Bogleheads.org

Thank you for saying so, Brian.
PJW

... I'd be out the door and I'm sure lots of other investors would be too. Yes. And there would be a period of adjustment during which our society finds an alternate method for businesses to borrow working capital. Businesses had, and filled their, working capital needs long before money market mut...

... AFAIK the proposal would change rules for all MM funds. Your Knowledge, with respect to the SEC proposing ending reported $1.00 per share Net Asset Values for retail money market funds, is incorrect according to our Librarian's link in his original post. http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2013/2013-...

I don't understand. Are you an institution? All I've done is disagree with the SEC's proposal; saying it doesn't go far enough. I'm not they . I'm only me . And I have no power over you . PJW I'm a retail investor. Why do they want to change my MM rules, if the problem is with institutional account...

And, I suppose, if one wants to be super -accurate, the proposal is not for retail, but only for institutional funds. You know. Institutions. Sophisticated investors. Indeed! So why do they want to change my money market ? I don't understand. Are you an institution? All I've done is disagree with t...

This is not a matter of what is convenient for individual investors. We will continue to have access to savings accounts. You must be a young'un. :) If it was that easy we wouldn't be talking about it. ... I reeded 'bout that in school pops! But we didn't lose access to savings accounts. We didn't ...

nisiprius wrote:... All the rules have changed. Only I know the new rules.

Excellent.

This time is different.

As opposed to all those other times when I said this time is different but it turned out really to be the same, this time is really different.

PJW

This time Bogle is wrong. Much better to leave things as they are. If an institutional MM breaks the buck too bad for its investors. I don't see the government worrying about short term bond funds piling losses. Institutionally large wads of cash should be kept in C of I, if the owner wants to be a...

Mine is purely an empirical observation. It has no theoretical underpinning whatsoever. What is and is not an investment is rather like Schrodinger's cat. It may or may not be [ alive | an investment ] until it is observed. Then, the conclusion depends on the state of the observer. If I'm invested i...

I've seen more and more talk about what will happen when QExx actually starts to taper their buying. SO - what will be the impact to total bond funds like VBMFX, and/or related items like TIPS - VIPSX or LT Corps - VWESX. Also, what about the various mREIT type funds and stock ETFs ? Most of the ch...

Yes, oddly enough, you can do precisely that. It's the only instance I'm aware of in which you can buy barn insurance after the barn burned down.

On the other hand, as a practical matter, I agree with dm200. It's best not to take too many risks with your risk-transfer strategy.

PJW

Since peppercorns served as the store of value and medium of exchange in mercantile Venice and Genoa in the mumble century (OK, click, click, Wikipedia, 13th century) one might ask about spicing up ones' portfolio with spice. Spice future ETFs anyone? Diversify that gold with some myrrh and frankin...

"Star Gazing Doesn't Help Your Return" Au contraire! Star gazing helps me keep my own little problems in perspective. It also takes my mind off what I simply must do the moment the markets open the next day; and more often than not robs me of the early-morning energy I would have needed fo...

OP referred to traders on "the floor." I'll take that to mean the floor of exchanges, including those whose floors are virtual, but I'll also comment on unlisted stocks. As noted upthread there are at least two types of floor traders: individuals trading their own accounts; and institution...

... Putting off SS until one is 70 is a bet you will live long enough to benefit from the delay ; it might turn out that way or it might not. Taking an annuity know provides the desired income now; it also might turn out to be the correct bet or the wrong bet. It all depends on how long you will li...

I can't think of one; therefore it's clearly my blindness to my own weaknesses.
PJW

[General comment self-censored.] Ultra-low latency transmission of data for a price? Yes. Ability to trade on otherwise-embargoed information for a price? No. And it makes no personal difference to me as an investor because I can't complete a move in five minutes, let alone two seconds; and even if ...

Whoopee Dysvestments (our motto: A Shameless Parasite on Nisiprius Investments! ) is proud to announce: Our hifiring of the renowned and famous truth-teller: L. Lordon Giddy to make our case why you should go all-in on gold!!! L. Lordon Giddy : Hi everyone. Everybody who knows anything about anybody...

All of the capital markets . Maybe for some people also things like derivatives, commodities, and foreign exchange markets. The stock market usually means all stock exchanges taken collectively. Who honestly keeps track of whether their stock is listed on NYSE Euronext; BATS; Deutsche Börse; or not ...

... Seems to be written for people who can't do arithmetic. Who writes checks without knowing their balance in terms of the checks they've already written? ... This isn't a rebuttal to your point, frugaltype, but an observation prompted by it. I try very hard to avoid knowing things about others' f...

... I understand why people write it, but I disagree with it. It is only appropriate if you are unwilling to take any risk and will invest only in risk free instruments. It is fine to say if that is the case, but it is more generally used as a bromide with the implication that it applies to everyon...

... I agree. I never get it when people post that you can only compare to a risk free return. That and 30 year Treasuries are yielding right around 3.25%. Hi momar, The comparison is the value of the mortgage interest you end up not paying. For what would have been the duration of the loan you are ...

Don't confuse money with value. Money is a thing. Value is an ethereal attribute we attach to things. The confusion arises because we use the same word - dollar - as the unit for counting money and as the unit for measuring value. In 2008 the value of stocks, bonds, houses and lots of other things ...

... However, I don't think Madoff will ever get an endorsement gig at Vanguard. It would just drive up ER's. RM [Emphasis added.] Maybe not by very much, though, at least if the arrangement was via Federal Prison Industries . According to prisonworldblogtalk.com , the highest wage available to a fe...

"Our American Cousin" (play) by Tom Taylor, and if anyone knows what stage directions like "Exit Binny, L. 3 E." please let me know. I assume L means stage left; I think 1, 2, and 3 might mean downstage, in between, and upstage???? But what does "E" mean? ... Hi nisi, ...

Thanks, PJW. My thread title was meant to be facetious, as, IMO, there's no legitimate reason for Vanguard to drop the risk level 2 notches in the first two weeks of its existence. Thanks also to nisiprius for reproducing the prior response from the Vanguard CSR. I'm looking forward to learning why...

Nothing has changed. Let me go into a little more detail: None of the fund's holdings have changed. As discussed in a previous thread, and relying on the statement in the fund's Statutory Prospectus plus the fund page online as of today, from opening through 31 May was the subscription period , dur...

Hi Browser, Yeah, there's a lot of misunderstanding and bad information out there. As you measured, the long-term correlation between equities and fixed income is close to zero. They could go up together. They could go down together. They could stay the same together. Or, they could behave in comple...

Looks like someone gave Chuck Mikolajczak an assignment about writing something about the the market's last day of the month, and he did so. Which leads to the question of what he would have written about had it gone up. "End of month rebalancing drives stock prices up"? Brian Good point;...

Can anyone explain why end of month index fund rebalancing is not a known phenomenon and priced into an efficient market. http://t.money.msn.com/business-news/newsarticle?feed=OBR&date=20130531&id=16526350 Thanks! [Emphasis added.] Hi AV8, Nowhere in the article are index funds mentioned. I...

... If you say to the [subcontractor of the seller's] agent you are working with, that you could go as high as $250,000, but let's offer $235,000 to see if it sticks, the [subcontractor of the seller's] agent has a legal obligation to tell the seller to hold outfor more. Thinking somebody else's ag...

I heard somewhere that the realtor ALWAYS represents the buyer, even if you think he is working for you. A realtor works for the seller, a buyers broker works for the buyer. I always use a buyers broker, especially since it basically doesn't cost me anything. The seller's agent has to split the com...

I'm looking forward to learning the average duration and country mix when that information becomes available. ... From the Statutory Prospectus, speaking first of average maturity (not exactly what you asked for, but some information nonetheless): The Fund maintains a dollar-weighted average maturi...

As pointed out in today's VG Total International Bond Fund is Open thread, Vanguard has changed its mind (the email response to nisi notwithstanding) and now says the Emerging Market Bond Fund is risk level 3. http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=117256&newpost=1708953#p17089...

No, my point is that not all financial decisions have positive expected returns - and those aren't investments at all, they are expenses. Trying to treat all decisions the same can and does lead to poor decisions - recognizing that different financial decision serve different purposes is one step i...

See, and I think it is your construct that does the disservice. In many (most?) people's minds investment implies profitable returns. ... Sadly, I think you're right. In at least many peoples' minds, and maybe even most as you say, the idea of investment leads inevitably to assumptions of profit. I...

Manhattan is the #1 for everything being within walking distance. Except for some parts of it, where they aren't. Astoria, Queens is very good, and if you feel Manhattan calling the subway is only $2.50 each way. There are a number of neighborhoods in Brooklyn, some more and some less expensive, wh...

Please forgive me for quoting myself. Hi Dog_Papa, I bought an apartment, not a single family home, but contrary to many others here I did then and do now consider it an investment. Here's why: While staying in the same metro area and keeping the same job, I moved from a rental apartment in one vici...

Hi Victoria, How important is the price vs. the convenience vs. the airline? I looked at Orbitz just now using 20 - 27 July and economy class. Here's what I found: The least expensive one-stop is Aeroflot at $1432, through Moscow, using Boeing and Airbus equipment. United, through Frankfurt, shows $...

noahw wrote:Financially I can retire today. (62)
Emotionally I'm not sure I can.
I help people and it's gratifying that I can, so it's hard to go to pasture.
Any thoughts on overcoming my mental state?
Noah

If continuing your career is a desirable lifestyle choice there is nothing to overcome.
PJW

Zacharay Karabell has a Reuters column published today on exactly this topic: The United States has a problem: rapidly rising student debt. It also has a solution: online education. The primary reason for spiraling student debt is the soaring costs of a college education at a physical college. Onlin...

Google announced today that they are investing $125 million for a ~7% equity stake in Lending Club, valuing the company at $1.55 billion. Does this give you more confidence in lending to Lending Club? ... No. Neither does it decrease my confidence. If Google thought making the loans was better than...

I suspect the problem is not with the seniors, or with the report, but with the article. I've added the emphases: The Employee Benefit Research Institute, a nonprofit research group, said May 15 that 48 percent of people who were aged 61 to 70 and in the bottom half of the income distribution withdr...

I hope I am doing this right. My broker is Charles Schwab. I recently got some good advice from them as to revising my portfolio allocation. But my present portfolio is returning 10.13% year to date (1/1/13 - 5/16/13). Perhaps because of the present bull market? I would hate to change my present al...

Hi SoMo, First of all, welcome to the forum! If you and your mother would like to take the money from maturing treasuries and reinvest using Treasury Direct, then I think that is a reasonable thing to do, and your running interference for her with the Merrill Lynch broker sounds like a plan. Beyond ...

I'm switching to Gmail for personal email. My work recently switched to corporate Gmail and I'd prefer to use the same system for work and personal. For personal my full name happens to be available as FirstName.Lastname@gmail.com Good or bad idea? I also plan to retire in a few years and I'll prob...

I I have a suggestion: encourage Vanguard to do screen shots for you, I have thought of this too, I think it is a good idea. I deleted because I saw your edit. Hi Stan Dup, I realize you were asking about how to rebalance online, and if there was a demo you can watch. I don't know that there is one...

I agree with G-Money's points, and would like to add one of my own. The range of durations in Total Bond means that it is not as exposed to non-parallel changes in the yield curve. If the whole curve goes up or down without changing shape, that didn't buy much. If its shape changes sharply Total Bon...

What kind of a duration do you want? You can hardly go wrong with Vanguard's NY muni fund. It's classified as a long-term fund, but has a current duration of about 6 years. Do you want a fund with a longer duration, or a shorter duration? High quality, or lower quality with higher yield (and higher...

As far as I know, Vanguard doesn't offer a triple tax free NY fund. It's fund is not exempt from NYC taxes. Not sure about the others. From New York State's website (emphasis added): Bonds issued by New York State and its Public Authorities are debt obligations, the proceeds of which are used to bu...