VUSXX has virtually the same yield as VMFXX (this has been true for several months), and is mostly state tax exempt.
In a moderate (5%) to high (10%) income tax state, the fund can save 20-40 basis points in taxes (assuming the fund is 80% invested in Treasuries and yields stay above 5%). It may not be worth shopping different institutions to gain a few basis points, but moving from VMFXX to VUSXX can be done overnight and doesn't involve multiple institutions.
https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/money-markets#mm-rates
Of course this only makes sense in a taxable account.

Can VUSXX be used as settlement fund at Vanguard?

Not certain what you are trying to achieve but you can have VUSXX as a fund in your brokerage account and when money comes into your settlement account (VMFXX) you can transfer them to VUSXX. Also, you can name any fund in your brokerage account, including VUSXX, as an "alternative redemption fund". This means that if you are writing checks and do not have sufficient funds in your settlement account, your checks will clear through your alternative redemption fund.

Modelling TIAA Traditional (SV) as a combination of fixed-rate annuity & T-Bills is also possible with MFO Premium. This example shows the CLASSICAL portfolio of 50% CREF Stock & 50% Traditional SRA as “QCSTIX [50] RATE0400 [37.5] TBILL [12.5]”, for the years ending on 03/2024,
1-yr APR 14.0%, SD 7.0%, yield 1.5%; reference VFINX/SP500 SD 13.6
3-yr APR 5.6%, SD 8.5%, yield 1.5%; reference VFINX/SP500 SD 17.6
5-yr APR 7.8%, SD 9.2%, yield 1.5%; reference VFINX/SP500 SD 18.4
10-yr APR 6.6%, SD 7.6%, yield 1.5%; reference VFINX/SP500 SD 15.2
https://ybbpersonalfinance.proboards.com/thread/606/tiaa-traditional-modelling-portfolios

Hi Ron,
Thanks.
Have you compared this with the Innovator ETFs?
https://www.innovatoretfs.com/define/etfs/
I have not looked at them in nearly two years but my recollection is they carry similar flavor to this. I am hoping this being a newest one, it is better and improved for the consumer over all the earlier ones. With so many ETF launches these days, I can not keep up with the ETF universe. May be we should start an ETF thread! Look forward to what you learn when you finish reading the literature.
"aims to match the price return of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (ticker SPY) up to a cap of 9.65%"
Before or after fees and expenses?
I like the 0-9.65% collar.

I used to hold FRESX and FRIFX in my portfolio with excellent returns during my period of ownership. Several years ago (before the COVID real estate crash), I sold both funds. Instead, I have much larger holdings in FSDIX, which typically has about 15% of its assets in REITs.

A regulatory filing notes there’s no guarantee the fund will be successful in providing the much sought-after downside protection."

A guaranteed return of 0% - 9.65%? There's simply no free lunch out there, so I remain skeptical.
Let's see how it eventually performs.
Kind of annoying that, at least in theory, you have to purchase on May 1st (and then hold for 1 year) to get the full benefit.

Via BBG:
"Calamos Investments filed Monday for so-called “structured-protection” exchange-traded funds that will track a portion of the returns of the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and Russell 2000 while hedging 100% of the downside via the options market, according to a Monday filing.
The first fund launching within the suite is the Calamos S&P 500 Structured Alt Protection ETF, which aims to match the price return of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (ticker SPY) up to a cap of 9.65%.
The catch: Investors looking to reap the full protection will need to buy it on launch day — May 1, 2024 — and hold it, come rain or shine, through April 30, 2025. After that, a new defined period of cover kicks in.
CPSM, like others in the upcoming ETF lineup, will primarily invest its assets in derivatives by buying and selling a combination of call and put options to cushion against market volatility, according to the fund’s prospectus. A regulatory filing notes there’s no guarantee the fund will be successful in providing the much sought-after downside protection."
I'll need to read the prospectus to fully understand the mechanics, but this sounds kind of like those 'Principal Protection Notes' that Wall Street was foisting on retail investors in the years just before the GFC. Back then, with those products, if the index closed even ONE day outside of the collar, you forfeited everything but your principal -- so it became more like an unsecured loan to the issuer. But that said, if someone could guarantee (key word!) that vaunted zero downside and a 9.65% cap on the upside, I'd probably take it.
... of course if/when treasuries get back to 8% or more, that'd be a different story and I'd probably pounce on that. :)

T. Rowe Price overhauled its investor benefits a couple of years ago. The newer Summit program provides "Complimentary Morningstar Premium membership" at the Select Services ($250K) level and above. The old program used to provide this perk at $100K; I don't know whether this has been grandfathered in.
https://www.troweprice.com/personal-investing/about/client-benefits/index.html
(Scroll about half way down for a table of benefits vs. investment amounts)
M* has so crippled its search engine (how can one search for funds with more than 10% in EM now?) that there seems little left of benefit. Portfolio tracking can be done elsewhere (e.g. Fidelity), and as @Sven commented, reports are available at the library (which I read online). They're also available from Firstrade if you have an account login. (Years ago, Schwab provided them for free.)

You are on the board of your HOA and of course the one knucklehead in your neighborhood doesn't like the decision the board made...and sues....
That's what D&O insurance is for.
NOLO, What HOAs Need to Know About D&O Insurance
If you have 8 figure+ portfolio and you are insured by a company that you see advertising on TV you probably are not with the right company...
Maybe, maybe not. GEICO reaches into 8 figures (barely):

Coverage limits on an umbrella policy start at $1 million and can go as high as $10 million for qualified applicants

https://www.geico.com/information/aboutinsurance/umbrella/protect-your-future/
Likewise, Liberty goes up to $10M:

With up to $10 million in coverage, a Liberty Mutual umbrella policy from Liberty Mutual Insurance casts a wide net of protection for people with virtually any amount of assets they’d like to protect.

https://www.homeowner.com/insurance/liberty-mutual-umbrella-policy
USAA doesn't specify limits; it just says it will work with you on policies over $5M:

We offer personal umbrella insurance from $1 million to $5 million in coverage. Need more than $5 million? We can help you get it through the USAA Insurance Agency.

https://www.usaa.com/inet/wc/insurance_home_umbrella?akredirect=true
$5M is a pretty conventional limit for policies that are offered without the insurer looking into the applicant. As GEICO notes, after a certain amount, it's going to qualify you before it issues a policy. This makes sense. Just as you can't buy life insurance for an unrelated person (aside from an essential employee) because that invites murder and insuance fraud, companies are not going to issue high value umbrella policies without justification.
...likely want to talk to Chubb...
Even Chubb has places it won't go. A Business Insider headline:

What's up with Trump and Chubb? Insurance giant balks at underwriting fraud-case bond days after blowback from E. Jean Carroll bond

https://www.businessinsider.com/whats-up-with-chubb-trump-insurer-balked-at-fraud-bond-2024-3

Thanks @bee. I particularly like Ed Yardeni. Short summary:
1. AI is a mathematical tool. His early adaptation to AI for writing monthly reports have encountered many errors. Cited several cases where AI encountered its limits on reliable usage.
2. Fewer rate cuts than expected due to strong consumer demand and tight labor market.
3 Concerns the worsening geopolitical conflicts across the globe with the adversaries such as Russia, China, etc. Recent rise of autocratic development including those in US are particularly alarming.
4. Still favors US stock market over foreign market, particularly S&P1500 to have exposure of mid and small cap stocks.
As an economist and Fed watch, Yardeni’s assessment is much more reliable compared to other pundits.

Bought back all the shares of NSRGY I sold Friday (small speculative position). As noted earlier it went X-dividend this morning and there would have been a 10% foreign tax on the dividend. (I guess this is all legal.) Also got completely out of SDS (2X inverse S&P). Replaced it with CCOR as a hedge. The 3 hedges, CCOR, SJB, PSQ, account for around 1.5% of portfolio - a “speed-brake” of sorts on down days.

No. T. Rowe Price used to offer the basic M* and they require an asset $250K.
Please check your local library if they subscribe to their online service.

Just for the heck of it.....being curious.
MINT, (Pimco Enhanced Short Maturity Active Mg'd) bond etf had a better return in 2023, versus CD's and MMK'Ts; and appears to be on course for 2024 with similar performance results. No, it's not FDIC insured; but is readily bought/sold.
Distributions are monthly.
This etf is best suited inside a tax deferred acct, unless one doesn't mind the taxation at year's end tax time; not unlike CD and MMKT distributions.
--- 2023 return = 6.25%
Well, anyway; one may take a peek and find whether this etf may be a suitable add to a portfolio.
MINT etf M* data. This link is for 'quote' page with various data. Next 'select' performance and then 'portfolio'.
VettaFi profile.
MINT etf at Stock Chart and technical RSI. The RSI at 99.66 for an extended period is one I've not seen before, period. But, this represents the continued strength of investor demand.
PIMCO site.

This dropped nearly 2% on April 11, the day after CPI beat and the 10 yr crossed 4.5%. Except that the chart is acceptable to me.

PSTL, FRIFX, FRESX in a chart,
https://stockcharts.com/h-perf/ui?s=PSTL&compare=FRESX,FRIFX&id=p11395410017

We left REIT investment when the interest rates rose. In the past, when the rate was kept artificially low, REIT did ok until recently. We have had success with FRIFX and VNQ. Think Devo covered this topic a year ago. Since the pandemic, the commercial RE market has not fully recovered with many empty buildings in prime real estate. Some smaller towns are recovering more slowly based on our travel experience.

Yes, of course: higher rates are no good for Real Estate. But before the sector rallies when cuts begin, I'm thinking this is not the time to exit for good. Still have a paper loss with PSTL. Their div. Schedule is end-of-month Feb May Aug Nov. I'm betting it will be worth it for me to hold on until after the May divvie. I'm taking a trip off-island in late May, too. First time off Oahu in 5 years.

Worth a watch - BREFX fund manager
top-ranked-real-estate-fund-manager-jeff-kolitch-on-opportunities-in-commercial-real-estate/

I did watch it. That fund has a yield of 0.05%. Not enough for me to be interested.

WZRD didn't lose money this past month, stayed flattish. Low volume on many days, as it is new.

Well since it's pretty much still only holding cash or cash-like stuff, that would make sense....

WZRD managed to gain +.58% yesterday, so maybe it day trades a bit? Or relies on options?

Maybe just the normal fluctuations in the money funds/positions it holds?

WZRD didn't lose money this past month, stayed flattish. Low volume on many days, as it is new.

Well since it's pretty much still only holding cash or cash-like stuff, that would make sense....

WZRD managed to gain +.58% yesterday, so maybe it day trades a bit? Or relies on options?

From an investment standpoint there is a growing and sometimes lucrative market for litigation funding. While currently restricted to accredited investors, this article explains how average retail investors can also get a piece of the pie.
“Non-accredited litigation finance investors - Even if you’re a mere peasant like 90% of the country, you can still put your humble earnings towards litigation finance …”
- ”Yieldstreet offers a variety of equity deals and asset-backed debt investments, from real estate investment loans to fine art. The fund is open to non-accredited investors with a minimum investment of $500, part of which is invested in litigation financing.”
- “The key to non-accredited litigation finance might lie in the blockchain. Ryval, co-founded by attorney Kyle Roche of Roche Freedman, aims to be the “stock market of litigation finance” and open new ways for investors of all levels to back plaintiffs in cases that capture their interests or hearts. While the Ryval market has yet to open, one of Roche’s clients provided a test case for an initial litigation offering (ILO). Apothio, a California hemp growing company, crowdfunded its suit against the Kern County Sherriff’s Department and raised almost $350,000 between October 2021 and March 2022. “
-
Thanks for the head-up guys. Just checked and my combined home & auto insurance is up since ‘23 by several hundred dollars per year. I have the premiums (same company) pulled from checking in monthly installments and sometimes I’m a bit behind the curve updating my paperwork - although I’m sure due notice was received.
Has anybody mentioned labor costs / labor shortages as a cause of rising auto repair costs? Body shops are very labor intensive. If we curtail immigration, be prepared for even higher labor costs.
Another point - I don’t know how it is where you live … But here the average size of what folks are driving has really gone up a lot over the past decade or two. While I normally drive the newer Accord, I’m always amazed how small my 2005 full-sized Silverado appears nowadays sitting in a crowded parking lot. At one time it would tower above most other vehicles - but no more! And more sheet metal & trim and larger tires & wheels means more (and more expensive) stuff to fix, as well as greater damage sustained by whatever else it happens to strike.

@Old_Joe
Our umbrella, $1 mil policy for this policy period (May, 2024 - May, 2025) is $386.
As with all insurance, everything varies by location and values protected.
ADD: A few notes for our insurance protected period noted above.
--- Our home policy has an inflation clause covering several areas aside from the total replacement. The covered amount increased by 6.95%, BUT the premium amount increased by 13.9%
--- Our auto policy coverage remained the same, BUT the premium increased by 8.3%.
--- Our umbrella policy increased by 9.97% for the same $ million coverage.
We know about some areas of the country where insurance companies will no longer insure homes...CA and FL, and likely other areas. The fall back is state backed insurance. So, things become crazy for some with insurance.
Auto insurance being the same story for some other reasons. I know an auto body shop owner who deals with insurance claims for most of his work. Generally, quite a few cars are considered 'totaled' from increased labor and parts increases. An example is decent, low mileage 2018 Chevy Impala: the vehicle has a low speed rear end of a vehicle in front, but enough to trigger the air bags, and crumple the front end of the car. Nominal prices for air bags (parts and labor) may be $1,500 each. There are 10 air bags in this model. The does not count the interior damage, not repairs to the front of the car. Locally, a low mileage 2018 Impala LTZ is $22K + tax. The repair may already be at $15K for air bags and interior repairs; not including front end repair. The insurance company issues a 'totaled' vehicle status, as the repair is not worth cost of replacement or cash pay off to the owner.