@yogibearbull : Yes sir I got all of that. If only they had more $ to throw at the higher rate. Note also .625 rate shows a loss !! Go figure ?!

Was I supposed to sell on the 1st day of May or the last? This investing stuff is so confusing sometimes.

Chill Out Mark - Like Melania ”I really don’t care …”

new (persuasive) thoughts on inflation
https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/template/oakv2?campaign_id=116&emc=edit_pk_20230526&instance_id=93572&nl=paul-krugman&productCode=PK&regi_id=22268089&segment_id=134011&te=1&uri=nyt://newsletter/e5fb7e76-bcbf-5c61-be18-2fdaaa5dc431&user_id=83d45440ead1d14c2a89a1e7221337d1

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1005020/000093041323001656/c106434_497.htm
497 1 c106434_497.htm
Virtus FORT Trend Fund,
a series of Virtus Opportunities Trust
Supplement dated May 25, 2023, to the Summary and Statutory Prospectuses and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) of the fund named above, each dated January 27, 2023, as supplemented
Important Notice to Investors
On May 23, 2023, the Board of Trustees of Virtus Opportunities Trust voted to approve a Plan of Liquidation of the Virtus FORT Trend Fund (the “Fund”), pursuant to which the Fund will be liquidated (the “Liquidation”) on or about July 12, 2023 (“Liquidation Date”).
Effective June 9, 2023, the Fund will be closed to new investors and additional investor deposits, except that purchases will continue to be accepted for defined contribution and defined benefit retirement plans, and the Fund will continue to accept payroll contributions and other types of purchase transactions from both existing and new participants in such plans. Investors should note that the Fund’s investments will be sold in anticipation of the Liquidation and may be sold in advance of June 9, 2023.
At any time prior to the Liquidation Date, shareholders may redeem or exchange their shares of the Fund for shares of the same class of any other Virtus Mutual Fund. There will be no fee or sales charges associated with exchange or redemption requests.
Prior to the Liquidation Date, the Fund will begin engaging in business and activities for the purposes of winding down the Fund’s business affairs and transitioning some or all of the Fund’s portfolios to cash and cash equivalents in preparation for the orderly liquidation and subsequent distribution of its assets on the Liquidation Date. During this transition period, the Fund will no longer pursue its investment objective or be managed in a manner consistent with its investment strategies, as stated in the Prospectuses. This is likely to impact the Fund’s performance. The impending Liquidation of the Fund may result in large redemptions, which could adversely affect the Fund’s expense ratios. Those shareholders who remain invested in the Fund during part or all of this transition period may bear increased brokerage and other transaction expenses relating to the sale of portfolio investments prior to the Liquidation Date.
On the Liquidation Date, any outstanding shares of the Fund will be automatically redeemed as of the close of business, except shares held in BNY Mellon IS Trust Company custodial accounts, which will be exchanged for shares of the Virtus Seix U.S. Government Securities Ultra-Short Bond Fund. For BNY Mellon IS Trust Company custodial accounts, Class A shares, Class I shares and Class R6 shares of the Fund will be exchanged for Class A shares, Class I shares and Class R6 shares of the Virtus Seix U.S. Government Securities Ultra-Short Bond Fund, respectively. Class C shares of the Fund will be exchanged into Class A shares of the Virtus Seix U.S. Government Securities Ultra-Short Bond Fund, and any contingent deferred sales charges will be waived.
Shareholders with BNY Mellon IS Trust Company custodial accounts should consult the prospectus for the Virtus Seix U.S. Government Securities Ultra-Short Bond Fund for information about that fund. The proceeds of any redemption will be equal to the net asset value of such shares after the Fund has paid or provided for all charges, taxes, expenses and liabilities. The distribution to shareholders of these liquidation proceeds will occur as soon as practicable, and will be made to all Fund shareholders of record at the time of the Liquidation. Additionally, the Fund must declare and distribute to shareholders any realized capital gains and all net investment income no later than the final liquidation distribution. The Fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income prior to the Liquidation.
Although shareholders are expected to receive proceeds of the Liquidation in cash, proceeds distributed to shareholders may be paid in cash, cash equivalents, or portfolio investments equal to the shareholder’s proportionate interest in the net assets of the Fund (the latter payment method, “in kind”). Shareholders who receive proceeds in kind should expect (i) that the in-kind distribution will be subject to market and other risks, such as liquidity risk, before sale, and (ii) to incur transaction costs, including brokerage costs, when converting the investments to cash.
Because the exchange or redemption of your shares could be a taxable event, we suggest you consult with your tax advisor prior to the Fund’s liquidation.
Investors should retain this supplement with the Prospectuses and SAI for future reference.
VOT 8567 FORT Trend Fund Supplement (5/2023)

The fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year as an exhibit to its reports on
Form N-PORT. The fund’s Form N-PORT reports are available on the SEC’s website at
www.sec.gov.
Coupon
Maturity
Date
Face
Amount
($000)
Market
Value •
($000)
U.S. Government and Agency Obligations (12.1%)
U.S. Government Securities (11.7%)
United States Treasury Note/Bond 0.625% 10/15/24 501,000 473,758
United States Treasury Note/Bond 4.500% 11/30/24 175,000 175,656
United States Treasury Note/Bond 1.000% 12/15/24 68,000 64,430
United States Treasury Note/Bond 4.250% 12/31/24 392,264 392,57
Why the difference in rates as the maturities are close ? DCA Purchased at different time, probably.
Face amount & Market value shown.
So the banks weren't the only ones getting whacked. Wonder if Wellington was holding any T's & notes, ETC..

What will be the rating if we do default?

“Although Wood holds Nvidia across several of her smaller funds, investors in the flagship ARK Innovation ETF (ticker ARKK) have mostly been left out of this year’s blistering 159.90% rally.”
OOPS!
Story Here

Vanguard Health Care had an annualized 16.4% return during Ed Owens'
long tenure (05/23/1984 - 12/31/2012) compared to the the S&P 500 index's 10.7% return.
This fund has not performed as well since Jean Hynes became the sole named manager in 2013.
Note: Today it was announced that longtime analyst Rebecca Sykes
was promoted to comanager on Vanguard Health Care.

[snip]
Also, I would not leave a dime in any Wells Fargo accounts. That bank has a poor history, and I'm not convinced that the culture there has changed. If a bank is opening accounts that customers didn't approve, you don't deal with that bank.

+1
"Wells Fargo has been sanctioned repeatedly by U.S. regulators for violations of consumer protection laws going back to 2016, when employees were found to have opened millions of accounts illegally in order to meet unrealistic sales goals. Since then, executives have repeatedly said Wells is cleaning up its act, only for the bank to be found in violation of other parts of consumer protection law, including in its auto and mortgage lending businesses."
"While Wells Fargo tried to frame the agreement with the CFPB as a resolution of established bad behavior, CFPB officials said some of the violations cited in Tuesday’s order took place this year."
Link

@davidrmoran,
I offered this for discussion back in 2020 from the poor swiss website:
updated-trinity-study-for-2020-more-withdrawal-rates/p1
Nice to see further updates. Thanks.

thanks for reminder; I did do a site search, so as not to take novel credit unduly :)

ICI Fact Book, 2023
The new 2023 ICI Factbook is now available. Both the full PDF (long) & separate chapter PDFs are available; downloadable Excel files for each chapter are also available. Topics covered include funds – OEFs, ETFs, CEFs; TDFs, 529s, 401k/403b, IRAs, fund history & regulation.
Fact Book Website www.icifactbook.org/

Just a follow up note on Charles Schwab banks issuing CDs. On the Schwab Brokerage site today, Charles Schwab Bank, located in Westlake Texas, is offering an 18 month CD with an interest rate of 5.05%. It has an overall B rating, with 2 subcategories with F ratings. It appears that some of the posters on this thread is recommending ignoring that Banks Health Rating Status. Maybe they are right, but I will not invest in any Bank CD offering with that poor of a health rating--there are too many other Banks with better health ratings than this Schwab Bank.

As of 3/22/23 for TCAF:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1795351/000174177323000929/c497k.htm

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/711322/000089418923003906/greenspringfundreorg497est.htm
97 1 greenspringfundreorg497est.htm 497
Greenspring Fund, Inc.
Supplement dated May 25, 2023 to the
Prospectus, Summary Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”)
dated May 1, 2023, as supplemented
At a meeting held on May 4, 2023, the Board of Directors of the Greenspring Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) approved an Agreement and Plan of Reorganization (the “Plan of Reorganization”) with respect to the Fund. The Plan of Reorganization provides for the reorganization (the “Reorganization”) of the Fund into the Cromwell Greenspring Mid Cap Fund (the “New Fund”), a newly-created series of Total Fund Solution, a Delaware statutory trust. The Board of Trustees of Total Fund Solution approved the Plan of Reorganization on May 18, 2023.
A combined proxy statement/prospectus (the “Proxy Statement”) seeking Fund shareholder approval for the Reorganization and containing more information regarding the Reorganization will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additionally, a notice of a special meeting of shareholders and the Proxy Statement will be sent to Fund shareholders in the near future. The special meeting of shareholders is expected to occur on or about July 24, 2023 at which shareholders of record as of June 16, 2023 will be asked to vote on the proposal to approve the Reorganization. If the Plan of Reorganization is approved by Fund shareholders, shareholders of the Fund will receive Institutional Class shares of the New Fund having the same aggregate net asset value as the shares of the Fund they hold on the date of the Reorganization. The Reorganization will not affect the value of your account in the Fund at the time of the Reorganization. The Reorganization is expected to be treated as a tax-free reorganization for federal income tax purposes. The New Fund's management fee and operating expense ratio will remain the same as the Fund. However, Corbyn Investment Management, Inc. (“Corbyn”), the Fund’s current investment adviser, believes that the operational efficiencies anticipated as a result of the Reorganization may lead to a decrease in the New Fund’s operating expense ratio over time.
Prior to the Reorganization, which is expected to occur on or about July 28, 2023, Corbyn will continue to manage the Fund in the ordinary course. After the Reorganization, Cromwell Investment Advisors, LLC (“Cromwell”) will serve as investment adviser for the New Fund and Corbyn will serve as the investment sub-adviser for the New Fund. Charles vK. Carlson and Michael Goodman, the current portfolio managers for the Fund, will also be the portfolio managers of the New Fund and will continue to be responsible for the day-to-day management of the New Fund’s portfolio. The New Fund will have similar, but not identical, investment objectives and principal investment strategies as the Fund. Unlike the Fund, the New Fund does not have (1) a secondary investment objective of obtaining income, and (2) a principal investment strategy of investing in fixed income securities. A comparison of the investment objective, policies and strategies of the Fund and the New Fund will be provided in the Proxy Statement. Cromwell and Corbyn have agreed to assume all of the costs of the Reorganization.
Fund shareholders may purchase and redeem shares of the Fund in the ordinary course until the last business day before the closing of the Reorganization. Purchase and redemption requests received after that time will be treated as purchase and redemption requests for shares of the New Fund.
Please retain this Supplement for future reference.

Congress is on Memorial Recess now, but may be recalled on short notice. More precious days to the debt-ceiling deadline wasted.
Meanwhile, very short-term T-Bills yields are acting up, while the dollar is getting stronger. This may be getting complicated and messier.
https://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=UUP&p=D&b=5&g=0&id=p78212751137

Nothing ... NOTHING will ever get in the way of scheduled Congressional vacations away from DC -- er, "district work periods."

I can’t remember such a bifurcated market as in recent days. The S&P has been positive all day with the Dow running in reverse. The bigger news is the NASDAQ, up 250+ points or 1.6% today alone (at noon) and far outdistancing the Dow & S&P to date. Bloomberg’s talking heads (always a suspect source) are using the word “chasing” a lot today in trying to analyze recent investor behavior. I tend to agree. But, what’s new there?
The NASDAQ is benefiting from a double-digit rise in Nvidia, which reported strong earnings yesterday after the markets closed. Gold and precious metals continue to sink, with gold now below $1950. Miners (GDX) are off another 1.90% today after a 2.3% drubbing yesterday. Oil is also getting burnt today.
Recall that recent thread: “Gold is breaking out … “ ?

Congress is on Memorial Recess now, but may be recalled on short notice. More precious days to the debt-ceiling deadline wasted.
Meanwhile, very short-term T-Bills yields are acting up, while the dollar is getting stronger. This may be getting complicated and messier.
https://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=UUP&p=D&b=5&g=0&id=p78212751137

"In November 2021, T. Rowe launched its Summit Program, which allows any investor with more than $250,000 at the firm to buy top-performing closed funds like Capital Appreciation. Of course, many investors don’t have that kind of wealth and don’t necessarily want to tie up their assets with one money manager. In T. Rowe’s case, though, its brokerage offers funds from other families, stocks, and exchange-traded funds—and assets in them count toward Summit’s minimum."

For those who pay an advisor to manage their money, those advisor's management fees need to be accounted for as well. These fees represent an additional "withdrawal" to your SWR rate.
The two largest fees are your fund's expense ratios (mutual fund or ETF management fee) and your independent advisor's management fees. If you employ a portfolio manager often they will withdraw 1% of your portfolio yearly. That kind of a 1% "drag" on your SWR can reduce a very significant amount of your wealth over long periods of time (30 - 40 years in retirement for example).
To illustrate this, I will use a highly efficient mutual fund (VFINX...low ER) and run a simulation through Portfolio Visualizer. I set the withdrawal rate of 1% over the life of the simulation to see what the impact of just the management fee would be on the portfolio's ending value. I used $1,000 as the starting Portfolio value.
https://portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest
Time frame: 1985 - 2023 (38 years)
Paying management fees of 1% (withdrawn yearly) on a portfolio starting value of $1K in 1985, this portfolio would have grown to $38K by 2023. The Inflation adjusted value of that $1K in 1985 = $13K in 2023.
Removing the 1% withdrawal the during this same time frame, $1K(1985) grew to $56K (2023), with and adjusted inflation value of $19.5K.
This means that the a retiree, who paid a 1% management fee throughout retirement (1985-2023), had a portfolio that was 33% less than the same retiree who self managed their retirement portfolio.
Another way of looking at this is that your advisor made $18K (the difference between $56K-$38K) advising you over these 38 year. You made $27K. If you need advice...pay for it hourly, not as a percentage under management.
If there is one thing we all can do to improve our success with SWR in retirement it would be to reduce the fees that we pay on both the funds we invest in and advisor fees we pay others.

AAII Sentiment Survey, 5/24/23
For the week ending on 5/24/23, bearish remained the top sentiment (39.7%; above average) & bullish remained the bottom sentiment (27.4%; below average); neutral remained the middle sentiment (32.9%; above average); Bull-Bear Spread was -12.3% (below average). Investor concerns: Inflation (moderating but high); economy; the Fed; dollar; crypto regulations; market volatility (VIX, VXN, MOVE); Russia-Ukraine war (65+ weeks, 2/24/22- ); geopolitical. For the Survey week (Th-Wed), stocks were down, bonds down, oil up, gold down, dollar up. Fitch put the US debt on negative watch as the debt-ceiling deadline 6/1/23 approaches & there is now Memorial Day recess. The regional banking crisis continues. #AAII #Sentiment #Markets
https://ybbpersonalfinance.proboards.com/post/1044/thread