Search found 15901 matches

by retired@50
Sat Feb 08, 2025 7:49 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Retired and selling house. What to do with the funds.
Replies: 4
Views: 503

Re: Retired and selling house. What to do with the funds.

erider99 wrote: Sat Feb 08, 2025 7:31 am ...
Federal money market?
...
Your thoughts would be appreciated.
I'd use the Vanguard Treasury Money Market fund - VUSXX. At least until you figure out if you're buying or renting long term.
No state income taxes on most (or all) of the interest and a stable $1.00 price per share.

Regards,
by retired@50
Sat Feb 08, 2025 7:12 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: International Options for workplace retirement accounts
Replies: 3
Views: 240

Re: International Options for workplace retirement accounts

Based on nothing other than firm reputation and back-testing I'd choose the Dodge & Cox fund.

Neither is a compelling reason, but without an expense ratio advantage there's not much else to consider.

Regards,
by retired@50
Fri Feb 07, 2025 2:28 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I was offered an annuity
Replies: 20
Views: 1555

Re: I was offered an annuity

rossv wrote: Fri Feb 07, 2025 2:24 pm I was offered an annuity at Fidelity and i wanted know what you all thought.
I think the first thing to consider is whether or not you're a good candidate for an annuity?

Do you collect a pension and/or Social Security? Or will you in the future?

If so, what percentage do those income sources represent of your annual spending?

Regards,
by retired@50
Fri Feb 07, 2025 2:18 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New Poster - Portfolio Review
Replies: 8
Views: 1651

Re: New Poster - Portfolio Review



You'll have more options in retirement by having some retirement assets in (and on-going contributions to) a variety of account types: Taxable, Trad Tax-Deferred, and Roth Tax-Free. That gives you some flexibility in retirement compared to, for example, having 95% of assets in Tax-Deferred and then having a tax-bomb come due at age 73 when RMDs kick in (more of a concern if you have a decent pension you can't turn off). You don't need to deal with the Taxable account until you have the spare budget bandwidth to put retirement assets there, but you should be aiming to max out Trad 401k ($23.5K) and to a Roth IRA ($7K) over the next 20+ years (however long you continue to work).


Age: Him - 38; Her - 41



There's typically little left ...
by retired@50
Fri Feb 07, 2025 2:08 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: ? On tax free muni
Replies: 27
Views: 1665

Re: ? On tax free muni

goldfinger22 wrote: Fri Feb 07, 2025 2:02 pm So because of my CDs I’m getting hammered at tax time
So ?
Are NY tax free municipal bonds state and fed tax free ? <- Yes, for NY residents.
Safe ? <- Judgement call. Not as safe as a US Treasury, but probably safer than a corporate bond.
How do they pay interest ? <- Periodically. Frequency may depend on the issuer.
Any limit on how many u can buy ? <- Not that I'm aware of, but buying individual muni bonds in the secondary market is typically not a great deal for small investors. Consider a Vanguard NY tax-exempt muni fund like VNYUX.
Thank you
See answers above in blue.

Regards,
by retired@50
Fri Feb 07, 2025 1:52 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Muni National Intermediate investment
Replies: 1
Views: 156

Re: Muni National Intermediate investment

jazzbeat101 wrote: Fri Feb 07, 2025 1:33 pm Hello, I am looking for an alternative to VWIUX in my Fidelity brokerage account. My search is driven by the upfront cost of purchasing the Vanguard fund at Fidelity. I came across BSNIX which outperforms VWIUX over the past 5 years, even though the expense ratio is 0.3%. (<0.1% for Vanguard) Not sure whether the better performance is due to better bond picking by the managers or due to the somewhat shorter effective duration for BSNIX. (4.1 years vs. 5.6 years). Your thoughts on these 2 funds (or any other alternatives) are greatly appreciated.
VTEI might be worth a look.

See if it matches your needs with regard to duration, etc.

Regards,
by retired@50
Fri Feb 07, 2025 1:29 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: If Treasuries default due to computing bug, will US corporate bonds remain safe?
Replies: 43
Views: 2430

Re: If Treasuries default due to computing bug, will US corporate bonds remain safe?

TomatoTomahto wrote: Fri Feb 07, 2025 12:18 pm
Parkinglotracer wrote: Fri Feb 07, 2025 11:46 am Never crossed my mind. If the 20 year olds mess it up hopefully another one will fix it.
As a software developer and amateur cook, it can prove difficult to unscramble an egg.
True, but hopefully someone can restore yesterday's version of the code from a backup.

Regards,
by retired@50
Fri Feb 07, 2025 11:50 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Need tax help for Roth contribution
Replies: 4
Views: 277

Re: Need tax help for Roth contribution

There are a few wiki pages you'll likely find useful.

1. Recharacterize an IRA contribution.
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/IRA_recharacterization

2. Non-deductible IRA.
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Non-deductible_traditional_IRA

3. Backdoor Roth.
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Backdoor_Roth

The way I read the situation is that you'll have to contact Vanguard and have them re-characterize the Roth contribution to a Traditional IRA contribution. While you're allowed to make this contribution to a T-IRA, you're most likely not allowed to deduct it on your income taxes, which would then suggest that you should "convert" that non-deductible IRA contribution to a Roth IRA. Don't forget to read up on IRS Form 8606.

Regards,
by retired@50
Fri Feb 07, 2025 11:38 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: If Treasuries default due to computing bug, will US corporate bonds remain safe?
Replies: 43
Views: 2430

Re: If Treasuries default due to computing bug, will US corporate bonds remain safe?


It appears to be confirmed that a small group of 20-year old programmers are directly modifying the code of the US Treasury payment systems. Many of these systems are written in COBOL, which is state-dependent, thus changing a line of code in one place can alter business logic in another place.

Computing experts have described this as a serious risk, e.g. in the Atlantic today.

If a glitch results in non-payment of a Treasury coupon, and thus a default, would US short-term corporate debt be safe?

I am a lifelong Boglehead and don't trade in response to sentiment, but this risk seemed real enough to me that I shifted some funds yesterday. I am open to the judgment of my peers about whether I am over-reacting or not.

Thanks, as ever ...
by retired@50
Fri Feb 07, 2025 10:28 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Trad or Roth 401k in setting of high trad 401k balance and nearing FI
Replies: 2
Views: 272

Re: Trad or Roth 401k in setting of high trad 401k balance and nearing FI

I'd continue to use the Traditional contribution.

The way I see it, you're deferring taxes now at 37% or 35%, then once you retire and wages cease, you'll be able to convert to Roth at 22% or 24% or even 32% all of which are lower than 35% or 37%. If you retire at 60 you'll have 15 years before your first RMD (age 75) from the tax-deferred balances. You can use those 15 years to perform annual Roth conversions.

More detail in the wiki page on Traditional versus Roth.
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Traditional_versus_Roth

Regards,
by retired@50
Fri Feb 07, 2025 7:10 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Are These Recently Added Fees in My 403(b) a Cause for Concern?
Replies: 16
Views: 811

Re: Are These Recently Added Fees in My 403(b) a Cause for Concern?

While your plan may not have the highest fees we've seen in the forum, any additional fee does reduce your returns. See link.

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/How_to_ ... 03(b)_plan

Maybe if you enlist the help of your co-workers you can convince the employer to pick up the tab.

Regards,
by retired@50
Fri Feb 07, 2025 6:42 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: VAIPX from taxable to non-taxable
Replies: 5
Views: 410

Re: VAIPX from taxable to non-taxable

goonkidd wrote: Fri Feb 07, 2025 12:02 am Help, I made the mistake of investing VAIPX in taxable not realizing the tax implications and would now like to move fund to non-taxable. What should I know to avoid another mistake.......
Consider the guidance in the tax efficient fund placement wiki page. It may help you avoid future mistakes.

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Tax-eff ... _placement

Regards,
by retired@50
Wed Feb 05, 2025 10:52 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Investment for 26-year-old
Replies: 10
Views: 479

Re: Investment for 26-year-old


My 26-year-old son is looking for investment advice. He has a Roth 401K at work (he makes around 60K) which is 100% S&P 500. Options there are limited. He also has a Roth IRA at Fidelity which needs to be invested.

He is a very hands-off investor. Simpler and long-term is better. He doesn't pay attention to the markets much, nor does he look at his balances very often. He's a good candidate for the advice "keep saving monthly, and check your account once a year."

My gut says his Fidelity account could just be VT or VTI. There is also the Fidelity Freedom Index target date fund. The 2060 fund is currently 54/36/10. That's a hefty international allocation within equities, but given that his 401K is basically VOO, the overall allocation is ...
by retired@50
Tue Feb 04, 2025 1:45 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Bond fund change question
Replies: 12
Views: 1093

Re: Bond fund change question

metalworking wrote: Tue Feb 04, 2025 1:42 pm The distribution yield has been consistently significantly higher yet the SEC yield similar. Makes no sense to me. But my main point is that because of lower vanguard fund price AND higher distribution yield it seems like a big boost in profit by changing. Am I wrong?
Not that I can tell. Vanguard seems to be squeezing more juice out of similar oranges.

Regards,
by retired@50
Tue Feb 04, 2025 1:41 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: NJ Resident - Question on VNJUX in taxable
Replies: 7
Views: 1058

Re: NJ Resident - Question on VNJUX in taxable

grabiner wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2025 10:38 pm Capital gains on this fund are exempt from NJ state tax. NJ, unlike most states, does not tax capital gains on securities which are exempt from NJ tax, nor on "qualified investment funds" which hold them. (Some other states exempt capital gains on individual state tax-exempt bonds but do tax capital gains on funds.)
This ^ is an interesting quirk I'll try to remember when I'm offering my opinion to NJ investors. Thanks for posting.

Regards,
by retired@50
Tue Feb 04, 2025 1:34 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Bond fund change question
Replies: 12
Views: 1093

Re: Bond fund change question

It does appear that the Vanguard fund has a higher distribution in January .031002 per share, but I'm not certain how long that advantage will continue. I guess I'm glad I hold the Vanguard fund, at least this month.

Regards,
by retired@50
Tue Feb 04, 2025 1:26 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: SPAXX core position risk given current instability?
Replies: 8
Views: 1194

Re: SPAXX core position risk given current instability?

If you're subject to state income taxes, then consider holding some of your cash in FDLXX.

Other than that, I can only suggest you turn off your television and set down your smartphone.

Regards,
by retired@50
Tue Feb 04, 2025 5:53 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Tax efficiency or Asset Allocation
Replies: 12
Views: 1257

Re: Tax efficiency or Asset Allocation

coachd50 wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 8:01 pm
Yes, I am aware-- it is actually the crux of my post. I don't have the Pre Tax Space for the bonds. I am looking for ways to fix some past less optimal decisions
To me, asset allocation should always be priority #1.

Asset location is a secondary decision. So, you want more bonds and they have to go in a "second best" place since there isn't room in a tax-deferred account. Your choices are Roth or taxable. If you're in a high tax bracket, then using a Vanguard tax-exempt muni bond fund in your taxable account could work. Otherwise, you're probably better off using some of your Roth space for the additional bond funds.

Regards,
by retired@50
Tue Feb 04, 2025 5:46 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I'm thinking of self managing, but I have a lot of questions (and some doubts)
Replies: 45
Views: 3892

Re: I'm thinking of self managing, but I have a lot of questions (and some doubts)

Elric wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 10:17 pm ... Why can't you have bonds in your tax advantaged accounts?
He could, but they are such a tiny percentage of the portfolio that it would hardly have an impact.
My 401k
0.37% Vanguard Target Retirement 2060 Trust (0.04% expense ratio)
My Roth IRA at Schwab
0.45% SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPLG) (0.02% expense ratio)
0.13% Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF (VXUS) (0.08% expense ratio)
Regards,
by retired@50
Tue Feb 04, 2025 5:31 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: rebalance IRA while retired
Replies: 7
Views: 626

Re: rebalance IRA while retired


I have been tasked with rebalancing my mom's roll over IRA. She is in 100% VTSAX and I want to balance it out with a bond fund, probably VTEAX. I am aware that she will not be taxed as long as everything stays inside the IRA account as it is rebalanced. However, I saw something that said she might not be able to rebalance if she no longer has an income. I haven't found anything that specifically answers my question. Can she rebalance into bonds within the IRA now that she is retired (not making an income)? I do not want to cause her any headaches. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Welcome to the forum.
A few things...
Transactions that occur within an IRA are not reported to the IRS, so they are not considered taxable events. In other ...
by retired@50
Sun Feb 02, 2025 10:47 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I'm thinking of self managing, but I have a lot of questions (and some doubts)
Replies: 45
Views: 3892

Re: I'm thinking of self managing, but I have a lot of questions (and some doubts)

invest4 wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:56 pm
* I think you may be overly concerned about taxes. You have a relatively small % in bonds / fixed income. You can simply put them in your 401k, no?
The 401k, as described above, is less than 1% of the total portfolio, so not much room for bonds in there yet. If the OP contributes some money to the 401k plan, then it could be a place for a bond fund. That might actually help by creating a bit of diversification in the bond holdings.

Regards,
by retired@50
Sun Feb 02, 2025 6:42 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Accumulating ETFs in the US?
Replies: 7
Views: 669

Re: Accumulating ETFs in the US?

Geologist wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 6:39 pm ... so there is no question the US Congress wanted this arrangement.
Yeah, I figured as much. I try not to speak in definitives when I'm not citing a source.

Regards,
by retired@50
Sun Feb 02, 2025 6:39 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is Uranium a good stock to buy now?
Replies: 15
Views: 1129

Re: Is Uranium a good stock to buy now?

DragonWriter wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 6:08 pm I'm looking for long term growth; preferably more than 1-3 years. If it's shorter term for 2-6 months then that's fine too. Professional advice is needed as I can't risk my money at all.
Welcome to the forum.

If you can't risk your money, then consider a bank account or a short term US Treasury bill.

What is "Uranium"? Other than an element in the periodic table...

Regards,
by retired@50
Sun Feb 02, 2025 6:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What is the real advantage of using credit cards with a 0% APR?
Replies: 27
Views: 1733

Re: What is the real advantage of using credit cards with a 0% APR?


BHs:

I am trying to decide accepting an offer for a 0% APR. One for 15 months and another for 21 months. What is real advantage of using these? Would investing the money in the market that I would use to pay the CC in full make sense assuming I pay them off before the APR kicks in? Can someone explain the pros and cons of such a card at a 5th grade level please?

Thanks in advance.


I think these are generally used for people who already have outstanding credit card balances. As I understand it, one can transfer their balance from one card where interest is being paid, to the 0% APR card. This gives the indebted person time to catch their breath and maybe catch up on payments.

If you don't have any outstanding credit card debt then I ...
by retired@50
Sun Feb 02, 2025 6:10 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Accumulating ETFs in the US?
Replies: 7
Views: 669

Re: Accumulating ETFs in the US?


Why do US-domiciled ETFs lack accumulating share classes like their European UCITS counterparts? In Europe, accumulating ETFs automatically reinvest dividends, which can defer taxes in jurisdictions where dividends are taxed only when distributed (e.g., Belgium, Poland). Given the potential tax advantages for long-term investors, why hasn’t this structure been adopted in the US?


In the U.S. we have retirement accounts (401k and/or IRA) that allow accumulators to avoid taxation during their working years. Even though the funds inside those plans still pay dividends, they are beyond the reach of the taxing authorities. The U.S. Congress and/or the IRS set the annual contribution limit(s) for such accounts.

If however you're saving ...
by retired@50
Sun Feb 02, 2025 1:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: VMFXX versus Sallie Mae Money Market
Replies: 19
Views: 4102

Re: VMFXX versus Sallie Mae Money Market


I'm thinking of using my Vanguard brokerage account as as savings account. Are there any downsides to doing so? <- No. I've been doing this for years.

I think I can transfer cash from Vanguard to my bank. <- I know I can. If you set up the electronic link it should work.

Are taxes on dividends on VMFXX treated differently than interest at a bank? <- No, although they are referred to as dividends by Vanguard they will be reported as non-qualified dividends and from the IRS perspective they will be taxed like bank interest.

Is moving money from Vanguard to my bank a taxable event? <- No.

Will I need to sell VMFXX to transfer cash to my bank? <- You can just use the "Transfer" menu at Vanguard.

Will I need to pay any fees to do so ...
by retired@50
Sun Feb 02, 2025 12:21 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I'm thinking of self managing, but I have a lot of questions (and some doubts)
Replies: 45
Views: 3892

Re: I'm thinking of self managing, but I have a lot of questions (and some doubts)



Tax Filing Status: Single
Tax Rate: 22% Federal, 5.525% State
State of Residence: New Jersey

Age: 29

Desired Asset allocation: 90% stocks / 10% bonds
Desired International allocation: 25 - 35% of stocks

Current retirement assets

Total Portfolio Size: $654,583.83

Taxable
18.34% cash
49.60% Managed Portfolio (1.08% fee) <- if you're seeking advice on what to do with these two accounts you will probably need to tell us what's inside of each of them.
31.10% Schwab Intelligent Portfolio (unknown average expense ratio)

My 401k
0.37% Vanguard Target Retirement 2060 Trust (0.04% expense ratio)
8% Company Match

My Roth IRA at Schwab
0.45% SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPLG) (0.02% expense ratio)
0.13% Vanguard Total ...
by retired@50
Sun Feb 02, 2025 11:32 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Switching From Asset Location Strategy to One-Fund (Mirrored Allocation) Portfolio
Replies: 22
Views: 1091

Re: Switching From Asset Location Strategy to Mirrored Allocation



I'm wondering about the statement above... What takes so long? I maintain tax efficient fund placement in no time at all.

If you make many assumptions (tax laws stay the same, what your tax rates are in retirement vs now, what assets will grow more eg US vs foreign, etc.) then yes you can do somewhat quick tax adjusted asset location strategy. However, none of these are guaranteed. So you are spending effort on something that may be worse than a one-fund/mirrored strategy. From one the sources cited in the original post


I don't bother with "tax adjusted asset allocation", I simply use tax efficient fund placement and leave it at that.

As for spending time on anything, as a U.S. citizen who prepares his own income taxes, that ...
by retired@50
Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:53 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Access to funds
Replies: 1
Views: 249

Re: Access to funds


My Vanguard brokerage settlement fund is not unexpectedly the Federal Money Market Fund.
I also have CashPlus and Muni Money market Fund (VMSXX).
Will I have instant access to Cash Plus and Muni fund for ETF or Mutual fund purchases?
How does that work and more importantly what are the time constraints(immediate, hours or day later)?


You'll most likely want to pay attention to the amount in " Funds available to trade " in your settlement fund when using settlement fund money to purchase something.

If you want to use money that's currently in the muni money market fund (VMSXX), you could most likely just initiate an "Exchange" from that fund to the desired Vanguard mutual fund without forcing the money to first go to the settlement ...
by retired@50
Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:29 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is US Bond Fund FXNAX a poor choice?
Replies: 13
Views: 1719

Re: Is US Bond Fund FXNAX a poor choice?

madmax71 wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:26 am Questions:
1) why does FXNAX pay 3.5% right now if probably all currently issued treasuries and bonds pay more than 4% and average is probably between 4.5-5%?
My guess is that the fund is still holding plenty of bonds that were purchased when interest rates were lower. It takes time for the fund to turnover the entire group of holdings.

Regards,
by retired@50
Sun Feb 02, 2025 8:51 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: [Should I change my asset allocation?]
Replies: 6
Views: 457

Re: [Should I change my asset allocation?]


If one has a low 7 figure managed portfolio with 40/60 mix, is that a good conservative approach for 70 year olds in a volatile market?

Yes, at least in my opinion.

What about shifting a large percentage to money market funds for awhile?
This sounds like you're trying to time the market because you believe that stocks or bonds will drop. This rarely works out better.

I just recovered from losses in the last downturn and don't want to have a repeat of that.
This sounds like you might need to revisit your asset allocation choices.
What led you to the 40/60 mix you mentioned?

Maybe doing some reading about asset allocation and assessing risk tolerance will be helpful.
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Assessing_risk_tolerance ...
by retired@50
Sun Feb 02, 2025 8:18 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Questions re: Dear Wife's 401(a) Employee After-Tax Contributions
Replies: 5
Views: 679

Re: Questions re: Dear Wife's 401(a) Employee After-Tax Contributions

CedarRams wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2025 6:50 pm Hi,

My dear wife and I are trying to figure out what we should do, if anything, with her $218,000 in after-tax contributions in her 401(a) that she has apparently been making over the years.
This wiki page might help...
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/After-tax_401(k)

Regards,
by retired@50
Sun Feb 02, 2025 8:05 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Non-spousal inherited IRA in 2018
Replies: 4
Views: 758

Re: Non-spousal inherited IRA in 2018

whereskyle wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 8:25 am Hello Bogleheads, it looks like a relative has an inherited non-spousal IRA. The decedent passed in 2018. The relative has not touched the account since. It looks like under the pre-Secure Act rules, the relative was required to begin taking distributions by 2023. Does anyone have any insight into what penalties the relative is looking at now under current law and what the rules for withdrawal are?

Thanks, Bogleheads!
In addition to the skipped RMDs, there was a change to some of the IRS tables in 2022 that may affect the RMD divisor.

You may need to find a copy of the table prior to the change in 2022 to calculate the RMDs for years 2018-2021, then start using the 2022 table for years 2022 and later.

Regards,
by retired@50
Sun Feb 02, 2025 7:52 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is Portfolio Visualizer a decent way to estimate tax consequences of mirrored allocation??
Replies: 5
Views: 355

Re: Is Portfolio Visualizer a decent way to estimate tax consequences of mirrored allocation??

steveosteveo wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 6:27 am
So: is it significantly worse tax-wise to have AOR in both accounts? Should I instead stuff the IRA with BND and put VTI and VXUS in the brokerage account, as is typically suggested?
As "southernlucky" has shown above, there is a delta in the two scenarios, and as you continue to contribute and the account balances grow, that delta will grow as well. But, ignoring the behavioral component of investing is a mistake too. I'd suggest you do some reading on behavioral finance and see if that can help you change your "tinkering ways". If paying the additional tax cost is the price you have to pay to avoid tinkering, then it's probably money well spent.

Regards,
by retired@50
Sun Feb 02, 2025 7:43 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I'm thinking of self managing, but I have a lot of questions (and some doubts)
Replies: 45
Views: 3892

Re: I'm thinking of self managing, but I have a lot of questions (and some doubts)

LongTermRequest wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2025 9:01 pm
I appreciate any guidance and I'm thankful for your time in reading/responding to this.
I agree with the others in this thread. If you're smart enough to read a Boglehead book and create an account on this site, then you're smart enough to handle your own money.

I think the adviser is the source of your doubts. He's suggesting things that just aren't true.

Please, use the asking portfolio questions format that was linked up-thread. The simple act of gathering all the relevant information will be an education in itself.

Regards,
by retired@50
Sat Feb 01, 2025 5:25 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Tax gain harvesting - utma
Replies: 4
Views: 381

Re: Tax gain harvesting - utma

You don't have to buy a "similar" fund if you don't want to.

Since it's a sale for a gain, you can use the same fund if your brokerage allows it.

Regards,
by retired@50
Sat Feb 01, 2025 5:21 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio fine tuning tool?
Replies: 5
Views: 694

Re: Portfolio fine tuning tool?

Beensabu wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2025 4:11 pm Well, yeah, but OP wants to compare their portfolio of broad market index funds + 20 individual stocks to if they had just stuck to broad market index funds.

So they will be comparing their active investing performance to an appropriate passive benchmark.

That's a step in the right direction, isn't it?
Absolutely a step in the right direction.
They will either find out what many of us suspect, or they will find out they're good at picking stocks.

Regards,
by retired@50
Sat Feb 01, 2025 5:20 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Best approach to minimize taxes Fed and State (CA) calculators tools?
Replies: 27
Views: 2357

Re: Best approach to minimize taxes Fed and State (CA) calculators tools?

carbonfiber248 wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2025 3:19 pm
I'm curious why anyone would use VCADX type fund given the returns.
VCADX is more useful if you're in the higher tax brackets. 37% Federal and 13.3% CA is onerous. It can be an important way to hold some fixed income assets for those folks.

Regards,
by retired@50
Sat Feb 01, 2025 3:05 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Best approach to minimize taxes Fed and State (CA) calculators tools?
Replies: 27
Views: 2357

Re: Best approach to minimize taxes Fed and State (CA) calculators tools?



So my understanding and the formula i used is completely incorrect. Is this the correct interpretation?

Example using your tax rate, VUSXX (~4.3%) x .76 = 0.03268 x $1M = $32,680 take home?
Example using your tax rate, VCADX (~3.4%) x 1.0 = 0.034 x $1M = $34,000 take home?

This seems contradictory to what HawksawDave provided with his excel formula. Likely i'm not calculating it correct?


The green lines above look correct. Keep in mind that Hacksawdave was probably using the past 12 months distribution yield (if I'm reading his sheet correctly) not the forward looking SEC Yield (which is what the 4.3% and 3.4% numbers above are).

Another point is that the VUSXX fund is a Treasury money market fund with a stable $1.00 share ...
by retired@50
Sat Feb 01, 2025 2:53 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Best approach to minimize taxes Fed and State (CA) calculators tools?
Replies: 27
Views: 2357

Re: Best approach to minimize taxes Fed and State (CA) calculators tools?



All you need is excel or a calculator, and you need to know which tax bracket you are in. For example, we are in the 24% IRS and 9.3% CA FTB brackets. I would suggest using the current SEC 30 day yield, since yields move fast. I have owned several of the Vanguard Ca funds, currently own the CA Money Market and VTEC.

CD/MM/Corp interest equals Taxable rate times tax hit, or Net% = Rate* (1-.24-.093) = Rate*.667.
Treasury Net Interest equals Rate times Fed only (not CA) = Rate * (1-.24) = Rate*.76.


Thanks for the response, i'm not sure why I'm having a hard time following your forumula.

In your example 0.667 is the percent x 1M which is the net not taxed correct? Where does the fund SEC yield come into play is that the Rate ...
by retired@50
Sat Feb 01, 2025 2:21 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Using Min Tax for Mutual Funds
Replies: 3
Views: 482

Re: Using Min Tax for Mutual Funds

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question about how Vanguard handles "Min Tax" transactions.

The dilemma you describe is precisely why I use Spec ID.

I want to be in the driver's seat so I can pick and choose among my various lots.

Regards,
by retired@50
Sat Feb 01, 2025 1:26 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio Review - Mid Life Asset Allocation
Replies: 8
Views: 1014

Re: Portfolio Review - Mid Life Asset Allocation


Questions:
...
2. is 1.95% yield ok for this stage? should i do something to bump that up to ~2.2% like a 2 fund portfolio
...
6. Any thoughts on adding a little BRK.B ? was debating this but it does bump the financial sector way up
thank you again for feedback and thoughts !


Keep in mind that if you're truly seeking a portfolio that pays a higher dividend yield (1.95% vs. 2.2%) then adding BRK.B will reduce the dividend yield since it pays no dividends at all.

I tend to focus on total after-tax portfolio return instead of dividends. If you can live off of your dividends, great... If not, then sell a few shares of whatever asset is currently over-represented in your portfolio. Either way, you get the cash you need to live ...
by retired@50
Sat Feb 01, 2025 1:22 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio fine tuning tool?
Replies: 5
Views: 694

Re: Portfolio fine tuning tool?

Beensabu wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2025 1:44 am Right after Asset 10, you will see this:

(More)

You can click on that, and it will let you enter 10 more positions.

You can also expand it again (and again, if needed).
I think Bogleheads should interpret the word (More) above as a signal that you might have too many holdings... :shock:

Simplicity is key.

Regards,
by retired@50
Sat Feb 01, 2025 1:10 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Correcting cost basis at Edward Jones before transferring out.
Replies: 4
Views: 537

Re: Correcting cost basis at Edward Jones before transferring out.

My advice would be to get it straightened out before you leave EJ.

Fidelity has nothing to do with making corrections to another custodian's cost basis. You can contact Fidelity to see if they will let you edit your own cost basis information. This may or may not be allowed for covered shares. I can imagine it would be allowed for non-covered shares.

If you cannot find satisfaction with EJ, then document the value on the date of death for each security and the number of shares held on the date of death. If / when you finally sell the securities in question you'll have to rely on your own documentation and not the reported basis by the custodian.

If I recall correctly, I think there's a question in Turbo Tax about whether or not you ...
by retired@50
Sat Feb 01, 2025 1:01 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Switching From Asset Location Strategy to One-Fund (Mirrored Allocation) Portfolio
Replies: 22
Views: 1091

Re: Switching From Asset Location Strategy to Mirrored Allocation


... and realizing how much time I spend managing tax-adjusted asset allocation and tax-efficient fund placement (along with the risk of behavioral mistakes), I am planning to switch to mirrored allocation.


I'm wondering about the statement above... What takes so long? I maintain tax efficient fund placement in no time at all.

[*] Redirecting new investments and dividends into the mirrored allocation fund (gradually increase the percent of mirrored allocation in taxable)
[*] Spreading sales over multiple years to avoid a big tax spike in a single year (decide on some percent to sell each year so I gradually move to a mirrored allocation even if the downturn I want doesn't happen)


Setting the earlier question aside, if you want to ...
by retired@50
Sat Feb 01, 2025 12:52 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio Review - Mid Life Asset Allocation
Replies: 8
Views: 1014

Re: Portfolio Review - Mid Life Asset Allocation

bonesly wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2025 12:47 pm ... Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway and Theo Koltrones of Vanguard PRIMECAP are two active managers (of a handful I can think of) that have beaten the market index consistently for decades.
I think you mean... Theo A. Kolokotrones

It's a tough name to remember.

Regards,
by retired@50
Sat Feb 01, 2025 9:31 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Simple questions with complex answers
Replies: 4
Views: 526

Re: Simple questions with complex answers



3. When comparing two funds I’ve held for over 10 years, is using cost basis (rather than Compound Annual Growth Rate, or CaGR) a more accurate way to evaluate returns? For context, both funds were purchased at the same time, but I stopped contributing to the account about 7 years ago due to a job change. One fund has a 100% return based on my cost basis, while the other has about a 50% return. How should I weigh the difference in returns based on cost basis, knowing that past performance doesn’t predict future results?

Thank you for your help!
Ben


You might be interested in reading the Vanguard article "Cost basis doesn't equal performance".

See link: https://investor.vanguard.com/investor-resources-education/taxes/cost-basis-isnt ...
by retired@50
Sat Feb 01, 2025 9:21 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Retired - What to do with distribution now?
Replies: 11
Views: 894

Re: Retired - What to do with distribution now?

gregwils wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2025 8:49 am I just retired after 33 years of service. The company grew more than 20x in size during that period. As an ESOP participant for many, many years, I am very fortunate to benefit from a sizeable distribution. I am required to sell the shares back to the company, so I will receive a cash payout.

I am a passive three-fund type of investor,...
So, if we take the first remark (above in blue) at face value, you're selling the company stock "high" to buy an index fund "high". This sounds like a lateral move which eliminates the single stock risk.

Regards,
by retired@50
Sat Feb 01, 2025 9:09 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard Short Term Tax Exempt Bond vs. BIL (Treasury ETF)
Replies: 3
Views: 380

Re: Vanguard Short Term Tax Exempt Bond vs. BIL (Treasury ETF)

FootballFan5548 wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2025 9:01 am
Could Vanguard Short Term Tax Exempt (VTES) be an alternative to BIL or VUSXX?
You need to decide if you're willing to take risk or not?

VUSXX always trades at $1.00 per share. Some people find comfort in that.

If you want the stability of a money market fund, but don't want to pay income taxes, consider VMSXX from Vanguard. It's a municipal money market fund. Less risk than a bond fund like VTES.

Regards,
by retired@50
Sat Feb 01, 2025 9:01 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Where do I find cost basis for my Vanguard funds?
Replies: 7
Views: 430

Re: Where do I find cost basis for my Vanguard funds?

cjohnston2 wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2025 8:51 am If I want to convert my mutual funds to ETFs, where do I find the cost basis info of the current MF so I can compare it to the cost basis once it is converted to the ETF? Where would I find the cost basis of the new ETF? I have read elsewhere you have to make sure they are the same before and after the conversion.

Thanks.
After landing on the Holdings page (as mentioned above), change the drop-down box from "Summary information" to "Unrealized gains/losses". If you're using SpecID, then you'll be able to expand the list which will show each lot share count and date of purchase.

Regards,