One can invest directly with Seafarer to gain access to the institutional shares and signing up with their automatic investment plan. The minimum is $1,500.
https://seafarerfunds.com/invest/
SIVLX is a mid-cap value EM fund. Even though it has 10% allocation to China, these are companies not commonly found in large cap EM funds.
https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/mutual-funds/composition/31761R591?type=sq-NavBar

Looks like my backyard minus the ship.

”There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee. …
The Cremation of Sam McGee - by Robert W Service

Wouldn’t ya know? Apple’s up nearly 3% today (with NASDAQ down 1.5%). One of the few things I watch that’s up today.
Strange day. Broad based selloff - equities and bonds. Gold’s off more than $50 to around $1860 - one of the biggest one-day dollar losses I can recall. Miners are off around 4.5% - but some are holding up much better.

i think its SIVLX that's available at Schwab but there's a 25k minimum. I'm kind of surprised that the fund is still only $63M after its been around this long and has performed as well as it has. But most people don't seem to be aware of it. I don't think they market the fund very much. Instead their focus is on marketing SIGIX which has almost $2 Billion in assets. As long as they don't liquidate the fund, small is okay.

@MikeW you are correct on $25,000 at Schwab for SIVLX. I too noticed that it only has $63M in net assets. Hopefully, one of the smarter minds here can opine if that is a concern. Based on only $63M in net assets, an ER of 1.05% seems quite reasonable. And for that, you get two good minds in Paul Espinosa and Andrew Foster. Lydia So is not listed as a manager in the fund (she is in SFGIX/SIGIX), but I would think that in this small boutique company, she too would have input.

i think its SIVLX that's available at Schwab but there's a 25k minimum. I'm kind of surprised that the fund is still only $63M after its been around this long and has performed as well as it has. But most people don't seem to be aware of it. I don't think they market the fund very much. Instead their focus is on marketing SIGIX which has almost $2 Billion in assets. As long as they don't liquidate the fund, small is okay.

From Publication IRS 550, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p550.pdf
Pg 11, "Tax-Exempt Interest
Interest on a bond used to finance government
operations generally is not taxable if the bond is
issued by a state, the District of Columbia, a
U.S. possession, or any of their political subdivisions. Political subdivisions include:
• Port authorities,
• Toll road commissions,
• Utility services authorities,
• Community redevelopment agencies, and
• Qualified volunteer fire departments (for
certain obligations issued after 1980).
There are other requirements for tax-exempt
bonds. Contact the issuing state or local government agency or see sections 103 and 141
through 150 of the Internal Revenue Code and
the related regulations.
Obligations that are not bonds. Interest on a state or local government
obligation may be tax exempt even if
the obligation is not a bond. For example, interest on a debt evidenced only by an ordinary
written agreement of purchase and sale may be
tax exempt. Also, interest paid by an insurer on
default by the state or political subdivision may
be tax exempt."
YBB: States can limit deductibility of interest from FUNDS by requiring min % in US Gov or muni. This doesn't apply to directly held bonds.
Bonds guaranteed by the US Gov are TAXABLE - because those aren't direct US obligations. FNMA, GNMA, etc are in this category.
Pg 11-12, "Taxable Interest
Interest on some state or local obligations is
taxable.
Federally guaranteed bonds. Interest on federally guaranteed state or local obligations issued after 1983 generally is taxable. This rule
does not apply to interest on obligations guaranteed by the following U.S. government agencies.
• Bonneville Power Authority (if the guarantee was under the Northwest Power Act as
in effect on July 18, 1984).
• Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Federal home loan banks. (The guarantee
must be made after July 30, 2008, in connection with the original bond issue during
the period beginning on July 30, 2008, and
ending on December 31, 2010 (or a renewal or extension of a guarantee so
made) and the bank must meet safety and
soundness requirements.)
• Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.
• Federal Housing Administration.
• Federal National Mortgage Association.
• Government National Mortgage Corporation.
• Resolution Funding Corporation.
• Student Loan Marketing Association"

A few observations about this fund:

• The fund modified its objective (region) on March 1, 2012. Prior to that, it was the Emerging Europe & Mediterranean Fund. (Summary Prospectus, March 1, 2012)
  
• Russia was always the 800 lb gorilla in the fund, much more so after 2012.
  
• There were two major swoons in performance: 2008 when Russia invaded Georgia, and 2022 when, well, we all know that. In both instances, the market plummet began months before the actual invasions (5/19/2008 vs. 8/8/2008, and 10/25/2021 vs. 2/24/2022)
  
• But for the current invasion that shut down the Russian stock market for a month, the fund would have been (slightly) profitable in its current incarnation (since March 2012), let alone over its full life. The fund lost 88.84% between 10/25/2021 and 3/7/2022, accounting for more than its total loss of 81.09% since the end of February 2012.

Some more data:
The fund had 67.4% of its assets in Russia as of 10/31/2021, and lost 58.5% in Feb 2022 alone.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/hanktucker/2022/03/01/these-15-stocks-and-10-funds-are-overexposed-to-russia-and-ukraine/?sh=7daecfe76e1f
Back in Oct. 2008 when the fund was still investing in the Mediterranean, 16% of its holdings were in Egypt while 60% of its holdings were in Russia. Stocks in each of those countries fell around 60% between April and October 2008.
2008 Annual Report
Since March 2012, TREMX had a 94% coefficient of correlation with LETRX (proxy for Russia).
Portfolio Visualizer correlations
Prior to March 2012, TREMX had "just" an 88% correlation with LETRX. Its correlation with NEWFX (a broad based EM fund) was slightly higher at 90%. Though TREMX still had volatility resembling Russia's.
Portfolio Visualizer correlations
Unless otherwise labeled, all data from M* charts.

https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1038469/000174177323000161/c497.htm
T. Rowe Price QM Global Equity Fund
Supplement to Prospectus and Summary Prospectus dated May 1, 2022
Effective April 5, 2023, the fund’s name will change from the T. Rowe Price QM Global Equity Fund to the T. Rowe Price Integrated Global Equity Fund. All references throughout the prospectus and summary prospectus to the QM Global Equity Fund are replaced by reference to the Integrated Global Equity Fund.
In connection with this change, effective April 5, 2023, the third and fourth paragraphs under “Principal Investment Strategies” beginning on page 2 will be replaced with the following:
The fund’s integrated approach to investing combines fundamental analysis and quantitative models to identify stocks that could be included in the portfolio. Stocks are selected based on a variety of metrics such as a company’s valuation, profitability, stability, earnings quality, management capital allocation actions, and indicators of near-term appreciation potential.
In addition, effective April 5, 2023, the fourth, fifth, and sixth paragraphs under “Principal Investment Strategies”, which begins on page 9 of the prospectus, will be replaced with the following:
The fund’s integrated approach to investing combines fundamental analysis and quantitative models to identify stocks that could be included in the portfolio. The fund draws on the adviser’s experience in global equity investing and takes into account both its quantitative and fundamental research capabilities. The portfolio is typically constructed in a “bottom up” manner, an approach that focuses more on evaluations of individual stocks than on analyses of overall economic trends and market cycles. Stocks are selected based on a variety of metrics such as a company’s valuation, profitability, stability, earnings quality, management capital allocation actions, and indicators of near-term appreciation potential.
The date of this supplement is February 3, 2023.
F203-041 2/3/23

https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1038469/000174177323000160/c497.htm
T. Rowe Price QM U.S. Small & Mid-Cap Core Equity Fund
Supplement to Prospectus and Summary Prospectus dated May 1, 2022
Effective April 5, 2023, the fund’s name will change from the T. Rowe Price QM U.S. Small & Mid-Cap Core Equity Fund to the T. Rowe Price Integrated U.S. Small-Mid Cap Core Equity Fund. All references throughout the prospectus and summary prospectus to the QM U.S. Small & Mid-Cap Core Equity Fund are replaced by reference to the Integrated U.S. Small-Mid Cap Core Equity Fund.
In connection with this change, effective April 5, 2023, the third and fourth paragraphs under “Principal Investment Strategies” beginning on page 2 will be replaced with the following:
The fund’s integrated approach to investing combines fundamental analysis and quantitative models to identify stocks that could be included in the portfolio. Stocks are selected based on a variety of metrics such as a company’s valuation, profitability, stability, earnings quality, management capital allocation actions, and indicators of near-term appreciation potential.
In addition, effective April 5, 2023, the third and fourth paragraphs under “Principal Investment Strategies” on page 9 of the prospectus will be replaced with the following:
The fund’s integrated approach to investing combines fundamental analysis and quantitative models to identify stocks that could be included in the portfolio. The fund draws on the adviser’s experience in small- and mid-cap investing and takes into account both its quantitative and fundamental research capabilities. The portfolio is typically constructed in a “bottom up” manner, an approach that focuses more on evaluations of individual stocks than on analyses of overall economic trends and market cycles. Stocks are selected based on a variety of metrics such as a company’s valuation, profitability, stability, earnings quality, management capital allocation actions, and indicators of near-term appreciation potential.
The date of this supplement is February 3, 2023.
F202-041 2/3/23

https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1038469/000174177323000159/c497.htm
T. Rowe Price QM U.S. Value Equity Fund
Supplement to Prospectus and Summary Prospectus dated May 1, 2022
Effective April 5, 2023, the fund’s name will change from the T. Rowe Price QM U.S. Value Equity Fund to the T. Rowe Price Integrated U.S. Large-Cap Value Equity Fund. All references throughout the prospectus and summary prospectus to the QM U.S. Value Equity Fund are replaced by reference to the Integrated U.S. Large-Cap Value Equity Fund.
In connection with this change, effective April 5, 2023, the first three paragraphs under “Principal Investment Strategies” beginning on page 2 will be replaced with the following:
Under normal conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (including any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities issued by large-cap U.S. companies. The fund expects to invest predominantly in the common stocks of companies that appear to be undervalued by various measures.
The fund defines a large-cap company as one whose market capitalization falls within the market capitalization range of the Russell 1000® Index. As of December 31, 2022, the market capitalization range for the Russell 1000® Index was approximately $0.65 to $2,066.94 billon.
The fund’s integrated approach to investing combines fundamental analysis and quantitative models to identify stocks that could be included in the portfolio. Stocks are selected based on a variety of metrics such as a company’s valuation, profitability, stability, earnings quality, management capital allocation actions, and indicators of near-term appreciation potential.
In addition, effective April 5, 2023, the first three paragraphs under “Principal Investment Strategies” beginning on page 10 of the prospectus will be replaced with the following:
Under normal conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (including any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities issued by large-cap U.S. companies. The fund expects to invest predominantly in the common stocks of companies that appear to be undervalued by various measures. Shareholders will receive at least 60 days’ prior notice of a change in the policy. The fund expects to invest predominantly in the common stocks of companies that appear to be undervalued by various measures.
The fund defines a large-cap company as one whose market capitalization falls within the market capitalization range of the Russell 1000® Index. As of December 31, 2022, the market capitalization range for the Russell 1000® Index was approximately $0.65 to $2,066.94 billion. The market capitalization of the companies in the fund’s portfolio and the Russell index changes over time; the fund will not automatically sell or cease to purchase stock of a company it already owns just because the company’s market capitalization falls below the market capitalization range of companies in the Russell index.
The fund’s integrated approach to investing combines fundamental analysis and quantitative models to identify stocks that could be included in the portfolio. The fund draws on the adviser’s experience in large-cap investing and takes into account
both its quantitative and fundamental research capabilities. The portfolio is typically constructed in a “bottom up” manner, an approach that focuses more on evaluations of individual stocks than on analyses of overall economic trends and market cycles. Stocks are selected based on a variety of metrics such as a company’s valuation, profitability, stability, earnings quality, management capital allocation actions, and indicators of near-term appreciation potential.
As part of the stock selection process, the adviser focuses primarily on companies whose securities, in the adviser’s opinion, are undervalued. The adviser employs various valuation metrics, such as price-to-earnings, price-to-cash flows, and price-to-book ratios, and compares these ratios with others in the relevant investing universe.
The date of this supplement is February 3, 2023.
F201-041 2/3/23

https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1038469/000174177323000158/c497.htm
T. Rowe Price QM U.S. Small-Cap Growth Equity Fund
Supplement to Prospectus and Summary Prospectus dated May 1, 2022
Effective April 5, 2023, the fund’s name will change from the T. Rowe Price QM U.S. Small-Cap Growth Equity Fund to the T. Rowe Price Integrated U.S. Small-Cap Growth Equity Fund. All references throughout the prospectus and summary prospectus to the QM U.S. Small-Cap Growth Equity Fund are replaced by reference to the Integrated U.S. Small-Cap Growth Equity Fund.
In connection with this change, effective April 5, 2023, the third and fourth paragraphs under “Principal Investment Strategies” on page 2 will be replaced with the following:
The fund’s integrated approach to investing combines fundamental analysis and quantitative models to identify stocks that could be included in the portfolio. Stocks are selected based on a variety of metrics such as a company’s valuation, profitability, stability, earnings quality, management capital allocation actions, and indicators of near-term appreciation potential.
As part of the stock selection process, the adviser focuses primarily on companies that, in the adviser’s opinion, are capable of achieving and sustaining above-average, long-term earnings growth.
At times, the fund may have a significant portion of its assets invested in the same economic sector.
In addition, effective April 5, 2023, the third and fourth paragraphs under “Principal Investment Strategies” on page 10 of the prospectus will be replaced with the following:
The fund’s integrated approach to investing combines fundamental analysis and quantitative models to identify stocks that could be included in the portfolio. The fund draws on the adviser’s experience in small-cap investing and takes into account both its quantitative and fundamental research capabilities. The portfolio is typically constructed in a “bottom up” manner, an approach that focuses more on evaluations of individual stocks than on analyses of overall economic trends and market cycles. Stocks are selected based on a variety of metrics such as a company’s valuation, profitability, stability, earnings quality, management capital allocation actions, and indicators of near-term appreciation potential.
As part of the stock selection process, the adviser focuses primarily on companies that, in the adviser’s opinion, are capable of achieving and sustaining above-average, long-term earnings growth. The adviser employs various growth metrics, such as a company’s historical and forecasted sales and earnings growth rates.
At times, the fund may have a significant portion of its assets invested in the same economic sector.
The date of this supplement is February 3, 2023.
F120-041 2/3/23

I believe, @Observant1, that I bought the Investor shares of the same fund that you mention.

Yes - same fund but different share class.
As Mona mentioned, SIVLX is available at Vanguard where I have an account.
It has a $25K minimum initial investment.
I believe SFVLX has a $2500 minimum initial investment.

SFVLX can be purchased with a minimum of $2,500 in a regular account and $1,000 in a retirement account directly with Seafarer. I do not see where SFVLX can be purchased through Vanguard or Schwab.

I believe, @Observant1, that I bought the Investor shares of the same fund that you mention.

Yes - same fund but different share class.
As Mona mentioned, SIVLX is available at Vanguard where I have an account.
It has a $25K minimum initial investment.
I believe SFVLX has a $2500 minimum initial investment.

Year 2000 inception. Down for the full period by -49.47%. For the previous 1-year, to 02 Feb, it's down -80.38%. Share price at inception was typical: $10.00. Share price tonight = $2.96. Rather dismal. I suppose it's been exactly the wrong geographical area to open a new dedicated fund. Think about Hungarian nonsense with Orban. Think about the putrid leadership in Belarus, Russia. Think about the invasion of Ukraine. Moldova might be a bright spot, but there's corruption there, so I've read. But at least the leadership supports Ukraine. The Russian-led insurgency in Transnistria is like a boil on the ass of Progress, not to mention the injustice of it all. (Integrity of national borders, and all that good stuff. But that means nothing to the Poot-doink.)
Montenegro: In 2015, the investigative journalists' network OCCRP named Montenegro's long-time President and Prime Minister Milo Đukanović "Person of the Year in Organized Crime." Dreadful.
The wrong fund at the wrong time. But 23 years ago, things looked different, surely.
For convenience, here's the ticker: TREMX.

A similar check for Fidelity core/settlement m-mkt fund SPAXX with FYs 5/1-4/30,
2018 0.42%
2019 0.42%
2020 0.42%
2021 0.15%
2022 0.10%
Now 0.42%

Yes, @MikeW, $25K for the Investor class.

I checked the prospectus (download) for 5-yr history of operating expenses. For VMFXX, for FYs (9/1-8/31),
2018 0.11%
2019 0.11%
2020 0.11%
2021 0.09%
2022 0.09%
Now 0.11% (see the screen shot from today)
So, the waiver was 2 bps that doesn't seem large but can be substantial on $220+ billions ($40+ million). For VG investors, this isn't a big deal. But it may be a bigger issue for other m-mkt funds that have typical ERs of 0.35-0.50%. Those m-mkt funds were being operated at substantial losses during the ZIRP, and many were shut or merged.
https://i.ibb.co/wSm6hrD/Screenshot-2023-02-02-18-11-45.png

I would say it is with fee waiver. If you subscribe to Apple News ($10/month), you get SOME articles which are behind the paywall including Barron’s, WSJ, and Washington Post.

But now that the Federal Reserve has hiked interest rates repeatedly, taking the federal-funds rate to 4.5% on Wednesday, Vanguard money funds have sufficiently plump yields to absorb the costs and still deliver a meaningful return to investors. For example, the Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund yields 4.3%, and the Municipal Money Market yields 1.6% tax-free.  
Vanguard hasn’t announced it was reducing the fee waivers, which arguably reflect a return to a more normal state of affairs now that rates are no longer near zero. Instead, one can see the shift in the funds’ annual reports. 

AAPL - A tech giant. Favorite target of many short sellers. WB holds a bunch.
STORY (Apple)
Some additional after market news: (Excerpted & edited for brevity)
”Amazon (AMZN) -The online giant's net sales $149.20 billion for the fourth quarter came in above analyst expectations of $145.8 billion. Its adjusted earnings of 3 cents per share came in below estimates of 17 cents. Amazon's AWS cloud unit net sales came in at $21.38 billion, a growth of more than 20% compared to the same period in 2022. Operating income came in at $2.74 billion, beating analyst expectations of $2.51 billion.
“Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) - Shares of Google parent Alphabet are trading 6% lower in after hours. The tech giant reported fourth quarter sales, excluding partner payouts, of $63.1 billion versus analyst expectations of $63.2 billion. Advertising revenue fell by 4% while YouTube revenue dropped 8%, reflecting a challenging ad environment amid a slowing economy.
“Apple (AAPL) - Shares fell about 4% in after hours after the tech giant's quarterly revenue of $117.15 billion declined by 5% year-over-year, missing analyst expectations of $121.14. iPhone sales dropped 8% year-over-year to $65.8 billion, missing estimates of $68.3 billion. The company's earnings per share of $1.88 vs also came in below expectations of $2.10.”
Source: Excerpted from Yahoo Finance
In late night trading, NASDAQ futures were down more than 200 points or about -1.6%. S&P futures showing smaller losses. (For context, the NASDAQ gained 384 points on Thursday.)

Vanguard is beginning to remove fee-waivers/ER-caps for m-mkt funds that had been in place during the ZIRP. Investors may notice the changes as most are watching rates very closely. Affected are "...Vanguard Municipal Money Market (ticker: VMSXX), Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund (VMFXX), and Vanguard Cash Reserves Federal Money Market (VMRXX)....Vanguard hasn’t announced it was reducing the fee waivers, which arguably reflect a return to a more normal state of affairs now that rates are no longer near zero....".
Other m-mkt funds are expected to do the same.
By @LewisBraham
https://www.barrons.com/articles/vanguard-money-market-fund-fee-waivers-51675291662?mod=bol-social-tw

I hit a paywall with the Barrons article. As of yesterday, the 7 day SEC yield for VMRXX was 4.31%. Is that with or without the fee waiver?