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.
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Sven
Lynn,
Thank you so much. I am planning on a 3-year ladder since I am a year away from retirement. Lots of spreadsheet work to calculate the income replacement needed. This ladder will create a steady income stream. So thank you for all your help.
I moved back to high quality bond funds this year. Some of which you covered in the SA article. For now, I will stay with agency bonds to the bond ladder. I will pick active managers for corporate bonds.
Sven
In recent weeks, we have been buying more intermediate term bonds as some equity was reduced in early summer. Think bonds present better opportunities than those of equities going forward.
PCE and core PCE data reported today indicated inflation…
That could be a mistake from an inexperienced agent. My experience is limited to Fidelity and Vanguard. Chats work okay up for simple cases. I have been more successful talking with their Client Services directly. Also ask for the name of the repr…
Truly the democracy is at stake across the globe. The DNP needs to come together quickly to nominate the presidential candidate. KH dropped out in 2020 before being selected to the VP. There are a number very capable candidates in battleground st…
Like @Mark, we also own CGDV and pair it with CGGO (global growth). So far so good.
We have had good experience in the previous 401(k) with American’s stock picking process and multiple managers. The active managed ETFs are not clones of the Americ…
Really good info/data on the market’s reversal today. Will see if this reversal pattern holds as the large banks are reporting their earnings. Powell’ softens his stand on inflation this week.
It is encouraging that bond yields are falling. If a…
@Derf and @Anna, we experimented VG target dated fund for awhile and decided they are not for us. Three out of four components including total international stock index, total bond index, and total international bond index lag those active managed …
@catch, I am comfortable having this discussion staying in “other investing”. There are consequences of political spilling over into the investment world, and they are intimately tied together. As @junkster pointed out, Powell may loss his independ…
@msf, thanks for the reminder of the share class of Vanguard funds and ETFs. We use the mutual funds solely for monthly investment. Lately we have been using ETFs instead. I need to learn more the conversation process even though there is not a t…
@hank, I sincerely apologized if I came across of looking down on the posters here with respect to technology. But I am not. For sure, the internet age has enabled us to become better and well informed investors. I am typing on my iPad now but that…
My understanding is that in-kind transfer of funds do not incur buying fees even though they are on their Transaction Fee platform. At least this is how Fidelity operates. It is a good idea to verify that VTMFX is being sold at Schwab.
The sellin…
I must be an outlier on this board. I fully embrace new technology that makes our lives easier. Thus we own smart phones, tablets and many more. We use them but not being consumed by them. AI is not new and it is already being used in manufactur…
@sma3, thank you for sharing your experience with Schwab, Fidelity, and Vanguard brokerages. I think it is a crapshoot of which agents you deal with and that set the tone on whether that firm works for you or not. These days there are high turnov…
The high expense ratio is a barrier for us. Still think whether LCORX fits into our balanced fund sleeve. If so, we will choose the ETF version, LCR instead with a lower ER.
Edit: LCORX, ER 1.38%; LCR ER 0.86%.
@msf, when you call Fidelity, you need to speak with their Investment Solution Group to get an agent. One I talked with is knowledgeable on the incentives of moving asset to them. He stated the policy and the follow-up transfer 60 days later. Make…
@Mark, I posted that question to FD since he stated in #4 above that he doesn’t pay the transaction fee. SMA3 also mentioned that too. Is that a special arrangement but that is NOT in Schwab fee policy ? I am not a Schwab customer either.
My …
Agree.
How many tech stocks survived the dot-com bubble ?
Can the investors stay put during 80% drawdown?
There is something to be said about having a balanced asset allocation for most years. 2022 was an exception.
@AndyJ, good catch. BND is down 0.7% today. The 1 yr and 3 yr treasuries will at auction on auction next week, June 6th. For those who are interested, please get your order in on Sunday night.
4. Here come the biggest advantage for Schwab. I trade only mutual funds and preferably Inst shares. Schwab waves the $49.95 fee while at Fidelity I hardly ever got that. 4 switches annually for 5 accounts is a $1000.
Is this a standard policy on …
It was not an easy decision for us on Vanguard after being investors for over 30 years. The company has changed…
As I mentioned on this board, we initiated to move all tax-deferred accounts out to Fidelity. The transfer was completed with 5 days…
Stock picking is not easy over time and I certainly don’t have the time and skills to do that consistently, Thus we use mutual funds (both index and active) and they provide good enough return for us. In recent years, we include active ETFs that op…
It was on Food channel, not CNBC where the target audience are more receptive. The ad was short, 15-20 seconds long. These are small investors.
In general Vanguard does not aggressively advertise their products and services.
Sorry being late to this discussion. Our oversea exposure is about 7-8%, with mostly actively managed funds and ETFs. In taxable account, VEA and DIVI are the only one we use and they are tax efficient.
1. For large cap developed market, ARTKX a…
Thanks @yogibb. We will have some leftover 529 $.
One of our kid is thinking about graduate school or others, so the remaining fund will be used up (perhaps we need to invest to help out). As parents we are thankful our kids will not incur debt w…
Thanks for the info. USSH is a new fund, inception date 3/12/24, with $495K asset.
Pros and cons exist in either ETF or treasury approaches. Once can extend the duration of the ladder % from 6 months to 1 to 3 year treasury. Also keep some in …
For taxable account, you can consider USSH, WisdomTree 1-3 yr Laddered Treasury, ER 0.15. Same as USFR.
We are shifting to 1 and 2 year treasuries as they are rising in recent weeks.
Initiated a new stake in GPQFX today. Adding to LCR (thanks @David Snowball).
Bought 2yr Treasury at auction on Tuesday. Next Monday I will buy more 1 yr Treasury to extend the duration on the treasury ladder.
Correction: June 6th is when on…
There was a long tread on that site. I will find the tread later today.
Even though they have been long time investors, apparently they are not happy with the new fee schedule and the July 1st deadline. A number of them are moving out to other bro…
Robinhood has a more attractive offering. Fidelity pays $1,000 per $1 million transfer. Payout will takes place 30 days afterward. I called ahead and to have an agent assigned to the transfer. Several accounts transferred took 5 business days. Ma…
Actually there is more.
To add to @yogibb’s comment above, please see article below:
https://npr.org/2024/05/20/1252426585/red-lobster-bankruptcy
A private equity firm bought the chain ten years ago from Darden Restaurants, which owns rivals Ol…
@BaluBalu, thanks for sharing your experience on agency bonds. I will stay with Tbills and notes for now.
One year T note auction occurs once a month while 2 yr and longer ones are less frequent. The 2-yr Treasury auction is still open today and…
Watch the middle part of yield curve moving up in recent week tells a different story about the bond market. I move part of intermediate investment grade bond funds back to T notes. I much prefer treasuries over CDs in taxable accounts on their af…
Yes, indeed.
Our family visited Arlington National Cemetery awhile back. It was a humbling experience to those who gave their lives for this country.
https://arlingtontours.com
