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.

I have concentrated in the right categories since 1995. See (link).

LOL. WTF dude.

@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.

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.

@FD1000 Are you bragging or complaining? You're not tired OR proud, are you? LOL.

"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.

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.

(Other firms charge transfer fees, so not a big surprise per se....but probably noteworthy for Vanguard)
Vanguard, the country’s second-largest financial-advisory firm, will start charging brokerage-account holders a slew of new fees starting July 1 — including a $100 processing fee to close an account or transfer assets to another firm. That fee, however, will be waived for customers with at least $5 million in assets.
The account-closure fee is a first for Vanguard, long a provider of low-cost investing options and a pioneer in passively managed index funds.
< - >
In addition to Vanguard’s new account-closure fee, the company will also charge $25 for broker-assisted trades of Vanguard funds (unless the customer holds $1 million or more in Vanguard assets or is enrolled in a Vanguard advisory service); $100 to process the deposit of physical share certificates; a 20% fee on funds recovered from class-action settlements on clients’ behalf; a 1% fee on gross dividends paid on foreign or American depository receipt assets held in U.S. dollars; and a $250 processing fee for research and removal of a restriction on securities in brokerage accounts.
< - >
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/vanguard-the-low-cost-investing-pioneer-will-now-charge-100-to-close-an-account-unless-youre-a-multimillionaire-09ef461c?mod=newsviewer_click

I am pretty certain it was 1992 when I jumped at the chance to buy re-opened low turnover Primecap shares for a taxable account. I felt fairly lucky, except SEQUX caused some fund envy. But of course, that envy disappeared in time. Other than MM holdings, VPMAX became my largest position - now ~13% of PV. Given the mediocre performance for several recent years, I certainly wouldn't mind if it reverted to its historical mean.

Its heyday may be over? Last 5 years 2019-2023 or YTD it hasn't even kept up with the SP500 (VOO) Why pay ER .31 (VPMAX adm) vs ER .03 (VOO). On 200k that's $620 vs $60.

@hank,
There is a lot of froth underneath the surface.
look at the relentless insider sales at HIMS and the relentless retail purchase of the stock.
Since they announced about 2-3 weeks ago about getting into weight loss drugs, there are a lot of C-suite sales, with the Chief Commercial Officer alone making two insider sales for a total of nearly 1M shares. After those sales, he owns 2M shares - so, he sold 1/3rd of his position and during that time the stock has gone up 30+%.
This is not one isolated example. There are a lot of stocks like this below the surface and the narrow 7 or 10 stock bull market narrative is from the (lazy?) media.

VPMCX is the first mutual fund I ever owned back in 1985/86.

Eight or nine years of redemptions probably explains it.
BTW, those consistent redemptions have resulted in years and years of significant capital gains distributions. On an after-tax basis both of these funds have underperformed the S&P 500, by more than 100 bps a year for over a decade.

Trying to figure out if this is the thread where we discussed Schwab platform being behind Fidelity for Treasury and Agency purchases, I noticed that we completely destroyed this thread with off (thread) topics. With apologies, I go one more time.
My Treasury positions at Schwab and Fidelity matured on June 15 (Saturday). Friday evening, Fidelity positions page showed pending credit and first thing Monday AM, Fidelity moved the money to sweep account. Schwab did not show anything last night and added to cash this AM.
I had forgotten about the Schwab position until this AM when I received this email from Schwab "Your fixed income security will be maturing soon." [bold added] I looked into the email details and noticed the maturity date "June 15." Fidelity sent me the reminder a few weeks ago.
Also, I looked at the interest credit. Treasury did not pay me for the extra two days they had my money, and then there was that extra day of interest loss at Schwab (lost interest on $500K made me notice.)
So, on my next Treasury or Agency purchase, I not only have to look at the coupon (buying at par) but also whether the maturity date falls on a weekend / holiday. Also, unlikely to buy at Schwab; the one matured at Schwab was moved from Fidelity.
P.S.: (1) My memory could be faulty but I thought corporate bonds added extra interest upon maturity if the maturity date fell on a weekend / holiday. (Treasury certainly did not do that.) Is my expectation misplaced?
(2) 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)?

@BaluBalu Around July 15th is when MRFOX updates the website with new info. Updating after quarter-end is the most efficient for them. The PM also writes, "However, I'll kick this to our marketing and ops folks to see if they have thoughts. And then adding, "I would also note that our goal is for investors to take the long view, so if they’re concerned about short term issues, then this might not be the right vehicle for them."
I hope this helps. If you have further thoughts or concerns, you might consider sharing them with their management team yourself. Best.

Thank you, Dennis.
Many funds release information about material fund changes once a month. Some of them are successful long term funds and many of us hold those funds long term. MRFOX have to find a way to communicate about the fund once a month. I am not asking them to write macro or market commentary once a month or ever, which is of no use to me. It takes 5 minutes of an administrative assistant’s time once a month when a process is set up to show material fund changes. If there is a desire to communicate, they will find a way to do so.
I think it is a misplaced view for the management to say to the shareholders “if they are concerned about short term issues, then this might not be the right vehicle for them.” I did not get the thought to perhaps bail from the fund until I read that view.
When we got into the fund, we already knew what is meant by the 90 day short term redemption penalty and so I am a bit surprised by the management reaction to my request for more communication. You can treat your shareholders like partners or simply as a counter party to a transactional arrangement.
Edit: For the management to react the way they did, I am guessing they are overwhelmed (irritated?) with shareholder calls. There is nothing more I can say to them by calling them that I have not said here but thanks for the offer to call them. They can read this forum.

@Tarwheel
Hard to generalize about state pensions. My sister in Texas is in similar shape as you.
But if you had worked in CT you would get traditional 60 to 70% of “high three average” ( go overtime go) with inflation adjustments AND lifetime health insurance for you and ur spouse.
Vests ( including health insurance) After ten years of employment. So work ten years ie 22 to 32 yo and enjoy health insurance till 100!

End of message.

UPDATE: The following information was recently received from the SBA on June 17:

We received your identity theft complaint. After a thorough review of the loan record and the
information you have provided, we have confirmed that you did not apply for this loan nor receive
any benefit from this fraudulent loan application.
As a result of this determination, we are taking action to disassociate this loan from your identity
(or that of your business) and will cease all notices, statements, or other correspondence regarding
this loan. SBA will not take any action to collect this loan from you or your business. It may take
up to 30 (thirty) days for this update to take effect in our system. Please contact us should you
receive any notices, statements or other correspondence from us more than 30 days after the date
of this letter.

I/we must add that the SBA performed in a very professional manner. I/we SALUTE their efficient processing of this fraudulent claim.
Once processing began, we were notified that the original fraudulent claim was in the amount of $13,300. No charges were ever placed against any accounts we have.

@BaluBalu Around July 15th is when MRFOX updates the website with new info. Updating after quarter-end is the most efficient for them. The PM also writes, "However, I'll kick this to our marketing and ops folks to see if they have thoughts. And then adding, "I would also note that our goal is for investors to take the long view, so if they’re concerned about short term issues, then this might not be the right vehicle for them."
I hope this helps. If you have further thoughts or concerns, you might consider sharing them with their management team yourself. Best.