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 can confirm that portfolios with insurance funds IF-TICKERS are now running normally. My saved MFO Premium portfolios are now unstuck.
So, if your portfolio has a mix of mutual funds/OEFs, ETFs, CEFs, IF-TICKERS, the MFO Premium can run it. This …
I figured too that IF-TICKER were something internal to MFO Premium and Lipper. But many 6-character VA tickers (Qxxxxx) are now recognized by Yahoo Finance, StockCharts, and the firms themselves. So, one simple option could be to just setup a table…
These insurance funds (VAs) may be similar to listed funds but aren't classes or clones of listed funds. In fact, some growth VA portfolios may be more aggressive than their listed growth cousins. While this money can be moved online at will, in som…
@Charles, thanks for a prompt response.
I get TIAA VAs within TIAA 403b. ANYONE with TIAA 403b/457 & IRAs would have access to them.
Other insurance co may be sponsors of 401k/403b. Their variable insurance products also have them.
MFO Premiu…
@Charles, this is only one perspective.
Just in December 2023, I prepared a long write up what then was a unique feature of MFO Premium - its insurance fund coverage. Many years ago, M* had many of those, but it moved them from the free side to the…
Nifty Fifty became a bad term in the US that is now reserved for speculative fever in the stock market. And Magnificent 7 (or 6) is an extreme play on that previous extreme.
But Nifty 50 has been deployed for normal use elsewhere, e.g. India Nifty …
I wonder if the free/top area of MFO Premium can be used temporarily to post MFO Up/Down message? As I understand, it's on a different server that isn't affected by the MFO site update.
One problem now that I have already mentioned is that the "Acc…
I try not to second-guess fund managers. Sometimes, their contrary ideas do the trick, other times not. But if the fund continues to lag after a while, then I may dump it.
I do have LCG index to go with the the flow in here-and-now.
Saw a blurb on BOXX it at X/Twitter too, LINK.
It combines derivatives with in-kind trading features of the ETFs to avoid distributions. So, one buys it and then pays CGs only on sale. ER of 19.5 bps is OK. While remarkable, it looks lot of complic…
It happened to me also on Sunday afternoon. I kept refreshing that link/page but nothing - typically, after outages, the bad pages come alive later, but not here. So, I finally decided to check the MFO Home and MFO Discussions DIRECTLY and those wer…
Each site has its own tricks.
While mutual fund tickers pull up from Fido Home, that isn't so at Schwab - you have to get to the mutual page area first and then use tickers of interest. 2 examples,
SWSBX (bookmark for future access) https://www.s…
Not a Giroux-head.
But I have positions in the active ETF TCAF and indexed ETF SCHD. I may replace SCHD (old position) with TCAF (new position) at some point. I am not focusing only on dividends.
I am also using TCAF + PYLD to model PRWCX that is…
After the utility related disasters in CA and HI, I have noticed that our local ComEd/EXC is more aggressive in tree trimmings around the power lines.
I recall that just a few years ago, it didn't care about that and ignored complaints. We were no…
For true life story, search for Tina Turner who walked away from a bad situation "...with only 36 cents and a Mobil gas card and later hid at the Ramada Inn across the freeway."
Talent eventually finds a way.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tina_Turner
@jptak, good to know that you have been at MFO for MANY years. As there are many comments/complaints here related to M* or Morningstar, I often wondered if anyone from M* was here looking or monitoring.
BTW, we have also communicated at X/Twitter (…
Well, the literal answer is that Stewardship ratings are gone. But a different answer is that they are folded wuithin the Parent rankings.
From medalist methodology, 12/2023, https://www.morningstar.com/research/signature
"Parent
...asset manager…
M* thinks of Stewardship and Parent, so just a change in current terminology,
https://www.mfdf.org/docs/default-source/fromjoomla/dirrespdfs/morningstar_stewardship_slides.pdf
Only a call to Schwab can determine transferability of BRUFX. Its Availability field isn't blank. Schwab indicates specific items in this field such as for redemption only, not available for purchase, open, blank, etc.
https://www.schwab.com/researc…
Schwab in-kind transfer FAQs, https://www.schwab.com/transfer-to-schwab/faqs
One possible issue may be that 3rd parties can initiate taxable and IRA a/c transfers, but 401k/403b transfers must be initiated at the source - that may be a 3-way call …
WCPNX a solid core-plus fund that I noted at the time (Barron's Part 2, 11/28/22).
When Barron's has a full feature on funds, the fund firms can order reprints for their own distribution, PR, etc. The end of the piece indicates that Weitz did just …
M* portfolio measurements place them in LCG. But they have differences.
FCNTX, FDCAX are go-anywhere funds, so they can make big bets on SC/MC too.
FDSSX also focuses on sectors and factors.
FDSVX has strong growth with concentration, so it's non…
@Crash BRUFX pulls up a quote at Schwab, but it's not available for purchase. So, it exists on Schwab platform, and should be transferrable in-kind. WBALX is no-load/NTF at Schwab.
You should be able to drop off the check at Schwab branch. You can …
#6. Holcim/HCMLY is a giant Swiss producer of construction aggregates (concrete, gravel, etc) that is spinning off its Holcim-US (Chicago-based) operations. It has been in the list recommended by Meryl Witmer. It's probably as far as one could get f…
In trying to look for clear & concise explanation of "Y" and "F" shares, I found this:
"If the ticker ends with the letter "Y", this means that it is not an F share, but a Y share."
OK, cannot argue with that at all (-:). But seriously, from t…
@Tarwheel, GE recent returns have been great with the ongoing restructuring since 2018. The final spinoff of GE Power/Vernova will be soon. Then there will be 3 GEs - GE Aerospace/GE, GE Healthcare/GEHC and GE Vernova.
Both FCNVX and USFR (Treasury…
I tracked down the SEC/Edgar filing on this - multiple filings dated 1/22/24. This is being done quietly as I haven't seen much news on it.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1084380/000093041324000263/c107765_497k.htm
https://www.sec.gov/Archi…
Fido core/settlement choices depend on whether taxable or retirement a/c. EASY to switch.
https://www.fidelity.com/trading/faqs-about-account#faq_about2
Fido has multiple choices for core/settlement, but the default in taxable a/c is its OK m-mkt fund SPAXX. But Fido will automatically draw from other Fido m-mkt funds, as necessary.
Vanguard has m-mkt VMFXX as core/settlement funds, and that is the…
I don't think that T Rowe Price offers genuine fractional trading for stocks/ETFs (that one can enter as orders; Fido & Schwab allow that, but a different order screen may be needed). But there are fractional shares for mutual funds and dividend…
Interval-funds are special types of funds that have limited redemption windows and may require investors accreditation (for income/assets). The so-called stability of illiquid markets is from less frequent and fuzzy valuations (they are not marked-t…
@rforno, that would be an interval-fund, a special type of CEF.
OEFs can only suspend redemption temporarily, but may impose redemption fees (like class B loads that have almost gone away now due to paperwork problems).
Nontraded/non-listed funds …
I have relatives/friends in the advisory business. They a very different mindset about fees as that affects their lively hood. When there is discussion about low-cost mutual funds, they take a pass saying that isn't possible with them involved.
I t…
@MikeM, is this what you were trying to post?
Image ADDRESS (should have .jpg or .png ending) https://images.inc.com/uploaded_files/image/1920x1080/getty_133970892_157811.jpg
Image Posting at MFO
@sma3, copy (with right-click) the image-address (but not other URLs) & use the MFO Image-Tool (3rd from right) to post.
If an image doesn't have linkable address (e.g. screenshots or other pics on your PC), use free image…
BTW, Scott McNealy (69) has been laying low & spending quiet time with family, friends and personal hobbies. After he left as the CEO of Sun Micro in 2006 at age 52, and its Board in 2010 at age 56, he dabbled with some startups, but nothing cam…
