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 was looking at the 5498 that someone over age 73 received from Fidelity. It mistakenly read:
Our records indicate that you will be 72 or older in 2023. Once you reach age 72, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires that you take a required m…
I got data from 2021 from Fido. about 50% of the SPAXX yield was state tax free. I don't know what % then was in Repos, but I bet that it was 50% and Repos are not state tax free
https://www.fidelity.com/tax-information/prior-year-tax-exempt-incom…
Last time I was there they were advertising 20-50% off but most of what was left was only 20% off so no better than a BBB coupon (and I was getting emails offering 25% off entire purchases at all their stores not just the one closing).
As with JCP,…
You can always put forth a proposal for the annual meeting if you own shares directly.
While that's what many people think, that's not quite the way it works.
Companies don't want Johnny-come-latelies buying a share just before the record date jus…
Now I see where that foreign figure comes from - click on the issuer type "tab" under "Weighted Exposure".
The latest SEC filings (including monthly filings) go only through September. Looking at the annual report (with Sept data), only 75% of th…
So, one famous maker of blue jeans hired Vietnamese workers because they could be paid in peanuts. The jeans were manufactured, finished, ready to wear. Then they were shipped to Saipan.
Reread the article you cited. All the manufacturing was don…
Two sectors where prices have grown the fastest for many years are two which IMHO should be accessible to all: education and health care.
From an 1887 letter from the Commissioner of the Department of Education, referencing Thomas Jefferson's …
I received the same email as well.
A couple of oddities about the Vanguard fund:
- Vanguard doesn't show its annual report on the fund page
(You can find it at the SEC here; search for multi-sector)
- On the page linked to by Yogi, the fund i…
HSAFX is available with a transaction fee at Schwab and Vanguard-not available at E-Trade.
Unavailable also at Merrill Edge. But it is available at Firstrade (all funds NTF). At least it shows up at Firstrade if one logs into an account ($500 mi…
Important to remember the intent of why legislation forcing debt limits was created in the first place.
The intent was to give the Treasury more flexibility, not to constrain the Treasury or Congress.
As noted in the first line of Congressional Re…
Getting a bit OT here; I hope people will indulge me as I'm a bit sensitive on this, having grown up in a home in what is now NY's 3rd Congressional district.
In election campaigns, there are two principal, not mutually exclusive, approaches. Per…
You've identified a key reason why people can come out ahead by doing conversions.
I showed the arithmetic in my Jan 14 post. Basically by pre-paying taxes (via conversion), you're moving tax money from outside into your Roth. So you never a…
DECEMBER 4, 2000
Effective immediately, Vanguard Health Care Fund has raised its minimum initial
investment amount to $25,000 for all new accounts, including IRAs and custodial
accounts for minors.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/734383/00…
Most people are familiar with the idea that if one pays T-IRA taxes from the IRA proceeds, and if tax rates don't change, then it doesn't matter whether one puts money into a T-IRA or into a Roth IRA.
For example, with a tax rate of 25%, and $1,000…
That brings up estate taxes (in Mass and Oregon, those kick in at $1M). Prepaying taxes reduces the size of the estate and thus the amount potentially subject to estate taxes.
Roth conversions are one way to prepay taxes. Another is to pay taxe…
Under the assumption that one will pay taxes on a T-IRA withdrawal using proceeds from the IRA, it doesn't matter which assets go into the traditional, and which go into the Roth.
Let's assume that the tax rate upon withdrawal is 25%. Let's assum…
Reverse-splits for mutual funds don't make any (rational) sense. They don't trade like stocks, and trading and margin considerations don't apply.
99.9% of the time, I agree with this. There is the oddball exception where there is a sensible ration…
In a taxable account, one would amortize the premium over the life of the bond, so that the net taxable interest would be the same on either bond.
This amortization is optional on taxable bonds, mandatory on muni bonds. This amortization helps re…
I believe this is what you're referring to:
https://www.chron.com/business/enron/article/Enron-executives-may-lose-lawsuits-but-not-all-2070656.php
As far as OJ is concerned,
Collections attorneys who have experience know how to use the Florida Uni…
If the rate is high for twelve months (you're getting a blended 12 month rate of around 8.4%), then the penalty is almost meaningless. Hold the savings bond for 15 months and you get that 8.4% for 15 months instead of 12, which is still around 6.7…
I've never figured out how much umbrella insurance to buy. Two rules of thumb I've heard are:
- Buy as much as you have assets to protect; and
- Buy as much as you can afford.
Neither makes much sense.
The first because a plaintiff can go a…
Why would that matter? In any case, the point is that FossilFreeFunds does not "by definition" exclude any firm that is not exclusively in solar, wind, geothermal, etc. This looks like a straw man. Where did this come from? And why just US?
So …
I do see that ETRADE has it LOAD WAIVED. The Institutional version is $1M Min. Any takers?
Schwab sells EVDIX with a $2500 min and a $49.95 TF.
https://www.schwab.com/research/mutual-funds/quotes/fees/evdix
Alternatively, if Schwab accepts a …
most of the protections carryover from 401k/403b to such Rollover T-IRAs
Unless a debtor files for bankruptcy, rollovers receive no protection under the Bankruptcy Abuse Protection and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA). Seems self-evident.
Outsid…
You forgot the best part - one doesn't have to invest all $3K at once. One can add to the certificate so long as the total amount doesn't exceed $3K.
Worst part (aside from having to qualify as an NFCU member)? One must set up direct deposit of …
I think this approach makes more sense than relying only on an index of "clean energy companies" that by definition excludes any firm that is not exclusively in solar, wind, geothermal etc
Fossil Free Funds does not exclude sizeable utilities that …
FRNW has virtually the same carbon footprint as ICLN: 354 vs 358. Still off the chart.
https://fossilfreefunds.org/fund/fidelity-clean-energy-etf/FRNW/carbon-footprint/FS0000GZWZ/F00001AEZV
FRNW does invest a smaller percentage of its portfolio …
As with star ratings or any other magic numbers, one needs look behind the numbers to better understand what they represent.
Somewhat like SRI funds that set very stringent de minimis thresholds on investing in "bad" companies, the sites I sugge…
And all of the funds we bought get horrible grades from the site recommended by msf. ... CSGZX ha[s] held up reasonably well from our purchase[] in July
CSGZX is 'A' rated on fossil fuels, is scored a 17 on carbon footprint and a 35 on carbon int…
Yes, I agree with you to this point about primary housing. We've not held individual U.S. gov't bonds in a taxable account; but I recall the ordinary dividends (paid two times a year?) are taxable at a Federal level annually, but not at the state an…
If a fund has a $100,000 minimum, is it OK if you invest with this amount and shortly afterwards, remove a large portion of the initial sum while maintaining the rest of the investment?
Maybe, maybe not. It depends on what the fund requires for a …
I did a little poking around when doing a writeup on ESG investing. Criteria and metrics are all over the map, so one needs to take care and understand the underlying methodology in looking at any scorecard. With all that said, a site I found us…
There seem to be several "mostly closed" funds that are listed as open at E*Trade. Closed funds often have a loophole - that you can open a new account if you are investing through an advisor who already has money with the fund. (Another common …
RPHYX/RPHIX still managed to return below 3% for the year, as compared to a few banks/CUs that pay above 4%
This is an apples to oranges comparison, comparing past one year return for RPHYX with the current APY on MMAs. A retrospective comparison…
Anybody buying this year? Seems like a no brainer
Are you all in? One can overpay one's taxes by $5K by making an estimated payment on or before January 17th. That enables you to buy an extra $5K in savings bonds with the refund, though they wil…
They settle on a relatively consistent, usually conservative monthly distribution early in the year, with the result that most years, there's excess income to distribute at the end of the year.
This is by design. Many CEFs including PDI have a m…
Thank you Lewis. I had related thoughts. That wondering about how much the US has to do itself to protect the US carries with it the idea that every other country has to likewise act on its own to protect its own self interests only. From an e…
