Edit: Feel free to go to the "A Solution" at the bottom of this post and skip the body of this post about the problems I had logging into my Vanguard account.
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Does anyone here use the Vanguard two factor authentication to login?
I tried the Vanguard two factor service today for the first time. After not receiving the code by text for 10 times, I requested a phone call with the code. The call came in and said press 1 for the code. I pressed 1 and the phone got disconnected. After 3 attempts of trying this alternative, I thought may be it will work after regular market hours. Same problem after hours too. The code from other sites came to my phone instantaneously which means it is not AT&T screwing up.
I waited for another 30 minutes and tried again and I received the security code. So, I logged in and immediately disabled the two factor authentication. Then I logged out to make sure I can log back in without two factor authentication. The first screen that came up required me to signup for the two factor authentication service and did not allow me to bypass. So, begrudgingly I signed up again and provided my telephone number to send the code. The screen immediately changed to "Sorry, we are having technical difficulties, please contact customer service (hyperlinked) but no tel number provided. So, I clicked on the hyperlink and the screen looped back to signing up for the two factor authentication. I repeated the process with the same result.
With the CPFB gone, there is no incentive for Vanguard to get better.
Hopefully, you keep Vanguard telephone number in your notes. I got lucky I had it in my notes.
I called them and persisted on speaking with a human who tried for the last 15 minutes to disable the two factor authentication and has now put me on hold to get hold of someone else to do the job and then I got disconnected.
Talking to a second Rep who helped with a solution.
A Solution: download the Vanguard App and set up to login to your account through the App using face ID. After that when you try to login from your computer, in addition to receiving codes to your phone, you also have a choice to authenticate through your mobile Vanguard App which worked well. When you set up login through the mobile App the first time, you still need to receive a code to your phone that one time. Luckily, I did receive the code that time. I will not need to receive codes to my phone in the future.

Gosh, why would Dump want to remove consumer protections????
https://www.thedailybeast.com/more-than-800k-have-lost-2b-on-trumps-meme-coin/
"President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency, called $Trump, has cost investors billions. Trump announced the launch of his meme coin—a type of cryptocurrency that features Internet memes or celebrity mascots—just three days before his inauguration. [... ]Meanwhile, the Trumps have raked in over $100 million in trading fees as Trump makes moves to curb government efforts to regulate cryptocurrencies.
“The president is participating in shady crypto schemes that harm investors while at the same time appointing financial regulators who will roll back protections for victims and who may insulate him and his family from enforcement,” Corey Frayer, who recently left his job as a crypto adviser to the Securities and Exchange Commission, told the New York Times."

Danielle R. Sassoon, the US attorney who prosecuted Sam Bankman-Fried for fraud involving the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, just resigned as interim head of the SDNY office. Though not because Trump didn't like her (he had just named her interim head), nor because of a lack of the "right" credentials (she had clerked for Scalia and is a member of the Federalist Society).
Rather because she refused to drop the prosecution against (soon to be former?) Mayor Adams.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/nyregion/danielle-sassoon-quit-eric-adams.html

Published October, 2024. Author: John Sindreu
“The performance record isn’t great. Over the past 15 years, these vehicles have delivered an average annual return of 12.4% in U.S. blue-chip stocks, compared with 13.5% for their passive brethren, or 12.6% for active open-ended mutual funds. Fees, which average 0.31% for active ETFs and 0.07% for their passive counterparts, add to the performance drag.”
MSN Link (originally WSJ)

ER 1.40% just to hold gold-bullion ETFs/ETNs?
May be use taxable a/c for GLDM, SGOL, IAU, GLD, etc.
Be aware that gold-miners (GDX. GDXJ) are lagging gold-bullion.

I have seen that large redemptions can be in-kind (although few mutual funds do it), but not for purchases.
I don't see any advantage for regular funds except saving a selling step and may be avoiding 1-2 days out of the market.
But there are 351-ETFs that offer tax-advantages for doing this.
Link https://ybbpersonalfinance.proboards.com/thread/762/351-exchange-etfs

AAII Sentiment Survey, 2/12/25
BEARISH remained the top sentiment (47.3%, high) & neutral remained the bottom sentiment (24.3%, below average); bullish remained the middle sentiment (28.4%, below average); Bull-Bear Spread was -18.9% (very low). Investor concerns: Budget, debt, inflation, the Fed, dollar, geopolitical, Russia-Ukraine (155+ weeks), Israel-Hamas (67+ weeks; cease fire). For the Survey week (Th-Wed), stocks down, bonds down, oil up, gold up, dollar up. NYSE %Above 50-dMA 48.78% (positive). CPI +3%, core CPI +3.3%; Fed target +2% average. #AAII #Sentiment #Markets
https://ybbpersonalfinance.proboards.com/post/1880/thread

I examined Artisan Partners Funds' recently released prospectus this evening.
The following section attracted my attention.
"By Purchases in Kind—You may, subject to Artisan Partners Funds’ approval, purchase Investor Shares, Advisor Shares or Institutional Shares of the Funds with securities that are eligible for purchase by the Fund (consistent with the Fund’s investment process, goal and philosophy) and that have values that are readily ascertainable in accordance with the Artisan Partners’ valuation policies. Call Artisan Partners Funds at 800.344.1770 if you would like to purchase shares of the Funds with other securities."
Some fund companies utilize purchases in-kind internally for their mutual funds.
https://www.bogleheads.org/blog/2021/10/26/vanguard-bond-funds-in-kind-trading-and-cross-trades/
This is the first time I recall purchases in-kind being offered as an option for investors.
I may have overlooked similar statements while perusing numerous routinely captivating prospectuses.
Has anyone purchased mutual fund shares with other securities?
What are the advantages/disadvantages of this transaction type?

@habsui,
It was probably a while ago since you dealt with your 2023 tax return but if you remember any quirks you encountered because of the transition year 1099s for that year, please share.
Even with MLP investments, I do not recall ever receiving a corrected 1099 from Schwab or TDA. Hopefully, it says the same way this year as well.
Thanks.

Bought just a handful more of shares in ET midstream oil/gas (LP). The Q4 '24 Earnings Report disappointed the "experts." The stock price fell, two days in a row. Numbers look good, just not as good as those "in the know" figured they should be. My Limit Order specified $19.40. Chucky filled it for me at $19.33. OK, I'll take it.

On tariff news, CLF spiked Monday intra-day to $12+ and I sold my modest stake. Jim Liebenthal said on CNBC said he was not a seller. Today the stock dropped considerably, ending up at $10.56.

Thanks.
FYI - if your TD account was transitioned over to Schwab, I am told by Schwab rep that both of your consolidated 1099s will appear on the 1099 Dashboard under the new Schwab account number (and not in a separate, clearly identified subsection).
My dashboard says I will receive them on Feb 28.
Has anyone received their’s.

An update. The above information is incorrect. (Now you know why I keep checking with you guys about answers I receive from brokerage Reps.)
If your TD account was transitioned over to Schwab, under the 1099 Dashboard section (in the Statements and Tax Forms tab) the TD 1099s will appear under a separate heading "TD Ameritrade Tax Forms" below the group of Schwab 1099s which would be under "Charles Schwab Brokerage Tax Forms." If you have a few accounts in the Dashboard, you may have to scroll down a bit to get to the TD Ameritrade Tax Forms sub section (right above the Statements and Documents section). (In my linked accounts, the TD Ameritrade Tax Forms sub section or heading was not there as of yesterday, which prompted me to call Schwab yesterday to find out how I would locate the TD 1099s when they become available.)
You can also get to all your tax forms by going to the Statements and Documents section (make sure the Tax Forms option is selected). However, know that this feature can be glitchy sometimes and may not display properly (like right now it shows zero documents for me but when I started drafting this post, it was fully populated). My suggestion is to use 1099 Dashboard as your primary access for 1099s.
Yesterday, when I spoke with the Rep, I suggested to him that they put all the TD tax forms in a separate subsection but he insisted it is too late for that suggestion and that for each account, TD 1099 will be labeled with TDA and placed below the Schwab 1099 (which does not have a Schwab label and that is how you know what is available). I can not imagine Schwab redesigned the webpage presentation overnight based on my suggestion - may be other customers too already made similar suggestions or the Rep I spoke with was simply wrong. I must say Schwab, as a company, has acted on more of my suggestions than all other financial institutions combined. TDA made Schwab a better company for me and I am happy with the merger /acquisition.
P.S.: my legacy Schwab account 1099 was available on Jan 24. My transitioned TD 1099 became available today. My transitioned Schwab 1099 is still pending. For the accounts I baby sit, all the legacy and transitioned 1099s became available today. I personally am not in a hurry to get the 1099s as I would rather Schwab does not have to issue Corrected forms. Only letting the forum members know that many of the previously "available 2/28/2025" tax forms already became available. So, keep checking your account if you are anxious to get your tax return going.
(Not necessarily useful information to this post - As much as I love the new Schwab, one thing I would like Schwab Reps to learn is to assess the customer's level of sophistication before opening their mouth to make the conversation productive (short and sweet) - TDA Reps were very good at this and I could till today tell which Schwab Rep is a legacy TDA Rep and which one was hired by Schwab.)

The context was: former TDA account holders who have been transitioned should expect both their tax forms to be found under their new account number. IOW, the way tax forms are sometimes presented when there is a midyear change of clearing houses. But you also included your ETA date.
That date would have been superfluous had you only been seeking confirmation that this was the way the 1099s were actually being delivered. Or if you were just interested in reassurance that the process hadn't been entirely botched, that at least someone got both their tax forms.
The inclusion of the ETA date suggested an interest in whether the 1099s were being delivered on time. Context wasn't ignored. Rather, the specific date appeared to be a salient piece of info. Maybe you only meant to indicate that your own 1099 was not yet late.

”The consumer-price index rose 3% in January from a year earlier, an acceleration from December's rate, and faster than economists had expected.” (Excerpt from today’s WSJ)
Yeah - If sustained longer term, 3% annual would be significant. But nothing like the 10-12% annual increases some of us “middle-aged” folks endured back in the late 70s or early 80s.
I’m a bit surprised the frenzy in eggs that has arisen. Not that healthy in a diet. But, ISTM the Prez did stress them in campaign appearances. So they must be a hard act for him to swallow. Maybe impose a federal limit on how many you can buy at one time until this blows over?

Jamie Dimon, and now Gatch, have routinely come out against crypto. "Stay invested" but "have dry powder"....I guess "stay invested" is vs. "getting totally out of the market". "Large caps look good; mid caps look good....".

Yup. I wondered too. I think he’s speaking to folks who might panic on some news and pull 100% out of the markets. (The “in & out” crowd). He finds that approach very detrimental to long term return. However, Gatch doesn’t object to holding a cash stash as part of overall plan.
I currently have 12% split among money markets and a couple short term bond funds. That’s the “dry powder” part of the portfolio. But, in reality, north of 40% is invested in fixed income according to Fido’s analytics. That’s due to the fact that some allocation funds include fixed income as part of their strategy.
BTW: In the longer conversation Gatch comments a bit on JPIE. I don’t own it. But I know many here do. Sounds like a well run fund.

The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge moved even higher in December, driven largely by rising energy prices as well as food. However, a closely watched measurement of underlying inflation trends indicated some progress in the fight to rein in price hikes.
The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index rose 2.6% in December from the year before, heating up from November’s 2.4% increase, according to new Commerce Department data released Friday.
On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.3% as compared to 0.1% in November.

https://cnn.com/2025/01/31/economy/us-pce-inflation-consumer-spending-december/index.html#:~:text=The%20Federal%20Reserve's%20preferred%20inflation,to%20rein%20in%20price%20hikes.
Food price is rising in our area with eggs at $10/dozen, and the supply is limited. FED will likely to keep the rate high and longer through 2025.

Brokerages use the IRS Method, so the info is also useful for tax-loss harvesting (TLH). When they also provide account return info, they do it in the way investors would calculate TR. I don't see why one would bother going through extra steps @linter mentioned to mess with the brokerage set up.
As an example, suppose you bought a fund for $100, it paid $5 in distribution that you reinvested, and its price after 12 months was $102.
The IRS Method would add $5 distribution to your cost basis (because you will be paying tax on that), so your new cost basis is $105 and your potential loss on sale would be 102/105 = 0.9714, or -2.86%. This is NOT your total-return (TR) but indicates your potential tax-loss.
But as an investor, your potential gain on sale would be 102/100 = 1.02, or +2%. That's more like your TR.
As mentioned previously, M* has a setting for both ways, while brokerages use the IRS Method by default.

1099 delays are most likely due to how long it takes the funds/companies you hold in an account take to report. So the fact that someone else got a form from your brokerage means little. They may not have anything their account that reports slowly.
For example, I received a 1099 for one brokerage account at Fidelity on Jan 25th. I didn't receive a 1099 for another Fidelity brokerage account until Feb 8th. Fidelity said that it was waiting on info from a money market fund in that account. A Fidelity money market fund!

Since I moved to Schwab ahead of the TD process, I only have 1 form, but they say I'll have it by 2/28, so .... who knows? As long as I get it promptly I'm ok.

Not gonna touch an Orange Trump ETF with a ten foot Pole, or even a 13-foot Swede.

+1 raised to the biglyst of powers!

Not gonna touch an Orange Trump ETF with a ten foot Pole, or even a 13-foot Swede.