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Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
  • Mid-Year MFO Ratings Posted ... New Navigation Bar
    Just posted all ratings and fund flows to MFO Premium site, using Refinitiv data drop from Friday, Valentine's Day, 14 February 2025.
  • Encouraged towards self-directed
    With a little work on your part going forward (self managing) you can eliminate the advisor's 1% annual fee.
    Going forward think of the 1% savings this way,
    As a retiree, this 1% annual fee equates to a 25% savings of your 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate... that's significant!
    They weren't hitting me with a 1% fee. otherwise I would have been gone long ago.
  • Vanguard lowers fees across mutual funds and etfs
    "The media needs something to rant about on an otherwise slow day I guess"
    More than 95% of "news" from the 24/7 media is useless and redundant.
    @FD1000, please explain how your post is relevant to this thread discussion so far. I have said to you before that you can have freedom of speech but you are not allowed to abuse knowingly or out of loss of sanity. Your post is abusive. If you mistakenly posted in the wrong thread, please move your post and I will delete this post.
  • Vanguard lowers fees across mutual funds and etfs
    "More than 95% of "news" from the 24/7 media is useless and redundant."
    More than 95% of posts from certain individuals are useless and redundant.
    Perhaps these inane posts could be readily disregarded if only they were not ubiquitous.
  • Encouraged towards self-directed
    With a little work on your part going forward (self managing) you can eliminate the advisor's 1% annual fee.
    Going forward think of the 1% savings this way,
    As a retiree, this 1% annual fee equates to a 25% savings of your 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate... that's significant!
  • Vanguard lowers fees across mutual funds and etfs
    "The media needs something to rant about on an otherwise slow day I guess"
    More than 95% of "news" from the 24/7 media is useless and redundant.
  • Tax info issues - check carefully
    Two of the four clearing houses generating my 1099s this year seem to have made errors. Always a good idea to check your numbers.
    Merrill didn't report my transfer bonus in a taxable account. Bonuses are generally treated as income - okay in IRAs, but should be reported for taxable accounts (as Merrill did for me in 2019).
    Typically bonuses show up on 1099-MISC's, line 3 (other income). Though Schwab says that "the bonus award will be reported on your Form 1099-INT. "
    Fidelity somewhat mistakenly charged me margin interest that it then refunded. In theory (my theory, at least) this whole transaction should be a non-event. But the 1099 supplemental info says that I paid margin interest (deductible). So the "refund" should be reported as income. That's the way it shows up on the website but not on the 1099. Something is amiss somewhere. Fidelity is investigating.
    Also at Fidelity: it has not yet posted for its funds how much income came from overnment securities (state tax-exempt) on its retail site.
    Thanks to a post on The Finance Buff for another place to find the numbers:
    https://institutional.fidelity.com/app/literature/item/842885.html
    Note that this page (for the "Investment Professional") says that it was updated Dec 31, 2024, so I can't tell whether these are final figures.
  • WealthTrack Show
    Feb 15th Episode:
    “Rethinking Investing” is legendary financial consultant Charley Ellis’ “eureka” moment when all his investment wisdom and experience came together in one short volume.
    ONE INVESTMENT
    ELLIS: LONG, LONG RUN INVESTMENT
    Buy a low cost index fund or ETF of your choice
    Slight tax benefit to ETFs


  • Goldman Sachs Global Real Estate Securities Fund will be liquidated
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/822977/000119312525026998/d919923d497.htm
    497 1 d919923d497.htm GOLDMAN SACHS TRUST
    GOLDMAN SACHS TRUST
    Class A, Class C, Institutional, Investor, Class R6 and Class P Shares of the
    Goldman Sachs Global Real Estate Securities Fund
    Supplement dated February 14, 2025 to the
    Prospectuses, Summary Prospectuses and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”),
    each dated April 29, 2024, each as supplemented to date
    At a meeting held on February 11-12, 2025, upon the recommendation of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P., the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of Goldman Sachs Trust (the “Trust”) approved a proposal to liquidate the Goldman Sachs Global Real Estate Securities Fund (the “Fund”), a series of the Trust. After careful consideration of a number of factors, the Board concluded that it is advisable and in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders to liquidate the Fund. The Fund is expected to be liquidated on or about April 14, 2025 (the “Liquidation Date”), pursuant to a Plan of Liquidation approved by the Board. The Liquidation Date may be changed without notice at the discretion of the Trust’s officers.
    Suspension of Sales. Shares of the Fund will no longer be available for purchase as of the close of business on March 14, 2025, except that existing shareholders of the Fund may continue to purchase shares of the Fund until March 28, 2025. To the extent there are any dividend or distribution payments made prior to the Liquidation Date with respect to the Fund, they will continue to be paid either in cash, in additional shares of the Fund, or in shares of other Goldman Sachs Funds, depending on each shareholder’s current election, as disclosed in the Prospectuses.
    Liquidation of Assets. Effective immediately, the Fund may depart from its stated investment objective and policies as it prepares to liquidate and distribute its assets to shareholders. It is anticipated that the Fund’s portfolio will be positioned into cash, cash equivalents or other liquid assets on or prior to the Liquidation Date. In connection with the liquidation, all outstanding shares of the Fund on the Liquidation Date will be automatically redeemed by the Fund. Each shareholder of record of the Fund on the Liquidation Date will receive proceeds of the automatic redemptions equal to the shareholder’s proportionate interest in the Fund’s net assets plus accrued and unpaid earnings of the Fund at the time of liquidation. Shares held in custodial IRA accounts directly with the Fund’s transfer agent on the Liquidation Date will be exchanged for the equivalent share class of the Goldman Sachs Financial Square Government Fund, a registered money market fund, unless an alternative direction is provided prior to the Liquidation Date. The liquidation of the Fund’s portfolio will result in increased transaction costs, which must be borne by the Fund and its shareholders and may result in higher capital gains for taxable shareholders. Shareholders should contact their tax advisers concerning the tax consequences of the liquidation.
    Other Alternatives. At any time prior to the Liquidation Date, shareholders may redeem their shares of the Fund and receive the net asset value thereof in cash or in-kind, as provided in the Prospectuses. Shareholders may also exchange their shares for shares of the same class of another Goldman Sachs Fund at net asset value without imposition of an initial sales charge or a contingent deferred sales charge. Redemption of shares by current shareholders between February 14, 2025 and the Liquidation Date will not be subject to any applicable contingent deferred sales charge.
    Certain shareholders may redeem all or a portion of their shares of the Fund before the Liquidation Date, and as a result the Fund and its remaining shareholders may experience adverse effects. These shareholder redemptions may also negatively impact a Fund’s net asset value per share.
    This Supplement should be retained with your Prospectuses, Summary Prospectuses and SAI for future reference.
    RESLIQSTK 02-25
  • T Rowe Price ETFs in registration
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1795351/000174177325000434/c485apos.htm
    T. Rowe Price Financials ETF
    T. Rowe Price Global Equity ETF
    T. Rowe Price Health Care ETF
    T. Rowe Price International Equity Research ETF
    T. Rowe Price Natural Resources ETF
  • Trump says US prices ‘could go up’ as he threatens new tariffs on trade partners
    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/record-stock-fragility-sends-warning-103000061.html
    Stock fragility, a measure of a company’s daily share-price move relative to its recent volatility, is on track to reach its highest in more than 30 years among the largest 50 stocks in the S&P 500 Index, based on the average magnitude and frequency of such individual shocks so far in 2025, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists.
    How does tariff theater play into this?
    “The sideways range the stock market has been in for almost three months is hiding a big increase in volatility for individual stocks,” Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co., said via email. “When you combine this with higher bond yields and concerns over tariffs, it has created a much higher level of uncertainty and nervousness than we usually see when the market is near an all-time high.”
  • Morningstar article opines that “Autocracy Is a Bad Investment”
    Cleanest dirty shirt in the hamper just got a helluva lot dirtier after 20th January, '25.
  • Trump says US prices ‘could go up’ as he threatens new tariffs on trade partners
    “There’s nothing to study,” he said. “It’s going to go well.” Have tariffs EVER gone well - mooted or not?
    The market has tuned this all out thus far. If inflation remains sticky, can US stock prices continue to rise?
    The idea that there is nothing to study is disturbing. These policies will have consequences. Our economy in 2025 could turn into a lab experiment gone bad, as the lab director pulls all the machine levers at once.....with his eyes closed.
  • Another reason to leave Grandeur Peaks?!
    Here is the email I received this evening from GP:
    Feb 13, 2025
    Dear Fellow Investors,
    Mark Madsen, portfolio manager (PM) for our Global Contrarian strategy and the industrials tranche of our Global Reach strategy, has decided to leave the firm to pursue a new opportunity.
    Robert Gardiner, Grandeur Peak’s chairman and co-founder, is nearing the conclusion of his three-year service sabbatical. When he returns this summer, he plans to be a PM on Global Contrarian, as well as a PM on the Global and International Opportunities Funds.
    Robert is a strong believer in Global Contrarian, having pioneered the idea of a value fund in a growth shop and launching small and micro-cap value funds over two decades ago while at Wasatch Global Investors. He was the driving force behind the launch of Global Contrarian in 2019 and acted as its Guardian PM for its first three years.
    Until Robert’s return, Blake Walker, CEO, will serve as the interim PM on the Global Contrarian Fund. He’ll be joined by Dane Nielson, who has worked directly on the Fund for most of its five-year life.
    Our Industrials sector research will continue to be covered by Matt Kaelberer and Cyrus Crockett. Matt and Cyrus will report directly to Randy Pearce, CIO, who will provide oversight and support.
    As we frequently explain, one of Grandeur Peak’s most distinguishing features is that all of our portfolios rely heavily on the work done by our sector and geography teams. This team-driven structure allows us to fully leverage our “multiple minds” investment philosophy and mitigate key person risk.
    If you have any questions related to this news, please reach out to a member of our Client Relations Team.
  • Trump says US prices ‘could go up’ as he threatens new tariffs on trade partners
    Really?
    So why Mexico, Canada, and others made a change?
    If this was true, the SP500 would be down at least 10%...but it's close to the top.
    Another TDS thread.
    Please use the off topic forum.
  • Trump says US prices ‘could go up’ as he threatens new tariffs on trade partners
    It seems reasonable to suggest that "prices could go up" bears indirectly on "Other Investing".
    Trump said he would not commission any studies into how his mooted tariffs could affect prices for Americans. “There’s nothing to study,” he said. “It’s going to go well.”
    Edited excerpts from a current article in The Guardian.
    Donald Trump threatened to ramp up his economic assault on some of America’s biggest trading partners on Thursday, vowing to impose new tariffs on countries that target products made in the US within weeks.
    The US will impose “reciprocal” duties, the president announced. “We want a level playing field,” he declared in the Oval Office, pledging to roll out a “beautiful, simple system” of new US import duties that match those imposed by other countries.
    No new specific tariffs were announced, however, triggering a relief rally on Wall Street. Instead, Trump signed a presidential memorandum ordering the development of a comprehensive plan to address what the White House described as “longstanding imbalances” in the global economy.
    Americans could face “some short-term disturbance” if the US imposes higher tariffs on foreign goods, Trump acknowledged. “Prices could go up somewhat short-term,” he said. “But prices will also go down.”
    “What will go up is jobs,” claimed Trump. “The jobs will go up tremendously.”
    It is the latest bid by Trump to strain Washington’s trade ties with countries across the world – allies and rivals alike – to obtain political and economic concessions.
    A press notice circulated by the Trump administration promised it would take action to “put the American worker first, improve our competitiveness in every area of industry, reduce our trade deficit, and bolster our economic and national security”.
    US officials pointed to a series of examples of tariffs and other trade barriers that they said demonstrated how other countries were not treating the US fairly. They pointed to the European Union’s 10% tariff on cars, alongside the 2.5% US tariff on cars, and claimed that shellfish from 48 states cannot be exported to the EU, while the bloc “can export all the shellfish it wants to America”.
    They also cited a 100% tariff imposed by India on US motorcycles, while the US only charges 2.4%, and an 18% duty in Brazil on US ethanol, while the US charges 2.5%.
    Trump also called for Russia’s return to the G7 group of industrialised nations, saying it had been a mistake for Moscow to be expelled. Russia was suspended from the group – then known as the G8 – in 2014, following the annexation of Crimea, and announced its permanent withdrawal in 2017.
    The administration has so far threatened more tariffs than it has introduced. Duties on Colombia were shelved when it agreed to accept military aircraft carrying deported immigrants; duties on Canada and Mexico have been repeatedly delayed; and modified duties on steel and aluminum, announced earlier this week, will not be enforced until next month.
    An additional 10% tariff on goods from China is, for now, the only threatened trade attack actually enforced since Trump returned to the White House. On Friday, it emerged that a key component of this – removing the longstanding duty-free status of low-cost packages – had been delayed.
    Inflation is already proving stubborn. In January, as Trump returned to office, it ticked up to an annualized rate of 3%. Egg prices have been soaring in recent months, as many US consumers continue to grapple with the elevated cost of living.
    Trump said he would not commission any studies into how his mooted tariffs could affect prices for Americans. “There’s nothing to study,” he said. “It’s going to go well.”
    Asked whether the Trump administration’s plan to align US tariffs with those imposed by other countries risked raising prices for US consumers, Lutnick – standing alongside the president – sought to shift responsibility onto other countries. “​If they drop their tariffs, prices for Americans are going down​,”​ he said.
    Trump has frequently highlighted the US’s trade deficit with the world – the fact that the value of its imports greatly exceeds that of its exports – as evidence of unfairness.
    “Closed markets” overseas reduce US exports, while “open markets at home result in significant imports”, the White House notice said, arguing that this had undercut the US’s ability to compete.
  • Vanguard lowers fees across mutual funds and etfs
    Edit: Feel free to go to the "A Solution" at the bottom of this post and skip the body of this post about the problems I had logging into my Vanguard account.
    *************
    Does anyone here use the Vanguard two factor authentication to login?
    I tried the Vanguard two factor service today for the first time. After not receiving the code by text for 10 times, I requested a phone call with the code. The call came in and said press 1 for the code. I pressed 1 and the phone got disconnected. After 3 attempts of trying this alternative, I thought may be it will work after regular market hours. Same problem after hours too. The code from other sites came to my phone instantaneously which means it is not AT&T screwing up.
    I waited for another 30 minutes and tried again and I received the security code. So, I logged in and immediately disabled the two factor authentication. Then I logged out to make sure I can log back in without two factor authentication. The first screen that came up required me to signup for the two factor authentication service and did not allow me to bypass. So, begrudgingly I signed up again and provided my telephone number to send the code. The screen immediately changed to "Sorry, we are having technical difficulties, please contact customer service (hyperlinked) but no tel number provided. So, I clicked on the hyperlink and the screen looped back to signing up for the two factor authentication. I repeated the process with the same result.
    With the CPFB gone, there is no incentive for Vanguard to get better.
    Hopefully, you keep Vanguard telephone number in your notes. I got lucky I had it in my notes.
    I called them and persisted on speaking with a human who tried for the last 15 minutes to disable the two factor authentication and has now put me on hold to get hold of someone else to do the job and then I got disconnected.
    Talking to a second Rep who helped with a solution.
    A Solution: download the Vanguard App and set up to login to your account through the App using face ID. After that when you try to login from your computer, in addition to receiving codes to your phone, you also have a choice to authenticate through your mobile Vanguard App which worked well. When you set up login through the mobile App the first time, you still need to receive a code to your phone that one time. Luckily, I did receive the code that time. I will not need to receive codes to my phone in the future.
  • CFPB put to sleep
    Gosh, why would Dump want to remove consumer protections????
    https://www.thedailybeast.com/more-than-800k-have-lost-2b-on-trumps-meme-coin/
    "President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency, called $Trump, has cost investors billions. Trump announced the launch of his meme coin—a type of cryptocurrency that features Internet memes or celebrity mascots—just three days before his inauguration. [... ]Meanwhile, the Trumps have raked in over $100 million in trading fees as Trump makes moves to curb government efforts to regulate cryptocurrencies.
    “The president is participating in shady crypto schemes that harm investors while at the same time appointing financial regulators who will roll back protections for victims and who may insulate him and his family from enforcement,” Corey Frayer, who recently left his job as a crypto adviser to the Securities and Exchange Commission, told the New York Times."
    Danielle R. Sassoon, the US attorney who prosecuted Sam Bankman-Fried for fraud involving the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, just resigned as interim head of the SDNY office. Though not because Trump didn't like her (he had just named her interim head), nor because of a lack of the "right" credentials (she had clerked for Scalia and is a member of the Federalist Society).
    Rather because she refused to drop the prosecution against (soon to be former?) Mayor Adams.
    https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/nyregion/danielle-sassoon-quit-eric-adams.html