Bogleheads.org

RiskAverse

I'm not overly worried about my cash deposits or the economy crashing; nor am I trying to look too sophisticated. Will your answer change if there is no FDIC insurance? Or if FDIC didn't cover 100% up to $100k like what they do in the UK? That was the point I was trying to make. FDIC insurance make...

RiskAverse

Have you considered equity indexed annuities for you long term no risk money? Obviously not as much growth potential as having it all in the market, buy not as much risk. Generally a better return than the matress. The EIA is just a fixed annuity, where the interest is used to buy index call option...

RiskAverse

Yeah, that could very well be it. I think it is probably a bit of both. Personally, I don't know if 180 stocks are enough to eliminate the unsystematic risk of the SV segment of the market. (It maybe, I just am not sure). At the end of the day, however, all we have to go by is the ETF will probably...

RiskAverse

OTOH, maybe the existence of ETFs would actually add liquidity to the muni bond market. Best wishes, Brad The muni market has an additional illiquidty factor because the majority of bonds are owned for investment purposes and not for trading. Hence liquidity for on the run bonds is good, but for of...

RiskAverse

There are several others that are AA- or better. Much more desirable and more comparable to Vanguards Tax Exempty funds. http://www.ishares.com/material_download.jhtml?relativePath=/repository/material/downloads/fact_sheet/mub.pdf The average credit grade is AA+ which is about the same as the Vangu...

RiskAverse

Waiting assumes that there are alternatives that are obviously much better than an annuity. It's by no means clear to me that ultrasafe, conservative investments like a TIPS ladder are all that much better. Owning the T-Bills/TIPS for yourself means you don't have to pay for the actuary's Rolex and...

RiskAverse

rschreit, IMO, those actuaries who deal with insurance underwriting, be it life (& annuities), health, property, etc., and even pensions ala Hewitt, know very little about stock market investing. What's your take? It doesn't matter if they are smart enough to buy shares in an insurance company ...

RiskAverse

I agree the Graham books can be difficult to digest. The problem with Graham's books is that the accounting terminology has changed since they were published, and for obscure reasons, only the 1st (1938) /2nd (1940) /3rd (1951) editions are in print, vs the much clearer 4th edition (1962). The book...

RiskAverse

( Q0 ) Are Fundamental analysis or value investing, Technical analysis really works? [ I am an individual investor. ] ( Q1 ) Could anybody tell me HOW arduous , how many years , should I work if I really want to acquire * true * skills in A. Fundamental analysis or value investing, B. Technical ana...

RiskAverse

Waiting assumes that there are alternatives that are obviously much better than an annuity. It's by no means clear to me that ultrasafe, conservative investments like a TIPS ladder are all that much better. Owning the T-Bills/TIPS for yourself means you don't have to pay for the actuary's Rolex and...

RiskAverse

This is one of the reasons some folks think we are entering a golden age of RMBS ARM investing, owning to it being very hard for 2002-2006 vintage homeowners to escape their loans. That will result in slower than normal prepayments and thus a longer weighted life, and more collection of call option...

RiskAverse

[quote="larryswedroe"]few thoughts First, the advice applies to all investors Second, in Deflation TIPS would likely outperform GNMAs not other way around. That is easy to show---TIPS provide real yield until maturity, GNMAs will PREPAY and reinvest at lower and lower rates. Third, the pro...

RiskAverse

nisiprius wrote:
Quasimodo wrote:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tontine
And here I thought the "Tontine" was the bell they rung at Lloyds.

So, something I never thought about: do the insurance companies send out hit squads after long-lived annuitants?

Nope, just greedy relatives.

RiskAverse

I may be missing something, which is why I say I'll post more when I'm surer of my ground, but I don't see how "investing the money yourself and buy an annuity later" is equivalent to "buy an annuity early" unless you assume that you can obtain a much higher return than the insu...

RiskAverse

IMHO your best bet is to put away $10,000 into a TIPS fund, and earmark it for bying a SPIA, if you remember to do that when you are 85. I don't think so. I'm going to post something on this when I've got my numbers together a bit more. Many people sort of hate the idea of annuities and there is a ...

RiskAverse

The BRK SPIA pricer is fun. For example, a $100,000 SPIA for a 25yo Male that will start paying in 2047 (when he is 65) will pay out $57,246 per year But, A $100,000 SPIA issued today to a 65yo male will only pay out $7,890 per year. To get 57,246 pa you would have to invest $725,533. So behold the...

RiskAverse

Larry, If the rates on TIPS continue to fall, what would you recommend as an alternative? Short term Treasuries? If I remember correctly from your Bond book, you recommend cutting back exposure to TIPS as the rates decline. Has the recent research on TIPS changed that recommendation? Thanks During ...

RiskAverse

I am trying to configure the allocation of the fixed income portion of my portfolio. I was thinking about going with a total bond market index, a GNMA fund, and TIPS (inside a tax deferred account) to diversify for different periods of interest rates. My question is really with GNMA. I am trying to...

RiskAverse

Isn't there some better way to find agents that represent The Hartford then to start calling them at random and asking? What about this "find an agent" form on their website? You don't have to enter your real contact info. Just make up some and use the real zip code. http://sb.thehartford...

RiskAverse

dm200, I'm not necessarily defending the banks, but their shareholders expect reasonable earnings, dividends, and long-term positive returns on their investment. It's difficult for the banks to serve two masters. So the nod goes to the stockholders at the expense of the customers. It all comes down...

RiskAverse

Does anyone have advice regarding American Funds of use them in employee-sponsored retirement plans? I currently love my new job and will likely stay long term. The 401k plan, which I will be eligible next year, contains the following funds: American Funds Bond Fund of America (0.65) Am. Funds Cap ...

RiskAverse

Isn't there some better way to find agents that represent The Hartford then to start calling them at random and asking? What about this "find an agent" form on their website? You don't have to enter your real contact info. Just make up some and use the real zip code. http://sb.thehartford...

RiskAverse

Here is the TOC Part 1. The Good 1. Real Estate 2. Inflation-Protected Securities 3.Commodities 4.International Equities4. 5. Fixed Annuities 6. Stable-Value Funds Part 2. The Flawed 1. High-Yield (Junk) Bonds 2. Private Equity (Venture Capital) 3. Covered Calls 4. Socially Responsible Mutual Funds...

RiskAverse

Vig, whoever you are. That is the strangest post I've seen here. First you call me "difficult"! You don't even know me! As I have stated before in my posts, I am trying to learn. I am NOT making decisions, only educating myself. I'm going to turn to a family member for assistance? They kn...

RiskAverse

Things may go as smoothly as TFB's post but maybe not. During the S&L crisis in the '80s I had an account in an S&L that went under. Covered by FSLIC insurance. A week later FSLIC personnel opened the local branch to take applications for refunds. I had to go to the local branch, show proof...

RiskAverse

Iad It is listed on the Bloomberg description page. You can also find it on the Fitch/Moody's websites. If you want to buy individual muni's you can do it online via Scottrade ($10,000 min trade) amoung others. The muni market is very illiquid, so you should expect to hold onto individual bonds til...

RiskAverse

I understand that money markets aren't savings accounts and as such, are not FDIC insured. But, realistically, what are the chances of loss of principal in a money market account? Has it ever happened before? If there's already been a thread, please redirect. Thanks! Just buy the BIL ETF if this co...

RiskAverse

I'd like to collect indications of interest for doing a meet up of Boston Area diehards. I'm thinking the meetup should be held somewhere in Boston acessable by MBTA, so I'm thinking of location near Copley Square on a weekend afternoon. If we can get about seven people, that should be enough for a ...

RiskAverse

The purchaser of Term insurance does run the risk that they will become uninsurable for poor health reasons; but if they’re investing the difference they are also decreasing their need for life insurance. A healthy 60 year old can still purchase a 20-year term policy for about $240 per year. That’s...

RiskAverse

Since we're talking about subprime....look what happens when you make too big a bet on the subprime market.... http://money.cnn.com/2007/07/30/news/newsmakers/yacht_sale/index.htm?postversion=2007073009 Fund manager's fun sailing away Hedge fund manager John Devaney looking to sell 142-foot yacht f...

RiskAverse

Just a quick follow-up in regards to REIT bonds. Again using the top twenty in VGSIX, and using S&P as the rating agency, the vast majority of bonds issued by the large REITs are rated in the BBB range. There are a few bonds rated in the BB range, and a few A- bonds. At least for now, these REI...

RiskAverse

I suspect that such info is not available, because it would require the existence of and compiling of old data on average analysts earnings projections for each stock in order to properly figure the growth scores. If long-term backtesting on these new-method index funds is not available, the buyers...

RiskAverse

Kenster1 wrote:How about Inter-term Treasury Bond Fund up 0.75% today...

Just wait till you see the VG STRIPS ETF. :lol:

RiskAverse

tfb wrote:Today looks like a correction. Dow down 350 points.

What I would do is contact your state's Department of Corrections and find out what they think.

RiskAverse

tfb wrote:Can someone provide a logical connection between subprime and REITs?

Welcome to ineffecient markets.

RiskAverse

Thanks Russell Here is my simplistic way of looking at the Hussman fund. Assume that I am bearish and decide that I want to back off my equity investments, say by 100k. I can sell equity and buy T Bills – very low cost and this will protect my 100k from the downside. John John if you like the fund,...

RiskAverse

He says to make as many small bets as possible to take try to find the upside black swan. In other words, keep most of your loot safe, and buy some lottery tickets with a small fraction of it. . You could do the same thing by putting your money in treasury bills/TIPS and buying index call (put!) op...

RiskAverse

I think Taleb is brilliant on the subject of the vagaries of risk, but this is simply bizarre. I agree with this statement. A couple of things about the PBS Wealth Track interview. 1. Taleb basically does not like anything in the "middle". He likes a barbell approach. Mostly treasuries an...

RiskAverse

CyberBob, That makes sense... any ETFs that you'd recommend? I saw another all ETF portfolio on seekingalpha(sorry, can't link again) that looked interesting(in their etf investment guide, core etf portfolio)... It looked to have quite a few different funds though(10 vs. 5)... so that right there i...

RiskAverse

iShares Microcap Index Fund (IWC). E/R: 0.60%. This ETF tracks the Russell Microcap Index (the 1000 smallest stocks of the Russell 2000 index, plus the next 1000 largest stocks smaller than those in the Russell 2000 index). http://www.ishares.com/fund_info/holdings/holdings.jhtml?period=d&symbo...

RiskAverse

Fundamentally, owning shares is owning a part of the company. SRI investors do not want to own/participate/get dividends from companies who's business practices/models they do not like. If you own RAI, that dividend is funded via the sale of cigarettes, and the price of RAI's stock is related to RAI...

RiskAverse

They have all sorts of rules against charging and collecting interest, and investing in only "worthy causes". This makes things like mortgages and equity investing very complex. Where can I get a no interest Shariah-compliant mortgage? :D It ends up being a sale/leaseback with an amortisi...

RiskAverse

The only problem is deciding when an asset is too expensive like a certain preferred stock etf. Skip preferred stocks. The ETFs are too expensive. They are nice if you can get them cheap. But preferred stock funds are not cheap. I need to rephrase what I wrote, "The only problem is deciding wh...

RiskAverse

J.Fred.Muggs wrote:Thanks for all the links CyberBob. Certainly erases any doubt in my mind that this would be a reasonable portfolio.

The only thing missing are TIPS, since BND excludes TIPS.

RiskAverse

Too general I think my questions were too general and that it might be better to focus on Hussman or Gateway. Hussman is 100% hedged at this time and I think Gateway is also. Hussman uses two factors to determine how much to hedge and one is current valuations (it doesn’t go beyond 100% hedged). Gr...

RiskAverse

mbres, he is a WWII veteran. He uses VA hospitals and I think gets prescription drug benefit through them. I'll google Aid and Attendents program. Thanks for your input Beth. Sounds like good advice from someone with experience. I appreciate the links Kenster. The fact that I haven't had a lot of p...

RiskAverse

granpa wrote:Wow-did I stir up a discussion!
Once again, thanks to all. With so much disagreement, and "hairs on this dog", this investment is obviously much to complicated (and controversial) for this ol' retired. . .Granpa.

All in, it is a scam to get you to buy an annuity.

RiskAverse

Alex and Doc, thank you. I appreciate your comments and will spend some time reviewing and analyzing what you've written. Kindest regards, RTR Even better is to roll all of this into the correct target date retirement funds and small allocation to TIPS. So something like 90% TD/10% TIPS. Make every...

RiskAverse

I just want to understand how immediate annuities work. And understanding that payouts will rise or fall with bond yields (not perfectly, of course), seems to be part of that understanding. Here's how an immediate annuity works. 1) You apply 2) Insurco looks you up on a mortality table, to find say...

RiskAverse

This should be moved to the off-topic forum.

Very likely we should set a forum just for currency/national debt/inflation kookery.

Bogleheads.org

Search found 203 matches

Re: Equity indexed annuities?

Re: Value Investing by Greenwald

Re: If I really wish to analyse stocks myself,

Re: TIPS

Re: Fixed income portion of allocation - TIPS, GNMA fund, bo

Re: American Funds - Opinions

Re: Nick

Re: Loss of Principal in Money Market Account?

Second Try at doing a Boston Area Diehards meeting

Re: A Concern with MSCI & M* Value Index Methodologies

Re: Subprime and REITs

Re: Taleb

Re: Nassim-Black Swan-Taleb Advises Index Funds no longer wo

Re: Stock to Cash

Re: More for Bob