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.
@StayCalm, that's an amazing fraud story in WSJ.
A chain of fake companies was setup with fancy websites and the companies operated on paper only for 5+ years. But they took real loans (private-credit) with fake collaterals. The likes of HPSInvest…
TSP F Fund is total bond market (investment-grade) and is similar to AGG, BND, SCHZ.
Stable-value TSP G Fund has no downside risk. Note that its crediting rate update hasn't been posted for 1+ month - 4.25% was the September rate.
Post FOMC Presser Notes
Rates: Fed fund rate cut -25 bps to 3.75-4.00%, bank reserves rate at 3.90% (generous), discount rate at 4.00%. On December 1, the Treasury QT of -$5 billion/mo will drop to $0, & MBS QT at -$35 billion/mo to $0 but futu…
YEARS ago, my Sears store card suddenly became a Sears MasterCard, and now just Citi Mastercard. I wasn't asked for any additional info. But Sears may have had my SSN then.
As Capital One will handle the card from now on, it makes sense to call onl…
Relative SD is more stable than SD.
Relative SD = SDportfolio/SDbenchmark. I just use SP500 for benchmark.
TestFol also provides rolling SDs, so you can see it overtime. But SDbenchmark also has similar variations, and that's why Relative SD beco…
@Observant1, in most metrics, I am in the gray area - not at extreme high or low if ranges. Benz describes opposites - maximizer and satisfiers. So, I am neither but somewhere in between.
There isn't much in the Bogleheads framework for DIYs to do. How many combos of 2 or 3 index fund portfolios can one make?
Then, there are strategic-allocation (static income/conservative/moderate/aggressive allocations) and glide-path TDFs of ind…
To open a bank a/c SSN or ITIN is required.
Is your friend trying to open a new a/c? Or, it's an existing a/c opened with ITIN and now they want SSN too?
Calling Capital One is the best.
@msf assumed equal allocations. But based on SD indicated, under the new M* classification, it's conservative-allocation, and within that, at the lower end of the 15-30% equity allocation.
So, the question to OP: What's worrying YOU?
Enter it in Portfolio Visualizer (PV) or Stock Rover (SR), find portfolio SD and compare with SP500 SD. Relative SD or effective-equity will provide you with an idea of its market exposure.
This game is going on for a while.
Bear's lease at Soldier Fields (in Downtown Chicago) runs to 2033. There is clause that after 2026, it can be broken with penalties. Chicago Mayor(s) isn't in any rush to renegotiate the lease. IL Governor has ind…
I think BLS said that data collection stopped with DC shutdown on 10/1/25. BLS only recalled CPI data analysts who used the data on hand as of 10/1/25. These data analysts didn't try to complete any surveys in progress or collected any new data. IMO…
Adjustments to annual Social Security payments are based on y-o-y increases in the Q3 averages of CPI-W (July, August, September readings).
BTW, SSA increased the wage-cap by +4.77% due to higher wage growth.
The chart below is all over the social media - it shows that the VALUE of global central bank gold holdings (at current prices) recently exceeded that of the value of US Treasuries held.
Lot of that rise is indeed attributed to a dramatic increase …
Refreshing screen sometimes solves blank or error screen issue. There is also delay in loading pages.
In the last MFO outage, posters were reporting site loading issues before an abrupt outage. So, the site managers and host should start looking at…
From current Barron's:
FUNDS. New money-market ETFs are growing: GMMF (20 bps, 04/2025), MMKT (20 bps, 09/2024, 1st), PMMF (20 bps, 04/2025, prime), SBIL (15 bps, 07/2025, biggest), SGVT (28 bps, 06/2025). Firms offering them also have their own mon…
I got a similar email. Seems promotional.
The proper way to sign up is via "My Social Security" with Login.gov (simpler) or ID.me (more difficult).
Login.gov also allows access to many government accounts, but not IRS yet.
I use Login.gov.
Both stocks and bonds fell in 2022, a historic bad year for 60-40. This wasn't even mentioned in the linked article. IMO, it won't repeat so soon (but will some day).
Good explanations by @msf.
Agency mortgages are a different world.
Beyond those, most securitized debt is structured. Reason is simple - the pools have medium credit quality that may be difficult to sell/unload as a whole. So, the next step of sec…
There was no looking back for gold after the events in 2022. Investors with gold holdings or those who caught the trade in 2022 (and since) have made lot of money.
Linked article does mention 2 recent bankruptcies, Tricolor and First Brands. Several regional banks and smart folks have been burnt. Asset-backed securities (ABS) has been weak.
Tricolor has Treasury's CDFI certification that may have fooled many.…
They are just testing this SEC.
SEC has restricted ETFs to +/- 2x, but didn't restrict ETNs that can still be +/- 3x.
Existing +/- 3x ETFs weren't affected - may be that is giving the filers hope.
Some have already filed for +/- 3x ETFs to test, …
@Crash, you are probably using Flonase spray correctly. Just a quick review of the trick to get more med into the nasal cavities:
Look down as if gazing at the feet.
Position vertical bottle's spray nozzle as close to the septum (middle wall).
…
Thanks.
Benadryl is older, 1st generation antihistamine. It's ok as night-antihistamine. In fact, some sleep-aids are just generic Benadryl. It's also a minor muscle relaxant.
Newer, 2nd generation antihistamines have fewer side effects (especiall…
BDCs are RICs (registered investment companies) under 1940 ICA (Invest company Act). So, the current SEC rule about including BDC ER in fund ER as from an underlying fund. Of course, BDCs don't provide ERs and one can look up operating expenses in I…
Typically, Fed Chairs also leave the Fed when their Chair term expires. But there have been some cases when Fed Chair stayed on as Fed Governor.
Powell has not commented on whether he will stay on or leave after his Fed Chair term expires in 05/202…
I setup Money Transfer Lock at Fidelity: Profile-->Security-->Money Transfer Lock (ON/OFF). Only brokerage a/c are eligible, not 401k/403b. But my Fido 403b requires call each time for withdrawals (regular or RMD) and voice-ID is ON.
I will c…
Looking at flows via MFOP, GLD has had some INFLOWS, but GDX has OUTFLOWS. So, not many have boarded the gold train. It may be looked at as a positive (more people may finally join) or a negative (rally is on borrowed time).
GLD https://i.ibb.co/Xx5…
Janus Henderson/JHG now is quite different from its dog-chasing-its-tail days.
Name Janus has a mythological origin that can be for caution or look-both-ways. Janus became a case of lost (dot.com era) and found (much later).
I am a longtime holder…
@bee, those hedge-fund type performance-based fees are not allowed for listed funds by the SEC. At best, there can be base fees plus a small incentive fees (+ or -) - that has been used by Fidelity and others.
People complain about high CEF fees. B…
Zyrtec (cetirizine) and Claritin (Loratadine) are day-antihistamines that cause less drowsiness. I prefer Zyrtec.
Benadryl (diphenhydramine) is older antihistamine that causes significant drowsiness, so is a night-time antihistamine. I grew up on B…
Joshua Brown is Cofounder & CEO of the wealth management firm Ritholtz. He also posts on social-media and has podcasts, but he isn't a journalist or economist by education or training.
https://www.ritholtzwealth.com/
I am allergic to yellowjackets and bees.
Home remedies include Benadryl or Zyrtec, cortisone ointment or cream. If those don't work, call 911 to be taken to hospital emergency.
