to maintain the Fund at its current expense limit, as specified in the Fund’s Prospectus.
    Through the Written Consent, the Board directed that: (i) all of the Fund’s portfolio securities be liquidated in an orderly manner not later than July 10, 2024; and (ii) all outstanding shareholder accounts on July 10, 2024, be closed and the proceeds of each account be sent to the shareholder’s address of record or to such other address as directed by the shareholder, including special instructions that may be needed for Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRAs”) and qualified pension and profit sharing accounts. As a result of the Transaction, the Fund’s portfolio holdings will be reduced to cash or cash equivalent securities. Accordingly, going forward, shareholders should not expect the Fund to achieve its stated investment objectives. Any capital gains will be distributed as soon as practicable to shareholders and reinvested in additional Fund shares, unless you have requested payment in cash.
    Shareholders may continue to freely redeem their shares on each business day prior to the Transaction. Procedures for redeeming your account, including reinvested distributions, are contained in the section “Redeeming Your Shares” in the Fund’s Prospectus. Any shareholders that have not redeemed their shares of the Fund prior to July 10, 2024, will have their shares automatically redeemed as of that date, with proceeds being sent to the address of record. If your Fund shares were purchased through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary and are held in a brokerage or other investment account, redemption proceeds may be forwarded by the Fund directly to the broker-dealer or other financial intermediary for deposit into your brokerage or other investment account.
    The Transaction will be considered for tax purposes a sale of Fund shares by shareholders, and shareholders should consult with their own tax advisors to ensure its proper treatment on their income tax returns.
    IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR RETIREMENT PLAN INVESTORS
    Shareholders invested through an IRA or other tax-deferred account should consult the rules regarding the reinvestment of these assets. In order to avoid a potential tax issue, shareholders generally have 60 days from the date that proceeds are received to re-invest or “rollover” the proceeds in another IRA or qualified retirement account; otherwise the proceeds may be required to be included in the shareholder’s taxable income for the current tax year.
    If you have any questions regarding the Fund, please call 1-888-484-5766.
    Investors Should Retain this Supplement for Future Reference
  • Feds Take Down Botnet 911 S5 & Arrest YunHe Wang
    Feds have shutdown Botnet 811 S5 network that stole personal information, emails, passwords, IP addresses. In many cases, it utilized fake VPN services to install malware and hack computers. It compromised 19 million IP addresses in 190 countries. Interestingly, of the millions of fraudulent credit card orders (based on stolen personal information), only 4.62% could pass through the credit card fraud surveillance programs - keep this in mind when you encounter aggressive credit card fraud alerts next time. The operations were run by YunHe Wang who was arrested.
    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/feds-largest-malicious-botnets-arrest-administrator/
    https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/911-s5-botnet-dismantled-and-its-administrator-arrested-coordinated-international-operation
  • Buy Sell Why: ad infinitum.
    I'm away now until 12 June. Enjoy, everyone. 5 years since I've been "off the Rock." Of course, everything is in the crapper today. And somehow, the TS div. date has a new published day: 29th now, not 22nd, as previously published. And how does THAT s*** happen, eh? Adios.
  • Templeton International Climate Change Fund will be liquidated
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/225930/000174177324002468/c497.htm
    497 1 c497.htm
    6316 P2 05/24
    TEMPLETON FUNDS
    SUPPLEMENT DATED MAY 29, 2024
    TO THE SUMMARY PROSPECTUS, PROSPECTUS AND
    STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (“SAI”)
    EACH DATED JANUARY 1, 2024, OF
    TEMPLETON INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE FUND (THE “FUND”)
    On May 22, 2024, the Board of Trustees of Templeton Funds, on behalf of Templeton International Climate Change Fund (the “Fund”), approved a proposal to liquidate and dissolve the Fund. The liquidation is anticipated to occur on or about August 9, 2024 (Liquidation Date); however, the liquidation may occur sooner if at any time before the Liquidation Date there are no shares outstanding in the Fund. The liquidation may also be delayed if unforeseen circumstances arise.
    At the close of market on July 2, 2024, the Fund will be closed to new investors, except as noted below. Existing investors who had an open and funded account on July 2, 2024 can continue to invest in the Fund through exchanges and additional purchases after such date. The following categories of investors may continue to open new accounts in the Fund after the close of market on July 2, 2024: (1) clients of discretionary investment allocation programs where such programs had investments in the Fund prior to the close of market on July 2, 2024, and (2) Employer Sponsored Retirement Plans or benefit plans and their participants where the Fund was available to participants prior to the close of market on July 2, 2024. The Fund will not accept any additional purchases after the close of market on or about August 7, 2024. The Fund reserves the right to change this policy at any time.
    Shareholders of the Fund on the Liquidation Date will have their accounts liquidated and the proceeds will be delivered to them. For those shareholders with taxable accounts and for Federal, state and local income tax purposes: (a) any liquidation proceeds paid to such shareholder should generally be treated as received by such shareholder in exchange for the shareholder’s shares and the shareholder will therefore generally recognize a taxable gain or loss; (b) in connection with the liquidation, the Fund may declare taxable distributions of its income and/or capital gain; and (c) an exchange out of the Fund prior to the Liquidation Date may be considered a taxable transaction and such shareholders may recognize a gain or loss. Shareholders should consult
    their tax advisers regarding the effect of the Fund’s liquidation in light of their individual circumstances. Participants in an Employer Sponsored Retirement Plan that is a Fund shareholder should consult with their plan sponsor for further information regarding the impact of the liquidation. In considering new purchases or exchanges, shareholders may want to consult with their financial advisors to consider their investment options.
    Please retain this supplement for future reference.
  • Black rock income and bond funds and bitcoin
    https://cointelegraph.com/news/blackrock-income-bond-funds-buy-bitcoin-etf
    Found this interesting.
    "BlackRock’s income and bond-focused funds have bought shares of the asset manager’s own spot Bitcoin
    BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the first quarter, regulatory filings show.
    BlackRock’s Strategic Income Opportunities Fund (BSIIX) snapped up $3.56 million worth of the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) while its Strategic Global Bond Fund (MAWIX) made a $485,000 purchase, according to May 28 Securities and Exchange Commission filings."
  • Buy Sell Why: ad infinitum.
    There is a transaction fees for secondaries.
    @BaluBalu, to my knowledge, I've never paid a fee for a transaction for secondary agency bonds, treasuries or corporate bonds on that page. Last time this was brought up here, I went through all my buy history and there were no fees listed. If you hear otherwise please let me know. If hidden and not shown in transaction history, that would be a surprise to me. So that gets back to what yield am I actually getting after yield is reduced for the fee?
    Edit
    Hi again @BaluBalu. I did a little research on the topic of transaction fees for fed agency secondary bonds. I think we both may be right. There is a transaction fee as you said. But per the info given below, the fee is shown inclusive in the yield shown. That would likely be why I never see a separate fee for the buy transaction.
    The rates shown below are the best available to Schwab for each maturity range and product based on a $25,000 face value amount. Click on the individual rates for the bond details. Rates and yields are delayed 15 minutes, and yields displayed are inclusive of transaction fees.
    Individual bonds - secondary trades
    $1 per bond online
    $10 minimum, $250 maximum online**
    So that gets back to what yield am I actually getting after yield is reduced for the fee? The list of yields is confusing:
    Price -- 99.850
    Current Yield -- 5.959%
    Yield To Maturity -- 5.970%
    Yield To Call -- 6.176%
    Yield To Worst -- 5.970%
    Coupon Rate 5.950%
    All these yields are pretty good in relative measure, but it would be nice to know which is accurate. If you clarify this info, please email. I'm going to inquire also, hopefully through my local office.
  • Buy Sell Why: ad infinitum.
    @BaluBalu, I typically go to Research - Bonds, CDs and Fixed Income and it defaults to the 'overview' page. That's where I look. I don't look for new issues. Not sure why that would matter if the yield you get is stated. But also, I may not know what I'm doing :).
    Farm Credit System 5.95% 05/24/2034 Callable
    CUSIP 3133ERFA4
    Price -- 99.850
    Current Yield -- 5.959%
    Yield To Maturity -- 5.970%
    Yield To Call -- 6.176%
    Yield To Worst -- 5.970%
    Call Details: Callable in whole or part Daily beginning 02/24/2025 with 5 days notice.
    Issuer Name Federal Farm Credit Bks Cons Systemwide Bds
    Maturity Date 05/24/2034
    Coupon Rate 5.950%
    Coupon Type Fixed
    Coupon Frequency Semi-annually
    Accrual Day Count 30/360
    Dated Date 05/24/2024
    First Settlement Date 05/24/2024
    First Coupon Date 11/24/2024
    Next Coupon Date 11/24/2024
    DTC Eligible Yes
    Evaluated Price 99.6387
  • RMDs: when begin? 72? 73?
    Another option to consider is an annuity. We are considering investing my wife’s IRA in an annuity to simplify matters. It accounts for about 15% of our total retirement accounts, so we wouldn’t be locking up everything. An annuity would satisfy the RMDs for that account and would provide guaranteed payments for the rest of our lives, with no concerns about market conditions. The payout rate is pretty high right now due to rising interest rates.
  • Buy Sell Why: ad infinitum.
    Bought a callable10 year Federal Agency bond in my Schwab IRA, yield 5.97%. Yield-to-call is 6.175%. First call is 2/24/25, which I assume will happen.
    I've been playing the same callable game as @BaluBalu on these bonds, and they do readily get called. So, you have to check out the first call date to decide if it's worth it. This one was like buying an 8 month CD, in my mind.
    Why is the yield to call higher than yield (or coupon rate)?
    I never bought Agencies at Schwab. May be I will do today. If it is not inconvenient, pl share the CUSIP.
  • T+1 Settlement Starts on 28 May 2024
    Today is the day for T+1!
    Stock trading in 1920s was T+1. Then, the volume rose and it was too much to handle manually. So, it became T+5. But with computers around for 60 years, it became T+3, then T+2, and now, finally, T+1 again.
    When will be T+0?
    https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/wall-street-returns-to-t-1-stock-trading-after-a-century-1.2077882
    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wall-street-returns-t-1-000000851.html
  • Buy Sell Why: ad infinitum.
    Bought a callable10 year Federal Agency bond in my Schwab IRA, yield 5.97%. Yield-to-call is 6.175%. First call is 2/24/25, which I assume will happen.
    I've been playing the same callable game as @BaluBalu on these bonds, and they do readily get called. So, you have to check out the first call date to decide if it's worth it. This one was like buying an 8 month CD, in my mind.
  • RMDs: when begin? 72? 73?
    From Barron's May 6, 2024,
    Frequent changes in the RMD rules are confusing. For tax-deferred accounts (T-IRA, 401k, 403b), the RMD age is 73 now (was 72 in 2023, 70.5 in 2020) and it will remain so until 2033. The RMD amount depends on the yearend balances, age-related IRS factor, and other factors such as marital status, very young spouse, beneficiaries. The 1st RMD can be delayed to April 1 of the following year but beware of the tax impact of double RMDs then. The RMD can be postponed if working. (There is a special 55.0-59.5 rule that avoids 10% penalty for premature withdrawals from a current 401k/403b; not so for old 401k/403b or T-IRA). The RMDs from T-IRAs can be aggregated and taken from any one T-IRA, and it’s similar for 403b, but not for 401k. There are different rules for inherited accounts for spouses, nonspouses, trusts, and whether the deceased had started taking the RMDs. The QCDs are allowed from T-IRAs. The Roth IRAs no longer require RMDs. (R-IRA rules are simple in retirement if 5 years beyond Roth Conversions, but nightmarish otherwise.)
  • Buy Sell Why: ad infinitum.
    Same here- going to move another 10% of Schwab SUTXX MMKT into 2 or 3 yr Treasuries- looking to get income spread to 50% MMKT / 50% fixed, out to 2028.
  • Buy Sell Why: ad infinitum.
    Placed an order for 2-yr t-notes in both IRAs. Considered 5 & 7-yr, but will wait till June since rates have slowly been rising, and will try not to kick myself if/when the rates drop.
  • WealthTrack Show
    Enclosed please find the breakdown of FRDM (Fidelity): 25% Taiwan (9% Taiwan semiconductor manufacturing), 19% Chile, 18% South Korea, and 14% Poland.
    https://digital.fidelity.com/prgw/digital/research/quote/dashboard/composition?symbol=FRDM
    P.S. Warren Buffet sold his entire TSM stake in late 2023 even though he held that in less than several months.
  • market commentary from Eric Cinnamond @ PVCMX - May 2024
    @shipwreckedandalone, the article had several good points.
    Quote: "By highlighting the “full market cycle” as the right period for judgment, they’re reminding investors that over shorter spans within the cycle they’ll look,"
    FD: is now the start of the market cycle? Is it a good choice to start in the middle?
    Full market cycle also means you must stay in the fund for many years to get the benefit of this fund....and now we get to the second problem
    Quote: "Since most investors have limited patience, most absolute value investors have limited careers."
    FD: can you stay long term in this fund? probably not, Cinnamond never managed the same fund for 15-20 years. His record shows 5 and 6 years, he is already in his fifth year at PVCMX. Since the fund has so much cash, it's obvious Cinnamond can't find valuable stocks, he may quit soon. In 2016 he said "Mr. Cinnamond recommended return of capital to his investors, noting that the market was fundamentally hostile to his investment style and that he was unwilling to charge investors “equity fund prices” while sitting at 90% cash."
    ==========
    Do I think this fund can serve a goal?
    Absolutely, if you are a retiree who has enough and just needs 6-7% with lower SD, go for it. This is where I am, but I use bond funds for that and do my own timing going to cash. On the other hand, a fund like RSIIX may generate 6-7% with lower SD but you can own it for years. MM have been paying over 5% for months now.
    How strong are you going to be in years when the fund is lagging badly...2021 PVCMX made 3.2% per M* same category made over 31%.
    Another idea...use it instead of VWIAX. The problem again is the fact I can own VWIAX for the next 30 years.
    Another idea...it can be a good choice for someone EXPLORE portion.
    Trade it? not a bad idea, but if you are a good trader you can do better or you know when to use it.
    Lastly, another problem is when many investors like to mention funds that have done well in the last several years and start using them when markets start to take off or avoid stocks for years.
  • PRWCX performance YTD
    @JD_co
    Just checked Yahoo for two funds I own
    Lists the minimum for PVCMX as $500,000 which is incorrect at least at Schwab and Vanguard
    and $1,000,000 for RKCIX ( (wrong) and only our brokerages Schwab no among them
    It als claims you can buy GCCELX ( GMO Climate Change fund) at Fidelity which is incorrect
    I used the M* data frequently but found it was incorrect about 25% of the time
    With an app it is pretty easy to search for a fund at the brokerage website
  • The end of Portfolio Visualizer as we knew it
    @Observant1, no response (yet) to my email about 4 hours ago to PV/SRL Global support.
    After you posted about access, I checked it too and it works.
    OK, the reply just came:
    From: Analytics Support
    Sent: Monday, May 27, 2024 10:37 AM
    To: xxx; Analytics Support
    Subject: Re: Portfolio Visualizer - HTTP 500 Error
    This issue should be fixed. Apologies for the inconvenience.
    Thanks,
    PV Support Team
  • Vanguard's new CEO
    I thought this article was worth adding to the discussion. I hope the new CEO crushes it!
    an-open-letter-to-vanguard-ceo-salim