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Re: Diversity versus S&P

InvestorNewb wrote:By investing in only the S&P 500 index you will automatically beat 75% of mutual funds. The returns of VOO vs. VTI are virtually identical.

VOO has only been around for a few years. Check VTSAX vs the S&P 500 for longer timeperiods.
Morningstar
by ftobin
Thu May 09, 2013 9:54 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Diversity versus S&P
Replies: 5
Views: 314

Re: Diversity versus S&P

dextermorgan wrote:Therefore, the question does seem to be why not just invest in the S&P and be done.

There is a presumption the S&P is "simpler" than the entire market, which I can get via VTI (for just the US) or VT (for the whole world).
by ftobin
Thu May 09, 2013 9:29 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Diversity versus S&P
Replies: 5
Views: 314

Re: How does VXUS (VG INTL Index ETF) track the market?

In the end, you do own the underlying international shares. But remember when you're buying an ETF -- whether international or not, you are buying from other stock market participants and the final price is a negotiation between you two. What it is really worth is immaterial. What MossySF is statin...
by ftobin
Wed May 08, 2013 9:41 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How does VXUS (VG INTL Index ETF) track the market?
Replies: 8
Views: 564

Re: How does VXUS (VG INTL Index ETF) track the market?

A lot likely has to do with the value of ADRs (American Depository Receipt) that trade on US stock exchanges. For example, BP trades as an ADR on the NYSE. If a market participant can track a good percentage of these ADR's, along with currency fluctuations, they can derive an approximate value for t...
by ftobin
Tue May 07, 2013 6:27 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How does VXUS (VG INTL Index ETF) track the market?
Replies: 8
Views: 564

Re: Vanguard drops fees again...VTI, VBR, etc.

More good news. I personally mostly use IJS for small cap value but now Vanguard's VBR has cut its fees in half! IJS is about 3 times more expensive. Very compelling. Most likely there is no actual change in fees, simply a change in reported expense ratios. What you're seeing is the elimination of ...
by ftobin
Mon Apr 29, 2013 9:54 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard drops fees again...VTI, VBR, etc.
Replies: 1
Views: 627

Re: VBS limit order executed after session closed

The nice and cheerful rep explained that partial orders sitting open and the end of the day are looked at by VBS for their customers. Apparently they call down to the desk and, if possible, get the order cleaned up at the limit price (which happened in this case) to make things all neat and tidy. I...
by ftobin
Wed Apr 24, 2013 11:34 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: VBS limit order executed after session closed
Replies: 21
Views: 1337

Re: VBS limit order executed after session closed

Retail customer orders such as yours are almost always DAY orders, which expire at 16:00. If your order was executed after the closing print, you should call Vanguard and ask them to explain the situation. Most likely there was an error.
by ftobin
Tue Apr 23, 2013 11:31 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: VBS limit order executed after session closed
Replies: 21
Views: 1337

Re: Are bitcoins something like internet tulips?

nisiprius wrote:(Decided not to defend myself here--would just lead to further argufying).

I thought nisi was making up a (useful) word here, but Merriam-Webster has it! "Argufy" is a great word to have on-hand in forums.
by ftobin
Mon Apr 22, 2013 1:14 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Are bitcoins something like internet tulips?
Replies: 62
Views: 3103

Re: Most Vanguard Funds just finished converting to CRSP

If the Institutional Total Stock Market converted, wouldn't that imply the rest of TSM converted too, as it is only a share class of the same fund? That's my assumption. The link I provided was from the institutional side, but I assume it applies to all share classes. From what I can tell, I think ...
by ftobin
Wed Apr 17, 2013 9:10 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Most Vanguard Funds just finished converting to CRSP
Replies: 10
Views: 1418

Re: "Bond Market Bubble?"

I grow more convinced with each thread I read that a lot of people here do not understand why their bonds have been a good investment in the past for reasons that cannot apply to the future. I think people understand their bonds have been a good investment if they achieved their target: being the s...
by ftobin
Fri Apr 12, 2013 2:04 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "Bond Market Bubble?"
Replies: 52
Views: 3671

Re: "Bond Market Bubble?"

Look at where your fund's interest rates were 4 years ago: they had a lot more room to drop. Unless you think we will be paying bond issuers to take our money there is no way they can drop the future the way they did until now. Not mathematically possible. I understand, but I'm not looking for inte...
by ftobin
Fri Apr 12, 2013 1:55 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "Bond Market Bubble?"
Replies: 52
Views: 3671

Re: "Bond Market Bubble?"

As long as people are trying to guess how many percentage points interest rates will rise, they should really be including a timeframe it occurs over. Just as Nsi was stating regarding the magnitude of "overvaluation" is important, how it plays out is extremely important, since, remember, ...
by ftobin
Fri Apr 12, 2013 1:11 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "Bond Market Bubble?"
Replies: 52
Views: 3671

Re: J Bogle article: Total Corporate Bond Index Fund

what's the difference between the fund bogle is advocating in this article and vanguard's vcit etf? https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=3146&FundIntExt=INT While it may be a good proxy, you might run into differences with regards to duration and other factors. The duration of...
by ftobin
Fri Apr 12, 2013 10:48 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: J Bogle article: Total Corporate Bond Index Fund
Replies: 60
Views: 7519

Re: SEC yield for different inflation-protected funds

That is, it bases the SEC yield on the real yield to maturity. In my opinion, this is the best way. I agree it's probably the best way for a TIPS-only fund, but for a fund that has both nominal and TIPS, that approach would throw the numbers off incredibly. Unfortunately there seems to be a lot of ...
by ftobin
Wed Apr 10, 2013 9:56 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: SEC yield for different inflation-protected funds
Replies: 2
Views: 270

Re: Today Show: Retiring By 40

mrsscuba wrote:
Also, and this is a key point, once I'm done accumulating assets and buying stocks I'll no longer be paying any management fees at all! This is a discussion point about fees that I see rarely/never brought up.

That's because 0.06% is really, really small in the grand scheme of things. :)
by ftobin
Wed Apr 10, 2013 5:40 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Today Show: Retiring By 40
Replies: 17
Views: 2840

SEC yield for different inflation-protected funds

Here are the reported SEC yields for a few inflation protect funds: FSIQX -0.15% (Fidelity Spartan Inflation-protected index fund) VIPSX -1.17% (Vanguard Inflation-protected) TIP 3.96% (but an average real YTM of -0.95%, and take into account a 0.20% ER) (iShares TIPS ETF) All of these funds have si...
by ftobin
Wed Apr 10, 2013 1:14 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: SEC yield for different inflation-protected funds
Replies: 2
Views: 270

Re: High ER and Index fund results

I have a large position in the Mairs and Power Growth Fund. I think one of the major reasons why it has managed to beat the S&P500 over the 10 and 20 year timeframes despite the ER of 0.72 is the extremely low turnover rate of 1.58%. It's average market cap holding is $15b, compared to $55b for...
by ftobin
Wed Apr 10, 2013 11:35 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: High ER and Index fund results
Replies: 19
Views: 1509

Re: Vanguard R&C: Target date fund adoption 2012

Just skimming it to start, I'm glad to see the increased use of target-date funds, since many if not individuals have little interest in learning the details of how to allocate stocks vs bonds. I'll definitely be absorbing this article, as I firmly believe target-date funds will be a big help in hel...
by ftobin
Tue Apr 09, 2013 5:45 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard R&C: Target date fund adoption 2012
Replies: 1
Views: 344

Re: some research on dark pools

Let's be clear on what dark pools are. They aren't pools of dark magic. They are simply means of trading without the fees of an exchange as a middleman. It's similar to the difference between peer-to-peer transactions and centralized transactions. And sometimes the pools don't even take on positions...
by ftobin
Tue Apr 09, 2013 5:31 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: some research on dark pools
Replies: 2
Views: 565

Re: Bought Bonds Today

The government, any government, is a price taker in terms of the interest rates it pays on bonds. Capital markets for sovereign bonds are global and the marginal buyer or seller (who thus sets interest rates) is a global investor (exceptions: the domestic bond markets in Japan and Italy are huge an...
by ftobin
Mon Apr 08, 2013 11:06 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Bought Bonds Today
Replies: 31
Views: 3769

Re: I-bond loss of purchasing power

Taxes in various inflation scenarios seem to be missing from the discussion, especially since it was the primary focus of your original post.
by ftobin
Wed Apr 03, 2013 9:36 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I-bond loss of purchasing power
Replies: 38
Views: 3582

Re: Are "Dark Pools" putting efficient markets at risk?

By regulation, trades in dark pools must be traded at prices between the national bid and ask on public exchanges. They cannot drift away from exchange prices. Would you know specifically what regulation cover this? RegNMS : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_NMS Order Protection (or Trade Th...
by ftobin
Tue Apr 02, 2013 5:08 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Are "Dark Pools" putting efficient markets at risk?
Replies: 32
Views: 1624

Re: Schwab's new Fundamental ETFs

SFILX and SFNNX are the best international value options today, IMO, if you want to go after lower-priced (i.e., value) equities abroad. I'll point out that EFV is available for developed international value, ER of 0.40%. It has less turnover than SFNNX. You're right about small developed value, th...
by ftobin
Tue Apr 02, 2013 2:51 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Schwab's new Fundamental ETFs
Replies: 16
Views: 1561

Re: Are "Dark Pools" putting efficient markets at risk?

So dark pools could also offer efficiencies in lessening market impact costs by allowing parties to exchange huge chunks of stock off market, and perhaps even dampen market volatility? Yes, those are some of the positive effects of off-exchange trading. Like most things, dark pools have positive an...
by ftobin
Tue Apr 02, 2013 11:29 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Are "Dark Pools" putting efficient markets at risk?
Replies: 32
Views: 1624

Re: Are "Dark Pools" putting efficient markets at risk?

By regulation, trades in dark pools must be traded at prices between the national bid and ask on public exchanges. They cannot drift away from exchange prices.
by ftobin
Tue Apr 02, 2013 10:51 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Are "Dark Pools" putting efficient markets at risk?
Replies: 32
Views: 1624

Re: I-bond loss of purchasing power

I think it's useful to quantify real losses of IBonds (with today's 0% rates) if you are considering buying more. Then you can compare it to whatever other options you have and decide accordingly. In order to make your point effectively, I recommend expanding on what "other options" means...
by ftobin
Mon Apr 01, 2013 6:48 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I-bond loss of purchasing power
Replies: 38
Views: 3582

Re: Why target date funds add TIPS only at retirement?

Edit: Of course, if your point was to note that people are scared of negative numbers, no matter what they mean, I fully agree with you. I don't allow anyone to put words in my mouth with conjecture and insinuation. I'm not trying to insinuate anything demeaning. I was simply guessing that you may ...
by ftobin
Thu Mar 21, 2013 3:41 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why target date funds add TIPS only at retirement?
Replies: 36
Views: 2802

Re: Why target date funds add TIPS only at retirement?

Second, you have ZERO basis to speculate what my "point" is. ⋅ A negative number (as quoted) means that effectively you are paying 2.96% for projected inflation. ⋅ IF one wishes exactness in comparison to match 8.6 duration in VAIPX, use 70/30 VFIUX/VUSUX and go with t...
by ftobin
Thu Mar 21, 2013 12:56 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why target date funds add TIPS only at retirement?
Replies: 36
Views: 2802

Re: Why target date funds add TIPS only at retirement?

On your first comment, there are reasons to think TIPS wouldn't be the ideal vehicle on the bond side if the overall goal is producing a given level of real portfolio returns with lowest risk: (1) you would expect TIPS to hurt real returns of overall portfolio because of the "cost" of ins...
by ftobin
Wed Mar 20, 2013 10:57 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why target date funds add TIPS only at retirement?
Replies: 36
Views: 2802

Re: Why target date funds add TIPS only at retirement?

Presumably, the goal of the portfolio is real returns of some magnitude commensurate with the level of risk. Put another, way, the portfolio has a real total return objective. Having one component that is wrapped inside the portfolio that will earn +/- the rate of inflation doesn't seem to address ...
by ftobin
Mon Mar 18, 2013 1:30 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why target date funds add TIPS only at retirement?
Replies: 36
Views: 2802

Re: Why target date funds add TIPS only at retirement?

Because: Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury Fund Admiral Shares (VFIUX), for instance, has a SEC yield of 0.89% while Vanguard Inflation-Protected Securities Fund Admiral Shares (VAIPX) yield -1.08% . It's necessary for me to point out that the VAIPX yield is excluding the inflation adjustment... ...
by ftobin
Mon Mar 18, 2013 1:16 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why target date funds add TIPS only at retirement?
Replies: 36
Views: 2802

Re: Fidelity's ETF Fee Spurs a Backlash

I'm a little surprised Fidelity is doing this. They make money when you trade. Market makers often end up even paying places like Fidelity for sending them order flow. A simple example can be shown with the rebates ECNs apply: with a person buying 1000 shares of something, posting a non-marketable l...
by ftobin
Sun Mar 17, 2013 3:21 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Fidelity's ETF Fee Spurs a Backlash
Replies: 28
Views: 3335

Re: I-Bond annual limit workaround? (esp. for couples)

Thank you for the information, David. I understand the reasons you posted for possibly wanting to front-load your I-bonds. The main reason I was interested in doing it is that I have extra money this year, and would prefer to hold more I-Bonds in taxable and reduce TIPS in sheltered (in exchange for...
by ftobin
Mon Mar 11, 2013 11:09 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I-Bond annual limit workaround? (esp. for couples)
Replies: 4
Views: 632

I-Bond annual limit workaround? (esp. for couples)

Help me in determining if there might be a flaw/possible workaround of the I-Bond purchase limit: ⋅ The annual purchase limit for I-Bonds is $10,000. ⋅ Purchasing a savings bond as a gift does not apply towards your annual limit. ⋅ Gifted savings bonds apply toward the ...
by ftobin
Mon Mar 11, 2013 1:31 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I-Bond annual limit workaround? (esp. for couples)
Replies: 4
Views: 632

Re: Too Far: Fundamental Indexing For Emerging Markets?

Unfortunately the RAFI indexes provide one of limited fairly-passive value-oriented strategies in the international space, especially emerging markets. I use RAFI International small cap and RAFI Emerging (via Schwab funds) to gain this exposure.
by ftobin
Mon Mar 11, 2013 1:04 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Too Far: Fundamental Indexing For Emerging Markets?
Replies: 13
Views: 875

Re: Why do Vanguard and Fidelity have such weak passwords?

What are the odds that a) Vanguard's servers will get hacked, B) Vanguard doesn't realize it in time to reset accounts, and C) Vanguard doesn't make its investors whole? It seems like a hypothetical risk at this point. I can't speak to Vanguard's security, but it won't be "Vanguard" makin...
by ftobin
Thu Mar 07, 2013 11:51 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why do Vanguard and Fidelity have such weak passwords?
Replies: 86
Views: 4792

Re: Why do Vanguard and Fidelity have such weak passwords?

tadamsmar wrote:I guess "individual security" would include ETFs?

Yes
by ftobin
Thu Mar 07, 2013 3:12 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why do Vanguard and Fidelity have such weak passwords?
Replies: 86
Views: 4792

Re: Why do Vanguard and Fidelity have such weak passwords?

(trying to understand)....So FFNOX would be safe but an individual stock, which can be instantly traded, would not....whether or not FFNOX was in a brokerage account? I am not worried much about the cash (MA Tax-free Money Market actually)....I don't keep much cash in the account. Yes. For the sort...
by ftobin
Wed Mar 06, 2013 4:25 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why do Vanguard and Fidelity have such weak passwords?
Replies: 86
Views: 4792

Re: Why do Vanguard and Fidelity have such weak passwords?

One question I have. What if the hacker (who has my login credentials) tries to set up a brokerage account (that is create a brokerage account for me using my login) to sell stocks and then transfer or use money from a mutual fund account to do this? I have a taxable mutual fund account with a good...
by ftobin
Wed Mar 06, 2013 3:13 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why do Vanguard and Fidelity have such weak passwords?
Replies: 86
Views: 4792

Re: Why do Vanguard and Fidelity have such weak passwords?

I have a brokerage account with Fidelity, but the only thing I have in it is a single Fidelity mutual fund (FFNOX) and a small amount of cash. Are you saying that if I transfer it into a mutual fund account that does not allow individual stock trading it will be more secure? Does anybody know about...
by ftobin
Wed Mar 06, 2013 3:01 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why do Vanguard and Fidelity have such weak passwords?
Replies: 86
Views: 4792

Re: Why do Vanguard and Fidelity have such weak passwords?

but most people don't have good enough physical security on their house to stop a 13-year-old kid with a drill from getting in and reading their sticky note password while they're away on vacation. I'll point out that in the majority of situations a sticky note is more vastly more secure than a wea...
by ftobin
Mon Mar 04, 2013 11:03 am
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why do Vanguard and Fidelity have such weak passwords?
Replies: 86
Views: 4792

Re: Why has VBMFX been mediocre for so long?

VBMFX will outperform the average weighted dollar invested in bonds, but not necessarily the median bond fund. Morningstar's "averages" are equally weighted, not asset-weighted. It's the difference between median and mean. If the world consists of 1 big safe bond fund, and 99 tiny bond fun...
by ftobin
Thu Feb 28, 2013 12:34 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why has VBMFX been mediocre for so long?
Replies: 14
Views: 1728

Re: Vanguard announces emerging markets bond index fund (aga

Ok, so let me get this straight... there is corruption everywhere, including in the U.S.... but in the U.S. we pay our bondholders first over stockholders despite the presence of corruption... but in foreign countries, corruption may lead to paying stockholders above bondholders? If you are an inde...
by ftobin
Thu Feb 28, 2013 12:17 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard announces emerging markets bond index fund (again)
Replies: 27
Views: 2020

Re: why not short Treasuries>?

How else to you propose the typical investor bet against Treasuries? I'm not an expert in the futures market, but some google suggests that you can buy futures against Treasuries. The ETFs hold bearish contracts on Treasuries, no? Could you simply not hold the same underlying positions yourself, ho...
by ftobin
Wed Feb 27, 2013 3:50 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: why not short Treasuries>?
Replies: 16
Views: 1523

Re: why not short Treasuries>?

Does not the return of the bear/inverse funds say more about the nature of long-term holding these ETFs, than the actual result of betting against Treasuries using another tool?
by ftobin
Wed Feb 27, 2013 12:29 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: why not short Treasuries>?
Replies: 16
Views: 1523

Re: Total International Fund not matching regions

It's probably a classification difference of Korea between FTSE and MSCI.
by ftobin
Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:58 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Total International Fund not matching regions
Replies: 2
Views: 329

Re: Just Can't Trust BOA

I'll give a small bump for my online-only bank, First Internet Bank of Indiana: https://www.firstib.com/ Money market rates are at 0.80% for a while with a $4K minimum. Checking is 0.55%. Good bill pay services too. I've been a customer for about 15 years. You can deposit checks with pre-paid envelo...
by ftobin
Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:18 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Just Can't Trust BOA
Replies: 25
Views: 2263

Re: NY Times: Vanguard: "never go public"

I did a survey a few months ago that strongly implied they're going to be integrating -- they had a complete mock-up integrated website interface to review, proposed announcement letters (down to the level of having to get a new checkbook if you have checkwriting set up), etc. I also got an Amazon ...
by ftobin
Mon Feb 11, 2013 12:37 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: NY Times: Vanguard: "never go public"
Replies: 40
Views: 4382

Re: NY Times: Vanguard: "never go public"

I couldn't possibly care less about the Portfolio Watch tool. My account balance is plainly stated, knowing the exact percentage of my return is not worth the extra basis point to me. The benefit of the Porfolio Watch tool for me is to understand, across accounts, Morningstar grid-style analysis of...
by ftobin
Mon Feb 11, 2013 12:31 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: NY Times: Vanguard: "never go public"
Replies: 40
Views: 4382

Re: NY Times: Vanguard: "never go public"

Grt2bOutdoors wrote:Fund shareholders should not be made to pay the increased carry costs of a broker dealer operation.

The features and complaints people have with the website I usually associate with the mutual fund side (e.g., Portfolio Analysis, CashEdge account tracking, authentication, etc).
by ftobin
Mon Feb 11, 2013 12:13 pm
 
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: NY Times: Vanguard: "never go public"
Replies: 40
Views: 4382
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