Search found 408 matches

by Archie Sinclair
Fri Jan 28, 2022 9:28 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Vanguard website succumbs to "Fisher-Price" UI design
Replies: 847
Views: 116340

Re: Vanguard website succumbs to "Fisher-Price" UI design

I think that what must have happened is that Vanguard briefly removed "Balances & Holdings" from the drop down but then put it back.

It disappeared for me yesterday but is there today. I think that is why people have had different experiences.

I strongly prefer "Balances & Holdings" and hope that they don't remove it again. It's hard to understand why they would create those new pages that are so unreadable.
by Archie Sinclair
Mon Jun 22, 2020 4:41 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Amazon Spoof Question
Replies: 26
Views: 14132

Re: Amazon Spoof Question

It seems like Amazon has expressly explained to you that this is a scam. But you don't want to accept that because "The problem is that [the scammer] sends promotions..."?
by Archie Sinclair
Mon Dec 30, 2019 10:45 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Lowers Expense Ratios on 56 Funds
Replies: 73
Views: 9012

Re: Vanguard Lowers Expense Ratios on 56 Funds

Folks, this is pure math, isn't it? If it costs a fund 0.04% to pay for its expenses and the fund goes up by 20% to 30%, but the expenses stay the same, then what does the expense ratio do? I give them credit for not pocketing the profit. I don't think that's quite right. The Vanguard Group is owned by its mutual funds, so there's no "them" who could have chosen to "pocket the profit." Of course there is a them. There are employee and executive salaries. Do you get a dividend from being an “owner” of Vanguard? I think that this picture is a bit too cynical. I certainly agree that all organizations have employees, but their salaries are classified as costs, not profits of the organization. At Vanguard the employees are o...
by Archie Sinclair
Thu Dec 26, 2019 4:30 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Lowers Expense Ratios on 56 Funds
Replies: 73
Views: 9012

Re: Vanguard Lowers Expense Ratios on 56 Funds

HEDGEFUNDIE wrote: Thu Dec 26, 2019 9:13 am
livesoft wrote: Thu Dec 26, 2019 9:08 am Folks, this is pure math, isn't it? If it costs a fund 0.04% to pay for its expenses and the fund goes up by 20% to 30%, but the expenses stay the same, then what does the expense ratio do?
I give them credit for not pocketing the profit.
I don't think that's quite right. The Vanguard Group is owned by its mutual funds, so there's no "them" who could have chosen to "pocket the profit."
by Archie Sinclair
Wed Sep 07, 2016 9:51 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard brokerage will not convert mutual fund to ETF
Replies: 58
Views: 14147

Re: Vanguard brokerage will not convert mutual fund to ETF

I think we need to look deeper than the prospectus, at a long document called the Statement of Additional Information (SAI). SAIs are available on the webpage of each fund through the link "View prospectus and reports." Funds are grouped into several trusts, and each trust has an SAI. Below is language from SAIs that shows that mutual fund-to-ETF conversions are not allowed for Total Bond but are allowed for Short-Term Corporate Bond. [quote="SAI for "Vanguard Bond Index Funds" (the trust that includes Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund)"]Conversion Rights. Shareholders of each Fund may convert their shares into another class of shares of the same Fund upon the satisfaction of any then applicable eligibility...
by Archie Sinclair
Mon Apr 04, 2016 11:00 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why own (non-index) mutual funds at all?
Replies: 43
Views: 5955

Re: Why own (non-index) mutual funds at all?

I often wonder why Vanguard even offers managed funds in the first place, since they seem antithetical to Bogle's own investment philosophy. (There is, of course, the whole "making more money" aspect to them :D ) Vanguard is owned by the investors in its mutual funds and operates at cost rather than for profit. So Vanguard doesn't actually make any money. Well, the employees of Vanguard make more money. There is no outside corporation that needs to be fed, but Vanguard itself has a pretty big appetite. Vanguard contracts with outside companies to be advisors to most of the active funds, such as Wellington and Primecap, so it isn't Vanguard employees who receive the somewhat higher fees for active management. The active funds that...
by Archie Sinclair
Mon Apr 04, 2016 8:09 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why own (non-index) mutual funds at all?
Replies: 43
Views: 5955

Re: Why own (non-index) mutual funds at all?

Admiral wrote:I often wonder why Vanguard even offers managed funds in the first place, since they seem antithetical to Bogle's own investment philosophy. (There is, of course, the whole "making more money" aspect to them :D )
Vanguard is owned by the investors in its mutual funds and operates at cost rather than for profit. So Vanguard doesn't actually make any money.
by Archie Sinclair
Sun Mar 27, 2016 10:06 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Michael Kitces said in 2016 that IRS auditors disapproved of backdoor Roth IRAs
Replies: 249
Views: 51859

Re: Michael Kitces says IRS auditors disapprove of Backdoor Roth IRA's

fortyofforty wrote:After thinking more about it, I propose "Two Step Roth Contribution" as the name. No doors. No indirection. Just two steps to the final destination.
As explained earlier in this thread, the name of the legal doctrine that might make it illegal is the "step transaction doctrine," so I don't think that using the word "step" to describe it is a good idea.
by Archie Sinclair
Sat Mar 19, 2016 3:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Bank of Vanguard
Replies: 11
Views: 3239

Re: Bank of Vanguard

I am confused as to why Vanguard would be concerned about the government view that it is too big to fail. I can see that banks that get FDIC customer accounts insured and then invest money at high risk could go bankrupt and fail to fully pay their customers and the FDIC and taxpayers would be on the hook. Also, the similar risk for insurance companies not being able to fully pay their life or annuity claims to customers. Companies that own banks are automatically subject to supervision by the Federal Reserve System as bank holding companies. And if they have more than $50 billion in assets, bank holding companies are subject to increased requirements, because of the fear that they might be a threat to the stability of the national economy ...
by Archie Sinclair
Mon Feb 01, 2016 8:33 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Jason Zweig's WSJ article about the best stock in the last 30 years
Replies: 9
Views: 2584

Re: Jason Zweig's WSJ article about the best stock in the last 30 years

Re Bernstein's superstocks... I hadn't thought about this, and maybe I need to think about it some more... but because the annual return of a portfolio is the (weighted) arithmetic mean of the returns of its components, it seems as the big winners matter more than the big losers. That's why the fact that you get all the losers as well as all the winners doesn't make the total market a bad idea: they don't balance out. For example, suppose there are 4,000 stocks, and most of them earn exactly 10%, but suppose that a hundred of them earn 1000% (a "ten-bagger" as Peter Lynch calls it), while a hundred of them go to zero; call these duds. If you own the market, you earn (1/4000) x (3800 x 10% + 100 x 1000%) = 34.5% Suppose you sample...
by Archie Sinclair
Mon Jan 18, 2016 9:00 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help re: job offer British embassy
Replies: 12
Views: 1987

Re: Help re: job offer British embassy

Posting this information on a public website doesn't seem wise.
by Archie Sinclair
Fri Nov 06, 2015 9:04 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Genius of Vanguard's business model
Replies: 27
Views: 5140

Re: Genius of Vanguard's business model

Jack Bogle is worth a lowish multiple of $1M. Ned Johnson of Fidelity is a billionaire bases largely on active mutual funds. Now explain to me how Bogle had the better business model. Great for us, yes. But not as a business model per se. Fidelity is owned by the Johnson family. But Vanguard was never owned by the Bogle family. Instead, Jack Bogle started as an executive at the Wellington Management Company (WMC). When he was fired from WMC in a boardroom coup, he staged a comeback by persuading the independent trustees of the Wellington Fund to ditch WMC as the Fund's "distributor" in favor of a mutual organization, to be called Vanguard, run by him. (WMC continued to manage the Wellington Fund's investments and still does today...
by Archie Sinclair
Sat Oct 31, 2015 1:41 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: VWITX cash flows in 2008 [Vanguard Interm. Term Tax-Exempt Fund]
Replies: 44
Views: 4997

Re: VWITX cash flows in 2008 [Vanguard Interm. Term Tax-Exempt Fund]

And the NAV has NOTHING to do with it and there is only one thing they can do to protect shareholders, though almost never happens... cut ... If you don't get that nothing more I can say to explain it. Perhaps someone else can do a better job. Indeed, I really absolutely don't get it. Larry, I really think that you're not grappling with the SEC's liquidity management proposal. Imagine a stylized fund that invests in Bond A and Bond B, each priced at $100, for a total of $200. The fund has two shares, each with an NAV of $100, which are owned by Jack and Jill. Imagine that there is a liquidity event, and the fund estimates (based on a combination of market data and professional judgment) that it can only get $60 each for Bond A and Bond B o...
by Archie Sinclair
Thu Oct 22, 2015 11:17 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Tesla Motors Stock
Replies: 264
Views: 61096

Re: Tesla Motors Stock

Valuethinker wrote:
Epsilon Delta wrote:
calmaniac wrote:
Stan Dup wrote:Energy density at an acceptable price....
Really the only thing that matters. Everything else is just packaging.
Which is why uranium is the preferred power source for cars.
You mean dilithium?
:) This is a common and understandable misconception. The power source of the warp drive is actually deuterium and anti-deuterium. Dilithium crystals are used to provide a safe environment where the deuterium and anti-deuterium can be combined to generate energy without triggering a large explosion.
by Archie Sinclair
Sat Oct 17, 2015 1:20 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Is it risky to keep entire nest egg at a single brokerage?
Replies: 20
Views: 4797

Re: Is it risky to keep entire nest egg at a single brokerage?

Shald wrote:I understand that the government (SIPC) will reimburse you up to $500,000 per account type per firm if your brokerage company goes down, but the process could be long and stressful.
SIPC is not a government agency.
by Archie Sinclair
Wed Oct 14, 2015 7:38 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard's new structure and direct ownership
Replies: 12
Views: 3302

Re: Vanguard's new structure and direct ownership

So right now, in Vanguard mutual funds, I am a direct owner of Vanguard, since the shareholders actually own the funds. There are no private interests or third parties. Now, when I put that fund in Vanguard Brokerage Services, I guess VBS owns it. So the only way to directly own my funds (like I do now) is if the shareholders also own VBS. That's probably true, but I don't see any direct statement to that effect. Are we, in fact, also direct owners of VBS? Can someone verify this? Vanguard Brokerage Services is a wholly-owned division of Vanguard Marketing Corporation, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Vanguard Group, Inc., which is wholly owned by the various Vanguard mutual funds. But VBS isn't the issue. The name that is listed ...
by Archie Sinclair
Sat Oct 10, 2015 7:24 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Bill Gross sues Pimco
Replies: 46
Views: 7234

Re: Bill Gross sues Pimco

I'd really like to hear more from the lawyers about "Defendants Does 1 through 100, inclusive, are sued herein under fictitious names. Their true names and capacities are unknown to Plaintiff. When their true names and capacities are ascertained, Plaintiff will amend this complaint by inserting their true names and capacities herein.” I guess if you can pay a lawyer you can put anything you want in a lawsuit, but is this an even remotely reasonable thing to do? How are you going to prove to a court that there was a cabal plotting against you when you can't even name the members? If you don't know who they are, how can you produce convincing evidence about what they were doing? It's called "discovery." It's a magical word for...
by Archie Sinclair
Sun Sep 27, 2015 11:50 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Nisiprius Investments Launches Yet Another Innovative Fund
Replies: 64
Views: 12989

Re: Nisiprius Investments Launches Yet Another Innovative Fund

EddyB wrote:Is there an institutionalized investor class?
I too would welcome a share class that is marketed exclusively to investors who reside in mental institutions.
by Archie Sinclair
Sun Sep 27, 2015 10:23 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Who Believes in International Bonds and Why
Replies: 44
Views: 5242

Re: Who Believes in International Bonds and Why

SpideyIndexer wrote:If you are a naysayer, you are already well represented in several threads already.
It seems like there are a number of naysayers who just couldn't control themselves. :D

I'm personally a naysayer, but I'd be curious to hear more from the supporters of international bonds.
by Archie Sinclair
Mon Jul 06, 2015 6:21 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: VTIAX price drop discrepency
Replies: 20
Views: 4988

Re: VTIAX anomaly on Vanguard's website

The Investor class is down 1.60%, while the Admiral class is down $1.58. One possibility is that someone at Vanguard got confused between the % and the $.
by Archie Sinclair
Wed Jul 01, 2015 9:03 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The Fund Name is Not Enough
Replies: 24
Views: 4544

Re: The Fund Name is Not Enough

alex_686 wrote:
jebmke wrote:
Archie Sinclair wrote:If you're dealing with a company that can't produce an adequate Summary Prospectus, that provides very valuable information in itself about the company.
Yep
And what would that information be? Producing it would be an extra layer of costs. I can see why marketing would want it, but that is about it.
It's not about marketing. It's about complying with a legal obligation to provide understandable information to their investors.
by Archie Sinclair
Wed Jul 01, 2015 7:58 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The Fund Name is Not Enough
Replies: 24
Views: 4544

Re: The Fund Name is Not Enough

It doesn't take long to read a prospectus. I guess a lot of people don't bother. blink. blink. What prospectus are you reading? Most prospectus that I read and long, dense, and are written by lawyers to conform to SEC regulations and prevent lawsuits - not to inform the average investor. I have seen studies where investor knowledge decreases, as in being able to make informed decisions, after reading the prospectus. How much information present poorly. This post is a bit off tangent, but this is something that bugs me. As a result of SEC regulatory changes in 2009-2011, there is normally a "Statutory Prospectus" and a "Summary Prospectus." In my opinion, the Summary Prospectus is very readable. For example, https://pers...
by Archie Sinclair
Tue Jun 30, 2015 7:03 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Being Mr. Bogle's Company has 3 Trillion Dollars
Replies: 15
Views: 3396

Re: Being Mr. Bogle's Company has 3 Trillion Dollars

Although I have tremendous admiration for Mr. Bogle, I don't think this is completely accurate. Mr. Bogle didn't have a completely free hand in Vanguard's structure. Mr. Bogle was fired from Wellington Management Company by his business partners, who controlled a majority on its board of directors. But he persuaded the separate board of directors of the Wellington Mutual Fund that their fund could save money by creating Vanguard to do work that had previously been done by Wellington Management Company. So Vanguard was never Mr. Bogle's property to give away. Instead, it was the result of a daring boardroom coup. The reason why Vanguard is owned by its investors is that that was Mr. Bogle's sales pitch to the directors of the Wellington Mut...
by Archie Sinclair
Mon Jun 29, 2015 6:54 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Being Mr. Bogle's Company has 3 Trillion Dollars
Replies: 15
Views: 3396

Re: Being Mr. Bogle's Company has 3 Trillion Dollars

Although I have tremendous admiration for Mr. Bogle, I don't think this is completely accurate. Mr. Bogle didn't have a completely free hand in Vanguard's structure. Mr. Bogle was fired from Wellington Management Company by his business partners, who controlled a majority on its board of directors. But he persuaded the separate board of directors of the Wellington Mutual Fund that their fund could save money by creating Vanguard to do work that had previously been done by Wellington Management Company. So Vanguard was never Mr. Bogle's property to give away. Instead, it was the result of a daring boardroom coup. The reason why Vanguard is owned by its investors is that that was Mr. Bogle's sales pitch to the directors of the Wellington Mutu...
by Archie Sinclair
Mon Jun 15, 2015 9:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Unwise to keep funds at one bank?
Replies: 32
Views: 6397

Re: Unwise to keep funds at one bank?

I was told, but did not verify, that the FDIC insurance has 99 years (fine print) to make good on the money. If that is the case, you may want to have diversity. It just ain't so. 5 Common Misconceptions About FDIC Insurance ... and the Real Facts .... MISCONCEPTION 5: The FDIC can take up to 99 years to pay insured deposits when a bank fails. The Facts: The FDIC occasionally receives calls from depositors about this myth; it often comes from consumers who attended a financial seminar and heard that the FDIC can and will take up to 99 years to pay the depositor’s insured deposits after a bank is closed. This claim is false and entirely without merit. The truth is that federal law requires the FDIC to pay deposit insurance "as soon as ...
by Archie Sinclair
Fri Jun 12, 2015 9:30 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: VT the most diversified equity ETF?
Replies: 12
Views: 5054

Re: VT the most diversified equity ETF?

printer wrote:Also, the overhead of rebalancing between VTI + VXUS yourself to follow world market cap weighting could be significant over a period of decades.
If you want to hold the market cap weighting, VTI and VXUS will actually automatically adjust, just because of math. For example, if the market cap of US stocks doubles, your VTI shares would be worth twice as much as they were before. Or if foreign market cap declines, so will your VXUS shares. If you hold VTI and VXUS, and you're trying to match changes in world market cap, your best course is to do absolutely nothing.
by Archie Sinclair
Sat Jun 06, 2015 4:46 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: FDIC CD rate caps?
Replies: 9
Views: 3165

Re: FDIC CD rate caps?

Tamales wrote:I'm not making anything complicated, I simply asked a question about FDIC caps, which I had never come across before. I found the answer on how the cap is defined and the extent of applicability. You both read things into my question that weren't there, about some complicated scheme I was going to undertake, and then proceeded to answer some different questions I didn't even ask. There is no scheme; I'm not about to buy a CD. It was straightforward question about what they are, and nothing else.
I think these good people were just trying to help you by answering your question. I've studied banking law, so I could answer the question, but this kind of response doesn't motivate me to do so.
by Archie Sinclair
Wed May 27, 2015 7:26 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Investing in Dollar ETF
Replies: 6
Views: 798

Re: Investing in Dollar ETF

SLD121 wrote:Hi everyone,

I have been on this forum for a long time but this is my first time posting. I am thinking about putting some money in a dollar ETF (Most likely WisdomTree Dollar Bullish Fund) because I think the dollar will keep on rising and the WisdomTree ETF is commission free for me.

What do the Bogleheads community think about investing in a dollar ETF?

Thank you for your input! :D
I feel like you've entered a meeting of teetotalers and asked us for our recommendations about what tequila to buy. :)

Or perhaps more accurately, you've entered a meeting of non-gamblers and asked us whether it makes sense to bet on red.
by Archie Sinclair
Wed May 27, 2015 7:03 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard looking to license its ETF patent
Replies: 11
Views: 2902

Re: Vanguard looking to license its ETF patent

Recent court cases have cast doubt on the validity of many "business-method" patents: http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/arti ... lass_after. The key principle in these cases is that only inventions, not "abstract ideas," can be patented.

I don't know all the details of Vanguard's patent. But it's possible that Vanguard is now willing to make licensing deals, because Vanguard is wary that if a company like USAA chooses to fight the patent in court, the court might declare the patent invalid. Of course that's just speculation.
by Archie Sinclair
Tue May 26, 2015 9:06 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 5000 btu open window air conditioner
Replies: 13
Views: 7340

Re: 5000 btu open window air conditioner

I recommend the Commando 8. Why settle for 5,000 BTUs when you can have 12,000 BTUs? :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJLvqdum6-E
by Archie Sinclair
Tue May 26, 2015 7:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: American Express sneakery
Replies: 37
Views: 11506

Re: American Express sneakery

I don't understand your point. According to your screenshot, your billing cycle doesn't end until May 28. That is why you have no payment due. How can they calculate your minimum payment until your billing cycle ends? Maybe you will charge a Rolex on May 27. Yeah, I don't get it either. Showing zero due when zero is due doesn't seem like trickery to me. Guys! This is not what the OP is talking about. Re read perhaps? IPer, you should re-read the Amex screenshot. The "Current Balance" (in large letters) is the amount that is due. The OP has misinterpreted it as the "minimum payment," but it is not the minimum payment. Meanwhile, the "Outstanding Balance" (in small letters) includes both the amount that is due a...
by Archie Sinclair
Mon May 25, 2015 3:22 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Essential Security Computer Programs
Replies: 12
Views: 2504

Re: Essential Security Computer Programs

Separate from my antivirus, I use the free version of a program called Secunia Personal Software Inspector.

Secunia PSI regularly checks to see whether there are updates available for the programs on my computer. While some programs have their own update mechanisms, others do not, so this helps to ensure that I receive updates promptly (including important security updates).
by Archie Sinclair
Sun May 24, 2015 8:44 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Taking out a TSP loan to fund Roth IRA
Replies: 20
Views: 9226

Re: Taking out a TSP loan to fund Roth IRA

Instead of a Roth IRA, why not make a Roth TSP contribution?
by Archie Sinclair
Sat May 23, 2015 12:30 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why government bonds at all?
Replies: 55
Views: 7531

Re: Why government bonds at all?

These are financial obligations of the United States. The government is an intermediary between you and the American people.

The bonds are backed not only by the government, but (through the government's taxing authority) by the entire national economy. The national economy obviously includes the kinds of free-market forces that you value. These bonds are debts of Google, debts of Exxon, debts of Fred's hardware store, etc., etc.
by Archie Sinclair
Thu May 21, 2015 6:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: OTC market mystery
Replies: 3
Views: 750

Re: OTC market mystery

I was curious, so I looked at the history of the price of CLLY. http://www.morningstar.com/stocks/PINX/CLLY/quote.html

It looks like it only trades once every few days, usually for about $4. $9.40 was unusual, and there's no guarantee that you would receive that.
by Archie Sinclair
Thu May 21, 2015 4:42 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Missing Bonds data in Balances & Holdings
Replies: 8
Views: 1276

Re: Missing Bonds data in Balances & Holdings

I don't hold any bonds at Vanguard. But I do sometimes use the Fixed Income Trading page to find out the prices of bonds. If you want up-to-date information, you could try that (unless it has also been affected).
by Archie Sinclair
Thu May 21, 2015 4:36 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The BIG problem with the S&P 500 index?
Replies: 37
Views: 9615

Re: The BIG problem with the S&P 500 index?

... I don't see why I need to put up with its eccentricities, when there are better options that are easily available. What you do is of course your business. There's no reason anyone has to invest in anything they don't want to, but if you're going to say some other choice is "better" you have to define what the goal is you think some other choice is "better" at. Better at what? Representing the broader market? Representing some other style or strategy? To what end? My goals are to: (1) have a benchmark of investable US stocks that I can compare my portfolio to; and (2) for reasons that are separate from my personal investments, get a sense for how the economy is doing (although I realize that the stock market is only ...
by Archie Sinclair
Tue May 19, 2015 10:42 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The BIG problem with the S&P 500 index?
Replies: 37
Views: 9615

Re: The BIG problem with the S&P 500 index?

This is a ridiculous example.... I'm sensing some hostility here. I was just trying to respond to the earlier argument that the S&P 500 is a statistically good sample because it has 500 data points, by providing another example from statistics to think about. If you are a member of the Poors family or something, I sincerely apologize. :) We are not interested in the average behavior of companies on an equal basis but on the market, where the influence is concentrated in those companies with high market caps that have been selected by S&P. I completely agree that a market-cap-weighted index should be used. But in my view, about 25% of the market cap is not adequately represented by the S&P 500. It's more like finding out about t...
by Archie Sinclair
Tue May 19, 2015 10:06 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Money Market Expense Ratios
Replies: 8
Views: 1567

Re: Money Market Expense Ratios

Does anyone have any experience with Treasury direct? Yes, and from this experience I want to keep the interactions to a minimum. Exhibit A: Error processing your request. Please submit requests only once and use the buttons and links we've provided on each page. Double clicking on a button or using your browser to navigate (including back, forward, and refresh buttons) will end your session. You can look forward to this and a few other misguided security measures making your time on the site rather miserable. My guess is that they're much more scared of fraud than the typical broker, because it can quickly turn political. Whereas for the average investment site it's just the (small) cost of doing business. Personally, I like their active,...
by Archie Sinclair
Tue May 19, 2015 7:48 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The BIG problem with the S&P 500 index?
Replies: 37
Views: 9615

Re: The BIG problem with the S&P 500 index?

There are "problems" with the S&P 500 Index but they are so minor that they don't affect an investor in the real world. The index represents about 75% of the market capitalization of the US Total Stock Market and is a sample of 500 against maybe 3,300 investable stocks in the US Stock Market. My gosh, I am not a statistician but that seems like a pretty darned good sample to me. It's not a statistically useful sample, because it consists mostly of the largest companies. If you were trying to do research on the nutritional habits of the American population, would you pick the 500 heaviest (or alternatively the 500 skinniest) people as your sample? Even worse, instead of weighing the people using a scale, would you ask a commit...
by Archie Sinclair
Tue May 19, 2015 7:25 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Silver lining for bond fund NAV declines?
Replies: 33
Views: 4960

Re: Silver lining for bond fund NAV declines?

Latestarter wrote:Perhaps I should have been clearer that I'm less concerned with what happens when rates rise than I am with what's happening now: rates still very low but bond NAVs declining.
A decline in NAV is essentially the same thing as a rise in yield.

Here is an example: If I buy a bond for $100 that pays $10 every year, it has a yield of $100 / $10 = 10%. Let's say the market value suddenly declines to $50. The bond will still pay $10 every year, so it now has a yield of $50 / $10 = 20%.

In practice, yields are calculated with slightly more complicated math, but that is the basic idea.

Saying that the yield has increased is just another way of saying that the NAV decreased.
by Archie Sinclair
Thu May 14, 2015 9:24 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why is Vanguard's Web Site So Bad?
Replies: 64
Views: 20513

Re: Why is Vanguard's Web Site So Bad?

ogd wrote:Maybe that lack of usefulness is why they don't get much attention -- perhaps VG does just the minimum to meet regulations.
I think that they are, in fact, just trying to comply with their legal obligation to notify you of revisions to the prospectus. For better or worse, they probably consider it a legal formality, because virtually no investors read the revised prospectus. If only twelve people (for example) are going to click the link, maybe they don't think it's worth spending everyone's money to make it seamless and perfect.
by Archie Sinclair
Thu May 14, 2015 7:26 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why is the nasdaq higher than the S&P500 index?
Replies: 8
Views: 1632

Re: Why is the nasdaq higher than the S&P500 index?

Why is a mile longer than a kilometer?
by Archie Sinclair
Wed May 13, 2015 6:53 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The BIG problem with the S&P 500 index?
Replies: 37
Views: 9615

Re: The BIG problem with the S&P 500 index?

It's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

But it's frustrating that all major indicators of "The Market" that are quoted in the media--the Dow, the NASDAQ, the NYSE, and the S&P 500--all have arbitrary and irrational characteristics. The S&P 500 is just the least flawed.

Moreover, movements in these indicators are expressed in "points," such as "down 500 points." What's wrong with percentages?
by Archie Sinclair
Mon May 11, 2015 7:32 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: When does Vanguard take their cut?
Replies: 7
Views: 2007

Re: When does Vanguard take their cut?

I wouldn't describe it as "their cut." Vanguard is ultimately owned by its investors and so it only pays expenses, it doesn't take profits. It has to pay these expenses on a daily basis.
by Archie Sinclair
Sun May 10, 2015 12:26 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Brand Loyalty
Replies: 60
Views: 9162

Re: Brand Loyalty

Impressive. Not only an expert in brand loyalty - but you know other forum members minds better than they do. Nonsense in one case. And, you understand another mind better than they do and deem their opinion "untrue"? Do you not feel you are crossing a line here? My mistake - I should have ASKED you if I thought that you were crossing a line. I probably can't be trusted to form my own opinion. I don't want to give away too much about my identity. But I will tell you that if you were to look up my name on the internet, you would find that I have significant expertise in this area and have published in top academic journals. That is not to say that there is no one on earth who does not demonstrate brand loyalty, but it is to say th...
by Archie Sinclair
Sat May 09, 2015 11:43 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Ang's Book Helped Me Understand Beta Better
Replies: 13
Views: 1891

Re: Ang's Book Helped Me Understand Beta Better

Yesterdaysnews wrote:Economics is not a science and there should be no Noble prize in it, especially since there is not one in Math.

While EMH and CAPM etc are all nice economic models there are many anomalies and other inefficiencies in real life.
Some would say that there is no Nobel Prize in Economics. The Economics prize was created by the Swedish central bank in 1969, not by Alfred Nobel in 1895 like the other prizes. Some members of Alfred Nobel's family disapprove of the use of his name in connection with the Economics prize.
by Archie Sinclair
Thu May 07, 2015 7:52 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Fed Chair Yellen Warns on Stock Valuations
Replies: 22
Views: 5509

Re: Fed Chair Yellen Warns on Stock Valuations

nukewerker wrote:
JoMoney wrote:I just watched "Mad Money" Cramer's take on it:
http://finance.yahoo.com/video/cramer-t ... 00039.html
As typical, just more noise, but I did like one comment/question he made:

Is the Fed going to tell you when stocks are cheap?
Janet won't tell you...but this guy will. I swear every time I read this I want to pull all my money from the markets and put my tin foil hat on. Chills.

http://www.usnews.com/news/obama/articl ... -investors
It seems like it was good advice. $10,000 invested in Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTSMX) on March 4, 2009 would be $34,988.20 today.
by Archie Sinclair
Thu May 07, 2015 7:25 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Diversifying beyond Vanguard Target Date Fund
Replies: 45
Views: 7962

Re: Diversifying beyond Vanguard Target Date Fund

netrammgc wrote:Well, in my mid 30s, I'm getting an itch to do something.
Why not buy a motorcycle or try rock climbing or something?
by Archie Sinclair
Thu May 07, 2015 7:04 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: McNabb op ed - possible 8% cash requirement
Replies: 33
Views: 5447

Re: McNabb op ed - possible 8% cash requirement

The Financial Stability Board is a private association organized under the laws of Switzerland. It serves as an unofficial forum of financial regulators. It's influential, but it is a private body and it has no formal authority to regulate anyone.

Designations of SIFIs in the United States are made by the Financial Stability Oversight Council, a government body established by U.S. law. After designation, decisions about how to regulate the SIFI are made by the Federal Reserve.