Not a boo boo, just a fund that most people wouldn't be looking at. The fund is also a good answer to the question: who would buy a bond (or bond fund) with a negative yield?
T. Rowe Price used to offer a variable annuity. While it hasn't been available for new investors in years, it is still around. The only cash alternative in that VA is (soon to be "was") the Government Money Portfolio.
If investors wanted to flee to safety, this was their only option within the annuity. Even though YTD (through Feb 28) it had lost 0.07% (including VA fees), and over the past year it lost 0.43%.
https://fsbl.com/annuities/t-rowe-price-performance/
I'm not picking on TRP here. No matter how low VA fees are, when MMFs yield 0.01% (including subsidies), investors will lose money with them. Here's the only MMF offered in Fidelity's Personal Retirement Annuity. Its negative returns (-0.05% YTD as of March 17, and -0.16% over the year ending Feb 28) incorporate the VA fees.
https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/annuities/summary/FTNJC

Me thinks we're going to get the "high and tight" haircut....
What day think zenbrew, the class action lawsuits weren't gonna cost anything?
What's your guess, less 25%??
Sheet,
Baseball Fan

First, fraudsters load up on ultracheap shares of a small stock hardly anyone trades. Then comes the pump: They pitch the stock as one with hot prospects, spreading around positive information to push up its price. Finally, there’s the dump: After the price jumps higher, the perpetrator sells and leaves the new buyers holding a mostly empty bag.
“It’s all just a pool filled with sharks,” said Urska Velikonja, a law professor who studies securities regulation at Georgetown University Law Center. “It’s where the unwary go to get eaten.”
Penny stock booms tend to occur during raging bull markets, when greed abounds. They were hot in the 1980s, when the arrival of cheap, long-distance telephone service gave rise to brokerage firms that specialized in high-pressure, cold-call pitches of worthless stocks.

penny-stock-trading-volume-has-exploded-by-2000-amid-the-growing-influence-of-retail-traders

10 Yr now at 1.75% seems to have made a "U-shape" recover from January 2020.
treasury-10-year-yields-breach-1-70-to-reach-january-2020-high

contd
Concerns about debt did loom larger in economic analysis than they should have — partly, I think, because people didn't grasp the implications of r < g, partly out of partially unconscious deference to political fashion.
The truth is that if we'd taken our own models seriously we would have adopted an attitude much closer to Abba Lerner's functional finance:
https://jstor.org/stable/40981939?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
Someone will bring up MMT. After all this time, I still don't know what it is beyond functional finance — every time you try, you're told that you don't get it, and at this point I think it's mainly a marketing ploy. So never mind.
Anyway, the whole debate over ARPA was in effect conducted in terms of functional finance — not whether it cost too much, but whether it was inflationary. But that's not so much new theory as taking our own models seriously.
The other big change — and this does mark a change in theory — is that the NAIRU has largely dropped out of discussion — basically because nothing that's happened since 1985 supports an "accelerationist" view of inflation.
Low unemployment and a hot economy do seem to yield somewhat higher inflation; but there has been no sign that this quickly or easily translates into an ever-rising inflation rate. Maybe it's anchored expectations, maybe it's downward wage rigidity, but it's just not there.
This doesn't mean that inflation is never a concern. But it does mean that the stability of inflation over time does NOT mean that the economy was on average at full employment. Instead, there's now a good case that we've been persistently underemployed.
That is a pretty big deal, and feeds directly into policy: Biden and co's relaxed attitude toward debt is matched by a relaxed attitude toward inflation.
So there have been important changes in how economists talk about policy, some of which include rethinking of our models. But a lot of what has happened is simply that economists are following their existing models, instead of tweaking them to justify political prejudices.

Anyone know what is driving the recent performance of WWNPX? It's up almost 6% today, and 63.56% YTD.
I know they had some bitcoin, and maybe some TSLA at one point, but the published holdings cannot account for a 6% gain today. I'm actually embarrassed to admit that I still own it, because with a management fee of over 1.6%, it really can't be called a good choice. I bought it years and years ago before I knew anything about picking mutual funds. For now I guess I'll be embarrassed "all the way to the bank".

@rono That's incorrect. You can sell crypto on Paypal and receive the funds via check or direct deposit in your account. Their intention is that you use crypto at their merchants. But they do not prevent you from withdrawing. https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/FAQ4396
@catch22 for my experiment- I chose an inefficent vehicle - Paypal.
Pros:
It's easy to buy and sell via the app.
It's easy to direct deposit funds into and out of Paypal.
No need for a wallet. They are responsible for keeping your wallet and security.
Cons:
The spread is too wide.
Price seems too high on Bitcoin vs. selling price.
You cannot set limit orders
The pricing and fees are not as transparent as they should be.
You don't have your own wallet.
It takes a little effort to cash out
Coinbase or eToro are probably the preferred way to buy and sell ... until things like this happen: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/morgan-stanley-set-to-offer-wealthy-clients-access-to-bitcoin-funds-report-11615998321

“The Federal Reserve on Wednesday sharply ramped up its expectations for economic growth but indicated that there are no interest rate hikes likely through 2023 despite an improving outlook and a turn this year to higher inflation.”
What I found interesting was the reaction of gold. Languishing in negative territory most of the day, it bounced like a ping-pong ball on the Fed release around 2:00. Last check it was up $14 at around $1745. Gold’s been firming in recent days after a poor beginning of year. Until recently rising interest rates had hurt gold. In recent days that trend reversed.
Why watch gold? Because it reflects, to some extent, observers’ views of future inflation and also whether prevailing “real” interest rates will be positive or negative.
Looks like equities also bounced on the Fed release.
I thought Powell looked very uncomfortable at the news conference - esp when asked to explain how expected inflation could be only “transitory.” Hum ... ?
STORY
Apparently, the Fed expects to leave the overnight lending rate unchanged through 2023. No wonder the metals jumped.

Can’t take much more of Grantham - be he right or wrong. Bloomberg continues to re-air that interview weeks after it first appeared. However, I have the greatest respect for economist Henry Kaufman (whom those over 60 may remember). When Louis Rukeyser selected “three of the most influential financial voices of the past quarter century” for his show’s 25th Anniversary program in 1995, Kaufman was among the 3 guests (the other 2 being Sir John Templeton and Peter Lynch).
Extended excerpt from Randal Forsyth’s always first-rate colum appearing in this week’s Barrons’s (March 15, 2021):
Dr. Doom’s Latest Warning ...
“Henry Kaufman earned that moniker in the 1970s and 1980s as the hugely influential chief economist of Salomon Brothers, then the reigning bond kings of Wall Street. Along with his fellow nonagenarian ... former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan, Kaufman is back issuing jeremiads about the current state of the financial and economic world. .... In a speech on Wednesday evening to the National Economists Club (Kaufman asserted) that financial innovations, such as securitization, have mainly spurred an explosion of debt, much of it for speculative purposes.
“As the quantity of credit has exploded, its quality has fallen, Kaufman continued. As with everything else, globalization and technology also have transformed financial markets. Deregulation fundamentally changed the structure of the financial worlds from the era of clear divides between commercial and investment banking and government-set interest-rate caps. Regulation has been insufficient to balance ‘entrepreneurship and fiduciary responsibility,’ he added, which was checked when Wall Street firms were partnerships, with partners’ net worth on the line, a concept that is being rediscovered by some academics.”
Other take-aways from the article:
- Kaufman’s remarks re corporate bond liquidity are very incisive. (He doesn’t think there is much).
- He notes an alarming concentration of financial wealth / influence in a very few “too big to fail” institutions.
- His remarks re the Treasury and the Federal Reserve being “joined at the hips” are telling.
- The article’s overall take-away is that Kaufman, who previously called the bond bull market, now sees a reversal of the trend leading to a long term bear market in bonds. I’d have to re-read the article again, but I think he sees inflation increasing and stocks stagnating or falling as a result.
Disclosure: Kaufman recently published a book on the topic.
You might be able to access the article with the following link. If not, the magazine’s a great value at almost any price - ISTM.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Barrons March 2021 Dr. Dooms Warning&amp;ia=web

Start 5 years prior to retirement...
Link to Presentation (Audio / Video):
webinar-replay/the-ultimate-pre-retirement-checklist
Presentation PDF:
The Checklist

The Boy Who Cried Bubble

Based on his words, Grantham is predicting that U.S. stocks will be below where they were in the summer of 2020 at “some future date”. When Grantham penned this prediction (January 5, 2021), the Dow was at 30,200. The lowest the Dow got during the summer 2020 was about 25,100 (17% lower than 30,200).
This means that Grantham was calling for at least a 17% (or larger) correction at some point in the future. If we picked a random trading day since 1915, what’s the probability that the Dow would be down 17% (or more) at some point in its future?
53%.
Grantham’s prediction is no better than a coin flip. How’s that for intellectually demanding?

Nick Maggiulli Article:
the-boy-who-cried-bubble

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/t-rowe-price-launches-first-impact-fund-301249406.html
T. Rowe Price Global impact Equity Fund
The fund will be aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), a globally recognized framework designed to end poverty, ensure prosperity, and protect the planet.
The fund will be managed by Hari Balkrishna. Mr. Balkrishna has 15 years of investment industry experience, including the last decade at T. Rowe Price. From 2015 until the end of last year, he was Associate Portfolio Manager of the firm's Global Growth Equity Strategy. Having lived and worked on five continents, Mr. Balkrishna has a keen understanding of the many different social systems around the world and he is personally passionate about addressing climate change.
The fund will employ an all-capitalization, high-conviction approach, typically owning between 55 and 85 securities, focused on those that Mr. Balkrishna believes will create positive environmental and social impact, along with attractive returns, over a long-term time horizon.
As with other T. Rowe Price strategies, the fund will draw upon the firm's global equity research platform, comprising 203 equity research analysts, 10 sector portfolio managers, and 73 regional and diversified portfolio managers. In addition, the fund will tap the deep expertise of the firm's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) experts and responsible investing research analysts as well as its proprietary Responsible Investing Indicator Model (RIIM), a database detailing how more than 15,000 securities measure up against established environmental and social parameters.
The net expense ratio for the Investor Class shares (Ticker: TGPEX) is 0.94% and the minimum initial investment is $2,500.
The net expense ratio for the I Class shares (Ticker: TGBLX) is 0.79% and the minimum initial investment is $1 million.
FUND DETAILS
The fund will be aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), a globally recognized framework designed to end poverty, ensure prosperity, and protect the planet.
The fund will be managed by Hari Balkrishna. Mr. Balkrishna has 15 years of investment industry experience, including the last decade at T. Rowe Price. From 2015 until the end of last year, he was Associate Portfolio Manager of the firm's Global Growth Equity Strategy. Having lived and worked on five continents, Mr. Balkrishna has a keen understanding of the many different social systems around the world and he is personally passionate about addressing climate change.
The fund will employ an all-capitalization, high-conviction approach, typically owning between 55 and 85 securities, focused on those that Mr. Balkrishna believes will create positive environmental and social impact, along with attractive returns, over a long-term time horizon.
As with other T. Rowe Price strategies, the fund will draw upon the firm's global equity research platform, comprising 203 equity research analysts, 10 sector portfolio managers, and 73 regional and diversified portfolio managers. In addition, the fund will tap the deep expertise of the firm's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) experts and responsible investing research analysts as well as its proprietary Responsible Investing Indicator Model (RIIM), a database detailing how more than 15,000 securities measure up against established environmental and social parameters.
The net expense ratio for the Investor Class shares (Ticker: TGPEX) is 0.94% and the minimum initial investment is $2,500.
The net expense ratio for the I Class shares (Ticker: TGBLX) is 0.79% and the minimum initial investment is $1 million.

This link is directed to ARKG, the bio-med, genomic related etf. The short write contains a podcast. While some may consider this is an info-mercial for ARK; education is within the discussion.
We've had interest, in particular related to CRISPR; for several years. Anyway, if you're interested; have a listen as your time allows.
Another area we've been following is Nanobot technology, and in particular the use of these within the body. There are numerous video presentations to be found for a better understanding. Nanotech, broad search link. At this link you may select the "videos" tab, too.

Wasn't there a scene in The Gambler where Goodman tells Wahlberg...any f'idiot knows if you get up $2.5MM you walk away and get a house with a 25 year roof, buy a Jap, econo, sheet box and take your 3-5%/yr to pay your taxes and bills and then you can say F-you. Your boss pisses you off, F-you, someone tells you to do something you don't want to do, F-you...
Something like that. Stop playing the game if you've won.
Who knows right?
Baseball Fan

@davidmoran in this economy... with the wealth of investment choices... Why.... “have a lot of money earning zero too”?
That’s not criticism ... I’m trying to learn what I don’t know. I’m looking out for a family member and asking the same questions... re investments and this market and conditions we are in.
YTD S&P 500 is up 5.50%

Tell me about it. Don't I know it. I will be interested in your own responses to your own questions.
Where if anywhere will you put spare moneys? Where should I put moneys now which I will not need for a few years (not a decade, but not 3-4y either)?
50-50 VTIP (GTO, MINT) and VONV (VONE, CAPE)? BND and BIV are down. Something additional into ARK and QQQ? Maybe.
Shiller p/e is close to 36, higher than it has ever been since the Y2k peak-plunge. Each week it goes higher. I coulda written this post, and believe I did, any month of the last 8 or so. We are 2/3 out of market for the last 10mos. In some sense we have enough and are being prudent in retirement. Otoh my wife, not just me, would like to have, or have had, the several hundred thou we 'missed', if I had stayed the course and done nothing.

Here Are 8 Floating-Rate Bond ETFs to Limit Risk as Treasury Yields Climb
By Alexandra Scaggs
March 16, 2021 8:00 am ET
Treasury yields have been rising, and that has led to losses in fixed-rate bonds.
Treasury yields have been rising, and that has led to losses in fixed-rate bonds.
https://www.barrons.com/articles/here-are-8-floating-rate-bond-etfs-to-limit-risk-as-treasury-yields-climb-51615860735
Fixed-income investors are in a tough spot. Treasury yields have been rising, and that has led to losses in fixed-rate bonds. But Treasury prices haven’t sold off enough yet to make those bonds attractive as a source of yield....
FLOT
BKLN Invesco Senior Loan ETF
SRLN SPDR Blackstone Senior Loan
FLRN SPDR Bloomberg Barclays Investment Grade Floating Rate ETFPassiveFloating-rate investment grade corporate and government
FTSL First Trust Senior Loan FundActiveLeveraged
VRP Invesco Variable Rate Preferred
FLTR VanEck Vectors Investment Grade Floating Rate
VRIG Invesco Variable Rate Investment Grade
COUPLE CEFs /vehicles (ideas) fight off inflation. Anyone use or have experiences with these hedges?

@davidmoran in this economy... with the wealth of investment choices... Why.... “have a lot of money earning zero too”?
That’s not criticism ... I’m trying to learn what I don’t know. I’m looking out for a family member and asking the same questions... re investments and this market and conditions we are in.
YTD S&P 500 is up 5.50%

Only 8 percent... on a total of now $750.00 invested in Bitcoin. But I have a whole $1,000 that I’m playing with in Bitcoin. A week or so ago, I was up 15 percent and before that 20 but my entry point was better.
My experiment is... can I keep investing and selling and using house money to make a huge profit in the volatility of Bitcoin? Hint: There are patterns with how it trades.
Plus... will it go higher as more Institutional investors (Fidelity?) pile in or more Corporations invest? I would love it if we all benefitted.

@bee no... it was a good share by you. You have great shares. I was just referencing @WABAC post as it was a good one.
https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/57831/why-do-you-still-own-bond-funds#latest
By @WABAC

So I’m still DCA into Bitcoin and because I DCA recently... I’m only up 8 percent YTD... but here’s a story worth reading. “Bitcoin is a fad... knee jerk reaction”
https://www.coindesk.com/billionaire-investor-howard-marks-warming-to-bitcoin
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/billionaire-investor-howard-marks-says-his-initial-dismissal-of-bitcoin-was-a-knee-jerk-response-11615923111