Search found 725 matches

by RaleighStClaire
Mon Sep 30, 2019 9:15 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What is your AA, given your age? and, Why?
Replies: 284
Views: 43554

Re: What is your AA, given your age? and, Why?

BW1985 wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2019 1:26 pm
RaleighStClaire wrote: Thu Sep 26, 2019 2:36 pm Looks like it's been 7 years since I last posted. Not sure what prompted me to load up the ol bogleheads today but here I am :)

36y/o
100% equities -- 60% US SV, 20% Intl SV, 20% EM SV. It's sure been a bad 12mo for the portfolio! :greedy
100% SCV? That's interesting. Ride or die with it I guess.
Yeah. I'm a psychopath :)
by RaleighStClaire
Thu Sep 26, 2019 2:36 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What is your AA, given your age? and, Why?
Replies: 284
Views: 43554

Re: What is your AA, given your age? and, Why?

Looks like it's been 7 years since I last posted. Not sure what prompted me to load up the ol bogleheads today but here I am :)

36y/o
100% equities -- 60% US SV, 20% Intl SV, 20% EM SV. It's sure been a bad 12mo for the portfolio! :greedy
by RaleighStClaire
Mon Nov 05, 2012 8:55 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: SFILX - Index Change?
Replies: 3
Views: 1052

SFILX - Index Change?

SFILX has gone through a name change from "Schwab Fdmtl Intl Sm Mid Co Idx" to "Schwab Fdmtl Intl Sm Co Idx" and I can't find anything on the internet that clarifies if the fund has changed underlying indexes or not. I would love for them to have switched to the small only index, and while it certainly appears that dropping the "Mid" in the name implies that this is the case, it is not certain. If anyone has heard anything about this change I'd appreciate some info. Thanks!
by RaleighStClaire
Wed Aug 22, 2012 9:31 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Emerging Markets Small Cap ETF (EEMS)
Replies: 34
Views: 5922

Re: Emerging Markets Small Cap ETF (EEMS)

livesoft: what you say about market orders is semi-accurate but you are ignoring the fact that a lot of size is hidden by the market makers for iShares. There may be 100 shares at 44 but there are almost definitely thousands upon thousands of shares available slightly above that. I've worked with market makers like Guggenheim and PIMCO (for ETFs) and even those small potatoes offer tens of thousands of shares slightly above the ask. Yes, you run into a risk that the iShares market maker didn't do his job correct and yes it's technically possible to buy 100 at 44 and 900 at 54, but that is extremely unlikely and iShares probably isn't going to let that happen. This all is irrelevant anyways since I mentioned buying on limits. Which I did yes...
by RaleighStClaire
Wed Aug 22, 2012 7:11 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Emerging Markets Small Cap ETF (EEMS)
Replies: 34
Views: 5922

Re: Low turnover, but small size concerns

Thanks for bringing this ETF to our attention. Most of the funds/etf's in this area have one or two drawbacks. EWX has really high turnover, like 80% It's 85% according to the current prospectus, and I doubt that the index has that much turnover. GWX, tracking the similar index in developed markets, has only 17% turnover, and even DGS, which should have higher turnover due to dividend weighting, has 35%. I would guess that the 85% is an anomaly due to index changes; 20% turnover is normal for a small-cap index. In any case, EWX didn't distribute the huge amount of capital gains that would normaly come with an 85% turnover. And according to the semi-annual report , EEMS had 9% turnover from 8/31/11-2/29/12, which would be consistent with an...
by RaleighStClaire
Tue Aug 21, 2012 12:19 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Emerging Markets Small Cap ETF (EEMS)
Replies: 34
Views: 5922

Re: Emerging Markets Small Cap ETF (EEMS)

ftobin wrote:
RaleighStClaire wrote:Considering they have very similar ERs I tend to favor EEMS based on this data as it's more small and more valuey than the others (what I'm going for). I know the trading volume is terrible for EEMS but I'd be using limit orders so that's not much of an issue imo.
Note that EEMS is an emerging-market small-cap fund, with no value bend.

EEMS's spreads are reasonable, on the same order of magnitude as VSS, but only about $8000 (200 shares) is available at the inside.
It's not defined as a value fund but it is clearly more value tilted compared to other EM small cap funds
by RaleighStClaire
Tue Aug 21, 2012 9:30 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Thoughts on WisdomTree SmallCap Div (DLS)?
Replies: 25
Views: 4969

Re: Thoughts on WisdomTree SmallCap Div (DLS)?

Is DLS still the preferred vehicle around these parts for International Small/Value? I've been a little out of the loop recently but this fund used to be among the favorites on this board.

I've been using SFILX for a while and while I like it alright I'm not in love with it. In a perfect world I'd be able to invest in DISVX but since I can't I'm left with the task of getting as close as I can to it. From my screens it appears as though SFILX is still a good option but DLS may be superior. DLS looks a little more valuey and at 894MM avg mkt cap is about half of SFILX's avg mkt cap.

I have small gains in SFILX so from a tax perspective it's not an issue.

Think it's worth the swap?
by RaleighStClaire
Tue Aug 21, 2012 9:17 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Emerging Markets Small Cap ETF (EEMS)
Replies: 34
Views: 5922

Re: Emerging Markets Small Cap ETF (EEMS)

I'm doing a little rebalancing and want to move into the EM small/value space and it seems like the contest is still between EEMS, EWX and DGS. Has anything changed in the last year or so?

From my current screen I see these stats:

Code: Select all

        AMC      P/B
EEMS    695       .92
EWX     828      1.00
DGS     1163     1.04
Considering they have very similar ERs I tend to favor EEMS based on this data as it's more small and more valuey than the others (what I'm going for). I know the trading volume is terrible for EEMS but I'd be using limit orders so that's not much of an issue imo.
by RaleighStClaire
Mon Aug 06, 2012 1:53 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: New Domestic Small Cap Value Option PXSV
Replies: 63
Views: 9526

Re: New Domestic Small Cap Value Option PXSV

Since I just ran the numbers I felt it necessary to post them in case anyone was interested.

Since the strategy change in June of 2011 here are the factor weights for PXSV, DFSVX and IJS for comparison

Code: Select all

             a        Mkt      SMB         HML
PXSV        0.49     1.05      0.88       0.78
DFSVX       0.07     1.08      0.96       0.28
IJS         0.44     0.98      0.90       0.05
So, not sure how relevant 13 months of data is -- my guess is not very. But there you have it. I still watch PXSV on a semi-regular basis since I like the RAFI stuff and this index looks great on paper. We'll see how it does long term.
by RaleighStClaire
Fri Apr 27, 2012 11:43 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Help Finding Efficient Frontier Charts
Replies: 3
Views: 724

Help Finding Efficient Frontier Charts

There used to be someone on here years ago who would often post efficient frontier diagrams using matlab or mathematica and I wanted to try and replicate some of those. Basically I just want to be able to plug in return data and spit out a chart that would show where various portfolio mixes would lie. Can someone that remembers either link me to those or be of help in creating my own? Thanks!
by RaleighStClaire
Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:19 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The Efficient Frontier of Stocks and Bonds
Replies: 50
Views: 7961

Re: The Efficient Frontier of Stocks and Bonds

Sorry about the hijacking, but does anyone remember the matlab/mathematica efficient frontier charts that someone here used to post several years ago? They would include all portfolios using the funds tested so it would show where all of the non-efficient portfolios wound up as well. I remember there being one person in particular that would often post these great diagrams and I wanted to try my hand at recreating some of these so if anyone remembers or can steer me in the right direction of being able to make these I'd appreciate it!
by RaleighStClaire
Thu Apr 19, 2012 7:38 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: New Domestic Small Cap Value Option PXSV
Replies: 63
Views: 9526

Re: New Domestic Small Cap Value Option PXSV

grap, thanks for doing the legwork here.

From the looks of it, PXSV the first legitimate competition to DFSVX that I've come across. Really hard to argue with that data. More risk, but more compensated return. I like it.

I really hope Schwab picks this index up for their line of fundamental index funds. C'mon Schwab!
by RaleighStClaire
Thu Feb 23, 2012 9:12 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: New Domestic Small Cap Value Option PXSV
Replies: 63
Views: 9526

Re: New Domestic Small Cap Value Option PXSV

Someone needs to tell Schwab that this index is available so that they can just make an open-ended fund version of this index for .35 and we all can jump in. I know I would. This index seems a lot more appealing than the current mid-small 1500 index they use for SFSNX.
by RaleighStClaire
Thu Feb 23, 2012 8:01 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: New Domestic Small Cap Value Option PXSV
Replies: 63
Views: 9526

Re: New Domestic Small Cap Value Option PXSV

Having done zero investigation I'm just going to ask, what's the big difference between PXSV and SFSNX? Doesn't SFSNX follow the same RAFI SV index or is it a mid-small index that SFSNX follows?

Also, those factor loads are definitely incorrect. All of the RAFI funds get around a .4 or more on the HML loading.

New SV options are also interesting, though. For now I'll stick with IJS until someone can mimic DFSVX better.
by RaleighStClaire
Thu Feb 09, 2012 12:07 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Simba's backtesting spreadsheet [a Bogleheads community project]
Replies: 1370
Views: 824383

Re: Spreadsheet for backtesting (includes TrevH's data)

Thanks for updating this stuff again simba, but I have found what seems like an error.

Under the compare portfolios tab, cell P77 does not update when you change the starting year in cell P59.
by RaleighStClaire
Sun Jan 01, 2012 9:26 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 3-Factor Regression Analysis
Replies: 21
Views: 2544

Re: 3-Factor Regression Analysis

Rick Ferri wrote:
RaleighStClaire wrote:What I'd love to see is a site that auto-updated factor loads each month for a whole host of funds. If someone out there had Bloomberg access this should just involve writing a fairly simple macro to dump the data each month.
Mornginstar has this information. I've tried to get them to put it on the risk page of their basic mutual fund analytics. Why they don't publish it is mystery to me.

Rick Ferri
They compare funds to SML and HML data? That would seem unlikely but sounds great if they do have it.

Where can I find the info? Can you put in time periods and see what the factor load was over a specific time period?
by RaleighStClaire
Sun Jan 01, 2012 10:12 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 3-Factor Regression Analysis
Replies: 21
Views: 2544

Re: 3-Factor Regression Analysis

Great job getting it to work. It's a good feeling when you finally figure it all out and the numbers come out right. The great part is once you get it to work once you'll have no problems plugging in data later to update your findings.

What I'd love to see is a site that auto-updated factor loads each month for a whole host of funds. If someone out there had Bloomberg access this should just involve writing a fairly simple macro to dump the data each month.

On to your data though: I use IJS and was pleased with how it performed relative to other SCV funds this year. It looks like it's HML stayed around where it normally is but the SMB went up some from analyses past.
by RaleighStClaire
Mon Sep 12, 2011 1:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: schwab 2% now FIA still 2%?
Replies: 40
Views: 7548

This is terrible. I guess I'll have to start using my PFCU card exclusively now. Is that card still 1.25% on everything and 5% on gas?
by RaleighStClaire
Wed Jun 22, 2011 12:11 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: One View on Small Cap and Value Investing
Replies: 48
Views: 8018

Do you really want to take the risk that history has been wrong? Small doesn't always beat large and value doesn't always been growth but as others have said, by investing in only TSM you are betting against value and small.

I'm sticking with small and value.

Image
by RaleighStClaire
Mon Jun 20, 2011 2:46 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: One View on Small Cap and Value Investing
Replies: 48
Views: 8018

grap0013 wrote:Isn't tracking error everywhere? Look at my brother's big house. Everyone is buying gold. I would love to hear from some BGs who had a 50% or more SCV tilt and bailed on it at the wrong time (late 90s). I think this risk is overstated. I need some evidence, at least testimonial.
lol. never thought of tracking error and its relation to mismatch of hotness.
by RaleighStClaire
Fri Jun 10, 2011 1:18 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: using newer Vanguard ETF's for tax loss harvesting
Replies: 5
Views: 910

natureexplorer wrote:What are the bid-ask spreads for these ETFs?
Right now they are 2 and 4 cents. not bad!

I have gains in IJS but debate selling it and buying VIOV. Decisions, decisions...
by RaleighStClaire
Wed Jun 01, 2011 8:33 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Workout plateau -- looking to make changes in diet
Replies: 91
Views: 10682

Your choices are great. Personally, the biggest change I would make would be to switch meal 5 and 3. You want carbs before and after your workouts. A meal with slightly more fats is great before bed to help with satiation over night. That being said, I would also add the same serving size of oats as meal one, to meal 4, the pwo meal. If there was ever a time NOT to skimp on carbs, the pwo meal would be it. Thanks for the feedback, nova. I really appreciate it. I think I'm only on page 4 or so with that thread you linked to but it has really great info in it and I've learned a lot. Okay, I'll definitely try and add the carbs to the pwo meal as well. What about on days where I don't work out -- how do my meals change? Also how much fat, carb...
by RaleighStClaire
Wed Jun 01, 2011 10:13 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Workout plateau -- looking to make changes in diet
Replies: 91
Views: 10682

I created a spreadsheet with the foods that I plan to eat to help keep track of what I'm eating. Here is what I will be eating today:

Image


What do you think? Meal 4 is post-workout. Today was a slight anomaly since there was a lot of extra grilled chicken from leftovers. I hope my reference numbers are right. There seems to be a lot of conflicting numbers out there wrt chicken.
by RaleighStClaire
Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:21 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Workout plateau -- looking to make changes in diet
Replies: 91
Views: 10682

Time to for a trip to costco to buy 10lbs of sweet potatoes :)

nova: how do you feel about aspartame? I drink a lot of diet coke which I should have probably mentioned before. Obviously water would be better but it's one of my vices, I suppose. I've seen fitness experts suggest using splenda in the past and my guess is that everyone has different (and strong) opinions one way or another about it.

leonard: my goal is to cut fat while maintaining muscle composition. Ideally I'd like to gain muscle as well but that's not nearly as important. Focusing on my diet seemed like the crucial starting point since I work out regularly and eat well...but I knew that I didn't eat well enough.
by RaleighStClaire
Tue May 31, 2011 8:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Workout plateau -- looking to make changes in diet
Replies: 91
Views: 10682

novastepp, Potatoes are not a low GI food. They are a medium to high GI food, depending on how they're cooked. Baked potatoes are extremely high. Boiled is medium. Your talking about the glycemic index, which is inaccurate in determine teh effects of carbohydrates; this is a common misconception propogated mainly from the media and popular reading. However potatoes (tubers) provide a low GI load and produce a lower stream of insulin over time; producing greater insulin sensitivity. Potatoes are, and should be, the recommended carbohydrate for any dieter, athlete or not. Combine those benefits with the lowest GI interactions for food allergies (bloating, water retention, etc) tubers become the obvious choice. You lost me! I eat a lot of swe...
by RaleighStClaire
Tue May 31, 2011 10:59 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Workout plateau -- looking to make changes in diet
Replies: 91
Views: 10682

I'll try and get it down then, lol.

So 4 scoops/day sounds like a reasonable amount then, in your view?

I was reading some of your comments in the diet advice link that you posted and it seems super important to balance the protein carbs and fat each meal. I'll try and work at that as well.
by RaleighStClaire
Tue May 31, 2011 9:43 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Workout plateau -- looking to make changes in diet
Replies: 91
Views: 10682

I think the simplest answer is: whenever you plateau, it's because your body has adjusted to what you're doing. Have you try COMPLETELY revamping your workout? I don't think it necessarily even matters exactly what you do so long as it's different from what you've been doing. There are almost always a dozen different exercises for any given muscle. Try some of the alternatives. Not that I'm trying to downplay nutrition. You should fix your nutrition regardless of your workout regimen, but I'm not sure I would necessarily count on that to punch through a plateau. Been away so haven't had a change to respond to this thread for a while. Kyle, I agree that it's time to revamp my whole workout. I *try* to change it up every couple of months but...
by RaleighStClaire
Fri May 27, 2011 11:22 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Workout plateau -- looking to make changes in diet
Replies: 91
Views: 10682

Lots of good advice here and thanks to TDG and kevin for supplying what they're eating. It always helps when I see what others are eating. Taking some of the ideas listed here I think I will add some more fruit like bananas, oranges and apples to my diet (since that's what I like), especially in the breakfast and post-workout meals where I was lacking calories. Also, I plan to add egg whites throughout the day -- I'm thinking a couple with breakfast and then 4-6 over the rest of the day. I've read that sometimes athletes/fitness pros eat upwards of 15/day but I'm going out on a limb and saying that that is too many for me :) The Paleo diet is good, for sure, and I'm basically trying to do most of it. I intend to limit my grains to oatmeal, ...
by RaleighStClaire
Wed May 25, 2011 2:26 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Workout plateau -- looking to make changes in diet
Replies: 91
Views: 10682

I'm liking the big compound stuff. :D Squats and deads are supposed be good for your vertical, but I've never trained specifically for that. Doing back work everyday probably isn't a good idea, though. You might consider making your A days legs-only and add hamstring work, then alternate between the weighted pullups and rows on your B days. If you can do all the weight on the seated row machine, it's time to switch to freeweight rows! Then do bicep work if there's any gas left in the tank. :wink: - Scott I try and focus on the best compound exercises as you can tell. Unfortunately, I workout in a relatively small apartment gym that has a Smith machine but the dumbbells only go up to 50lbs so bent-over rows aren't really an option. Also, be...
by RaleighStClaire
Wed May 25, 2011 2:20 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Workout plateau -- looking to make changes in diet
Replies: 91
Views: 10682

KyleAAA wrote:I don't know, many of my weightlifting sessions get my heart rate up far higher for a longer period of time than running or swimming, even if I run or swim relatively quickly. You can also do intervals with weights. I don't think specific, separate cardio is necessary for most people if their goal is general fitness.
That's my line of thinking as well.
by RaleighStClaire
Wed May 25, 2011 1:46 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Workout plateau -- looking to make changes in diet
Replies: 91
Views: 10682

Once you're past the newbie stage in lifting, it's nigh impossible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, so you'll need to pick one. For me personally, since it's spring and soon to be summer, I'm trying to lean out while keeping whatever muscle I can. That means a cleanish diet with adequate protein, lower-than-maintenance calories, and lifting the heaviest weights I can as frequently as I can without injury. What does your program look like? Exercises, sets, reps? Hopefully you're on some kind of split routine, as 5-6 days of weightlifting per week is a lot. - Scott Probably a big reason I have plateaued for so long was that I had no goal. Sometimes it would be muscle gain but I wouldn't be able to push myself hard enough to actu...
by RaleighStClaire
Wed May 25, 2011 1:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Workout plateau -- looking to make changes in diet
Replies: 91
Views: 10682

@Outside: Crossfit style programs are very appealing. I looked into the local crossfit gyms here and they are too expensive for me to rationalize. I do try some new workouts from their site here and there but nothing that really materializes. You are right, though, in that having no goal makes plateauing inevitable. Currently my goal is to be able to dunk a basketball on a 10' rim and while that helps the motivation a little it's not the kind of goal I'm looking for. @Watty: cardio is something I used to do a lot when my goal was weight loss but I have really cut back over the last few years when my goal turned into muscle development and bulking up. Too much cardio made it really hard to put on any muscle. I think at this point I'd like to...
by RaleighStClaire
Wed May 25, 2011 12:46 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Workout plateau -- looking to make changes in diet
Replies: 91
Views: 10682

I'd like to gain mass and cut fat at the same time but I don't think that I physically put in enough effort to gain much more mass at this point. So, for the sake of this thread, the goal is to become more toned which is going to happen via cutting fat.
by RaleighStClaire
Wed May 25, 2011 12:30 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Does Anyone Else Love Morningstar (Burgers)?
Replies: 44
Views: 5058

minesweep wrote:I eat a Boca burger a couple of times a week. Toppings include Hunt’s ketchup, slice of Swiss cheese, & onion. Plus a side dish Bush’s baked beans.

Morningstar burger? Boca burger? Does one taste better than the other?

Mike
I thought the Bocas tasted good until I had a Morningstar. Not close, in my opinion!
by RaleighStClaire
Wed May 25, 2011 11:42 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Workout plateau -- looking to make changes in diet
Replies: 91
Views: 10682

Workout plateau -- looking to make changes in diet

Background : I'm 27. In good to very good shape. Lift weights 5-6 times a week on average at a moderate pace meaning I don't do a set and sit there for several minutes before starting my next set. Instead, I do a lot of supersets where I am doing different exercises back to back and building up a good sweat in the process. I have been in a maintenance stage where I have not improved at anything in two years but I also haven't pushed myself enough while at the gym to actually improve. Goal : To get in better shape. (Who doesn't?) Idea : Perhaps it's time to take nutrition seriously. I try and limit the bad stuff and eat the good stuff and consume enough protein etc but obviously I am doing it wrong. I'd like to really take it seriously and ...
by RaleighStClaire
Wed May 25, 2011 10:36 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Does Anyone Else Love Morningstar (Burgers)?
Replies: 44
Views: 5058

Boglenaut wrote:
Watty wrote:FYI, Costco sells them but there version is a lot larger than then normal retail store version.
THose are actually the ones I bought. They are 1/4 pound in a box of 12.

I just hope I don't eat so many I get tired of them.
As a devout carnivore I recently have been turned on to these patties (it doesn't seem right calling them burgers) at Costco. I must say, they are incredible. I prefer them over beef now! A pack of 12 costs about $14 and I think I can eat all 12 in a single sitting although I have to stop at 2 or the woman fusses.
by RaleighStClaire
Wed May 25, 2011 10:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Schwab asset transfer offer
Replies: 44
Views: 7002

I like Schwab a lot and use them exclusively for all of my investing needs, banking needs and even my credit card.

I don't see why you wouldn't move them over since the admiral funds are transferable. You can always open a new account at Vanguard and buy your existing funds commission-free or by Schwab ETFs, Vanguard ETFs or Schwab funds in your Schwab account. disclaimer: I use a lot of the Schwab RAFI funds.

nisiprius: Fidelity charges $75 for Vanguard purchases.
by RaleighStClaire
Tue May 24, 2011 2:47 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: del
Replies: 19
Views: 2904

I have heard SSD are great for performance, but have much higher failure rates over time. Did you do anything to mitigate that in your design? (Frequent back up, combine a hard drive disk with the SSD) Yeah, I've heard about the performance failures over time as well. I can't comment on that directly since I've only owned it for a month. One method that some suggest is to only use at most half of the drive which is certainly reasonable. In practice, you don't want all that much on your SSD anyways. You want your OS, large programs like office, photoshop, etc. and that's about it. How many gigs does all that take? W7 is around 20-25GB I believe, the rest isn't much. All your other stuff can go onto your regular harddrive so over 100GB seems...
by RaleighStClaire
Tue May 24, 2011 2:35 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: del
Replies: 19
Views: 2904

Manbaerpig wrote:list the specs, I'll help find a deal :)

eg I7-960, 24G RAM, 3TB drive + 160g SSD, Nvidia*.*, 800 watt PS mini-tower?

I'm positive I'm right too :) (I hang out on fatwallet)
X4 970, 8GB RAM, 2TB hdd, 100gb SSD, ATI 5670, 700W PS.

Looks like a similar product w/o SSD on dells site with discounts is 1250. perhaps you can find superior discounts but I scan slickdeals regularly and built my machine with components found on sale there.
by RaleighStClaire
Tue May 24, 2011 2:10 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: del
Replies: 19
Views: 2904

Those $1500 systems from Dell are now ~$500 building a PC yourself is usually regarding getting the set of components that maximize your utility, and depending on your specifics, maximize your value (eg particular graphics card, drive, processor, better cases, overclocking, etc). Homebuilt PC's haven't been cheaper than prebuilt in probably a decade or so. That doesn't mean there aren't compelling reasons to build one yourself... but cost I do not believe is a reason. Value, perhaps. Well, you're wrong about the price. I built my computer last month so I'm positive that I am right about the price. How about this, of the machines most similar to mine, at Dell they are $1500 right now. Those machines come with things that I do not have any u...
by RaleighStClaire
Tue May 24, 2011 1:00 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: del
Replies: 19
Views: 2904

I recently built a new computer for the first time and it was about 100x easier than I ever imagined. Took about an hour start to finish and I spent $655 for a PC that is superior in almost every way to a $1500 system that you'll buy from Dell. I don't even want to know how much a similar Mac would cost but I'm guessing $2500+. Probably semi off-topic but I installed a SSD (solid state drive) in my new machine and it's the greatest thing of all time. I suggest anyone buying/building a new computer to make sure that they get a SSD and install their OS onto it. Computer boots up in 20-30 seconds, huge programs like iTunes, photoshop, etc. all boot up in 1-2 seconds. I never thought that something could make such a big impact to the computing ...
by RaleighStClaire
Tue May 24, 2011 9:46 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Do Bogleheads Gamble Online?
Replies: 47
Views: 4878

Re: Do Bogleheads Gamble Online?

Valuethinker wrote:
Lon wrote:Do you bet the races, boxing, ball games?
? is internet gambling not illegal in the USA?

UK gambling firms have been shut down, and their directors arrested in the USA, for allowing US residents to gamble on their sites.
If you are American or in the USA you are not playing poker online anymore, that's for sure. It's basically impossible. The sites have completely stopped any American to play and forced them to cash out all of their money.

The general consensus among online poker players seems to be hope that this leads towards legalization and regulation of online poker in America. www.harraspoker.com perhaps?
by RaleighStClaire
Tue May 24, 2011 9:43 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Do Bogleheads Gamble Online?
Replies: 47
Views: 4878

BruDude wrote:Used to play poker until George Bush took care of that...
Same with me. October 2006 was a sad time.
by RaleighStClaire
Fri May 20, 2011 9:27 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How much allocation to Emerging Markets is too much?
Replies: 80
Views: 13846

If you want a risky portfolio then instead of 80% EM or slicing 12 ways I'd rather go with something like:

50% US SCV
35% Intl SCV
15% EM V

There's little reason to slice your portfolio 12 ways. The overlap is ridiculous.
by RaleighStClaire
Thu May 19, 2011 12:01 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Bond fund Mgr Jeff Gundlach:"I have a gift"
Replies: 38
Views: 5340

pteam wrote:I do respect the theory that when lots of people do something, somebody will be successful.
It's not a theory.

The big problem that I think you aren't taking into account is that he will be very successful until...he isn't. It sounds stupid but look at Bill Miller. Miller was the investment genius behind Legg Mason Value until reality hit and everyone in the fund lost their hat. His 15 years of out-performance were irrelevant after just a few months of terrible returns.

If you don't think they are the same situation then that's your prerogative.

I don't think anyone can refute the fact that he is very book smart but c'mon, what kind of person makes the comments that he does? He must be outta his mind.

Good luck.
by RaleighStClaire
Tue May 17, 2011 10:00 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Fidelity Chart Illustrates Walls of Worries
Replies: 20
Views: 3548

Maybe the graphs are from a parallel universe where both the MSCI EAFE and S&P 500 returned the exact same of the time period!
by RaleighStClaire
Tue May 10, 2011 8:37 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: A 2011 Boglehead hedge fund contest
Replies: 123
Views: 19846

FredPeterson wrote:
baw703916 wrote:
FredPeterson wrote:Guess you got some work cut out for you in correcting all of the Citigroup starting cost basis considering it just finally split 1 for 10.

Took them long enough.
Ssshhh! This is probably the only day of the entire contest that I'll be ahead! :wink:
lol, lock in your gain! quick! :)
Yes....I will lock in my C gain now! Thanks! :)
by RaleighStClaire
Mon May 09, 2011 7:34 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: M*: Expense Ratios Are Falling
Replies: 6
Views: 1302

Boglenaut wrote:
My personal average well below that.
I would hope that everyone that participates on this forum has an average well below this as well :)