Search found 26 matches

by pollifax
Mon Mar 09, 2020 5:21 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: U.S. stocks in free fall
Replies: 36221
Views: 4685381

Re: U.S. stocks in free fall

The Italian health system is already buckling - and they're still at < 10K cases. Saw over the weekend that they are asking 20,000+ retired doctors and nurses to come out of retirement to help. And that's at sub 10K cases..imagine when it's 100K. The confirmed cases in Italy was under 7,000 as of yesterday and they're asking 20,000+ retired doctors and nurses come out of retirement an help? And this is on top of the current doctors and nurses that are currently working? 3 healthcare people (doctors + nurses) for every 1 patient is just ridiculous. If this is not paranoia, I don't know what's else. Seeing this trend of paranoia from people and government, this is a good buy opportunities. Better to have and not need than need and not have. ...
by pollifax
Sun Mar 08, 2020 6:56 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: U.S. stocks in free fall
Replies: 36221
Views: 4685381

Re: U.S. stocks in free fall

dow futures down 1,000 points as of 6 pm sunday "Only" down -869 now..it's a rally! Seriously, I thought this would happen when I saw the news last night about Italy quarantining 16M people - 25+% of their population. CV-19 is a lot more serious than many seem to think it is. We could literally be looking at Spanish Flu 2.0 (which killed ~50M people globally)- or, actually, worse, given it has a higher infection rate (R0), higher mortality rate (CFR) and we now have global travel with thousands of flights going all over creation daily. Plus, it can pass asymptomatically and has (in cases) a pretty long incubation period with no symptoms. Oh, and mass transit..and packed schools, universities, restaurants, sporting events, etc.. Y...
by pollifax
Mon Sep 02, 2019 7:45 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 3 fund people how are you feeling?
Replies: 112
Views: 15400

Re: 3 fund people how are you feeling?

Feeling pretty good. Ours is a 5 fund, basically because we combine 3 index funds to mimic a total market fund. We also tilt away from international more than most as our personal preference. Ours is a fairly conservative mix -- around 60/40, but at the end of last year, the equity side dropped and we did not rebalance as it never got more than 5% out of whack. We just rolled with it and kept contributing, as per our allocation. Having the fixed income portion was nice throughout the volatility and our portfolio outperformed the alternative target/allocation funds available through our 401k, so we are pleased.
by pollifax
Tue May 01, 2018 5:46 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 401k Stable Value Fund Rates?
Replies: 35
Views: 5028

Re: 401k Stable Value Fund Rates?

I agree it's difficult to judge these funds. I suppose I would prefer a short term treasury fund or similar. My goal is to just get a conversation going where the office considers the fact that this stable value fund we have in the plan right now is poor in comparison with whatever else is out there, such as other stable value funds, short term treasury funds, savings accounts, etc. I won't be able to choose a different option, but I can at least start the discussion and then hope a better option might be presented.
by pollifax
Tue May 01, 2018 1:18 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 401k Stable Value Fund Rates?
Replies: 35
Views: 5028

Re: 401k Stable Value Fund Rates?

Thank you all -- this is great information. We are thinking about asking for something that has a better rate, so having a few examples of various funds with higher rates is very helpful.
by pollifax
Tue May 01, 2018 1:06 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 401k Stable Value Fund Rates?
Replies: 35
Views: 5028

Re: 401k Stable Value Fund Rates?

grkmec wrote: Tue May 01, 2018 12:59 pm
pollifax wrote: Tue May 01, 2018 12:57 pm
grkmec wrote: Tue May 01, 2018 12:46 pm Mine is 3.34%. I was pleasantly surprised how high it was. I believe it resets quarterly.
Thanks -- would you mind sharing the name of the fund? Ours resets quarterly as well (supposedly). However, it has remained unchanged for many quarters. :annoyed
Sure -- MassMutual Diversified SAGIC II
Thank you.
by pollifax
Tue May 01, 2018 12:57 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 401k Stable Value Fund Rates?
Replies: 35
Views: 5028

Re: 401k Stable Value Fund Rates?

grkmec wrote: Tue May 01, 2018 12:46 pm Mine is 3.34%. I was pleasantly surprised how high it was. I believe it resets quarterly.
Thanks -- would you mind sharing the name of the fund? Ours resets quarterly as well (supposedly). However, it has remained unchanged for many quarters. :annoyed
by pollifax
Tue May 01, 2018 12:24 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 401k Stable Value Fund Rates?
Replies: 35
Views: 5028

401k Stable Value Fund Rates?

I'm wondering what the typical rates are for Stable Value Funds in a 401k? I'm becoming annoyed with ours because it has stayed at 1.1% for the past couple of years. We don't have any money in the fund currently, mainly because the interest rate seems pretty paltry to me, especially when there are some savings accounts right now at around 1.5% and short term interest rates have been inching up.
by pollifax
Fri Apr 06, 2018 11:28 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Bogle on stock turbulence: ‘never seen a market this volatile to this extent in my career’
Replies: 88
Views: 16104

Re: Bogle on stock turbulence: ‘never seen a market this volatile to this extent in my career’

Does anyone have a link to a video of Bogle actually saying the quote in context about how he hasn't seen this kind of volatility? I've clicked on a couple of the links and I have yet to see a video with those words actually coming out of his mouth. On the clip I've seen, he talks about how the volatility we are seeing now should not be of concern for long term investors.
by pollifax
Mon Apr 02, 2018 2:45 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: U.S. stocks in free fall
Replies: 36221
Views: 4685381

Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Thank you.
RetireBy55 wrote: Mon Apr 02, 2018 2:40 pm
pollifax wrote: Mon Apr 02, 2018 2:00 pm
RetireBy55 wrote: Mon Apr 02, 2018 1:08 pm
WhiteMaxima wrote: Mon Apr 02, 2018 1:03 pm Hard cold cash is still the King.
Yep - and that's why I'm personally 50+% cash and always have been. I'll take the ~2.5% divvys and pay a good chunk of my bills with that..
What fund/savings account are you using that earns 2.5% dividends for cash right now?

Various Bank & CU CDs at 2 - 3% overall (like many here, I jumped on the Andrews 3%..).

I watch DepositAccounts and BankRate.com plus BH and other boards like a hawk, and jump on the highest rate bank or brokered CDs I can find..

2.5 is not that hard at the moment. 18 months ago it was damned near impossible.
by pollifax
Mon Apr 02, 2018 2:00 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: U.S. stocks in free fall
Replies: 36221
Views: 4685381

Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

RetireBy55 wrote: Mon Apr 02, 2018 1:08 pm
WhiteMaxima wrote: Mon Apr 02, 2018 1:03 pm Hard cold cash is still the King.
Yep - and that's why I'm personally 50+% cash and always have been. I'll take the ~2.5% divvys and pay a good chunk of my bills with that..
What fund/savings account are you using that earns 2.5% dividends for cash right now?
by pollifax
Sun Mar 04, 2018 6:45 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Does Anyone Invest In Berkshire Hathaway Instead Of Index Funds?
Replies: 80
Views: 23537

Re: Does Anyone Invest In Berkshire Hathaway Instead Of Index Funds?

No. We own VFIAX, which does own shares of Brk.B, though. :happy
by pollifax
Tue Oct 31, 2017 4:29 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Buffett "Key Indicator" near dangerous all-time high...
Replies: 73
Views: 12268

Re: Buffet "Key Indicator" near dangerous all-time high...

One major difference between now and the 2000 dotcom bubble time is that interest rates were a lot higher then than they are right now. Does that mean the market won't tank tomorrow? I have no idea.

It does feel as if valuations are high right now, but really, nobody knows exactly what will happen. Prices could keep going up, or they could go down. I've set my allocation to where I won't panic if there's a correction/crash/bear market and intend to stay the course. I can't really control anything else, so I might as quit trying, buckle up, and get ready to rebalance as necessary.
by pollifax
Thu Oct 12, 2017 4:08 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Schwab now offering Index funds at lower ER than Vanguard
Replies: 9
Views: 2118

Re: Schwab now offering Index funds at lower ER than Vanguard

Our kids' custodial accounts are at Schwab, and they are in Schwab index funds, except for the tiny portion they have in a bond fund. I didn't like the options schwab offered for bond index funds. SWAGX (formerly something like SWLBX?) crashed and burned in 2008. SWTSX seems like a solid total market choice, though.
by pollifax
Wed Oct 11, 2017 7:32 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 10 year anniversary of the beginning of the Great Recession
Replies: 45
Views: 6466

Re: 10 year anniversary of the beginning of the Great Recession

We were 100% equities but luckily with not a lot invested yet. We were dumb and just kept contributing the whole time. It eventually worked out, but then we wised up and started reading a lot about Bogle, and Buffett and started lurking on this forum. Now that we have a lot more invested, we are 60/40 and intend to stay the course through thick and thin.
by pollifax
Wed Oct 11, 2017 5:51 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What's your asset allocation and why?
Replies: 177
Views: 37336

Re: What's your asset allocation and why?

Ages 49/48

Allocation 60/40 Equities/Fixed Income

We think we will stay at this allocation for quite a while -- perhaps floating down to 50/50 in retirement. We don't have a huge appetite for risk at this point in our lives/careers -- we feel we are right where we want to be to sleep well at night.
by pollifax
Tue Oct 10, 2017 4:13 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Alternative to Google Finance? [Portfolios feature deprecated]
Replies: 97
Views: 29437

Re: Alternative to Google Finance? [Portfolios feature deprecated]

I switched to the Morningstar free portfolio tracker.
by pollifax
Thu Oct 05, 2017 1:19 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Current Bull Market could last years
Replies: 89
Views: 13269

Re: Current Bull Market could last years

TheTimeLord wrote: Thu Oct 05, 2017 1:13 pm
pollifax wrote: Thu Oct 05, 2017 1:05 pm OK, so this is perhaps why there might be a correction if interest rates keep going up? After a certain point, it won't become profitable for companies to continue to sell bonds to do their buybacks and they will start selling shares to repay debt? Thereby triggering an episode of panic selling? Just musing here.

Thanks for the help.
Their bonds are fixed rate so rising rate will just effect profitability of issuing new debt and additional share buybacks, but I don't see many of them reissuing shares and diluting shareholder ownership. Most of these companies can easily cover this debt out of free cashflow.
Interesting. Thanks, Doctor.
by pollifax
Thu Oct 05, 2017 1:05 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Current Bull Market could last years
Replies: 89
Views: 13269

Re: Current Bull Market could last years

OK, so this is perhaps why there might be a correction if interest rates keep going up? After a certain point, it won't become profitable for companies to continue to sell bonds to do their buybacks and they will start selling shares to repay debt? Thereby triggering an episode of panic selling? Just musing here.

Thanks for the help.
by pollifax
Thu Oct 05, 2017 12:52 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Current Bull Market could last years
Replies: 89
Views: 13269

Re: Current Bull Market could last years

After reading the article in the OP, I actually feel more uneasy about equities. U ltimately, it appears from the article that the bull market over the past 10 years or so has been a product mostly of corporate buybacks. I don't know much about this topic, but isn't this a form of price manipulation? No imho, because they aren't changing the overall valuation of the company, they are increasing the ownership percentage of ownership represented by each share thus increasing its value because it represents a larger ownership stake. Or put another way they are buying out some owners of the business thus the remaining owners now have a greater percentage. Thank you! This makes some sense to me, but wouldn't the greater percentage of ownership ...
by pollifax
Tue Oct 03, 2017 10:47 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Current Bull Market could last years
Replies: 89
Views: 13269

Re: Current Bull Market could last years

After reading the article in the OP, I actually feel more uneasy about equities. Ultimately, it appears from the article that the bull market over the past 10 years or so has been a product mostly of corporate buybacks. I don't know much about this topic, but isn't this a form of price manipulation?
by pollifax
Tue Sep 12, 2017 6:35 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401k changing to new options
Replies: 2
Views: 562

Re: 401k changing to new options

Thank you! Yes, I'm happy with the new choices.
by pollifax
Tue Sep 12, 2017 4:21 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 401k changing to new options
Replies: 2
Views: 562

401k changing to new options

Hello: This is my first post after lurking for a long while. I have a question about some new options that have come available in my 401k. First, the only index fund that was available prior to today in our employer plan was the Vanguard S&P 500 fund VFIAX (ER .04). I have my funds invested in that, as well as the following: Principal Midcap Growth PCBIX (ER .68) Fidelity Advisor Bond Fund FEPIX (ER .5) My equity/bond ratio is approximately 60/40. There is no index fund for either total stock market or international available. As of today, a few more index funds have been added to the plan, as follows: Fidelity Midcap Fund FSCKX (ER .05) Schwab Smallcap Fund SWSSX (ER .05) Fidelity US Bond Fund (FSITX ER .04) I would like to switch the ...