Conestoga Mutual Funds
Conestoga Funds Distributions:
At this time, we are expecting a long-term capital gains distribution in the Conestoga Small Cap Fund of $0.615220/share, payable to shareholders with a record date of December 1, 2023, with a payable/ex-dividend date of December 4, 2023. Currently, we are not expecting to have capital gains distributions in the Conestoga SMid Cap, Micro Cap, or Mid Cap Funds.
For complete information, go to https://www.conestogafunds.com/mutual-funds

Heard a bit about AMICA for insurance. Comments?

Amica has been rated by Consumer Report as the best insurance for decades now. I tried them several times. We have 3 insurance products auto, home, and umbrella and I need one company to handle all of them.
We had State Farm for 10+ years but they wanted to triple our auto insurance when the kids started to drive. I changed to Liberty for "only" 50% increase. My kids had several accidents and 3 totals, and Liberty was great. Liberty raised my auto insurance only once for 6 months. Every 3-5 years my agent was able to keep it low by writing a new auto policy, but Liberty got rid of the local agents and I had to fight myself.
Earlier this year, Liberty wanted to increase our auto insurance by 50%, after about 20 years I changed to Allstate at only a 20% increase.
Every time I called Amica, they could match only the Umbrella(which is the simplest) but not the auto + home insurance (at least double +).

@stillers, you got to the right place. Invesco/VZ is a leader in the equal-weight fund space and has a whole bunch of them. Most are ETFs, but some OEFs also. For the fund you found, there are multiple classes with varying availabilities.
VADAX, Investor class, ER 0.53% (high), no-load/NTF at Fido and Schwab. May have front-load elsewhere.
VADDX, Institutional class, ER 0.28% (so-so), min only $1K. It seems that Invesco has restricted access and that may be why Fido and Schwab don't offer it on their platform.
VADFX, Retirement R6 class, ER 0.19% (lowest). Restricted to large plans.
AUM in all classes $6.1 billion.
But there is a huge ETF version RSP, ER 0.20%, AUM $41.2 billion. That seems like the best deal for retail investors as the general choice is VADAX or RSP.

Donuts & doughnuts I like them both ! Crash +1

"Go-anywhere moderately-aggressive-allocation (70-90% equity) EKBAX"
is a worthy OEF in its category.
But...with an over 52% Tech allocation and a relatively paltry 14% YTD TR, we'll instead use FSELX (63% YTD), FBGRX (50%) and/or FSPTX (46%) for our hi-flying exposures.
@yogibearbull: Sorry if a bit off-topic. We're looking for an SP, equal-weighted index OEF. So far researching VADAX. Are there other OEFs like it to consider?

A deductible is the amount you have to pay before any insurance kicks in. The highest deductible a Part D plan is allowed to have is $545; some may have lower deductibles.
https://www.medicare.gov/drug-coverage-part-d/costs-for-medicare-drug-coverage/yearly-deductible-for-drug-plans
After you pay the deductible, then you are charged copay (fixed dollar amount) or coinsurance (percentage of the negotiated cost). This is called the "initial phase". Once you've paid $5030 for drugs (including the deductible) you enter the "gap coverage phase" aka the "donut hole".
https://www.medicare.gov/drug-coverage-part-d/costs-for-medicare-drug-coverage/copaymentcoinsurance-in-drug-plans
These are all 2024 figures. 2023 figures are a bit lower.
Here's an inexpensive (50¢/mo premium) Part D plan in Honolulu. It has a $545 deductible; after that it charges 50% for non-preferred brand name drugs. Assuming you've met your deductible, then for a non-preferred brand name drug that cost $800, you'd pay $400 and the insurer would pay the rest.
Wellcare Value Script S4802-164-0
Another plan might have a $100/mo copay for non-preferred brand name drugs. In such a plan, once you met the deductible, you'd pay $300 for a 90 day supply of the drug.
Is this extortion? That's an economic, a business, and a political question. If you have investments in pharmaceutical companies, you are getting some benefit from this system. Not nearly as much as it is costing you on the consumer side, but this is the system that was set up in 2003.

In a poll taken in the week that President Bush signed the new Medicare law, 47 percent of senior citizens opposed the changes, and only 26 percent voiced their approval. Among people of all ages who said they were closely following the Medicare debate, 56 percent said they disapproved of the legislation, and 39 percent supported it (ABC News/Washington Post Poll 2003).
...
Pharmaceutical manufacturers could now expect a higher demand from their best customers, and they prevailed on all three of their priority issues: no direct administration of benefits by the federal government, no explicit cost control measures, and no legalization of drug reimportation.

A Political History of Medicare and Prescription Drug Coverage, 2004.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2690175/
Only now, 20 years later, are we beginning to see changes. The $2K out of pocket cap doesn't become effective until 2025.

https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/how-will-the-prescription-drug-provisions-in-the-inflation-reduction-act-affect-medicare-beneficiaries/

Just posted all ratings to MFO Premium site through October using Refinitiv's data drop dated 17 November.
First time the update made same day Lipper drops data, early today Saturday. Soon, the updates will be same morning.
Month To Date (MTD) numbers, through 17 November, looking good! Helping offset a terrible October.

Traditional Medicare lets me sleep nights and I have to chase down no eligible doctors and hospitals.
There are some (an admittedly small number) of providers who have opted out of Medicare entirely. In this sense, Medicare too has a network, it's just a very large network.
https://data.cms.gov/tools/provider-opt-out-affidavits-look-up-tool
Medicare PPOs cover all providers who have not opted out of Medicare. PPOs typically do not require referrals. The claim that MA restricts you to networks while Original Medicare does not is close to a canard. The only network that Medicare PPOs restrict you to is the Medicare network.
IMHO the key differences between MA and Original Medicare are: MA plans require preapprovals for some procedures; and costs differ. MA plans come with built in (max out of pocket) caps and often fixed dollar co-pays (as opposed to Medicare's uncapped 20% coinsurance). Though it does cost more to go out of network than stay in network with a PPO.
Medicare Supplemental plans that contain costs and cover coinsurance are not cheap. They often cost more than Medicare Part B itself. One doesn't need, and cannot buy, a Medicare Supplemental plan with a MA plan. However, a MA plan will tend to have higher out of pocket costs compared to Original Medicare plus Medigap.
Cost differences between MA and Original Medicare could explain why MA participants tend to be poorer than Original Medicare participants.
2024 MAPD plans in each Hawaii county (from Medicare.gov):
Hawaii: 6 plans, 4 are PPOs
Maui: 9 plans, 7 are PPOs
Kauai: 11 plans, 10 are PPOs
Honolulu: 17 plans, 13 are PPOs
Kalawao: 2 plans, both are PPOs
Sample plans (not saying these are especially good, just providing examples):
Humana Choice PPO H5216-233-1, $0 premium, $0 drug deductible is available in Honolulu county.
Humana Choice PPO H5216-233-2, $0 premium, $0 drug deductible is available in Maui and Kauai counties.
HMSA Akamai Advantage Standard PPO H3832-007-0, $0 premium, $400 drug deductible is available in Hawaii, Kalawao, Kauai, and Maui counties.
Most standalone Part D plans have substantial drug deductibles, often the $545 legal max.

+1. Two minor surgeries at two different hospitals this year. Traditional Medicare lets me sleep nights and I have to chase down no eligible doctors and hospitals. Note: I was in the doc's office the other day, and a woman was there from the Big Island. She was referred from over where she lives, in Hilo. That's a big, expensive doctor's visit for her!!! No ferries here. Gotta FLY.

$259K federal debt per US taxpayer. IMHO the debt issue discussion will be here for keeps. 20 year auction on 11/20 and 30 year auction on 12/12. I am watching to see if this slowly develops into a simple supply/demand issue disregarding other macro events. Most equities on US exchanges are priced in dollars.

@Crash - Who you gonna believe? Your own eyes … or a report by the NHSTA? :)
Gotcha. Some federal agency had way too much money to burn. Next, they can compute the risk of me walking outside of the painted bars in the crosswalk. JAYZUZ.
The 2011 study by the National Highway Safety Transportation Authority was follow up to an earlier 2009 study which reached similar conclusions.
From page 19 of study:
”Overall, the odds ratios indicate that the odds of an HE vehicle being in either a pedestrian or bicycle crash are greater than the odds of an ICE vehicle being in a similar crash. The odds ratio for an HE versus an ICE vehicle involved in a pedestrian crash was 1.35, and the odds ratio for an HE versus an ICE vehicle involved in a bicycle crash was 1.57.”
(HE - Hybrid & Electric motor vehicles / ICE - Internal combustion vehicles)
The Study: https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/811526

Nov 18th Episode...Part two:

The graphic is set for the 5 days ending November 17, Friday; for the best to worst % returns in select etf categories. SpaceX uses the term 'unscheduled disassembly' when a destructive event occurs during any stage of a pre-orbit launch. With about 6 weeks of equity/bond markets trading remaining for the year, our house is hoping there will not be any Unscheduled Portfolio Disassembly. Fingers crossed for no UPD, as numerous investment areas will have decent year ending performance.
Remain curious,
Catch

@Crash - Who you gonna believe? Your own eyes … or a report by the NHSTA? :)
The 2011 study by the National Highway Safety Transportation Authority was follow up to an earlier 2009 study which reached similar conclusions.
From page 19 of study:
”Overall, the odds ratios indicate that the odds of an HE vehicle being in either a pedestrian or bicycle crash are greater than the odds of an ICE vehicle being in a similar crash. The odds ratio for an HE versus an ICE vehicle involved in a pedestrian crash was 1.35, and the odds ratio for an HE versus an ICE vehicle involved in a bicycle crash was 1.57.”
(HE - Hybrid & Electric motor vehicles / ICE - Internal combustion vehicles)
The Study: https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/811526

FUNDS. Go-anywhere moderately-aggressive-allocation (70-90% equity) EKBAX (ER 1.1%; no-load/NTF at Fidelity, Schwab) invests in stocks (45% tech, 29% industrials) and bonds (including HY, convertibles). Manager Margret PATEL was a HY specialist in her former career (at Wells Fargo, Pioneer, Third Avenue, Northstar). (By @lewisbraham at MFO)
EXTRA, FUNDS. THEMATIC funds have been disasters for investors (but they do sound interesting). Moreover, investors have poor timing with those – the M* investor-returns lag the fund TRs badly. Most big firms offer such niche/thematic ETFs – Fidelity, Blackrock/BLK (ICLN), Invesco/IVZ, etc; others also offer them, ARKK, DRIV, etc.
INCOME. Treasury FRNs (=< 2 year maturity) have rates that reset weekly to 3-month T-Bill auctions rate, so their effective duration is just 1 week. These can be bought at monthly auctions via brokerages or Treasury Direct, or in the secondary market. There are funds – USFR, TFLO, both with the ER of 15 bps. The interest is exempt from state/local taxes. Interest in FRNs grew after the Fed started to increase rates in mid-2022 (so, don’t look for long performance histories). (Finally, the FRNs are getting the media attention they deserve) (Be aware that now there are 3 types of floating-rate (FR) funds – Treasury FRNs, corporate FRs, junk FRs/BL (these have done well this year), so pay attention to which ones you are buying/holding.)
RETIREMENT. Some healthcare groups and doctors may not accept MEDICARE ADVANTAGE (MA; Part C), or that may change annually. Issues may be related to reimbursement rates and prior approvals. So, check whether your healthcare provider is in/out-network. The MA plans combine Parts A (hospitals), B (doctors), D (meds) with other supplementary coverages (eye, dental, gym). Almost 50% of Medicare-eligible people now use MA. Common enrollment periods are OEP Oct 15 – Dec 7, MA OEP Jan 1 – Mar 31; be sure to check the possible changes. (Also check plan’s formulary for any changes to your meds’ tiers)
LINK

17 nov. '23.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2023-11-18/wall-street-week-11-17-2023-video
Dan Senor's book on the Israeli economy. Timely? Or shameless plug--- for the book and for Israel? No one's talking about Palestine's economy, ARE they? It's been strangled by... you know. Anyhow, Dan was interesting and said pretty much what I'd have expected.

17 nov. '23.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2023-11-17/bloomberg-real-yield-11-17-23

Itching to buy some ASC.
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4652518-ardmore-shipping-stock-q3-earnings-continue-to-add-my-value-portfolio?utm_source=stck.pro&utm_medium=referral
Ya, that source is suspect with many of us here. But since lately, somehow--- I've been able to get in and read the articles--- I've been paying attention. I always look at several sources of information before making a decision, or adding a prospect to my list.

@rforno : +1 on ERIE

+1