Post Conference Notes by YBB
Rates were maintained - fed funds 5.25-5.50%, bank reserves rate 5.4%, discount rate 5.5%. Rates may be higher for longer; need more confidence in progress towards inflation goal. No specifics provided for June cut. Current policy is restrictive. Financial conditions are tight.
QT continues at -$60 billion/mo for Treasuries, -$35 billion/mo for MBS; total -$95 billion/mo. Cumulative balance sheet reduction -$1.5 trillion. There was some talk of slowing down QT & being monitored are money-markets, bank reserves and liquidity.
Inflation is still too high; there are some sticky areas. Target is +2% average "over time" (mentioned several times).
Labor market remains tight, wages are going up at a slower pace, unemployment rate is near target. Economy is in good shape also.
Housing contribution to CPI, PCE, etc is via OERs (owners' equivalent rent) & that should be lower in due course.
Fed is studying & keeping up with the developments on digital currencies, CBDC, fin tech, but isn't working on a launch of digital-dollar unless Congress approves first.
Fed transparency is good as-is.
There were new SEP data.
https://ybbpersonalfinance.proboards.com/post/1397/thread

My primary bond fund is DOXIX.
I also have some 5 Yr TIPS which will be held to maturity.

My experience is much like stillers. In fact we overbuilt our CPCD ladder. We sorta got addicted to a 5% return. In anticipation of declining rates and tempted by a much talked about share appreciation from intermediate bond funds we started building a position in Dodge and Cox Income. Perhaps we were early.

None.
All we ever reasonably expected as LT TRs from dedicated bond funds was 4%-5%. So when CP CD rates matched, then exceeded that threshold, all of our dedicated bonds funds were replaced with a 5-yr, CP CD ladder paying over 5% APY. The only bonds we currently own are via allocation funds FBALX and PRWCX, and their bonds account for less than 5% of our total portfolio value.

Reuters...
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing boomed in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic as low oil prices spurred more investors to diversify beyond fossil fuels, and as fund managers sought to appear more climate-conscious. The category started to fall out of favor in 2022 as conventional energy prices soared.
Political backlash against ESG led by Republican politicians in the United States, as well as suspicions of greenwashing involving claims that are not substantiated, have also tarnished the luster of ESG funds. "Greenwashing" refers to companies making false or deceptive claims about the environmental benefits of their products, services or policies.
Globally, funds classified as "responsible investing" recorded $68 billion of net new deposits in 2023 through Nov. 30, LSEG Lipper data showed. That was down sharply from $158 billion for all of 2022 and from $558 billion for all of 2021.
My take...too arbitrary...show me an ESG fund that invests in the likes of Google etc...and I will laugh out loud, listening in on your conversations, selling your information, making you a product...no way many ESG companies are true to the term ESG....not for me, no thank you.

Texas has identified 10 firms with which it will not invest because their ESG screened funds "immeasurably damages our state’s oil and gas economy." The firms affected are, almost without exception, European firms (Schroders PLC) with some American operations. The list of 348 individually banned funds and ETFs includes the Brown Advisory Sustainable Growth Fund (BIAWX) which is in my portfolio and all versions of the ESG-screen S&P 500. The link downloads an Excel spreadsheet. Tab one are the forbidden companies and two tab are the forbidden funds.
The largest move pursuant to that policy is the newly announced decision by the Texas State Board of Education to pull $8.5 billion from BlackRock for suspicion that it's pursuing sustainable investments as a way of "privileging liberal goals." BlackRock argues that it factors in ESG metrics because they are financially significant data points. Illustrating what some might perceive as hypocrisy, BlackRock and others also highlight the fact that they continue to invest heavily in the fossil fuel industry. Fox News describes the withdrawals as "a stunning blow to the ESG movement."
In related news, as of 19 March 2024, the ESG-screened version of the S&P 500 has outperformed the full S&P 500 over the past year. And the past two years. Also the past three years, four years and five years (per Morningstar interactive chart of SNPE versus VOO.
Across multiple time periods, ESG screened funds with some US equity exposure (US centered, global, mixed asset) perform about as well as non-screened funds; that is, 51-55% have top half returns since inception, over three years, over five years ...

Good interview on where the US is -

Einstein (among others): Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.
How about callable bonds or CDs? If interest rates stay higher, longer, then they won't get called and you may be able to eek out a slightly higher yield that way. The question is how much you are willing to risk.
Last Dec I bought a small 9 mo CD, callable in 6 mo, in my inherited Roth IRA. That was money dedicated to this year's RMD. Interest rates had been declining since Sept 2023 and this CD had the best return I could get. No big loss if rates continued declining and it got called in June. But it seemed that expectations for rates to continue falling decisively were overblown.
Right now, that CD is quoted at $100.02 - no increase in value. That's why one doesn't buy brokered CDs expecting liquidity. But they're fine for targeted purposes (like a Q4 RMD). Getting one that is callable can be a reasonable bet if one is expecting "higher for longer".

EM ex-China was in response to Fed TSP move to shift its I Fund from broad MSCI EAFE to something ex-China/HK, and that is now MSCI ACWI ex-China/HK.
So, a reality is that such ex-China/HK indexes have been developed after some huffing and puffing. Whether this commercially catches on, $78 billion TSP I Fund won't care.
A few years ago, Asia ex-Japan indexes were developed for commercial reasons when Japan just couldn't get up. Let us see how they will do in the current Japanese market run to new all-time highs (in yen; still ways to go in $s).
https://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2023/11/tsp-board-oks-new-international-fund-index-time-without-china/392049/
https://www.tsp.gov/plan-news/2024-02-05-I-Fund-benchmark-index-change-in-2024/

Vanguard raises eyebrows in search for new CEO
“Vanguard is an insular place and a tightly run organization,” said Charles Elson, a corporate-governance scholar who teaches a mergers course at University of Pennsylvania’s law school.
Vanguard’s board, led by CEO Buckley, seems designed to nurture consensus rather than chart bold new courses, Elson says. It includes academics and retired senior managers from a range of companies, but no current or former public company CEOs. (By contrast, Vanguard’s competitor BlackRock’s board includes Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg, Cisco chief executive Chuck Robbins, and Estee Lauder CEO Fabrizio Freda, among other top corporate bosses.)
”Their board is self-perpetuating and insulated from challenges. Up until now at least, they haven’t thought they needed a change,” Elson said. “If you are happy with the way things are going, you won’t change. Only if they have a radical cultural problem do you go outside for change agents.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/vanguard-raises-eyebrows-in-search-for-new-ceo/ar-BB1k8hrp?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=06a051a95df546938c3e039d23746503&ei=31

… of the Fund into the abrdn Emerging Markets ex-China Fund (the "Acquiring Fund"), a series of the Trust.

As the geopolitical friction rises between China and the west, many managers ask the question of whether China is

investible from investor’s perspective. Additionally, China’s economy has not fully recovered since their second wave of COVID pandemic. And their +30 % weighing in major EM indices adds to their underperformance.
Other mutual funds have already offer EM funds excluding China, iShares also made several ETFs excluding China such as EMXC.

Agree with the geopolitical tensions, but from what I see - i don't see a ton of advisors choosing EM ex china funds nor clients asking for that. That's a level of granularity I don't know if people care about? There are 15+ EM ex china funds on the market and none of them are sizable with what looks liek flows continuing to passive EM (with china) funds.
I do wonder if this EM ex China is a real thing or just a sign of the times and will be irrelevant in 5 years.

JUQA GQLIX ( or USBOX or QLTY) pretty close to FUQIX over 3 5 years
Not much difference.

into my 45th minute and fourth rep!!!

am a GMO philosophy fan, but not of their expensive offerings.
here is what didn't happen :
45 years ago, GMO had only one fund based on their quality metrics, and never needed to offer anything else.

MFO Premium Tickers - Portfolios, Watchlists, Charts
Lipper (so, MFO Premium too) has FIXED the CREF VA class flip between R1 & R3. Rather than editing the previous posts, here are now the CORRECT tickers presented in 2 groups. In the 12/7/23 OP, a simple way to think of this CHANGE is that the MFO Premium ticker orders shown now are from the lowest ER to the highest ER, or R3, R2, R1 (vs previously the highest ER to the lowest ER, or R1, R2, R3).
TIAA (Direct) Real Estate VA IF-SMZQ (alternatives) still has a single class and is included in the first group.
Note the MFO Premium capabilities of handling the VAs, OEFs, ETFs, CEFs in an integrated way for portfolios, watchlists, charting. So, if your work 401k/403b offers some insurance VAs as well as mutual funds and ETFs (via brokerage window), then MFO Premium is to tool to analyze them all.
R1
CREF Stock, Hybrid & Real Estate VAs (R1) & VTSAX (US Total Stock)
IF-CMQ8 IF-CMQ6 IF-CMQ4 IF-CMP4 IF-CMP6 IF-SMZQ VTSAX
CREF Bond VAs (R1) & VBTLX (US Total Bond)
IF-CMR2 IF-CMQ2 IF-CMP8 VBTLX
R2
CREF Stock, Hybrid & Real Estate VAs (R2) & VTSAX (US Total Stock)
IF-CMQ7 IF-CMQ5 IF-CMQ3 IF-CMP3 IF-CMP5 IF-SMZQ VTSAX
CREF Bond VAs (R2) & VBTLX (US Total Bond)
IF-CMQ9 IF-CMP9 IF-CMP7 VBTLX
R3
CREF Stock, Hybrid & Real Estate VAs (R3) & VTSAX (US Total Stock)
IF-MDMF IF-SKRL IF-FDWD IF-THMV IF-CBMF IF-SMZQ VTSAX
CREF Bond VAs (R3) & VBTLX (US Total Bond)
IF-MTJQ IF-WPZK IF-RWDV VBTLX
Class Verification Portfolio Runs, 3/17/24
CREF Stock IF-CBMF IF-CMP5 IF-CMP6
CREF Social Choice IF-THMV IF-CMP3 IF-CMP4
LINK
Thanks @Charles & @David_Snowball.

I recall a time when ABEMX was not only a 5* fund but the undisputed champion of EM funds. Just goes to show that actively managed OEFs rarely stay at the top forever.

I started reading the article in the OP and then decided to first check the fund out. Its near 50% financials (say, 40% if you back out BRK) is too much for me. (I already own a lot of BRK.) However, the fund did well in 2023 and 24 notwithstanding its zero allocation to Tech, HC, CD, and Utilities. So, if one is looking for the sector bias this fund offers, may be it is worth a look because the managers may be doing a good job with security selection.

I second @Old_Joe's opinion about Schwab chat. I have not used other brokerages' chat (and have not checked if they have one) but I started using Schwab chat because once I wanted to have a written record of the communication and I was pleasantly surprised the results were better via the chat. For example, I could request and get a supervisor more easily on the chat and may be because everything is in writing, the answers are more definite & less B.S. (does not mean accurate) and result oriented. Something I could not get done via three phone calls got done after one chat.
I think it is a misunderstanding to think executives are driven by a goal to increase investor wealth. Here is one ugly truth - some of the people I worked with during my 40s talked quite often about their aspiration to become board members of public companies when they retired (of course, they all wanted to become CEOs but there is a supply constraint for those jobs). For many CEOs stock of the company they used to run does not make up significant part (5%?) of their portfolio a year after they retire from the company.
I hope I am not coming across as having a gripe about anything or anyone. I think it is good to acknowledge the lay of the land and adjust our methods to stay nimble and effortless. No use complaining about the weather - learn to dress or modify behavior appropriately to minimize impact / maximize output.

From the Wall Street Journal's analysis of the economic assumptions released with the Biden budget:

Economic forecasts released Monday as part of the White House’s 2025 budget proposal assume that three-month Treasury bill rates will average 5.1% this year, the same as in 2023, before declining to 4% next year and 3.3% in 2026.
The White House sees the average 10-year Treasury note yield rising to 4.4% this year from 4.1% last year and then declining gradually to 3.7% by the end of this decade.

My recollection is that 5% is dead average for the 10 year note over the past century. Good news: I recall hearing it from Kai Ryssdal on a Marketplace podcast. Bad news: can't track it down.
Those sort of interest rates remind investors that there is an alternative to stocks, which might well occasion a shift from equities and at least the tiniest bit of discipline on the part of managers (fund and otherwise). Jon Sindreu at the Wall Street Journal published an interesting project that suggests that cash might handily beat stocks over the next 12 years and would be pretty competitive with them over the next couple years. His projection of asset class returns, based on "quarters similar to today," puts the two-year APR for stocks at 7.something percent, cash at about 7% and bonds at over 8%. The dominance of stocks would return unless you had a time horizon of five years or more ("How to Invest? More than ever, it depends on who you are?" Wall Street Journal, 3/15/2024)

I wish the White House (or anybody else) a lot of luck trying to predict where interest rates will be a year or two out.
I also recall hearing, years ago, that the long-term average for the 10 year Treasury being around 5%, but I know I didn't hear it from your source.
I have to laugh, or maybe yell, at young people today whining about 6-7% mortgage rates (which are also normalized, if memory serves). I bought my first house in 1975 and paid 8.5% which was the going rate. It went up into double-digits a few years later.
Maybe the era we're in with "high" (normalized) interest rates will encourage young people to not borrow so much, and instead try to live more within their means. I learned that valuable lesson from my father, who was a struggling young man when the Great Depression hit. Most people today cannot comprehend what those people went through.
As for cash being competitive with other asset classes, I have about 11% of my retirement portfolio in a 5.2% money market, which makes for a nice stable portion, yet still earning something -- unlike it would have a few years ago when "cash is trash."

If you like a good story, I suppose the crash and rebirth of GOODX is an interesting one for a magazine that needs subscribers.
If you're looking for a fund that is darn near 50% financial services, here's your ticket.
I just bought AMAGX for the taxable. They don't own financials. I don't seek financials for the IRA. YMMV.
@David_Snowball says:

Drama. Growth. Evolution. Ten of one, half dozen of the other!
Since our July 2023 profile, GOODX has posted top 10 (of our 300+ peers) performance in both total return and risk-adjusted return.

Have you added it to your portfolio?