Search found 2382 matches

by Ferdinand2014
Sun Feb 11, 2024 8:23 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: New article casting doubt on index investing
Replies: 51
Views: 6532

Re: New article casting doubt on index investing

I just received a new article in my email inbox, highlighting the potential dangers of indexing. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion?cmpid=BBD020924_AUT&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=240209&utm_campaign=authers One sentence struck me in particular (Charles) Gave points out that the US stock market is now about 70% of world market capitalization, even though its economy is only 17.8% of global gross domestic product. Therefore, he says, the markets are implying that “over the next 20 years, less than 20% of the world economy will earn three times more profits than the remaining 70% or so,” or put differently, that US tech firms will be “entrenched global monopolies stretching into perpetuity.” Perhaps one can...
by Ferdinand2014
Mon Jan 01, 2024 5:36 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Understanding Morningstar ratings -- VTI three stars?
Replies: 10
Views: 2264

Re: Understanding Morningstar ratings -- VTI three stars?

I would never use Morningstar star ranking as a metric to determine a fund investment.

I look at 3 things:

1.Expense ratio.
2. How closely it matches the index it tracks.
3. Does it fit with my exposure goal.
by Ferdinand2014
Fri Dec 22, 2023 2:25 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Replace Bonds With International Stocks?
Replies: 210
Views: 25031

Re: Replace Bonds With International Stocks?

Lots of people not listening to this at all before chiming in with snarky confirmation bias comments 100% stocks split 50/50 across US/exUS had the least chance of failure. A target date fund or 100% single country stocks was more than twice as likely to fail Bonds have no mean reversion effect; permanent real losses occur, while stocks do offer mean reversion at long horizons In the short term, stocks and bonds aren’t correlated but become 50% correlated at long horizons; opposite is true for US stocks vs ExUS stocks - high short term correlation, low long term correlation. He is arguing that long term horizons are what matters the most, and we should diversify for those in order to minimize failure scenarios. This all assumes that one is...
by Ferdinand2014
Tue Dec 12, 2023 6:38 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Anyone have a google sheets formula to pull in VTWAX domestic vs. international splits?
Replies: 20
Views: 2001

Re: Anyone have a google sheets formula to pull in VTWAX domestic vs. international splits?

Where does Morningstar show 60/40? I see 56/44 on the portfolio tab that is updated monthly. I have actually build my own "live" tracker that follows mid-month movement based on using month-to-date ETF returns to approximate, but it's part of my personal workbook that tracks my positions. I'm sure i could break it out at some point into a shareable sheet. Apologies, I was pulling from this page which shows 60%: https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/profile/portfolio/vtwax Note that North America includes Canada & Mexico, not just US. You can view the previous months splits here on Morninstar http://portfolios.morningstar.com/fund/summary?t=VTWAX&region=usa&culture=en-US Paste in Google Sheets for US Allocation =i...
by Ferdinand2014
Sat Dec 02, 2023 8:26 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Uninterested Spouse
Replies: 166
Views: 23700

Re: Uninterested Spouse

Good question, thank you for asking. Important topic. I keep the following in a safe and a file cabinet in 3 ring binder which is updated as needed and she knows how to access: 1.) Passwords 2.) Account numbers and accounts 3.) All bills due and which ones that are on automatic billing 4.) Detailed step by step instructions on how to log in to and sell, transfer, and place cash into checking accounts 5.) Life insurance policies 6.) POA, AD, trust and wills for both of us 7.) General letter outlining the recommendations for investments and things to avoid being sold by unscrupulous financial carpet baggers 8.) Spreadsheet which automatically tells her how much she can withdraw safely monthly and how to rebalance as needed 9.) List of trusted...
by Ferdinand2014
Fri Dec 01, 2023 10:13 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Has your portfolio recovered since Q1 2022?
Replies: 104
Views: 13270

Re: Has your portfolio recovered since Q1 2022?

1 year through 11/30: +10.98% time weighted return according to Fidelity for my retirement accounts. I forgot my DW 403b and only included my accounts. It is actually 13.58%.
by Ferdinand2014
Fri Dec 01, 2023 1:59 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 2 Fund Portfolio
Replies: 14
Views: 2269

Re: 2 Fund Portfolio

Tom_T wrote: Fri Dec 01, 2023 1:48 pm Why not Total Stock plus Total International in whatever ratio you prefer? That seems a lot more diverse.
The distinction is a global float (with a modest US market cap tilt) as opposed to a fixed allocation. The purest form for allocation would be a 1 fund total market cap global float such as VT. Although there are plenty of reasons from taxable accounts to where you plan on spending your money that would make it less than ideal. I do not think owning VT with some VTI would be substantially less diverse than a fixed ratio of VTI/VXUS for example.
by Ferdinand2014
Fri Dec 01, 2023 1:53 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 2 Fund Portfolio
Replies: 14
Views: 2269

Re: 2 Fund Portfolio

I do something similar although by default based on available options in my DW 403b and my SEP. Instead of a fixed allocation, you allow a global float with a US tilt. I have read through the blogs you refer to and find compelling reasons to do just that. It does have the benefit of never going below an X percent of US, but always floating around that X. It would be best to use VTI in the taxable part of your portfolio.

viewtopic.php?p=7573466#p7573466
by Ferdinand2014
Fri Dec 01, 2023 9:32 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: New Bogleheads podcast. Episode 64: Victor Haghani and James White, ”The Missing Billionaires”
Replies: 51
Views: 14762

Re: New Bogleheads podcast. Episode 64: Victor Haghani and James White, ”The Missing Billionaires”

So I now have VT, VTSAX and cash (treasury bills) as my only holdings with automatic investing and almost no rebalancing with virtually hands off involvement leaving me to not tinker and be extremely diversified. Why do you hold both a global ETF and a US-specific mutual fund instead of just all global? As I explained above, there are no global options in the 403b and my desire where possible for only 1 fund in my Fidelity accounts. When there is only 1 fund in my SEP it keeps me from seeing relative differences, the need to rebalance and adjust either contributions or current holdings. This invites tinkering which causes me to over analyze and potentially make behavioral mistakes. Also, as I explained above, I do not mind a small tilt to ...
by Ferdinand2014
Fri Dec 01, 2023 6:50 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: New Bogleheads podcast. Episode 64: Victor Haghani and James White, ”The Missing Billionaires”
Replies: 51
Views: 14762

Re: New Bogleheads podcast. Episode 64: Victor Haghani and James White, ”The Missing Billionaires”

+1. Simplicity and planning as we age combined with spouses with little financial interest becomes more and more important and is so often overlooked. As a physician I see this issue everyday. Cognitive decline is way under appreciated in most financial planning from my point of view. The book was certainly thoughtful and interesting. If nothing else, it reconfirmed my belief in the enemy of a good plan is the perfect plan concept. I will stick with my good plan. Hi Jon - I could not agree more! In my profession, I have seen individuals start with complexity in terms of their financial lives, only to be challenged by this complexity as the years went on. Then, there is often the spouse challenge. Certainly not discussed enough in the finan...
by Ferdinand2014
Thu Nov 30, 2023 7:20 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: New Bogleheads podcast. Episode 64: Victor Haghani and James White, ”The Missing Billionaires”
Replies: 51
Views: 14762

Re: New Bogleheads podcast. Episode 64: Victor Haghani and James White, ”The Missing Billionaires”

I thought their POV and how asset allocation should change in response to market conditions, as opposed to trying to look at risk from a backwards-looking historical perspective or static allocation POV, made a lot of intellectual sense. However, it seems hard to implement for the individual investor without some retail-level AI to help manage the port. Even then, it seems like fees and taxes might become an issue. Perhaps the simpler approach is to just snap to global market cap and let the allocation drift as the market sees fit. That leaves only the 'risk free' asset side of the port to worry about. TIPS, when giving positive yield, seem a good tool there. Good point. It will be increasingly difficult for aging investor to manage this l...
by Ferdinand2014
Thu Nov 30, 2023 7:07 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Mutual funds that beat index funds in the long run
Replies: 75
Views: 22858

Re: Mutual funds that beat index funds in the long run

Welcome to the forum. You know that mandatory statement about “past performance does not guarantee…blah, blah, blah..?” I take it at face value and don’t try to add any qualifiers. The same could be said for an index fund. Why do we seem to ignore this statement for indices? By this logic, It is not impossible, that the index funds underperform the savings rate for the next decade and one would be better off in a CD. It's reasonable to compare an active fund to an index fund in the same asset class. It's irrelevant to compare an equity index (or active) fund to fixed income. Certainly it's possible that any of the active equity funds you mentioned, or any equity index funds, could underperform fixed income for decades going forward... whic...
by Ferdinand2014
Mon Nov 27, 2023 8:00 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: New Book on the Life Cycle Model - "The Missing Billionaires: A Guide to Better Financial Decisions"
Replies: 154
Views: 33055

Re: New Book on the Life Cycle Model - "The Missing Billionaires: A Guide to Better Financial Decisions"

If an investor were to invest with a global stock allocation, wouldn't that even out the CAPE substantially (given large differences across sectors and political borders) and therefore result in adjusting your equity allocation based on expected returns to maintain constant risk less beneficial or necessary? The book suggests the exact opposite. Can someone help me understand why this would not be the case? Is it because over that time period noted below, the US had overall higher returns thereby making the static allocation come closer to the dynamic allocation for US stocks? Unless they did a dynamic allocation by adjusting allocations to individual countries instead of a global market cap approach? "In Haghani and Dewey (2016), we f...
by Ferdinand2014
Fri Nov 17, 2023 10:46 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Fidelity introducing automatic ETF investing
Replies: 158
Views: 27355

Re: Fidelity introducing automatic ETF investing

Brianmcg321 wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2023 9:26 am So, they basically reinvented mutual funds. Lol.
:beer
by Ferdinand2014
Fri Nov 17, 2023 9:25 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Fidelity introducing automatic ETF investing
Replies: 158
Views: 27355

Re: Fidelity introducing automatic ETF investing

I trialed it with my SEP account for entertainment purposes. Works fine. One drawback is it only seems to have a $999.99 per scheduled trade limit with auto invest from outside accounts.
by Ferdinand2014
Thu Nov 09, 2023 4:03 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What is the role of fixed income to you?
Replies: 118
Views: 15981

Re: What is the role of fixed income to you?

Short term, highly stable very liquid source of income so if I sell equities it is by choice, not necessity. Therefore 3 month T-bills has worked great for me with the current rate at 5.3% just a bonus. Everything else is equities. The idea that fixed income smooths the ups and downs doesn't have any use for me and I have never understood how being down 25% instead of 32% in a bad market somehow helps.
by Ferdinand2014
Tue Nov 07, 2023 5:18 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: International Exposure without International Funds: Which Domestic Fund?
Replies: 34
Views: 3382

Re: International Exposure without International Funds: Which Domestic Fund?

Large/mega cap full of multinational corporations would most likely have more international sources of revenue, but that may not be universal depending on sector. About 40% of the S&P 500 receives revenue and revenue growth from outside the U.S. as an example.

https://napllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2 ... raniDe.pdf
by Ferdinand2014
Thu Nov 02, 2023 5:39 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: financing car and investing the money vs. paying it off
Replies: 26
Views: 3590

Re: financing car and investing the money vs. paying it off

Asking for a friend. Pretty sure it has been asked before. Let's consider the friend is financially responsible, saving an appropriate percentage of income, young and with a medium risk tolerance. They have the money to purchase outright, but I would think there is a combination of downpayment and interest rate at which it might be more beneficial to take a good interest rate offer from the OEM than invest in an SP500 ETF. Many variables obviously, the question is how would bogleheads approach this problem? Thank you. Cash. I would never invest in an SP500 ETF unless my horizon was >10 years and cost of money was <5%. Even then, no guarantee of excess return, only more likely than not historically. My mortgage for example is 2.75% and 30 y...
by Ferdinand2014
Sat Oct 14, 2023 4:23 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Money Market Fund vs Short Term Treasury ETF
Replies: 18
Views: 3083

Re: Money Market Fund vs Short Term Treasury ETF

If you want a guaranteed return and you have a known time frame, I would buy a treasury bill/note/bond with your desired duration in mind. If you hold it to maturity you will receive your principal and yield exactly. A bond fund (ETF or Mutual) can make no such guarantee. You can do this free at Fidelity.

https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/ ... hedule.pdf

https://fixedincome.fidelity.com/ftgw/fi/FILanding
by Ferdinand2014
Sat Oct 14, 2023 10:25 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Help with 2 fund portfolio
Replies: 5
Views: 889

Re: Help with 2 fund portfolio

VINIX and VIIIX are the institutional version of Vanguard 500 VFIAX. That is really all you need for the stock portion of a 2 fund portfolio.
by Ferdinand2014
Fri Sep 08, 2023 6:03 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Funding New Home Construction and Portfolio Review
Replies: 13
Views: 1832

Re: Funding New Home Construction and Portfolio Review

Leaning towards maximizing retirement, using ongoing savings plus smallish HELOC to make up difference and keep cash cushion. Thoughts? I would use the cash cushion to pay for the house and stay debt free or as close as possible. You can set up a HELOC and keep the balance at zero to maintain access to cash at a good interest rate while you rebuild your cash cushion. I would maximize contributions to retirement accounts for tax efficiency but stop all taxable contributions. That’s what I‘m doing in a similar situation but I live in Germany and things might be different in the US. Thank you for your posts on this forum btw. You have taught me a lot about investing and I read Buffet‘s shareholder letters because of your recommendation (which...
by Ferdinand2014
Fri Sep 08, 2023 5:59 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Funding New Home Construction and Portfolio Review
Replies: 13
Views: 1832

Re: Funding New Home Construction and Portfolio Review

Emergency funds: Emergency plan. Most scenarios allow 6-12 month cushion. Debt: $81,000 (Mortgage at 2.7%)- Current home - Zillow says $250,000/Realtor says $275,000. Tax Filing Status: Married filing jointly Tax Rate: 32% Federal Marginal Rate, 5.5% State State of Residence: Maine Age: 54/40 (DW) Desired Asset allocation: Stocks and about 2-3 years of expenses in fixed income (currently about 10%) Desired International allocation: Probably going to change to world market cap when DW 403b starts offering VTWAX later this year. I will switch VTSAX to VTWAX and FXAIX at Fidelity to VT. Still debating this. Current retirement assets $2.5M Taxable His and Hers 13% 3 month T-Bills on auto roll (0.00 cost) His SEP 74% FXAIX (Fidelity 500 Index F...
by Ferdinand2014
Fri Sep 08, 2023 5:54 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Funding New Home Construction and Portfolio Review
Replies: 13
Views: 1832

Re: Funding New Home Construction and Portfolio Review

Emergency funds: Emergency plan. Most scenarios allow 6-12 month cushion. Debt: $81,000 (Mortgage at 2.7%)- Current home - Zillow says $250,000/Realtor says $275,000. Tax Filing Status: Married filing jointly Tax Rate: 32% Federal Marginal Rate, 5.5% State State of Residence: Maine Age: 54/40 (DW) Desired Asset allocation: Stocks and about 2-3 years of expenses in fixed income (currently about 10%) Desired International allocation: Probably going to change to world market cap when DW 403b starts offering VTWAX later this year. I will switch VTSAX to VTWAX and FXAIX at Fidelity to VT. Still debating this. Current retirement assets $2.5M Taxable His and Hers 13% 3 month T-Bills on auto roll (0.00 cost) His SEP 74% FXAIX (Fidelity 500 Index F...
by Ferdinand2014
Tue Sep 05, 2023 3:12 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Funding New Home Construction and Portfolio Review
Replies: 13
Views: 1832

Re: Funding New Home Construction and Portfolio Review

Emergency funds: Emergency plan. Most scenarios allow 6-12 month cushion. Debt: $81,000 (Mortgage at 2.7%)- Current home - Zillow says $250,000/Realtor says $275,000. Tax Filing Status: Married filing jointly Tax Rate: 32% Federal Marginal Rate, 5.5% State State of Residence: Maine Age: 54/40 (DW) Desired Asset allocation: Stocks and about 2-3 years of expenses in fixed income (currently about 10%) Desired International allocation: Probably going to change to world market cap when DW 403b starts offering VTWAX later this year. I will switch VTSAX to VTWAX and FXAIX at Fidelity to VT. Still debating this. Current retirement assets $2.5M Taxable His and Hers 13% 3 month T-Bills on auto roll (0.00 cost) His SEP 74% FXAIX (Fidelity 500 Index F...
by Ferdinand2014
Tue Sep 05, 2023 3:09 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Funding New Home Construction and Portfolio Review
Replies: 13
Views: 1832

Re: Funding New Home Construction and Portfolio Review

So free bump as my comment will be something you already know. I'm having a house built in northern NH. Your anticipated budget might be a little low, but I'm also having a house built on a handshake deal so there is that. With only $100K towards land + dirtwork + well/septic/foundation I'll assume you're looking at a smaller lot and that is fine. Be sure to anticipate electric being brought in from the street if you're doing buried. Here Eversource will run 300' free until it hits the meter-I left my meter at the street so as to limit their access to my land so I'm paying for the 250' run. Another "hidden" cost will be the final grade and finish dirtwork such as additional topsoil, or final driveway work. I've got the dirtwork g...
by Ferdinand2014
Mon Sep 04, 2023 4:46 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Funding New Home Construction and Portfolio Review
Replies: 13
Views: 1832

Funding New Home Construction and Portfolio Review

Emergency funds: Emergency plan. Most scenarios allow 6-12 month cushion. Debt: $81,000 (Mortgage at 2.7%)- Current home - Zillow says $250,000/Realtor says $275,000. Tax Filing Status: Married filing jointly Tax Rate: 32% Federal Marginal Rate, 5.5% State State of Residence: Maine Age: 54/40 (DW) Desired Asset allocation: Stocks and about 2-3 years of expenses in fixed income (currently about 10%) Desired International allocation: Probably going to change to world market cap when DW 403b starts offering VTWAX later this year. I will switch VTSAX to VTWAX and FXAIX at Fidelity to VT. Still debating this. Current retirement assets $2.5M Taxable His and Hers 13% 3 month T-Bills on auto roll (0.00 cost) His SEP 74% FXAIX (Fidelity 500 Index F...
by Ferdinand2014
Fri Jul 14, 2023 8:47 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Safety net hospital employer + 457b, worth it?
Replies: 41
Views: 4632

Re: Safety net hospital employer + 457b, worth it?

My spouse and I live in NYC and have a gross income of $550k, resulting in a marginal tax rate of 50% (fed + state + city). I work at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, which is a safety net hospital system affiliated with an academic medical center (Albert Einstein College of Medicine). Former NYC physician with lots of experience with Monte and lots of experiences with hospital 457b plans. Here's my summary. The tax breaks of the 457b for someone in your marginal bracket SO far outweigh the nearly trivial risks of Monte going bankrupt and you not getting your money back. YEARS before such a thing may happen (it wouldn't happen overnight), you'd just get a new job and get your 457b back in a lump sum. I can't find a single example of...
by Ferdinand2014
Sun Jul 09, 2023 8:26 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Feeling dissatisfied with Fidelity cash yield compared to VG?
Replies: 46
Views: 4969

Re: Feeling dissatisfied with Fidelity cash yield compared to VG?

vu8 wrote: Sun Jul 09, 2023 5:14 am
Ferdinand2014 wrote: Sun Jul 09, 2023 5:03 am Closer comparison to VMFXX:

https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/mutua ... /316341304

https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/mutua ... =sq-NavBar



VMFXX is a money market fund.

You are describing a FDIC insured sweep account return.
Both these have to be manually bought and sold from Fido for my Fido CMA. Do I just have to acquiesce that if I don’t wanna manually buy or sold, the FDIC sweep is the best there is at Fido?
I have my sweep account set up as FZFXX. I called and they changed it from FDIC. It is automatic now.
by Ferdinand2014
Fri May 12, 2023 9:36 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Who should not invest in the market portfolio
Replies: 466
Views: 31492

Re: Who should not invest in the market portfolio

I have a wind turbine that reliably produces electricity from the wind. Someone comes up with a scheme to buy and sell wind energy based on the volatility of wind. They call the average wind speed a factor and their back-tested advantage a factor. One of these must exist and one may be completely imaginary or poorly implemented to our disadvantage. Deviations from the norm are not the same as the norm. They should not all be treated equally or all called "factors". Bad analogy. The information available shows over decade long periods small value has about an 95% chance of outperforming or equaling market returns and a 5% chance of underperforming the market. So tilting towards these stocks is likely to improve performance, with o...
by Ferdinand2014
Sat Apr 22, 2023 11:47 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 90/10 Cash as good as 70/30 bonds for long retirements?
Replies: 32
Views: 4663

Re: 90/10 Cash as good as 70/30 bonds for long retirements?

I've done some MC simulations and would like you to challenge my findings. It seems that holding 90 stocks / 10 cash performs equal to or even slightly better than 70 stocks / 30 bonds (10y treasuries) for a 50 year early retirement. 90/10: 63% survival, median portfolio end balance: 14 Mio 70/30: 63% survival, median portfolio end balance: 10 Mio So is it even worth it having term risk: buying medium term bonds instead of cash? Here are the backtests: - [PV1](https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/monte-carlo-simulation?s=y&fullHistory=true&adjustmentType=2&allocation2_1=10&smoothingRate=75&historicalVolatility=true&volatility=12.0&investmentHorizon=1&endYear=2022&years=50&frequency=2&mode=1&in...
by Ferdinand2014
Sat Apr 22, 2023 5:39 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What would it take for International to come back?
Replies: 97
Views: 8875

Re: What would it take for International to come back?

A). Tech lagging the non tech broader market for a long time. That is not to say that big tech is a negative investment but just does not grow as fast as the rest of the market. FAANG tends to be the difference from 2007 to today for US vs international…. B). Big tech companies for whatever reason domiciling overseas instead of the US ... Agreed. Setting aside speculative predictions about politics, monetary or fiscal policy, currency exchange rates and so on, the real question becomes, I think, whether there's going to be a rotation out of things in which the US is strong, and into things in which the US doesn't have high comparative advantage. The US is especially strong in software businesses that can be scaled and reach near-monopoly s...
by Ferdinand2014
Thu Mar 30, 2023 8:39 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Are ETFs Just Plain Superior To Mutual Funds?
Replies: 139
Views: 15862

Re: Are ETFs Just Plain Superior To Mutual Funds?

In my opinion, the biggest weakness of ETFs is that they more enable emotional and frequent trading. I think a lot of people can get themselves in trouble and/or cause anxiety by seeing those prices change all day and knowing you could swap funds in about 90 seconds. I don't buy this argument. There are plenty buy-and-hold investors who use ETFs without frequently trading. Similarly, there are plenty of emotional owners of mutual funds who get themselves by putting in orders that are filled overnight. In fact, you could make the case that the ability to exchange one mutual fund, which you cannot do with ETFs, encourages frequent trading. It cuts both ways. I am proof positive that mutual funds are better for some buy and hold investors. I ...
by Ferdinand2014
Tue Mar 28, 2023 7:52 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: All money market funds by 7-day yield
Replies: 152
Views: 34160

Re: All money market funds by 7-day yield

This appears to be the relatively infrequent time that my fixed income of only short term treasury's has been an advantage over the typical investment grade bond fund. I value stability and safety over all else for my fixed income. Ferdinand2014, You're an inspiration, and I've followed many of your posts closely. I know you hold just enough cash to sleep at night and shovel the rest into FXAIX. May I ask, what is your sleep-at-night cash allocation (in percentage or years, not amount!!)? More and more I'm thinking I can increase my stock allocation if I notch up my cash a bit. Thanks again for all your great posts. Charles Joseph Thanks for the kindness. It has varied over the years as it depends on essentially 3 factors: 1.) Known lumpy ...
by Ferdinand2014
Mon Mar 27, 2023 7:38 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: WSJ article on retiring with less than $1 million
Replies: 217
Views: 28219

Re: WSJ article on retiring with less than $1 million

Marseille07 wrote: Sun Mar 26, 2023 11:38 am
Nicolas wrote: Sun Mar 26, 2023 11:33 am I fully agree and I wouldn’t do it, but maybe some of them needed the money and couldn’t turn it down.
Really? I thought this is on a volunteer basis. Any idea how much they make by participating in this?
Zero. Volunteer basis.
by Ferdinand2014
Mon Mar 27, 2023 7:31 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: WSJ article on retiring with less than $1 million
Replies: 217
Views: 28219

Re: WSJ article on retiring with less than $1 million

Nicolas wrote: Sun Mar 26, 2023 11:42 am
Marseille07 wrote: Sun Mar 26, 2023 11:38 am
Nicolas wrote: Sun Mar 26, 2023 11:33 am I fully agree and I wouldn’t do it, but maybe some of them needed the money and couldn’t turn it down.
Really? I thought this is on a volunteer basis. Any idea how much they make by participating in this?
No, no idea. They must’ve gotten something.
Nothing. Zero. Nada. It is amazing the assumptions people come to.
by Ferdinand2014
Sat Mar 25, 2023 12:11 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: WSJ article on retiring with less than $1 million
Replies: 217
Views: 28219

Re: WSJ article on retiring with less than $1 million

What I can say is that they have been dealt some difficult health issues, but manage. The church family is a big part of the their lives and tithing is simply something that makes them happy. It is always given anonymously and the church wouldn't even know its source. Certainly nothing to be sad about. The house is old, drafty, huge and a great gathering place for family. We have been trying to convince them to downsize for health and financial reasons, but it holds a lot of memories for them. The sad part for me is knowing that poor advice and panic in 2008 along with subsequent inaction resulted in a permanent loss of retirement funds. All in all despite health and financial missteps, they are happy with lots of loving family around them...
by Ferdinand2014
Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:01 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: WSJ article on retiring with less than $1 million
Replies: 217
Views: 28219

Re: WSJ article on retiring with less than $1 million

I was sad to see that one couple are donating $400/month to their church. Meanwhile, in the winter, they confine themselves to two rooms in their home and set the thermostat to 60F. While I'm not judging their choice, it seems like they cannot afford to do this. I hope folks from there church see this article and advise them to cut back, but I doubt that will happen. That works out to 9.1% of their SS/Pension income. I guess I wouldn't use the term sad to describe their devotion to tithing. However I would agree that they could certainly explore tithing a lower amount if striking a better balance would meet their needs. The 13 room Victorian home with the high ceilings way up on the Canadian/Maine border that experiences cold winters certa...
by Ferdinand2014
Fri Mar 24, 2023 10:31 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: WSJ article on retiring with less than $1 million
Replies: 217
Views: 28219

Re: WSJ article on retiring with less than $1 million

I was sad to see that one couple are donating $400/month to their church. Meanwhile, in the winter, they confine themselves to two rooms in their home and set the thermostat to 60F. While I'm not judging their choice, it seems like they cannot afford to do this. I hope folks from there church see this article and advise them to cut back, but I doubt that will happen. That works out to 9.1% of their SS/Pension income. I guess I wouldn't use the term sad to describe their devotion to tithing. However I would agree that they could certainly explore tithing a lower amount if striking a better balance would meet their needs. The 13 room Victorian home with the high ceilings way up on the Canadian/Maine border that experiences cold winters certa...
by Ferdinand2014
Fri Mar 24, 2023 5:50 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: All money market funds by 7-day yield
Replies: 152
Views: 34160

Re: All money market funds by 7-day yield

FDLXX is the treasury only option at Fidelity. I just moved from FZDXX-->FDLXX myself. Thanks! I see 7 day yield is 4.16%. Not too much lower than the 4.46 on FZDXX or 4.28 on FDRXX. and no minimum. I might be switching some, but not really all that sure i should be concerned. FDLXX 7 day yield is 4.27. https://institutional.fidelity.com/app/funds-and-products/415/fidelity-treasury-only-money-market-fund-fdlxx.html FZDXX 7 day yield is 4.45. https://institutional.fidelity.com/app/funds-and-products/2738/fidelity-money-market-fund-premium-class-fzdxx.html Honestly, I'm not sure if I should be concerned either. weird..this page shows FDLXX as 4.16% https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/mutual-funds/summary/31617H300 The institutional pages are u...
by Ferdinand2014
Fri Mar 24, 2023 5:47 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: All money market funds by 7-day yield
Replies: 152
Views: 34160

Re: All money market funds by 7-day yield

This appears to be the relatively infrequent time that my fixed income of only short term treasury's has been an advantage over the typical investment grade bond fund. I value stability and safety over all else for my fixed income.
by Ferdinand2014
Fri Mar 24, 2023 5:42 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: All money market funds by 7-day yield
Replies: 152
Views: 34160

Re: All money market funds by 7-day yield

Nice job! I currently have most of my cash in FZDXX in my CMA acct. MY 2 Roth IRA's I set the sweep to FDRXX. Been wondering if I should change these to Treasury only MM's. Not sure which Fidelity options I would have to do this. Your sheet doesn't seem to clarify which are treasury only... or I don't know enough to decipher. FDLXX is the treasury only option at Fidelity. I just moved from FZDXX-->FDLXX myself. FDLXX appears to be closed to new investors. Would FDRXX be the closest equivalent Fido money market fund? How about 1 month CDs? Zions Bancorp is paying 4.95% interest. Their stock got hammered today but if they went belly up I would only lose the interest. How long would it take to retrieve my money in that scenario? Ally and Link...
by Ferdinand2014
Thu Mar 23, 2023 4:54 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 1 and 3 week treasury bills?
Replies: 3
Views: 843

Re: 1 and 3 week treasury bills?

Thanks everyone for the responses and links.
by Ferdinand2014
Thu Mar 23, 2023 11:52 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: 1 and 3 week treasury bills?
Replies: 3
Views: 843

1 and 3 week treasury bills?

I noticed on the Fidelity fixed income website, 2 curious treasury bills I have never seen before. 1 has settlement date of 3/28 and maturity of 4/6 and another settlement date of 3/28 and maturity of 4/17. There is also the usual 3 month t-bill which is what I was purchasing. Is this a temporary funding gap or irregular auction? These are not secondary market offerings, but under new issue menu.
by Ferdinand2014
Thu Dec 29, 2022 6:19 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: roll call: 2022 bear market rebalance
Replies: 43
Views: 5162

Re: roll call: 2022 bear market rebalance

abuss368 wrote: Wed Dec 28, 2022 9:26 pm
Ferdinand2014 wrote: Sat Nov 26, 2022 11:50 pm I do not rebalance or own bonds. I keep cash and stocks. The cash is whatever I need for expenses near term I cannot cash flow with my monthly budget. Mostly I just keep adding monthly to FXAIX and VTSAX. I have the simplest plan I can devise. Anything else would tempt me to tinker.
Your plan is simple! Have you considered adding international stocks back into the portfolio?

Best.
Tony
Yes. The only option I would consider is VT/VTWAX or SPGM. I need to be able to stick with 1 equity fund across my accounts given my proclivities to tinker. Currently FXAIX is the only fund across all of my accounts and VTSAX is the only fund in my wife's retirement based on options available.
by Ferdinand2014
Wed Dec 28, 2022 5:09 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: WSJ Reporter doing story on Retiring with $1million
Replies: 92
Views: 20133

Re: WSJ Reporter doing story on Retiring with $1million

Charles Joseph wrote: Tue Dec 27, 2022 5:49 am I suppose one must factor in the WSJ audience, but I’d like to hear about the 90% of retirees who get by on less than $1 million - most of them significantly less.

That would be an interesting article. Any way that suggestion could be passed along?
The authors have intentions of doing exactly that.
by Ferdinand2014
Sat Dec 17, 2022 8:06 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TSLA opportunity now: speculation or investment?
Replies: 31
Views: 2191

Re: TSLA opportunity now: speculation or investment?

Do you possess information that every hedge fund, endowment, investment bank or active manager with millions/billions available and dozens/hundreds of highly paid, incredibly talented individuals who spend every waking hour looking for an edge that they do not? I am very confident that I do not. "Four out of every seven common stocks that have appeared in the CRSP database since 1926 have lifetime buy-and-hold returns less than one-month Treasuries. When stated in terms of lifetime dollar wealth creation, the best-performing four percent of listed companies explain the net gain for the entire U.S. stock market since 1926 , as other stocks collectively matched Treasury bills." Do Stocks Outperform Treasury Bills? Journal of Financi...
by Ferdinand2014
Wed Nov 30, 2022 5:00 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: VT underperform vs VTI/VXUS
Replies: 20
Views: 2385

Re: VT underperform vs VTI/VXUS

climber2020 wrote: Tue Nov 29, 2022 2:38 pm Maybe because VT rebalances frequently? Over that time period, you'd consistently be removing money from US and adding it to International to maintain the allocation.

In your example, if you turn off rebalancing, the VTI/VXUS combo comes out even farther ahead.
I do not think VT would need to rebalance at all except at the margin with index changes at the smallest cap level. The price of the component equities would cause not a single share to be bought or sold to maintain market cap weighting.
by Ferdinand2014
Sat Nov 26, 2022 11:50 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: roll call: 2022 bear market rebalance
Replies: 43
Views: 5162

Re: roll call: 2022 bear market rebalance

I do not rebalance or own bonds. I keep cash and stocks. The cash is whatever I need for expenses near term I cannot cash flow with my monthly budget. Mostly I just keep adding monthly to FXAIX and VTSAX. I have the simplest plan I can devise. Anything else would tempt me to tinker.