Search found 6866 matches

by exodusNH
Wed Mar 22, 2023 12:26 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Institutional vs Institutional ?
Replies: 4
Views: 381

Re: Institutional vs Institutional ?

Can someone please tell me if this makes any sense? I own shares of VITSX which is the institutional share class of Vanguard Total Stock Market Index fund . Turns out there is another fund entitled VITNX which is Vanguard Institutional Total Stock Market Index Fund and it is indeed a wholly different fund. Discovered it by accident. Seems the holdings are not quite the same either with mine holding slightly more tech. Confused to say the least. I called Vanguard and frankly she was as confused as I am. Vanguard has had separate funds designed for retirement accounts and pensions. They would have lower fees since it is easier to manage when you have 1000 companies holding $100M vs 100,000 people holding $1M. There's also the institutional p...
by exodusNH
Wed Mar 22, 2023 11:52 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Risk of being out of the market
Replies: 16
Views: 1551

Re: Risk of being out of the market

I currently have to move some investments from from account to account without the option to just transfer the ETFs (no need to go into details why). Now I‘m again concerned about a possible loss due to being out of the market for x days. I already had similiar instances where I moved funds and had to be out of the market for up to one week. There are probably a couple of scenarios where you encounter this situation. I know that the expected weekly return is somewhere around 0.15%. But real world markets aren‘t linear and there are many weeks where markets go up/down by 2-5%. So lets assume there is a scenario for being out of the market for saving 0.2%/year in fees. If you are unlucky, you‘ll end up not saving anything at all for 20 years...
by exodusNH
Wed Mar 22, 2023 11:38 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Tax-loss harvesting is coming to Vanguard Digital Advisor
Replies: 7
Views: 454

Re: Tax-loss harvesting is coming to Vanguard Digital Advisor

Received this promotional email from Vanguard: Looking for new ways to save on your tax bill? Tax-loss harvesting—coming soon to Vanguard Digital Advisor®—may help give you the break you need. And there's no additional advisory charge. Managing tax-loss harvesting on your own can take time. But with Digital Advisor, it's done automatically. • After you opt in, Digital Advisor will look for opportunities to sell stock index investments that are losing value so the loss becomes realized—this can be especially helpful during periods of market volatility. • Then it uses the proceeds from the sale of investments to purchase a replacement investment, so you'll remain fully invested.* At tax time, you may be able to claim those realized losses to...
by exodusNH
Wed Mar 22, 2023 11:04 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: mechanics of converting vanguard mutual fund shares to etf shares
Replies: 4
Views: 241

Re: mechanics of converting vanguard mutual fund shares to etf shares

1rl9DS5gl2 wrote: Wed Mar 22, 2023 11:02 am How do I convert vsiax to vbr shares or vtsax to vti shares on the vanguard website?
You don't.

You call them, ask for the trading desk, sit through a disclaimer reading, then wait a couple of days for it to settle. If you happen to request the change shortly before dividends are paid, they'll wait until after the dividend has been paid to do the conversion.
by exodusNH
Wed Mar 22, 2023 11:01 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Bank failure discussion mega-thread]
Replies: 2075
Views: 136236

Re: [Bank failure discussion mega-thread]

rkhusky wrote: Wed Mar 22, 2023 10:56 am
Jaylat wrote: Wed Mar 22, 2023 10:46 am Bonus point: Much has been made of the fact that SVB had no official chief risk officer for 8 months prior to the meltdown. Again, from a professional career perspective this makes perfect sense. Like a rat leaving a sinking ship, the prior CRO saw the writing on the wall and bolted rather than be around when things hit the fan.

And once SVB had become technically insolvent, what risk officer would be dumb enough to take the job? Anyone who took a look at the books would see exactly what the problem was. Who wants to destroy their career by becoming the poster child for bank mismanagement?
Do people typically get to look at the company books before they take a job?
C-roles at huge companies? I can't imagine they wouldn't.
by exodusNH
Wed Mar 22, 2023 10:35 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Bad Work Situation Pushing me into retirement.
Replies: 127
Views: 8382

Re: Bad Work Situation Pushing me into retirement.

kchico wrote: Wed Mar 22, 2023 7:49 am Eventually we will get SS and obviously not counting on this but potentially a decent inheritance. I don't need $4M-10M and I am not interested in that way of life and is not need to live a happy comfortable life.
As I mentioned up thread, Social Security takes your highest 30 years of earnings. When you go to the SS site and see your estimated payment, that payment is based on you earning your current salary for 30 years. It will be substantially smaller than estimated if you nullify that assumption. Also, currently, Social Security is projected to pay out only 75-80% of the benefits due.

Companies are scrambling for workers still. You should easily be able to find a job with comparable pay that won't make you miserable.
by exodusNH
Tue Mar 21, 2023 10:31 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Bad Work Situation Pushing me into retirement.
Replies: 127
Views: 8382

Re: Bad Work Situation Pushing me into retirement.

kchico wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 7:27 pm
rob wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 7:16 pm I don't see any way this works to be honest....
So Bogleheads don't use the 4% SWR?
As others have notes, that assumes you worked to normal retirement age. It is not designed for 50+ years AND needing to raise 2 children, who haven't even hit their peak expenses yet. Not only that, but 4% might be closer to 2.5-3%. (https://youtu.be/1FwgCRIS0Wg)

Also, Social Security is based on your highest 30 years of working. The estimate you get from their site assumes you're going to be making your current salary until you retire.

Unemployment is still crazily low. Find another job.
by exodusNH
Tue Mar 21, 2023 9:11 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Commingling rollover IRA and traditional IRA contributions
Replies: 8
Views: 723

Re: Commingling rollover IRA and traditional IRA contributions

David Jay wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 3:21 pm
exodusNH wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 2:35 pm.You will also lose access to CITs or stable value funds, if you happen to be using either of those.
You may have lost your train of thought, the rollover funds are in an IRA (segregated from other IRA assets).
Thanks. I was dozing off on a conference call...
by exodusNH
Tue Mar 21, 2023 3:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Restricted access to retirement accounts
Replies: 30
Views: 2934

Re: Restricted access to retirement accounts

My employer switched retirement account providers from lets say Voya to Fidelity. I have a significant investment in the only "stability of principal" account offered. All other retirement funds either invested in stocks or bonds or both, which at the time I made the investment I did not want. Summary of the fund below: "Assets are invested in conservative investment options that seek - but not necessarily guarantee - to hold the principal value of an investment stable through all market conditions. These options may credit a stated rate of return or minimum periodic interest rate that may vary. Dividend rates and income levels fluctuate with market conditions and are not guaranteed. These investment options, including money...
by exodusNH
Tue Mar 21, 2023 2:35 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Commingling rollover IRA and traditional IRA contributions
Replies: 8
Views: 723

Re: Commingling rollover IRA and traditional IRA contributions

Hi, I have a rollover IRA with only funds from a cashed-out 401a retirement plan. Is there any reason not to commingle these funds with traditional IRA contributions from a Roth recharacterization from the current tax year? For simplicity, it would be nice to limit the number of accounts but I am afraid that there may now be, or later be, different rules for the rollover/contributed funds though I know of no differences. Thanks! Some states may protect rollover funds as strong as ERISA funds where regular IRAs have weaker protection. If you're still working, you may have more difficulty rolling a commingled account into a new employer's plan. You will also lose access to CITs or stable value funds, if you happen to be using either of those.
by exodusNH
Tue Mar 21, 2023 11:48 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Looking for an emergency cell phone to keep in car....
Replies: 45
Views: 5288

Re: Looking for an emergency cell phone to keep in car....

I'm resurrecting this thread to ask for similar suggestions in 2023. We use Google Fi phones for a number of reasons I won't go into. The only issue is that it uses the T-Mobile network and service can be spotty in areas where we drive. I am looking for an emergency phone arrangement to keep in the car just in case we need to make a call to AAA, etc. I think I am looking for something that works on Verizon (or Verizon *and* AT&T). My theory is to carry a sim card and one-time use prepaid card for a service like Tracfone). I can either swap it out for the sim card in one of our current unlocked phones, or carry an extra unlocked phone for just that purpose. I alway travel with power banks for our phones.(I won't elaborate on other strat...
by exodusNH
Tue Mar 21, 2023 11:29 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Bank failure discussion mega-thread]
Replies: 2075
Views: 136236

Re: [Bank failure discussion mega-thread]

How about if they pass a regulation that banks have to tell depositors with over $250k that they should buy T-bills with the excess, and maybe even provide education and help as to how they can do that? Not a bad idea! Maybe even have a pathway to buy said bills right there in person/ online, through the bank. Education would be the key. Explain the duration and interest rate risks, in plain language. I'm sure our regulators and bankers have a dozen reasons why this is a "bad" idea. But it sounds pretty good to a dumb old layman like me. Cheers It's a great hypothetical, but completely unworkable in practice. Someone has to develop the educational materials that cover the all of the questions and objections of people ranging in a...
by exodusNH
Tue Mar 21, 2023 8:21 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Brokered CDs "Technically Not FDIC Insured"
Replies: 35
Views: 4713

Re: Brokered CDs "Technically Not FDIC Insured"

noriskfinance wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 8:19 am If I have multiple brokered CDs with Schwab, all FDIC insured from different banks, am I still FDIC insured even if the total combined amount in all CDs is greater than 250K?
As long as the CDs are from different banks with different FDIC certificates. (Some banks, e.g. MidFirst and Vio are the same bank, with the latter being the online-only facade.)
by exodusNH
Tue Mar 21, 2023 8:18 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Better to push or pull bank transfers?
Replies: 29
Views: 3099

Re: Better to push or pull bank transfers?

JoMoney wrote: Sun Mar 19, 2023 7:41 pm As others said, "it depends", in addition to the scenarios mentioned above,
Another factor, is I've had some weird issues with some big banks (like Wells Fargo and Chase) where my attempts to 'push' money from them into another account were held for 'further review' causing unnecessary delay, never had that when 'pulling' the money from account on the other end.
I've heard Bank of America charges a $3 fee to do an outbound 'push' ACH transfer :annoyed
Yes, they do. I have a checking account there as part of my HELOC. I direct deposit just enough to not incur a monthly fee and now have to pull the money out to avoid it.
by exodusNH
Tue Mar 21, 2023 7:41 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mortgage points question
Replies: 6
Views: 477

Re: Mortgage points question

scsiguru wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 7:17 am I'm currently working with a lender to get a conventional loan on a home my wife and I just purchased. He gave me a couple of scenarios - one with points and one without. I calculated the break even period and it would be around 5 years. I'm thinking that with interest rates now over 6% for a 30 year loan that the chance I'll refinance in the next 5 years is pretty high. I haven't applied for a loan in years so any suggestions are appreciated.
Keep in mind that 6% isn't particularly high from a historical perspective. It's the 3% loans that are the outliers.
by exodusNH
Mon Mar 20, 2023 9:47 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What is actually in VMFXX
Replies: 3
Views: 687

Re: What is actually in VMFXX

trirunner wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 9:37 pm what is actually in Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund.

Vanguard website has the following:

Repurchase Agreements 57.20%
U.S. Govt. Obligations 39.80%
U.S. Treasury Bills 3.00%

Not sure what the top two are, my understanding is they are government backed and as safe as Treasury Bills.
A repo is a cash loan secured by collateral, usually Treasuries. If the seller doesn't return the money, with interest by the agreed upon time, the buyer gets the collateral. It's as safe as Treasuries because you either get the cash back or the Treasuries, which you can easily sell.
by exodusNH
Mon Mar 20, 2023 7:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Growing family, should I buy a home?
Replies: 30
Views: 1684

Re: Growing family, should I buy a home?

Spouse and I would like to have children in the next 12-18 months. We're settled in our jobs and like our current MCOL location. I could see us here 10+ years barring some type of job promotion/change. Our family is adamant that we buy a home. They're so adamant that we took their advice and attempted to purchase a home earlier this year (I wrote a thread about it here on BH). It was a spectacular mess that cost us our earnest money. I have no appetite to go through the process again. Our family believes renting is "throwing away money" and a home purchase "builds equity." I know they mean well, but it's still pressure. We've watched over the last year as one of our siblings purchased a home. Their monthly rent for a 2/...
by exodusNH
Mon Mar 20, 2023 5:21 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What counts as an Emergency Fund?
Replies: 135
Views: 7204

Re: What counts as an Emergency Fund?

H-Town wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 11:52 am If I need $50k of emergency expenses today, I can look at my taxable lots and sell the lots that I bought prior to March 2020 with > 45% unrealized gain. And that's with all the market downturn in 2022 and 2023. If I were to leave the same fund in HYSA since 2020, it would have earned less than 5%.
You'd really want to sell the lots with a loss. A share is a share. If you paid $100 for one and $75 for the other and the current price is $80, you wind up in a better position selling the one you paid $100 for. With either share, you wind up with $80 is your hand.

With the $75 share, you have to give 15%-40% of your $5 to the government. With the $100 share, you can use that $25 to offset other gains or ordinary income.
by exodusNH
Sun Mar 19, 2023 10:54 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Why HCE has 401k contribution percent limited
Replies: 6
Views: 745

Re: Why HCE has 401k contribution percent limited

I recently became classified as a HCE at my company due to a raise last year that put me over $135,000 in annual salary. The only implication of this is that my pretax/roth 401k contributions are limited to 17% as opposed to the 35% limit of all employees. 17% of $135,000 = $22,950 which is more than the annual limit, after tax contributions remain limited by a fixed 9% for all employees. 1. Does this really impact me in any way as someone under the age of 50 who can't make catchup contributions besides having to keep my contribution at 17% year-round rather than bumping it up and down. 2. What's the point of this rule since if my math is right it seems to only impact employees over 50 with between $135,000 -> $176,000 which doesn't seem t...
by exodusNH
Sun Mar 19, 2023 12:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Home Purchase - Accelerate Amortization vs Lower Financing
Replies: 12
Views: 612

Re: Home Purchase - Accelerate Amortization vs Lower Financing

Looking to purchase my family a new home. I have 130k equity in current home, and another 130k in savings. Bank is willing to finance 600k, but I still need to put 20% down. Either take 5.875% interest fixed for 36 months (30 yr am.), or 6.5% fixed 30 yr. Considering a 700k purchase, there are two scenarios that come to mind. What thoughts/considerations would you all explore: Scenario 1 - Accelerate Amortization: Finance 560k at 6.5%. 3.5/k mo payment. Immediately dump an additional 120k from savings to accelerate my amortization schedule 12.5 years. Now $1,200 of my payment is going toward principal rather than $500. Scenario 2 - Lower Financing: Finance 440k at 6.5%. 2.6k/mo payment. Scenario one gives you benefit of acquiring equity at...
by exodusNH
Sun Mar 19, 2023 12:01 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Home Purchase - Accelerate Amortization vs Lower Financing
Replies: 12
Views: 612

Re: Home Purchase - Accelerate Amortization vs Lower Financing

Looking to purchase my family a new home. I have 130k equity in current home, and another 130k in savings. Bank is willing to finance 600k, but I still need to put 20% down. Either take 5.875% interest fixed for 36 months (30 yr am.), or 6.5% fixed 30 yr. Considering a 700k purchase, there are two scenarios that come to mind. What thoughts/considerations would you all explore: Scenario 1 - Accelerate Amortization: Finance 560k at 6.5%. 3.5/k mo payment. Immediately dump an additional 120k from savings to accelerate my amortization schedule 12.5 years. Now $1,200 of my payment is going toward principal rather than $500. Scenario 2 - Lower Financing: Finance 440k at 6.5%. 2.6k/mo payment. Scenario one gives you benefit of acquiring equity at...
by exodusNH
Sun Mar 19, 2023 11:50 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Bank failure discussion mega-thread]
Replies: 2075
Views: 136236

Re: The rest of the banks aren't far behind SVB

This is concerning, especially Citi. https://awealthofcommonsense.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Screenshot-2023-03-16-141842.png https://awealthofcommonsense.com/ Eh. The situation with SVB had very little to do with uninsured deposits. The bullied their loan customers into holding all their cash with SVB. They reached for yield. New cash for startups has dried up, causing their customers to draw down cash. SVB, who didn't have a CFO for 9 months, decided too late into the game to do a new equity offering and released the details at the same time as Silvergate was blowing up. Customers panicked and pulled out 25% of the bank's deposits. No modern bank is in a position where then can handle a run that pulls out $1 of $4. Citi is huge -- 10...
by exodusNH
Sun Mar 19, 2023 11:41 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Home Purchase - Accelerate Amortization vs Lower Financing
Replies: 12
Views: 612

Re: Home Purchase - Accelerate Amortization vs Lower Financing

Looking to purchase my family a new home. I have 130k equity in current home, and another 130k in savings. Bank is willing to finance 600k, but I still need to put 20% down. Either take 5.875% interest fixed for 36 months (30 yr am.), or 6.5% fixed 30 yr. Considering a 700k purchase, there are two scenarios that come to mind. What thoughts/considerations would you all explore: Scenario 1 - Accelerate Amortization: Finance 560k at 6.5%. 3.5/k mo payment. Immediately dump an additional 120k from savings to accelerate my amortization schedule 12.5 years. Now $1,200 of my payment is going toward principal rather than $500. Scenario 2 - Lower Financing: Finance 440k at 6.5%. 2.6k/mo payment. Scenario one gives you benefit of acquiring equity at...
by exodusNH
Sun Mar 19, 2023 9:49 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I did it, Goodbye Edward Jones
Replies: 53
Views: 6308

Re: I did it, Goodbye Edward Jones

Thanks, I appreciate the continued support from you all as I get ready to set it and forget it with my accounts. I'm strongly leaning towards a target date fund but also like the 2-4 fund index option. My current inclination is to go with: 70% - FSKAX - Total US Stock Index 15% - FTIHX - Total Intl Stock Index 15% - FXNAX - Total US Bond Index Still pondering 5% or so of FSRNX REIT as well. Then set a reminder to check up around age 50 in 8 years. I have the bulk of my holdings, 3/4 or so, in traditional IRA and the rest in a Roth 401k that will be funded w/ 15-25% of my income moving forward. It has good vanguard low cost index fund options I can match the Fidelity allocations with. By age 60, my Roth to Traditional holdings should be abo...
by exodusNH
Sat Mar 18, 2023 2:12 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "experienced" investors: is this time different?
Replies: 351
Views: 46304

Re: "experienced" investors: is this time different?

stocknoob4111 wrote: Sat Mar 18, 2023 1:57 pm 15 months in now and the end does not seem anywhere in sight. This drawdown looks more and more like a 30+ month cycle more analogous to 2000. Except with the lost decade of 2000-2013 inflation was much much lower, so if we have a similar phase but with our current inflation we could see 20 years of zero instead of the 13 years we saw at the turn of the century - I hope not but it isn't looking good.
Maybe. No one knows.

With the shortening of supply chains, we may have a lot of industrial build out in the US.
by exodusNH
Sat Mar 18, 2023 10:17 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: FDIC for IRAs?
Replies: 10
Views: 882

Re: FDIC for IRAs?

Tracker968 wrote: Sat Mar 18, 2023 10:12 am Thanks for the link. After reading that, it seems that I should keep the sum of all my accounts at Fidelity below $500k. That's even worse than I thought.
No.

SIPC isn't as useful as you think. It protects against fraud like Fidelity telling you they bought VTI for you but really went on a bender with your money.

If Fidelity failed, your funds are safe. They're held by legally different entities and custodied by yet another company.

Finally, Fidelity, Vanguard, and probably Schwab carry excess coverage.
by exodusNH
Sat Mar 18, 2023 1:44 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I did it, Goodbye Edward Jones
Replies: 53
Views: 6308

Re: I did it, Goodbye Edward Jones

Way too many funds in my opinion. Course I would get rid of all the active funds go strictly index. I am 53. Never even had a bond until I was 50. That's a personal risk decision you'll have to make. At 53 I'm 80/20. I don't ever plan on having more than 30% bonds because I have passive income to count on. At your age I had 60% total index 20% international index 10% small cat value 10% real estate index. 4 funds I concur, no need for that many funds. And yes, I have already transferred in kind to Fidelity. I chose them be cause they have a local office and the rep was no BS and super helpful with the transition. If I were to go a bit of bonds, say 5-15% for now, what are the easiest bond index funds or other options to start with? One opt...
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 10:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Restricted access to retirement accounts
Replies: 30
Views: 2934

Re: Restricted access to retirement accounts

..."Requests for Full Withdrawals Withdrawals from the Voya Fixed Plus Account III fund are allowed to pay benefits to participants at any time. However, if the plan, as the Contract Holder, requests a full withdrawal of all participant accounts held in the Voya Fixed Plus Account III, VRIAC will pay amounts in the Voya Fixed Plus Account III, with interest, in five annual payments that will be equal to: ... The individual plan participants have no control over the decision of their employer to change plan providers. Since it was the action of the employer (to change plan providers) that has restricted access by the employees to their funds the employer has effectively barred employees from effectively managing some of their investmen...
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 6:07 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Timing of Backdoor Roth IRA
Replies: 4
Views: 517

Re: Timing of Backdoor Roth IRA

I have until now been unable to benefit from a backdoor Roth IRA because I’ve had a large IRA balance, and the Roth conversion would be mostly taxed. I have now (March 2023) rolled over the IRA to a 401k, so the backdoor Roth should now work well 1) can I contribute to IRA & do a backdoor Roth now for calendar year 2022, or should I not because in 2022 I still had the IRA? 2) backdoor Roth for 2023 should be fine for this year, I assume, even if the IRA was rolled over just 1 month ago? Thanks for any advice on this. If you had a non-zero IRA balance on Dec 31, 2022, you are subject to the pro-rata rule for your 2022 taxes. You're in the clear for 2023. When you make your IRA contribution, make sure it's tagged for 2023. Your broker mi...
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 6:04 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I did it, Goodbye Edward Jones
Replies: 53
Views: 6308

Re: I did it, Goodbye Edward Jones

Are there any other metrics aside from expense ratio that I should use to better understand why none of the american funds are worth keeping? Since they're all unique blends it seems hard to compare to any given index? It is very difficult to compare them to a particular. E.g., one of their funds is benchmarked against an international index, but it holds 40% US. It looks like it crushed its benchmark, when in reality a proper one would have been closer to 40% VTI / 60% VXUS, where it did about the same. (Note a benchmark is different than an index.) American Funds aren't bad products. They're expensive and at the end of the day, the only prediction you can make is that, in the long run, funds with lower fees perform better. You need to de...
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 4:51 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Bank failure discussion mega-thread]
Replies: 2075
Views: 136236

Re: [Bank failure discussion mega-thread]

exodusing wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 1:24 pm
rockstar wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 1:15 pm Does this whole fail boil down to chasing yield with duration is bad?
That's part of it, but the whole is more complicated than that. If you want one simplistic sentence, don't have liabilities that are demanding to be paid now when all you have to pay is assets that can not be liquidated to raise enough to pay such liabilities.
Slate has an interesting article: https://slate.com/business/2023/03/sili ... -food.html

Basically, SVB forced clients to move all of their cash to them in exchange for loans / LOCs.
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 4:25 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Talked to Vanguard but still confused.
Replies: 32
Views: 2933

Re: Talked to Vanguard but still confused.

I hear you..no real benefits if you keep everything in mutual funds. I personally preferred mutual funds and the old system. However, the cost to run an ETF must be lower and you will see Vanguard is encouraging everyone to switch over with lower fees (which I did). I am now 100% ETF's which also made it easier to leave Vanguard for Schwab, which I also did. They don't care if you stay in the mutual funds. They want you off the old platform. They're running two parallel systems and want to discontinue the original one, which can old hold mutual funds. Yes, but at first all their mutual funds had the same costs as the ETF's. Slowly they lowered ETF expense ratios faster than mutual funds which is why I say they encouraged the move. That's t...
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 4:13 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Talked to Vanguard but still confused.
Replies: 32
Views: 2933

Re: Talked to Vanguard but still confused.

yatesd wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 4:01 pm I hear you..no real benefits if you keep everything in mutual funds. I personally preferred mutual funds and the old system. However, the cost to run an ETF must be lower and you will see Vanguard is encouraging everyone to switch over with lower fees (which I did).

I am now 100% ETF's which also made it easier to leave Vanguard for Schwab, which I also did.
They don't care if you stay in the mutual funds.

They want you off the old platform. They're running two parallel systems and want to discontinue the original one, which can old hold mutual funds.
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 4:00 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Restricted access to retirement accounts
Replies: 30
Views: 2934

Re: Restricted access to retirement accounts

401k advisor has said my only way to have access the funds is separating from my employer. Also said the only reason this is happening is my employer broke the contract with Voya with 1 year remaining so that is why Voya is restricting the transfer of everyone's funds out of the fixed plus account. I thought there were laws against predatory practices by retirement account providers. This sure seems predatory to me. You guys are telling me I should be happy there is no MVA and that the waiting period is not 9 years. However this fund was not advertised as an annuity so to compare it to TIAA Traditional is not fair. As I showed in my original post, this fund was advertised as a stable value fund that invested in money markets and it did not...
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 3:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Paydown mortage to deduction limit
Replies: 8
Views: 763

Re: Paydown mortage to deduction limit

daum wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 3:52 pm I'm selling my old house and will have ~800k after the sale. Only current debit is the new house mortgage which ~1.05MM @ 4.75%. I already max out tax advantaged accounts and live in MA. From my understanding, it'd be best to pay down the new mortgage to $750k so the interest is deductible. Just wanted to confirm that makes the most sense going forward.

Thanks!
It makes sense, because that is a 4.75% after tax return, which, depending on your tax rate, could be anywhere between a 5-10% return, which is on par with equity returns.
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 2:37 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: I did it, Goodbye Edward Jones
Replies: 53
Views: 6308

Re: I did it, Goodbye Edward Jones

I finally took the steps to transfer my e jones accounts to fidelity! I now have the following Traditional IRA/Rolledover Acct holdings to figure out what to do with. FUND NAME - % OF ACCT AWSHX AMERICAN WASHNTN MUTUAL INVESTRS CL A - 22% AGTHX AMERICAN GROWTH FUND OF AMERICA CLASS A - 18% SMCWX AMERICAN SMALL CAP WORLD CLASS A - 14% ABNDX AMERICAN BOND FUND OF AMERICA CLASS A - 13% ANWPX AMERICAN NEW PERSPECTIVE CLASS A - 13% CWGIX AMERICAN CAPITAL WORLD GRTH & INC A - 10% LGMAX LOOMIS SAYLES GLOBAL ALLOCATION CLASS A - 4% AHITX AMERICAN HIGH INCOME TRUST CLASS A - 4% NEWFX AMERICAN NEW WORLD FUND CLASS A - 2% This is the breakdown I got from Fidelity Domestic Stock 52% Foreign Stock 24% Bonds 17% Short Term 6% The last jones statemen...
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 1:12 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: CD vs Treasury bill rates
Replies: 4
Views: 729

Re: CD vs Treasury bill rates

dave1054 wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:56 pm How do I compare the quoted interest rates? For example, a 6 month T bill is purchased at discount and redeemed at par while most insured bank CD are paid semiannual. So if both quoted at 5% for example, which one is the better deal?

Any difference in 1 year CD vs 1 year T bond in regard to published yield? Thank you.
In general, the rates are normalized to 1 year. In this case, 5% is 5%. Treasury interest is exempt from state and local taxes. If you have those, the Treasury is a better deal.
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 1:10 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Talked to Vanguard but still confused.
Replies: 32
Views: 2933

Re: Talked to Vanguard but still confused.

Goal: I'm trying to buy bonds (in my Sep IRA) History: As Vanguard has pressured us, I transferred all my accounts to brokerage. I thought this would allow me to buy bonds. I went to buy a bond, but the funds available to buy it from said 'zero'. I called Vanguard. Vanguard says the funds are there, but they are still in mutual funds. I have to sell them and put them into a' settlement fund' before I can buy a bond. I tried to do this (order went through), but now I cannot find any settlement account anywhere. I'm not seeing it on my list of accounts, nor is it in the place that said "zero" before. After 20 minutes of dealing with this, I'm very frustrated. Can you direct me to where this settlement account should be? This websit...
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 1:08 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Bank failure discussion mega-thread]
Replies: 2075
Views: 136236

Re: [Bank failure discussion mega-thread]

if BTFP is a 1 year loan, what are we doing 1 year from now? presumably the only way banks can pay off the BTFP loan is if the bonds return to their original value, and it seems like the only way that occurs is if rates go back down significantly? am i missing something? As noted, these banks have other sources of income to pay back the loans. CME FedWatch shows that people believe interest rates will drop Q3/4. In the meantime, the banks can also look to be acquired or issue more equity. This was all about offering some breathing room while the destructive herd animals known as humans get their stuff together. For context, SVB was trying to raise fresh equity in the week prior to the collapse. Not saying that banks shouldn’t raise new cap...
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:29 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Bank failure discussion mega-thread]
Replies: 2075
Views: 136236

Re: [Bank failure discussion mega-thread]

novolog wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 8:25 am if BTFP is a 1 year loan, what are we doing 1 year from now?

presumably the only way banks can pay off the BTFP loan is if the bonds return to their original value, and it seems like the only way that occurs is if rates go back down significantly?

am i missing something?
As noted, these banks have other sources of income to pay back the loans. CME FedWatch shows that people believe interest rates will drop Q3/4.

In the meantime, the banks can also look to be acquired or issue more equity. This was all about offering some breathing room while the destructive herd animals known as humans get their stuff together.
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:26 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What is the benefit to the government for issuing inflation-protected securities
Replies: 67
Views: 4805

Re: What is the benefit to the government for issuing inflation-protected securities

In looking over the news stories at the time of origin of TIPS, it is sort of touching to see the quotations about TIPS for “middle-income investors”. I say that because the Treasury market is overwhelmingly an institutional market and TIPS today are exactly like that. The latest 5-year (4 year, 10 month actually) and 10-year TIPS auctions had 99% of their notes going to competitive bidders (i.e., institutions). That was $36 billion. The total assets [all classes] of the Vanguard Inflation-Protected Securities Fund and Vanguard Short-term Inflation-Protected Index Fund are only $80 billion, so I would suggest most of these purchases are not going into retail mutual funds (that is, individual investors but indirectly). The main investors ar...
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:58 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 959
Views: 87377

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

audiophile1 wrote: Tue Mar 14, 2023 4:07 pm
exodusNH wrote: Thu Mar 09, 2023 11:51 am
bogswenbern wrote: Thu Mar 09, 2023 11:46 am Just got off the phone with Schwab. I don't know if they are going to be any better. Short of having over $5 million in assets, what do we do to get a just above average brokerage experience?
People and infrastructure cost money. If you want better service, you need to go to places that have higher fees.

The race to $0 has consequences.
Fidelity have comparable fees to Vanguard and I've had excellent phone customer service with them for the last few years. Only had one minor hiccup with them was a reminder to cover another broker's ACAT fee.
They have a robust source of other income. They haven't spent 40 years beating "costs matter" to their customers.
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:56 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Bank failure discussion mega-thread]
Replies: 2075
Views: 136236

Re: [Bank failure discussion mega-thread]

... Commercial paper is what froze up in one of the previous crises. I would avoid it... In addition to 'commercial paper', bank CD's are also common in "Prime" money market funds... but for the quantities of a money market fund, probably not FDIC insured (presuming there are still limits on that) Sure, but what's the downside to T-bills? Are bank CD's paying more, and if so, enough to take any additional risk? If I want risk, I know where to find it but it has to have an upside too. If you need to sell a T-Bill before maturity, you may take a haircut. With a CD, if you break it early, you sacrifice some amount of interest, but will get all of your principal back. BUT, banks don't have to honor requests to break a CD. So you have...
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:53 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How long should I plan for it to take for money to go from Vanguard fund to my checking account?
Replies: 33
Views: 1982

Re: How long should I plan for it to take for money to go from Vanguard fund to my checking account?

Flobes wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:48 am
aboose wrote: Thu Mar 16, 2023 7:47 pm On what BD do I expect the cash to land in my checking?
exodusNH wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:41 am Your bank may then have a hold on the incoming funds.
My local bank has a three day hold on all incoming ACH transfers.

However, incoming wire transfers are available next business day.
ACH is intentionally set up to be reversed easily. Wire transfers aren't.
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:52 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What is the benefit to the government for issuing inflation-protected securities
Replies: 67
Views: 4805

Re: What is the benefit to the government for issuing inflation-protected securities

I do think it's an interesting question to consider. I'm also interested in others speculations as to why, or if there are any definitive explanations made when they started. Perhaps it is of benefit to them that savers which might be concerned about inflation, have an option to do their saving in a dollar-denominated security rather than being drawn to holding precious metals, commodities, foreign currency, or something else outside the monetary system. But it can also benefit the government. The market prices TIPS and nominals in a way that ensures a roughly equal return if inflation meets the market's expectations. If inflation winds up lower than the market expected, the government makes out. If it matches it, the government comes even...
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:41 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How long should I plan for it to take for money to go from Vanguard fund to my checking account?
Replies: 33
Views: 1982

Re: How long should I plan for it to take for money to go from Vanguard fund to my checking account?

aboose wrote: Thu Mar 16, 2023 7:47 pm I've never sold funds before so I am curious about this.

Say I sell on Business Day 1. I believe it takes 2 days to settle, so it will reach the settlement fund on BD3. then I ask for a transfer to my bank account. On what BD do I expect the cash to land in my checking?
Definitely two days to settle stocks and ETFs before you can transfer it out. Depending on when you submit the settlement to checking account transfer 1-2 more business days. Your bank may then have a hold on the incoming funds.
by exodusNH
Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:18 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Bank failure discussion mega-thread]
Replies: 2075
Views: 136236

Re: [Bank failure discussion mega-thread]

CuriousTacos wrote: Thu Mar 16, 2023 10:23 pm The key is that these banks are not insolvent even considering their investment losses (at least now), but merely getting closer than comfort, and many of their assets can't be sold in a hurry (except at fire-sale prices because some of their loans are difficult for buyers to value). If the Fed can convince depositors that there's no reason to panic, then perhaps it buys these banks some time to sell a few things and restore a cushion of liquidity.

I'm not necessarily endorsing this plan, but just trying to correct some misunderstandings that probably make it sound much worse.
And guess who'd swoop in to gobble up those fire-sale assets? Hedge funds. Private equity. Sovereign wealth funds.
by exodusNH
Thu Mar 16, 2023 10:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mechanics & Advantages of "Hub Banking"
Replies: 32
Views: 2235

Re: Mechanics & Advantages of "Hub Banking"

I’ve also read some posts where people don’t let outside companies pull funds because your account number is out there and it could be hacked; they use bill pay/pushing instead. This has a ring of truth to it for me, but TBH, I’ve had “pulls” from my checking(s) for years w/out issue. And every check you've ever written has that data slapped all over it. The ACH process seems insecure, but liability rests with the company initiating the pull. It doesn't mean you won't get annoyed if you get a fraudulent pull, but the process is designed to be reversible for quite some time (10-30 days.) I let the vendors pull from my account, because that puts me in a better position if a payment fails. I'm not someone who runs their checking account at ba...
by exodusNH
Thu Mar 16, 2023 6:35 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mechanics & Advantages of "Hub Banking"
Replies: 32
Views: 2235

Re: Mechanics & Advantages of "Hub Banking"

Hi everyone, I've been doing some research on Bogleheads and via Google on establishing a "hub and spoke" banking system. I've got the basics down - you pick a bank into which all of your deposits are made and then you send it out from there for better interest rates, investments, etc. I was wondering if those of you that use a "hub bank" could talk about the mechanics of how you use it and what the advantages are for you? I am considering setting up my existing Fidelity CMA as my "hub" but, to be honest, I'm struggling on the advantages of using one account or another for the hub. I have a few accounts and they're already inter-connected via ACH Transfer: Credit Union (great rate on credit card; decent checki...
by exodusNH
Thu Mar 16, 2023 3:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Restricted access to retirement accounts
Replies: 30
Views: 2934

Re: Restricted access to retirement accounts

My employer switched retirement account providers from lets say Voya to Fidelity. I have a significant investment in the only "stability of principal" account offered. All other retirement funds either invested in stocks or bonds or both, which at the time I made the investment I did not want. Summary of the fund below: "Assets are invested in conservative investment options that seek - but not necessarily guarantee - to hold the principal value of an investment stable through all market conditions. These options may credit a stated rate of return or minimum periodic interest rate that may vary. Dividend rates and income levels fluctuate with market conditions and are not guaranteed. These investment options, including money...