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.
I posted the following comments earlier today.
The UN nuclear watchdog agency stated for the first time in two decades that Iran failed to comply
with its nonproliferation obligations. In a major escalation on Thursday, Iran announced
it would open…
Well, that didn't take long.
Israel attacked Tehran early Friday (local time) targeting military and nuclear sites.
The IDF is calling up thousands of reserve soldiers to prepare for an operation that may last for days.
IDF spokesman Effie Defrin s…
@JD_co
If you don't mind me asking, are these new positions or was money added to existing positions?
Have you taken actions to reduce portfolio risk due to the current market environment?
Good multi-sector funds often have favorable risk/reward characteristics.
Treasuries, however, provide greater diversification for stocks during periods of market turmoil.
The UN nuclear watchdog agency stated for the first time in two decades that Iran failed to comply
with its nonproliferation obligations. In a major escalation on Thursday, Iran announced
it would open a third uranium enrichment site. A sixth round …
JD Vance and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles urged Elon Musk to end his feud with President Trump.
In a post on X early Wednesday, Musk wrote:
“I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.”
White H…
The WSJ reported additional details regarding the trade framework.
"China is putting a six-month limit on rare-earth export licenses for U.S. automakers and manufacturers, according to people familiar with the matter, giving Beijing leverage if tra…
I've just read the current Weekly Brief published by Jeff DeMaso.
Here's his view on tariffs.
"So far, the economy is muddling through the noise and uncertainty surrounding the tariffs."
"In May, the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2%, mark…
Negotiators from the U.S. and China have agreed to a trade framework in principle.
U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods are set at 55% while China's tariffs on U.S goods are 10%.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick indicated the agreement removed restrictio…
@Old_Joe
The steel tariffs impact to canned goods was not something that I previously pondered.
Sadly, some people have a tin ear when factual data contradicts their chosen narrative.
I've found WSJ articles regarding business, investing, and the economy to mostly avoid political bias.
The same definitely can not be said for their opinion pieces and editorials!
Obvious miss by Morningstar: FOMO = Fear of missing out
Yes, FOMO was an obvious miss.
The following acronym popularized by the crypto community also comes to mind.
HODL: Hold On for Dear Life
I would be careful about trumpeting the May CPI report.
The impact of Trump's tariffs may not be reflected in CPI data for several months.
The following quote is from the WSJ article you linked above.
“'We’ve been assuming the bulk of increases fro…
@Observant1 Don’t most TRP funds already trade NTF at Schwab?
Yes, most TRP funds are NTF at Schwab.
Being a new Schwab customer, I was unaware of this at the time.
"T. Rowe Price compensates Schwab to market and promote its mutual funds; howeve…
According to Old_Joe's link, Schwab's definition of a High Net Worth client
is an investor with more than $1 million at Schwab.
I transferred a taxable account from Vanguard (under $1 million) to Schwab
almost one year ago and received a $1,200 awa…
@Sven
Schwab charges $10 for their auto investment program.
Like Fidelity, a TF is charged only for purchases and not for sales.
Vanguard Flagship clients were previously granted 25 free transactions per calendar year.
Transactions included buying…
"Fidelity does allow some type of systematic / ongoing purchase of D&C funds for a small ($5-$10) ongoing fee. Not sure how often or how that is assessed.
But it is supposedly one way around their normal commission.
It also, I think, supposes yo…
@Sven
I haven't heard that Fidelity will waive the transaction fees for D&C or Vanguard funds.
If you discover Fidelity is willing to waive these fees, please let us know.
Dodge & Cox and Vanguard refuse to pay for "shelf space" at the fund supermarkets.
Fidelity charges a $100 transaction fee (TF) to purchase mutual funds from these two fund families.
Fidelity's fee for most other TF funds is $49.95.
Gov. Newsom is correct - these actions are clearly inflammatory.
Hegseth has threatened to deploy active-duty Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton on American soil.
MAGA Republican megalomaniacs seem intent on establishing a police state.
The Week in Charts (06/06/25)
The most important charts and themes in markets and investing, including:
00:00 Intro
00:19 Topics
01:30 The Biggest Story in Markets This Year
06:10 Imports Plunge After Massive Front-Running
09:56 Recession Odds Cont…
Some interesting facts about Treasury holdings for China and the UK.
"The rise of the UK’s recorded holdings does not reflect its own reserves.
Rather, analysts say it reflects London’s role as a domicile for international capital."
"The proportio…
'Speculation has persisted that China did not, in fact, “ignore” the Trump tariffs but instead dumped substantial quantities of its US debt holdings. “China may be selling Treasuries in retaliation,” wrote Ataru Okumura, a senior interest-rate strat…
The top 5 foreign holders of U.S. Treasury securities at the end of Q1 2025 are listed below.
Japan__$1.13 trillion
UK__$779.3 billion
China__$765.4 billion
Cayman Islands__$455.3 billion
Canada__$426.2 billion
I've recently read that U.S. Treasu…
@davidrmoran
My understanding is the federal government has run a surplus only four times
within the last 50 years and the latest surplus was in 2001.
Please share any additional pertinent information you may have.
Barron's recently published an article written by @lewisbraham regarding SPDR Bridgewater All Weather ETf.
Here's a snippet:
"Bridgewater has designed each separate asset-class weighting to perform well
in at least one of four different economic env…
"There is a difference between ignoring what is happening economically and investing solely on political beliefs."
"Weighing the fundamental changes and challenges associated with new US policies is a bit more complicated."
FWIW, I agree with both …
@FD1000,
You are correct - this is not a new issue and it wasn't caused by any one political party.
However, it must be acknowledged that the current budget bill will exacerbate the problem.
It's probably best to refrain from responding to threads…
Kent Smetters from The Penn Wharton Budget Model participated in this WSJ video.
He states:
"If the publicly held debt goes roughly above 175% of GDP things get pretty hard at that point
and 200% is really the drop dead limit. And the reason why is …
It's prudent to put aside political preferences when investing.
Many investors who disliked Obama or Trump "cashed out" before their first terms commenced.
On both occasions, the stock market performed well afterward.
The article offers the followin…
