SEC yields per M*
IEF ( 7-10 year treasury) 4.7
TLH ( 10-20) 5.09
TLT (over 20) 5.0
ITWY (only 20 year treasuries) 5.12
Worth thinking about!

Yes, 8.5% and 8% respectively for us, back in the 70s. We also survived. The rates for the last ten years or so were so low that everyone now seems to think that that was "normal".

For those who do like to own individual stocks as a main investment tool to your overall portfolio, have you compared your stock selections to a broad based index fund like the S&)500 for large US stocks or a small stock ETF or a global ETF if using foreign stocks? It may be hard to compare and answer, but are you winning?
I'm comfortable playing individual stocks as a hobby but nothing more. And for me, alas, it's generally an expensive hobby.

@MikeM - Not sure a 10% weighting to individual stocks counts as “a main investment tool”. Maybe others can better answer. Last year it helped my overall return to hold some individual stocks. Beginner’s luck. And I traded a lot more last year which helped as there were some extreme movements in stocks. Gets tired fast though. This year the individual stocks have worked against me. As I noted earlier, the global food conglomerate has been hit by both the strong dollar and the hysteria over new weight reduction meds. There’s a fear people will eat less. Also, the new med seems to curb drinking. So, without checking, I’d guess brewers have been hit. A lot of other sectors have been hit as well. But - at just 10% of portfolio, individual stocks are not that significant.
Could care less about the indexes. Try to stay as far as possible from the S&P. Herd mentality ISTM. The goal has never been about beating an index. Goal has always been to do somewhat better than cash over time with very low volatility. Of course, with cash, volatility is 0. And returns are predictable. Boils down to comfort level in the end.

For those who do like to own individual stocks as a main investment tool to your overall portfolio, have you compared your stock selections to a broad based index fund like the S&)500 for large US stocks or a small stock ETF or a global ETF if using foreign stocks? It may be hard to compare and answer, but are you winning?
I'm comfortable playing individual stocks as a hobby but nothing more. And for me, alas, it's generally an expensive hobby.

If BB Fan means he’s 85% T-Bills that’s pretty conservative. Here: 47% equity / 30% bond / 15% short term and the rest “other”. I’ve always worked hard to keep volatility in check. The equity exposure is mostly through L/S funds & others that hedge in various ways. Very low volatility. Probably something along the lines of VWINX for daily and long term volatility. (Happy to say performance is superior - but VWINX seems to have fallen off a cliff lately). With some confidence volatility will remain low I’ve not much incentive to hold a lot of cash. I certainly understand the appeal of cash and would not question anyone’s decision to hold a lot. Just not how I’ve always done it.
Crash is correct that one advantage of including individual stocks is that they often move opposite the broader market and can help hedge volatility shorter term. Of course, it can sometimes work in reverse. And selection is important in that regard as well.

We bought our two homes when interest rates were 10.5% and 8%. We refinanced the second mortgage when rates dropped to 6% and eventually paid it off at that rate. We survived.

IOW, a plan with a $300 deductible is not a high deductible plan.
By design, high deductible, HSA-eligible health plans discourage use. Aside from free (no deductible) preventive care, they may cost so much to use that they are effectively just catastrophic insurance.
They work for people in excellent health or those who expect to require major care (premiums + out of pocket cap can be smaller on these plans). They typically don't work as well for those approaching Medicare age, or more generally for people who use some but not a lot of health care goods and services.
These two plans are very good, and the HDHP plan may be (slightly) better in most cases.
Illustrating, where low use means just premiums and free annual preventive care and high use means premiums plus out of pocket cap. For medium care I add deductible and a few routine visits including specialists (say 6 specialist visits CPT 99213, quarterly PCP). For the regular plan, the copays come to 6 x $50 + 4 x $30.
Regular plan: Low use $2400, medium use $3100 (approx), high use $5400
HDHP plan: Low use $1200, medium use in the middle, high use $4200
With the HDHP it's easy to hit the $4200 ($100/mo + $3000 cap) max, especially with Upper East Side doctors, even in network. So say in the medium case (just office visits, minor testing, nothing special) you're comparing $4200 to $3100. That's a difference of $1100. The tax savings (32% bracket) with an HSA is around 32% of $4K or around $1300.
The HDHP may be close to a wash in the middle use range and better on both ends. That's not typical (usually the regular plan works out better in the middle).
Regardless, it may not be a big enough difference one way or the other to be worth pursuing. Your friend might check with a Social Security office to see if Medicare disenrollment is possible. Out of curiosity if nothing else :-).

I've been procrastinating forever moving my HSA from a low interest savings account to a Fidelity account to invest long term. This thread was the motivation I needed to make the move, thanks to @bee and others.
My HSA amount isn't great and with being on Medicare the past 5 years I haven't been able to contribute. Bummer. I wish the gov. would change that rule and allow contributions for seniors! I mean, my Medicare advantage plan is no different than the required plans younger folks have.

There has been some talk in DC about changes to HSA and its relationship to Medicare. But it may be more of give & take - get somethings, but give up some other things.
https://ybbpersonalfinance.proboards.com/post/592/thread

I've been procrastinating forever moving my HSA from a low interest savings account to a Fidelity account to invest long term. This thread was the motivation I needed to make the move, thanks to @bee and others.
My HSA amount isn't great and with being on Medicare the past 5 years I haven't been able to contribute. Bummer. I wish the gov. would change that rule and allow contributions for seniors! I mean, my Medicare advantage plan is no different than the required plans younger folks have.

For 15+ years, we have been in a Bull Stock Market, bolstered by government stimulation and zero interest rates. That looks like an artificial set of conditions that was overdue to end. If you are holding your "breath" expecting those conditions to return anytime soon, I don't see that as likely. It appears that Banks are projecting 5% interest rates for quite a few more years, so stocks will likely have a formidable alternative for many investors' cash. I am breathing just fine with 5% interest rates, and I am not interested in "guessing" if we have hit the bottom of the stock market.

@Crash, yes, DCA down each month into BRUFX. A few years ago I migrated some of my HSA to Fidelity from Bruce Fund. About 25% of my HSA is with Bruce.

My friend sat down with HR yesterday and they had no experience with an employee unenrolling from Part A.
However, they told her that if she is interested in an HSA that she would need to change healthcare plans. With her current plan, approximately $200 is taken out of her paycheck monthly. $300 yearly in-network deductible, $3,000 maximum out-of pocket limit, and mostly copays. $30/visit for her primary, $50/visit for a specialist, $30/visit for x-rays, and $10 copay / $25 copay for generic drugs. With the HSA eligible plan, it would cost her approximately $100 per month. $1,500 yearly in-network deductible, $3,000 maximum out-of pocket limit, and the coverages change from smallish copays to 20% coinsurance pretty much across the board.
The combination of uncertainty regarding unenrolling and reenrolling with Medicare Part A and the inferior healthcare coverage, she decided pass on an HSA. Thanks all for your input!

I often find that my single-stock selections ying when the market in general yangs. Lately, that's often been a backdoor blessing. Biggest ever, so far? One just peeked its chin above 5% of my total portfolio. I hold 5 single stocks. A couple of them are still very tiny. I D-C-A into them in tiny bites. That suits me. It's my only option, strategically AND tactically. So, why beef about it? I get free money to play with every couple of weeks from the spouse-person. :)
Total single-stock portion is still less than 13% of the full portfolio.

@Crash: not related to your problem in Norway, but we found traveling there to be exorbitantly expensive. Our car rental agreement, despite an already high rate, carried a 25% surcharge added to the whole f'n bill.

Holy Jaypers Glop!

5.5% rates, 8% mortgages (I had one briefly in 2000) aren't 'new' -- they're just 'new' for folks (traders, advisors, and many in the media) who have never lived through it before. And by 'new' I also mean 'scary' b/c it's uncharted territory for them and perhaps their training/education/experiences.

Still breathing.
It wasn't that long ago we lived with 5.5% rates, or worse.

PEOPX and DSPIX are two different funds, not two share classes of the same fund. PEOPX is projected to distribute "just" 5.7% of NAV.
Useless trivia: PEOPX ticker comes from the Dreyfus fund's old (1990s) name: People's Index Fund. (A fund for the people? Your guess is as good as mine.)

Google books search will dig up old copies of Kiplingers for info like this.

Forgot to include BNY Mellon U.S. Equity Fund with a estimated total distribution of 38.6%.
The STSCX distribution is expected to be $16.675 plus a small STCG. The closing price on 9/29 was $52.79 so the estimated distribution would be an estimated 31.72%.

Stable-Value (SV) Rates, 11/1/23
TIAA Traditional Annuity (Accumulation) Rates
+25 bps except for Newer IRAs
Restricted RC 7.00%, RA 6.75%
Flexible RCP 6.25%, SRA 6.00%, Newer IRAs 5.20%
TSP G Fund hasn't updated yet (previous monthly rate was 4.75%).
Edit/Add, 11/1/23. TSP G Fund is at 5% for November.
Options outside of workplace retirement plans include m-mkt funds, bank m-mkt accounts (FDIC insured), T-Bills, short-term brokered CDs.
#401k #403b #StableValue #TIAA #TSP
https://ybbpersonalfinance.proboards.com/post/1236/thread