Search found 1773 matches

by hollowcave2
Mon Jun 26, 2017 9:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Lump sum investing in stocks vs. DCA
Replies: 55
Views: 6289

Re: Lump sum investing in stocks vs. DCA

There are many threads on this topic and a great explanation on the Boglehead Wiki, so I won't address those issues. You will get much excellent advice on this topic here. However, I must point out that the OP first question emphasizes which is better for a total return, and this is entirely irrelevant to the purpose of DCA. DCA is not a system for maximizing return and never has been. It is a risk management system to get you into the market and investing right away, regardless of market conditions. The purpose of DCA is to get going and avoid investment paralysis, wondering if this is a good time to invest or not. DCA just provides a way to get going and overcome the fear of investing. With DCA, you are guaranteed that your personal avera...
by hollowcave2
Wed May 17, 2017 11:08 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Need help about put option I sold!
Replies: 6
Views: 1867

Re: Need help about put option I sold!

You really don't have to do anything. If SPY is below your strike price on the expiration date, you will buy 400 shares of SPY at 239. Covering before the expiration will require you to buy back time value that will simply evaporate with time. I would avoid that unless you believe that SPY at 239 is a bad deal. When you sold the option, you implicitly believed that buying SPY at 239 was acceptable and that you have confidence in that position. If you buy the shares and continue to have confidence in the position, you can also sell covered calls to recoup some of your cost. So you might also want to learn about covered calls. But as you can see, options can get kind of interesting. Many people like dabbling with these but many others (probab...
by hollowcave2
Thu May 04, 2017 7:46 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Roth IRA Contribution/Withdrawal Question
Replies: 7
Views: 1244

Re: Roth IRA Contribution/Withdrawal Question

You may need to have the two institutions do the transfer themselves and not directly handle the money. If you are under age 59 1/2, I think you will be required to report something unless you have a direct institution to institution transfer. Exactly what those reporting requirements would be depends on your situation.
I think Vanguard can initiate the transfer for you so ask them about it.
Any withdrawal from an IRA is reported as a distribution, but taxes are different for different situations. Refer to tax expert. However, a direct transfer of IRA money between institutions would not be a distribution.
by hollowcave2
Mon May 01, 2017 9:18 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I bonds May 2017
Replies: 66
Views: 13442

Re: I bonds May 2017

Hey Mel, good to see you. How are you enjoying those 3.5% fixed rate I-bonds?
by hollowcave2
Mon May 01, 2017 9:15 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "The Road Less Traveled" by John Bogle
Replies: 31
Views: 6005

Re: "The Road Less Traveled" by John Bogle

Thanks very much for this link. I enjoy listening to and reading John Bogle. He's like the energizer bunny, and he also was able to "think differently" as do many people who change the structure of things into the future.
by hollowcave2
Mon May 01, 2017 1:05 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I bonds May 2017
Replies: 66
Views: 13442

Re: I bonds May 2017

With the fixed rate at zero, I cannot get too excited about these bonds anymore. And, as I observe comments from investors looking at short term rates over the next 6 to 12 months, seems like I-bonds are becoming a short term vehicle with an optimal redemption holding period of just over 1 year, depending on the variable rates. This is a change from the long term investment vehicle for which savings bonds were originally intended. I am just going to hold my older bonds until I need them or until maturity.
by hollowcave2
Fri Apr 21, 2017 8:57 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should I cancel my whole life policy?
Replies: 80
Views: 13755

Re: Should I cancel my whole life policy?

Do NOT cancel this policy on your own and eat the $12K loss. Check with your state insurance board first. There may be a grace period since you only bought the policy 2 months ago. It may be possible to still get out of it. But even so, this is not as bad as it sounds. There are benefits of whole life insurance that you can use. However, if you do not have any dependents, it seems like a lot of insurance. The advisor may have been thinking about borrowing against this policy later or taking distributions tax free once the cash value builds up. And whole life does not expire. So it is not as bad as it seems. You can go back to this advisor and ask him about these questions. It must have had some benefits to you, otherwise you would not have ...
by hollowcave2
Fri Apr 21, 2017 4:37 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I don't understand the case for EE bonds
Replies: 621
Views: 74362

Re: I don't understand the case for EE bonds

Good point about the risk of inflation and holding EE bonds. If inflation is a concern, then I-bonds would be better. But there's no way of knowing which type of bond will come out ahead. I guess EE bonds give you a known guaranteed return, which may or may not be better than the rate of inflation.
by hollowcave2
Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:26 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Which 500 Fund to Invest in.
Replies: 25
Views: 5337

Re: Which 500 Fund to Invest in.

If you have a brokerage account at Vanguard, you can buy any amount of Vanguard ETF's anytime for no commission. That's a good deal.
by hollowcave2
Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:21 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I don't understand the case for EE bonds
Replies: 621
Views: 74362

Re: I don't understand the case for EE bonds

Yes, the expected return in the stock market is better than EE bonds, which it should be, because its a different asset class that entails more risk. If you take more risk, you should have a higher expectation of return. EE bonds are supposed to be ultra safe and guaranteed by the U.S. government. They serve a certain purpose in a portfolio, such as safety and asset allocation balance. Of course you can get better returns elsewhere.... with a correspondingly higher risk. Having said all of that, I am near retirement and not interested in holding these for 20 years. If I were younger, however, I might consider them as a small portion of my bond portfolio. Seems like all savings bonds these days are not at all attractive as they used to be. B...
by hollowcave2
Wed Mar 29, 2017 7:50 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Selling Covered Calls - LEAPS
Replies: 7
Views: 1800

Re: Selling Covered Calls - LEAPS

January 2019 LEAPS give a lot of premium but seems a long way off. If you do sell those calls, you need to have an extraordinary amount of patience and plan to keep the stock shares you have for a quite a while longer. I think selling the Jan 2018 calls makes more sense to me because time value will begin to drop noticeably at the 6 month point and you'll be able to make money on the premiums. If you are thinking about selling calls to get "free money" or an "extra dividend," forget it. Once you sell a call, you no longer have only a stock position. You now have a covered call position which is a different animal than simply holding the stock. For one thing, you need to be fully prepared to give the stock away at the cal...
by hollowcave2
Sat Mar 18, 2017 2:10 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Anyone else taking less risk
Replies: 115
Views: 16216

Re: Anyone else taking less risk

Yes, I have decided it is a good time to change my asset allocation. I did this due to a combination of factors, not the least of which I am entering retirement mode. I plan to keep working and getting an income yet, but this will be the first year I am eligible to withdraw from my IRA without penalty. This, combined with all time highs in the market (just lucky I guess, so I am taking advantage of that), and also political uncertainty in government policies, has convinced me to take action. So I have reduced my allocation to 50/50 stocks/bonds, which for me is incredibly conservative. But I am happy with the gains I have made in this market and I want to protect some of that. I feel some empathy for younger investors wondering what to do i...
by hollowcave2
Wed Mar 15, 2017 12:57 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Confused with Bonds
Replies: 3
Views: 1064

Re: Confused with Bonds

The post by dbr above is a very good reply and I totally agree with his comments. Also, by reading your initial post about being confused with bonds, it is obvious to me that you have done a lot of research and reading on the subject. You probably have a better understanding of bonds than most investors. You are looking at short term plays in the bond market by corporate investors who can benefit by small moves in large holdings. That's not the experience of most investors. It's true that short term fed rates would affect short term bonds, but the short duration also means that these bond funds would also recover more quickly than a longer duration fund. Also, higher rates for interest on the bonds is good news because you will receive more...
by hollowcave2
Fri Jan 13, 2017 10:15 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: On Options position
Replies: 2
Views: 449

Re: On Options position

On the long Put position, you can still sell to close and get some money, but it's pretty close to worthless now so it doesn't matter much, but you do protect yourself against a collapse in the stock for another week. On the short Put position, it is out of the money now. Depending on the premium you received for selling it, you can close it for a profit if possible. There is no guarantee at all that this position will expire worthless. If the stock drops below $5, you will buy 500 shares of stock at $5, or the broker could exit the position for you if you don't have the funds. If you do not like that prospect, I'd buy to close to exit the risk. One way of looking at selling Puts is this: You sell a Put for a stock at a price that you would...
by hollowcave2
Tue Dec 27, 2016 11:28 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Dollar Cost Averaging
Replies: 17
Views: 2242

Re: Dollar Cost Averaging

I would read the article in the Bogleheads Wiki about DCA before doing anything. If you feel comfortable investing all $100K tomorrow at all time market highs, you have more mojo than me. I get a kick out of the comments, "yeah, just put in." But it's your money and your sleep at risk. Make your own decision based on your goals and risk tolerance. Lump sum works best with other people's money. Talking about returns is a bit of a red herring when it comes to DCA. It is NOT a goal of DCA to maximize returns. The goal of DCA is to get you started with investing, regardless of market conditions. Also, getting some sleep is a nice little benefit. BTW, lump sum also does not guarantee maximum returns either. Investors can cite studies w...
by hollowcave2
Tue Dec 27, 2016 11:09 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 1.2% Fixed Ibonds
Replies: 3
Views: 1403

Re: 1.2% Fixed Ibonds

Well, if I were in this situation, I would hold onto these bonds for as long as possible. I certainly would not sell early to avoid a few pennies extra tax.

You know, if you need the money, you need the money. That's part of these bonds' purpose. It is part of why we save money. But I would sell as I needed the money and not early for any reason. Once you sell these, you have to accept that you may never see an I-bond with that high of a fixed again for many years. Selling early to avoid some taxes is not a compelling reason, for me anyway, to dump these.

My 2 cents.

Steve
by hollowcave2
Mon Dec 26, 2016 9:49 am
Forum: United Arab Emirates
Topic: Global Bond ETF
Replies: 6
Views: 4645

Re: Global Bond ETF

There is a Total International Bond ETF (BNDX) which may suit your needs. If you want to reach for more yield, there is also an Emerging Markets Bond (VWOB) ETF which can be used to complement your holdings.

And ETFs have the advantage of no minimums. But you do need a brokerage account to buy them.

Good luck
by hollowcave2
Sat Dec 24, 2016 1:53 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Help me get back into the market
Replies: 40
Views: 8195

Re: Help me get back into the market

Dollar cost averaging is designed for this very question. That's why I like DCA. Nothing to do with returns. Just acting to get back into the market regardless of market conditions.
by hollowcave2
Sat Dec 24, 2016 1:50 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Simple Bond Question - Stay or go back to TBM
Replies: 11
Views: 2259

Re: Simple Bond Question - Stay or go back to TBM

I wouldn't worry so much about mortgage backed securities. Look at the GNMA fund. If you want some downside protection, look at the GNMA chart for the past 10 years and focus on 2008. GNMA is almost a steady line. Everything else dipped in 2008. The Fed controls only short term rates. Long term rates are more of an unknown. Also, the Fed broadcast its intentions for 2017 already, so everyone knows an approximate amount of rate increases. So that is already baked in to current prices. I like TBM for its diversification and inclusion of higher yield long term bonds while controlling risk. But I also like intermediate term bonds because I think that is where the best risk adjusted returns are located. It's up to you. I think your decision will...
by hollowcave2
Sun Dec 04, 2016 4:47 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Given EE bonds - what to do?
Replies: 12
Views: 2279

Re: Given EE bonds - what to do?

Personally, I would keep these EE bonds for as long as possible. You cannot get those rates anymore.

Some of the bonds will stop earning interest soon, after 30 years. Once they mature at 30 years, that is when I would use the money. If you are looking for a better investment vehicle, you are not going to find one without significant risk (like stocks). And I do not think it is worth paying down the loans, especially when these bonds are getting pretty close to final maturity.

Sometimes, boring is safe and the best way to go. As these bonds mature, you can add that money to saving for a house down-payment at that time.

Especially at 4% risk free.
by hollowcave2
Sun Dec 04, 2016 11:28 am
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Sacramento Bogleheads ~ Meeting 10:30 AM Sat December 10, 2016
Replies: 3
Views: 1324

Re: Sacramento Bogleheads ~ Meeting 10:30 AM Sat December 10, 2016

Hey, I'll be there. I'd like to know what Bogleheads think of Factor based investing.
by hollowcave2
Sun Dec 04, 2016 11:26 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: active, passive, and factor investing
Replies: 40
Views: 4322

Re: active, passive, and factor investing

Good point salty. I guess this new term "factor" is similar to quantitative styled funds that I've seen. I am not particularly convinced of their usefulness because it seems like the manager needs to adjust these factors on a regular basis (annually?) to keep up with the best criteria. It seems like factor based investing favors managed funds.
by hollowcave2
Sun Dec 04, 2016 12:24 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: active, passive, and factor investing
Replies: 40
Views: 4322

Re: active, passive, and factor investing

Holy Cow! Now it's factor investing. Whatever happened to the old time index funds? Are we to abandon indexing now to chase after the factors?

I am glad I am retiring soon and am turning into an old fogie so that I don't have to deal with all of these factors. Good luck to the new generation of investing!

Steve
by hollowcave2
Thu Dec 01, 2016 2:43 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Should I add to Wellesley instead of Total Bond?
Replies: 26
Views: 3726

Re: Should I add to Wellesley instead of Total Bond?

Be aware that Wellesley is a managed fund whereas Total Bond is an index fund. So you need to assess for yourself if you want to add more money into a managed fund or not. Granted, Wellesley is a great fund and I own it and I don't have any problems with holding it, but you need to look at your own risk tolerance to assess it for yourself.
You can also add to something like Target Retirement Income Fund Fund to get a large bond weighting while keeping mostly index funds.

Steve
by hollowcave2
Thu Dec 01, 2016 2:34 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I contribute to a fund weekly. How to safely tax loss harvest?
Replies: 4
Views: 1150

Re: I contribute to a fund weekly. How to safely tax loss harvest?

Vanguard will do the bookkeeping, but you can estimate the numbers this way:

Just go ahead and TLH.

Wash sales will be created by your contributions both 30 days before and 30 days the sale above. So subtract those contributions from the total loss and that should be your allowable loss for taxes.

Anybody else, did I get that right?

Steve
by hollowcave2
Sat Aug 27, 2016 7:05 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How Do ETF's Work?
Replies: 5
Views: 1002

Re: How Do ETF's Work?

Even though you need to buy whole shares, most ETF's are priced way, way, way below $300 per share. Most are less than $100 per share, so you can get a better initial position with a minimal amount of money left over. And as the above posters noted, most ETF's allow automatic dividend reinvestment, so that will give you fractional shares anyway. Most investors feel that ETF's give them better flexibility and selecting their price instead of waiting until the end of the day and hoping for a good price on the mutual fund. And you can buy an ETF for as little as 1 share whereas most funds require a higher initial amount. And the management costs on ETF's are usually lower than funds, although you need to watch commissions. If you have a Vangua...
by hollowcave2
Mon Aug 22, 2016 6:35 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Long wait on Vanguard Phone Lines-What's going on?
Replies: 58
Views: 13530

Re: Long wait on Vanguard Phone Lines-What's going on?

For those of you who decide to wait so long over the phone on hold.......................

Why haven't you tried the call back option?

Just wondering.

I used the call back option twice with no problems. I was called back within one hour.
by hollowcave2
Thu Aug 18, 2016 10:10 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Long wait on Vanguard Phone Lines-What's going on?
Replies: 58
Views: 13530

Re: Long wait on Vanguard Phone Lines-What's going on?

I needed to call Vanguard over the past 2 days for clarification about my account being changed to the new brokerage structure. I wonder if that could explain some of the call volume.

Anyway, rather than waiting more than 30 minutes on the phone, I was given an option for a call back. I chose this option. After about 45 minutes to an hour, I was called back automatically and avoided the long wait on the phone. So for those who are waiting so long, choose the call back option. It is really worth it.

Steve
by hollowcave2
Thu Aug 18, 2016 11:57 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Automatic Vanguard brokerage account upgrades
Replies: 40
Views: 6006

Re: Forced Upgrade to Brokerage Structure

Faith, I totally agree with you. I've always loved Vanguard and still do, but sometimes these little irritations are a real pain! Also, the conversions can have some little bugs, so I watch them carefully. Yesterday, I needed to transfer $3000 from Prime to Federal to cover a $2840 trade in the brokerage account. What I expected was a $160 final balance in the Federal, but I got a little surprise. Frankly, I don't like surprises when I invest money. The trade was covered, but only $2840 was transferred even though I requested $3000. So the remaining $160 just did not transfer, leaving the Federal balance as zero. That was not expected. A simple transfer should be... well... simple, right? So I called Vanguard today just to let them know abo...
by hollowcave2
Wed Aug 17, 2016 5:52 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Automatic Vanguard brokerage account upgrades
Replies: 40
Views: 6006

Forced Upgrade to Brokerage Structure

Well, for about a year now, I've ignored the "UPGRADE" button to switch to the new brokerage structure which would contain both Vanguard funds and ETFs in one account. I just didn't see a need for it. Looks like I can't do that anymore. Yesterday and today, my accounts are being converted whether I like it or not. Vanguard sent me a notice saying that they needed to make this change due to some federal requirements about money market settlement funds and the new settlement fund for all brokerage accounts is the Federal Money Market fund. This conversion has given me some grief in the short run. The most irritating thing is, now, I have 2 money market accounts; the old settlement fund and the new settlement fund. Today, I needed to...
by hollowcave2
Tue Aug 16, 2016 5:54 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Bonds, Aversion to Market Timing, and FIRE'ing
Replies: 28
Views: 4678

Re: Bonds, Aversion to Market Timing, and FIRE'ing

I understand the need to manage risk in bond funds. A way to do that and still participate in decent yields is to choose a fund duration that you can feel comfortable with and provides decent amount of income for the risk.

In my opinion, I think intermediate duration bond funds with durations around 5 years offer the best bang for the buck. I think an intermediate duration bond fund would be an excellent choice if you plan to withdraw required minimum amounts. If you need to withdraw large sums of money soon after retirement, then you'll need to re-evaluate.

Also look at the Target Income funds.

Let us know what you decide.

Steve
by hollowcave2
Mon May 30, 2016 4:47 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Question about Coin Collection
Replies: 15
Views: 2052

Re: Question about Coin Collection

1. What is your take on investing/buying on that one rare coin, that will complete my collection? ~$4k 2. Do you see any value in investing on the graded (PF70) proof coins? - 1986-2016 ~ $3.5k 3. How much of diversification will these proofs, proof sets and graded coin provide? 1). This is up to you. When you say this is a "rare" coin, I do not believe that any modern coin is truly rare. But if there is a very high demand in a popular series, there will always be a good price for it, in general. Also, it depends on the price difference between PF68 and PF69, for example. If you can get the coin for one grade less and save half of your money for it, then I would consider that option. 2). I do not see value in investing in PF70 co...
by hollowcave2
Fri May 27, 2016 9:49 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Books on Options
Replies: 57
Views: 5181

Re: Books on Options

Actually, Bogleheads are some of the most knowledgable investors around. Bogleheads know many things about many subjects, and that's precisely why we're Bogleheads because we know how hard it is to beat the market. Just because we aren't traders or speculate in options doesn't mean we don't know about the subject.... on the contrary, we know a lot about it..... and that's why we choose index funds as our primary method of investment.

Steve
by hollowcave2
Fri May 27, 2016 5:14 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Books on Options
Replies: 57
Views: 5181

Re: Books on Options

Options as a Strategic Investment by Lawrence McMillan is the best book on options that I've ever read.

It discusses all strategies but I don't think it's dry. For beginner and advanced students.
by hollowcave2
Wed May 25, 2016 7:15 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Short term bond funds?
Replies: 7
Views: 1691

Re: Short term bond funds?

IMHO, I wouldn't do anything if I were you. You have a long enough time horizon to hold the total bond and intermediate duration funds, so I like your holdings.

The only question is where to add new money? That's an asset allocation question, so I would look at your total allocation between stocks and bonds and see if you need more bonds. For income, there are dividend ETFs like VYM that give a nice yield with capital potential.
by hollowcave2
Tue May 24, 2016 3:13 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Selling VTI Covered Calls
Replies: 30
Views: 7527

Re: Selling VTI Covered Calls

I have sold covered calls before and it can work as a strategy over the long term. But be aware that once you sell covered calls on a holding, you have changed the nature of your holding. If you plan to sell calls in order to get "free income", I have to remind you that there is no free money. In order for the strategy to work, you must accept that your holding may get called away if the price rises above the strike price of the call. Your holding is not a call plus a stock (or ETF); it is now an entirely different animal: a combination with a total return potential and income potential. If you would be constantly worried that your holding will get assigned and called away, then forget this strategy. It's not worth the worry. But ...
by hollowcave2
Wed May 18, 2016 7:41 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Bond funds and Preferred stocks questions
Replies: 14
Views: 1958

Re: Bond funds and Preferred stocks questions

If you are worried about rising rates, there is another option to PFF within the ETF choices.

Power Shares Variable Rate Preferred (VRP) consists of preferreds with variable floating rates, so this gives you some protection with a rising rate scenario. There is a cost to that, however, as the yield on this ETF is about 5%, lower than the regular preferreds.
by hollowcave2
Mon May 16, 2016 9:16 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: REIT investment
Replies: 27
Views: 5051

Re: REIT investment

I think REITS can be a powerful addition to any portfolio, especially if you need income flow. I only hold REITS in my IRA, however. If you hold it in a taxable account, be prepared for the taxes. Also, the taxes will be complicated by "return of capital" which will change your cost basis. Vanguard does that for you on their brokerage summary. So I'm just saying that REITS in a taxable account will increase your tax bill as well as complicate your taxes. But this is not necessarily a bad thing. Return of Capital defers taxes on that amount and then when you sell that portion, is taxed at capital gains rates, which are often lower than dividend rates. Also, be aware that REITS do not pay qualified dividends. However, if you love th...
by hollowcave2
Sun May 15, 2016 10:04 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Bond funds and Preferred stocks questions
Replies: 14
Views: 1958

Re: Bond funds and Preferred stocks questions

Welcome on your first post! I know you will get lots of good information here. Think about all of your options before acting. IMHO, I see no reason to change the dollar cost averaging plan (DCA) into stock funds. The only recommendation I have about that is to finish the DCA and be fully invested in those funds within one year. DCA is a way to get into the markets, but at some point you need to be fully invested. So the time frame of DCA is usually 6 to 18 months. Regarding DCA into a bond fund: I do not recommend that. DCA is to manage risk with volatility. A total bond fund index has an intermediate duration, so that already has some risk protection by limiting duration. The benefit of a bond fund is the income stream, so you need to get ...
by hollowcave2
Thu May 12, 2016 8:10 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do all Boglesheads die at 100?
Replies: 51
Views: 9149

Re: Do all Boglesheads die at 100?

Old Bogleheads never die, they just............. fade away.

Douglas MacArthur
by hollowcave2
Tue May 10, 2016 9:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Warning re. SavingsBonds.com
Replies: 5
Views: 1561

Re: Warning re. SavingsBonds.com

Investigation revealed that his application has no capability to differentiate between electronic and paper EE bonds and as a result it assumes that all EE bonds are paper bonds. This creates incorrect information for a lot of the data presented in the reports.
Can you give an example of what kind of incorrect information is being generated in the reports because of this?
by hollowcave2
Sat May 07, 2016 2:05 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 4% rule and interest rates
Replies: 28
Views: 5169

Re: 4% rule and interest rates

Frankly, I look forward to rising rates very much. This low interest rate environment has rates so low that it's difficult on fixed income investors. If the rates stay low, I expect to withdraw more than 4% annually just to pay expenses.
Higher rates will eventually lead to higher total returns and I very much look forward to that.

Steve
by hollowcave2
Wed May 04, 2016 10:36 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I Bond rates for May 1 announced
Replies: 69
Views: 16219

Re: I Bond rates for May 1 announced

Mel,

Thanks for the link to your article. I enjoyed reading it, and I think it would be interesting to update it.

I want to investigate two things:

How popular is the Treasury Direct site now?
Are sales of savings bonds declining?
by hollowcave2
Tue May 03, 2016 12:23 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I Bond rates for May 1 announced
Replies: 69
Views: 16219

Re: I Bond rates for May 1 announced

Alright, anoop.

Good points for the long term investor.

Even with the low current rates, they still do provide a good inflation hedge. Maybe I should be glad that inflation is low.
by hollowcave2
Mon May 02, 2016 11:19 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I Bond rates for May 1 announced
Replies: 69
Views: 16219

Re: I Bond rates for May 1 announced

Why is the Treasury keeping the fixed rate so low? It seems if they want people to save money in these bonds, they would make the return more attractive. Who wants to buy I bonds at these rates? Doesn't the treasury want to sell these?

I will keep track of savings bonds sales this year and see if they are decreasing, increasing, or steady. Public interest in these bonds seems to be waning. Even this thread has few responses in a discussion of these rates.

:confused
by hollowcave2
Sat Apr 23, 2016 7:04 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Stanley Kubrick's 2001 a space odyssey
Replies: 154
Views: 23976

Re: Stanley Kubrick's 2001 a space odyssey

Great movie. It's one of the few movies that deliberately uses the "crushing silence" of space as an effect. (No sound at all in space.) Now that I think of it, Gravity and The Martian may have some limited use of silence in space also. But when 2001 used this effect, it was unique and daring. It was Kubrick's intention to make the film as scientifically accurate as possible.


The special effects were groundbreaking for the time. Nothing else matched it at the time. The new technology for these effects was utilized by Lucas in Star Wars. So 2001 is a significant movie, both in its message and place in film history.

Steve
by hollowcave2
Sat Apr 23, 2016 6:47 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Any good Rationale for putting riskier investments in Roth?
Replies: 26
Views: 3586

Re: Any good Rationale for putting riskier investments in Roth?

Another rationale for putting riskier funds in the Roth is that you can keep the funds invested for a long time, perhaps 20 years or more. If you can commit to that horizon, then yes, some riskier funds can work in the Roth.

But not too risky. I'm talking about funds. If the advisor wants to put you in individual stocks, all bets are off.
by hollowcave2
Sat Apr 23, 2016 6:40 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Sell ibonds? Or hold?
Replies: 22
Views: 4572

Re: Sell ibonds? Or hold?

When did you buy the I-bonds? If you bought several years ago, you may have a pretty good deal. You could have a fixed rate significantly above the current I-bonds issued today. If you do have a fixed rate of 1% or above, I definitely would not sell them. You will not match that deal in any bond fund today.

So check those I-bond purchase dates and let us know.

Steve

PS Toons has posted a good idea about getting a fund to help the kids pay for college. But first things first..... plan for the kids. :shock:
by hollowcave2
Thu Apr 21, 2016 10:40 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Should I bother with Options Trading?
Replies: 36
Views: 9168

Re: Should I bother with Options Trading?

If selling puts, however, be prepared to buy the stock at the strike price if the stock drops below the strike. So you probably need to have the money tied up in case stock is assigned to you.

I never had the inclination to sell puts, but I can understand why people do it. If you sell at a strike that is attractive to you for buying the stock, then that's not so bad, assuming the stock isn't collapsing. The worst case is a collapsing stock price and assignment to you at a price far higher than the market price. That's the main risk.

I don't have the stomach for it.

Good luck, however, on your endeavor.