Search found 191 matches

by Castanea_d.
Tue Jul 05, 2022 7:18 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any Boglehead musicians out there?
Replies: 284
Views: 22080

Re: Any Boglehead musicians out there?

I'm loving this thread! :D I retired at the end of 2019 from a career as a church organist/choirmaster. Started piano at age 12, was totally nuts over classical music, Beethoven most of all, played for church all through high school, sang in the school choir, often played accompaniments for them. Piano major in college, went to a trade school and became a piano technician when I figured out I needed to make a living. That plus teaching piano lessons and a part time janitor job was still pretty minimal so i was always looking for more stuff to do. A local church was looking for an organist. I told them I was a good pianist but had never played the organ at all. They said, "You're hired." Some good person had left s tattered copy of...
by Castanea_d.
Sun Dec 29, 2019 3:34 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Roll Call for the Retirement Class of 2019!
Replies: 433
Views: 94725

Re: Roll Call for the Retirement Class of 2019!

TravelforFun, thank you for the Sage Advice. My wife's medical card arrived yesterday, thanks in part to two more phone calls with gentle reminders to the Powers That Be. I played my last church service this morning; Christmas Lessons and Carols, so there was lots of music. Friends helped me carry the last boxes out of my office, and I am done. My remaining two "work" days: - Monday, my normal Day Off - Tuesday, a Day of Vacation :D Then, Happy New Year! We have an appointment with a real estate agent tomorrow morning and four houses to visit. Peppers (and Miriam) - that was good about snuggling up with IRS publications. Sigh. I downloaded them yesterday, and will be doing exactly that. pfree, congratulations! I am glad that there...
by Castanea_d.
Sat Dec 14, 2019 10:43 am
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Roll Call for the Retirement Class of 2019!
Replies: 433
Views: 94725

Re: Roll Call for the Retirement Class of 2019!

(slips back in after a long absence) I'm still on track to bring up the tail end of this year's parade: December 31. Seventeen more days. Miriam nailed it about "feverishly getting their papers together before the year is out." Lots more of this than I expected, but I think everything is done. Mostly. I will feel a lot more comfortable when my not-yet-65 wife's medical insurance card for 2020 shows up; the Powers That Be acted like it was an unforeseen possibility that the new retiree (me) could be on Medicare, but his spouse wasn't. Surely such a thing has never happened before! People have been saying very nice things to me this month. The church where I work as an organist/choirmaster threw a nice party, with much Chocolate and...
by Castanea_d.
Wed Jul 10, 2019 10:20 am
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Roll Call for the Retirement Class of 2019!
Replies: 433
Views: 94725

Re: Roll Call for the Retirement Class of 2019!

A quick update, because I think I am listed in the Roll Call with a date of July 2019. It turns out it will be December 31. And it is now official; I told my boss last week, but it won't be announced publicly until late August. Twenty-five more weeks!

I have a lot of catching up to do in this thread, which I have enjoyed; it is great to hear everyone's stories and news. A special thanks to Miriam2 as always for taking such good care of this part of the Bogleheads.
by Castanea_d.
Wed Jan 16, 2019 10:37 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: John Bogle has died at age 89
Replies: 856
Views: 82105

Re: John Bogle has died at age 89

May he rest in peace. He was a great person.
by Castanea_d.
Fri Jan 04, 2019 11:05 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: VGPMX: How much in gold?
Replies: 4
Views: 1962

Re: VGPMX: How much in gold?

I couldn't find anything more informative than what Raymond listed above. Here is part of the Vanguard info on the fund's holdings; the page includes a listing of the top ten holdings as of 11/30/18. https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/profile/portfolio/vgpmx Within that page is a link to "portfolio holdings" that lists all of the fund's 76 equity holdings, as of the end of Q3 (9/30/18). https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/profile/portfolio/VGPMX/portfolio-holdings I don't know whether by 9/30/18 they had completed their transition to the new investment policy (diversification away from precious metals equity) or whether that was still in progress, so I'm doubtful as to how useful the 9/30 information is for the OP's...
by Castanea_d.
Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:28 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: madsinger monthly report (December 2018)
Replies: 11
Views: 1919

Re: madsinger monthly report (December 2018)

Thanks for doing this, madsinger, and especially for the long-term followups. This is valuable information.
I am glad to see the madsingerPP showing its strengths in the recent downturn.
by Castanea_d.
Wed Jan 02, 2019 10:11 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Roll Call for the Retirement Class of 2019!
Replies: 433
Views: 94725

Re: Roll Call for the Retirement Class of 2019!

Congratulations! :beer
Welcome to 2019 - here at last.
by Castanea_d.
Sat Dec 15, 2018 1:25 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Is a New Car Okay if Driven 15+ Years?
Replies: 91
Views: 10024

Re: Is a New Car Okay if Driven 15+ Years?

Having last year sold my 1996 Caprice 88k total, @ 21 years old, bought it at 5 yrs old..... Anyway, problems with keeping a car that long. PARTS... Especially any computerized anything sensors etc. And todays cars are rolling computerized sensor technocra... Depending on the popularity of the vehicle, the automaker is not going to keep making those parts forever.... I'm not discouraging making a car last forever, but it won't, try... but llisten to the vehicle as it get up in age and access appropriately. Gotta know when to hold them.... :beer So true. Fifteen years is probably okay, especially with a reliable brand (Toyota, Honda, Subaru, etc.) and maybe a little more if it is something like a Corolla or Civic that there are a lot of the...
by Castanea_d.
Sat Dec 15, 2018 1:03 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard Junk Bond fund
Replies: 79
Views: 11325

Re: Vanguard Junk Bond fund

Thank you (especially) to Rick Ferri and Nisiprius for good insights into HY and its place in a portfolio. I was in VWEHX for ten years or so (including 2008-09), but I eventually came around to Nisiprius' view that I could end up about the same place via adjustments to equity/bond allocation and have a simpler portfolio. Thus, I'm no longer in this fund. But the recent Vanguard 2019 investment outlook paper provides food for thought: https://personal.vanguard.com/pdf/ISGVEMO_2019.pdf For example, the chart on page 34 showing expected ten-year returns on various fixed-income categories. High-yield has the best performance, with a range of expected outcomes between about 1.8% to 7.2%, with central tendency (25th to 75th percentile of their s...
by Castanea_d.
Tue Oct 23, 2018 3:12 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Making loose leaf tea
Replies: 32
Views: 2286

Re: Making loose leaf tea

I use an old Japanese tea pot which holds about four cups of water. I don't strain it off into another container; I just drink all of this in the morning as I work, and consider it one of life's most gentle and good delights, and I enjoy the shift of flavors between the first cup and the last. My teas come from the local Asian grocery; they have a large selection and I enjoy trying different varieties, generally green or sometimes oolong. I keep a few tea bags around for when I want a quick cup of tea, but the loose-leaf teas are less expensive, better, and more variety. I totally agree about the importance of allowing enough room for the leaves to expand, thus leaving them loose in the pot.
by Castanea_d.
Wed Sep 12, 2018 10:10 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "Jack Bogle: Investors should 'always be in' the stock market"
Replies: 8
Views: 3104

Re: "Jack Bogle: Investors should 'always be in' the stock market"

Good advice from Mr. Bogle, as always. Never all the way out of the market, or all the way in.
by Castanea_d.
Fri Sep 07, 2018 12:54 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: The Fall of Consumer Reports
Replies: 126
Views: 31814

Re: The Fall of Consumer Reports

I continue to read and mostly enjoy the print version of CR. For context, I am definitely in the "old as dirt" category (as someone here described it). Having said that, I am not interested in most of the things they review. It seems like every second or third issue talks about flat-screen TVs. We do not have and will never again have a television. High-end appliances? We live in an apartment and the landlord supplies low-end appliances whether we like them or not. Lawn mowers? Grills? Forget it. Cars? I enjoy the auto issue very much, but my wife and I have cars that will probably last for the remainder of our driving days, so the info is not that useful. Then again, we turned to CR when we bought the cars we now have and used th...
by Castanea_d.
Fri Sep 07, 2018 12:22 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Precious Metals and Mining Fund is changing
Replies: 120
Views: 24627

Re: Vanguard Precious Metals and Mining Fund is changing

A little off-topic from the very interesting discussion of how to replace VGPMX in the back-testing spreadsheet... After my initial anger at Vanguard for making these changes, I took several deep breaths (a couple weeks of them). Instead of closing my position in the fund, I reduced it by about a third. I'm leaving the rest of it in the new VGPMX. I consider Wellington to be a strong value-oriented manager, and if the fund now takes more of a deep-value approach, it will be interesting to see if they can be effective with it. But I have moved it from my precious metals allocation (8% of assets) to generic equity. I remain committed to the precious metals mostly for the diversification benefit, having gotten the idea from Wm. Bernstein (as s...
by Castanea_d.
Fri Sep 07, 2018 12:01 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Low-earners- What is your profession?
Replies: 371
Views: 62535

Re: Low-earners- What is your profession?

I am enjoying reading through this thread, hearing about so many wonderful people.

I'm a church organist/choirmaster; around $50K, plus excellent medical insurance (it was not so until a few years ago when the denomination's national governing body voted to give lay employees the same benefits they had always given the clergy). I am fortunate to have a full-time job in a field where most of the work is part-time. My wife was until recently a janitor at a local shopping mall; around $20K, no benefits. She is now retired for health reasons (which have emphasized to us how good our medical insurance is), and I'm likewise not far off from retirement. We are financially ready for it, thanks in part to BH.
by Castanea_d.
Wed Aug 15, 2018 4:01 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: U.S. stocks in free fall
Replies: 36221
Views: 4684656

Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

It always makes me happy to see this thread pop up. It is an all-time Bogleheads Classic.
by Castanea_d.
Wed Aug 15, 2018 3:57 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Deleted]
Replies: 47
Views: 10506

Re: Take your canes out in Emerging Markets

I hobbled to my computer, cane in hand, and rebalanced into VEMAX on Monday, just in time for EMs to drop some more. Gotta love 'em. :happy
by Castanea_d.
Tue Aug 14, 2018 2:49 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Roll Call for the Retirement Class of 2019!
Replies: 433
Views: 94725

Re: Roll Call for the Retirement Class of 2019!

Cogitan, good wishes! Just a few more months. Miriam2, thank you for the kind words - and not just to me, but the encouragement you have spread far and wide throughout this part of the Bogleheads. Retirement is a little scary (maybe a whole lot scary) and definitely a big change, and your encouragement is making it easier for people, including me. And if you now miss a note or play the wrong note - well, does it really matter in the long run? Will others even know, will the purpose of the music be ruined? and frankly, if they quibble, well, let them play the piece next time :wink: This is true. Those who do know that something was wrong are generally the ones who are wishing you well. There are a couple of fine organists and other professio...
by Castanea_d.
Fri Aug 10, 2018 1:55 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Roll Call for the Retirement Class of 2019!
Replies: 433
Views: 94725

Re: Roll Call for the Retirement Class of 2019!

What an interesting feeling to see “Retirement Class of 2019” and think “Uh, that’s me.” Most likely date: July 31, 2019 Backup date: Dec. 31, 2019 Age: mid-sixties I’ve had a good career as a church organist/choirmaster, starting my nineteenth choir season at my current parish. I’ve been counting the weeks for a while, some days wishing it were not so soon, other days hoping for it and wondering if I can hold on that long. We have plenty of money and could have retired years ago from that point of view. I am still in good health and still mostly enjoy the work, but for the last year or so as an organist have been battling the “yips.” They aren’t just a problem for golfers; they affect musicians and doubtless people in many other fields. Mo...
by Castanea_d.
Wed Aug 01, 2018 5:38 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What to do with VGPMX (Vanguard Precious Metals and Mining)?
Replies: 131
Views: 27560

Re: What to do with VGPMX (Vanguard Precious Metals and Mining)?

Vanguard is making significant changes to VGPMX: https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/precious-metals-changes?cmpgn=EM:RIG:ED:Stargaze:JulEmail:Email:0718:0101:FNA:MUF:0323 They are changing the name to reflect this, to "Vanguard Global Capital Cycles Fund." - considerably reduced exposure to precious metals/mining - different advisor (Wellington Management Co. LLP) - new investment policy stipulates up to 75% of assets in industries that "follow cyclical patterns" and are currently in a period of low demand, with potential for growth as demand rebounds, also companies that "own irreplaceable or scarce infrastructure assets." - They will continue to hold at least 25% in the precious metals and mining indu...
by Castanea_d.
Sun Jun 17, 2018 10:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone live in (or familiar with) John Knox Village in Kansas City?
Replies: 2
Views: 921

Re: Anyone live in (or familiar with) John Knox Village in Kansas City?

My in-laws have lived there for all of their retirement; they love it. When they were in their sixties and seventies they were quite active in activities (trips, etc.) and made a lot of friends; now that they are in their 80's/early 90's they don't do nearly so much, but they still love it and the facility is taking good care of them.
by Castanea_d.
Sat May 19, 2018 10:57 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: central extractor fan instead of A/C?
Replies: 15
Views: 1889

Re: central extractor fan instead of A/C?

A church in East Tennessee where I worked in the 80's and 90's had a system of this sort instead of air conditioning: draw in cooler outside air on Saturday nights, and the large room was quite comfortable on Sunday mornings even in midsummer. It used the ductwork of the heating system. Down in the basement, the main duct coming out of the blower unit had a big lever that diverted the flow one direction or the other, labelled "Outside" and "Inside" (that is, the normal heating system flow of air into the room). The "Outside" version was simply a large duct going somewhere up on the roof and outside. Every Saturday afternoon/evening in the summer, someone had to manually change the big "Outside/Inside"...
by Castanea_d.
Wed Mar 14, 2018 12:16 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: CAPE in the Context of Real Rates & Inflation, 1880-2018
Replies: 37
Views: 5692

Re: CAPE in the Context of Real Rates & Inflation, 1880-2018

Very interesting analysis and discussion; thank you for raising this issue.
by Castanea_d.
Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:51 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Strategies to combat the urge to spend?
Replies: 68
Views: 6227

Re: Strategies to combat the urge to spend?

Great discussion! I second the recommendation of “Your Money or Your Life” that a couple of people have mentioned. For big-ticket items, the ideas from the book have helped me put them in perspective. How many hours of life energy am I committing to this purchase? In a sense, I am making myself an indentured servant to this new possession for that period of time, maybe years for something like a luxury car. Is it worth that much of my life? Another idea from the book is not to worry about budgeting. Instead, track all of your expenditures and income. At the end of each month, review them: with each category (say, eating out), was the amount of life energy you put into it in line with your goals and values? Did you receive good value for it?...
by Castanea_d.
Fri Dec 29, 2017 11:15 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Long-term cost of ownership: 1996 Honda Civic
Replies: 16
Views: 2081

Long-term cost of ownership: 1996 Honda Civic

Two weeks ago, the time came to part with our beloved little Civic hatchback, purchased as a new vehicle in spring 1996. Twenty-one years I have driven it, roughly a third of my life. We donated it to the local Public Radio, and in a few days got an e-mail saying they sold it at auction for “under $500.” Sigh. Out of curiosity (and my wife’s urging to clean out the bulging “Honda Civic” file in our cabinet), I worked up (as best I could) the total cost of owning the car, from beginning to end. $13,500 - Initial purchase (including dealer fees, state tax, initial licensing) $1,000 – Subsequent license tag renewals (very rough estimate) $5,572 – Insurance (we are fortunate to have excellent rates, which ran between about $110 and $160 per six...
by Castanea_d.
Sat Nov 11, 2017 11:06 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Value Averaging with Bonds: an example
Replies: 2
Views: 695

Value Averaging with Bonds: an example

Since reading Michael Edelson’s book “Value Averaging” a few years ago, I have applied the VA method to parts of my portfolio. Here is the excellent Bogleheads Wiki page about the method: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Value_averaging There are also a few threads in the forum about it. Mostly, one thinks of VA in terms of equities. I have applied it to the bond portion of my 403(b) account, and the results so far might be of interest, so here is a summary. The investment is DODIX, the Dodge and Cox Income fund, a middle-of-the-road actively managed investment grade bond fund. I have no fixed final balance in mind. I have aimed at target values for the VA ladder increasing by $1,000 a month which is roughly what goes into the 403(b) from my...
by Castanea_d.
Fri Oct 20, 2017 11:35 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Protein Bars and Smoothies
Replies: 82
Views: 10194

Re: Protein Bars and Smoothies

I keep some of the "Elevation" bars from Aldi's around (they are a knock-off of Clif bars). Eleven grams of protein, five grams of fiber, and too much sugar. But they are convenient and fairly cheap; I eat one every week as a quick snack between Sunday church services - I have a five minute window between the second service and choir practice for the third. One of my main sources of protein is an idea from the old "Diet for a Small Planet" - in her charts, one finds that a mix of 60% sunflower seeds and 40% peanuts produces a complete balanced protein. If you use unsalted seeds/nuts, it is pretty healthy. I mix this up as needed and keep a jar on my shelf at work and another at home. Healthy, and cheap for a protein sour...
by Castanea_d.
Fri Oct 20, 2017 11:23 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard's Global Wellesley Income and Global Wellington Funds in registration [now available]
Replies: 129
Views: 40879

Re: Vanguard's Global Wellesley Income and Global Wellington Funds in registration [now available]

If one invests now, during the subscription period, what happens when the fund goes "active" in a few weeks? My presumption is that there wouldn't be any significant "bumps" at the beginning unrelated to changes in the underlying securities that they purchase. I would hope that it is not like an equity IPO, which can have a lot of volatility on opening day.

It will be interesting to see how it goes.
by Castanea_d.
Fri Oct 20, 2017 11:12 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Asset Allocation with Farm Land
Replies: 20
Views: 2945

Re: Asset Allocation with Farm Land

We have half of the "old home place" back in the southern Appalachians: 150-plus acres with about 20 acres of it under cultivation/pasturage and the rest in forest. No habitable structures. It produces no income (I "rent" it to the neighbor, a long time family friend and farmer, who keeps up the fences and looks after the place in return for use of that 20 acres down by the creek). But there is all that timber, much of it high-quality hardwood, untouched for around seventy or eighty years. As compared to farmland, it is easier to get some money from it when needed without selling the land; just have some trees harvested from a portion of the land. My mother and father did this once when they needed a sum of money in the ...
by Castanea_d.
Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:32 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Cancer at 38. Going from high income to no income. Need help generating income from $5m portfolio
Replies: 45
Views: 11693

Re: Cancer at 38. Going from high income to no income. Need help generating income from $5m portfolio

Minor detail that you probably already have in place: has your husband designated you as beneficiary for his 401(k)? Ditto if he rolls it over to an IRA. As some others have said, it would be well to have this sort of thing looked at by an estate/tax lawyer to get everything set up in the best manner.

I second what others have said about social network to help take care of you and the children. If you have friends/family where you are living, that would be a strong incentive to stay in your current house.

All good wishes to you in the face of this terrible shock.
by Castanea_d.
Fri Aug 18, 2017 4:53 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Organ (Music) Question
Replies: 6
Views: 993

Re: Organ (Music) Question

Sad to say, most of the old electronic organs have little value even when they are in good working condition and are more of a burden than anything else, for they are hard to move/get rid of and the home-organ market has been declining sharply for years so there are lots of used instruments available, driving the price down. Taking the Casio to Goodwill is a good idea.

The Hammond organs like Obgraham mentioned are a special case and they can usually find a buyer.
by Castanea_d.
Fri Aug 18, 2017 4:36 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Advice on buying a musical instrument
Replies: 24
Views: 2821

Re: Advice on buying a musical instrument

... I don't play the violin but I do play other instruments. When/if you do buy another violin it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep this one if you can afford it. It will be nice to have around to play while your "good" one is in the shop, to take it to local events where you might not want to take your more expensive one, or to take when you travel. +1. I'm a keyboard person, but married to a violist, so I've seen how useful it is to have a second instrument. Travelling with an excellent violin/viola/cello is enough to give me the willies. And there are times when you might be playing outdoors and the weather is iffy - one of my young friends, a fiddler, was playing with a group for a farmers' market last week and a thunderstorm ca...
by Castanea_d.
Fri Aug 18, 2017 4:23 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "Vanguard fund shareholders encouraged to vote as proxy campaign gets under way."
Replies: 89
Views: 32769

Re: "Vanguard fund shareholders encouraged to vote as proxy campaign gets under way."

I voted yes on Proposition 7 for the couple of actively-managed funds that I hold, and no for the index funds. As others have noted, if you start omitting companies from an index fund for such reasons, the fund no longer is tracking the index.

There is almost zero chance of Prop 7 passing, and that is fine with me. I voted yes as a statement to the management that I care about such issues. If a large enough minority of shareholders do, that might have some influence on things.
by Castanea_d.
Sat Jul 15, 2017 11:54 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The CAPEable Portfolio!
Replies: 30
Views: 3891

Re: The CAPEable Portfolio!

Just commenting that I follow a CAPE-based tactical allocation somewhat along these lines, something I adopted after reading “The Intelligent Investor.” My version: Target equity allocation = 50 - ((CAPE-18)*2) With the current CAPE pretty much at 30, that gives 50 - (30-18)*2 = 50-24 = 26% If CAPE goes to its 1920 level of about 5, you get 50 – (5-18)*2 = 50-(-26) = 50+26 = 76% The idea is that for every point the CAPE goes up, I reduce equities by 2%, and vice versa. I chose 18 as a midpoint (giving a 50/50 allocation) instead of the historical mean of around 16 because of a guess that (as some have said) changes in accounting rules have resulted in a permanently higher P/E. I am not entirely convinced, but enough so as to move my equilib...
by Castanea_d.
Tue May 09, 2017 9:14 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Sale of investment advisor (Scout Investments) - should we worry?
Replies: 3
Views: 838

Re: Sale of investment advisor (Scout Investments) - should we worry?

EHEngineer and Mel, thank you both for your replies. After discussion with my wife over the weekend, we are making the move to Vanguard.
by Castanea_d.
Fri May 05, 2017 10:54 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Sale of investment advisor (Scout Investments) - should we worry?
Replies: 3
Views: 838

Sale of investment advisor (Scout Investments) - should we worry?

My wife and I have had holdings in the Scout International Fund (UMBWX) http://scoutinv.com/individual_investors/mutual_funds/individual/f_3/sc_i_class/international_fund/overview.fs for about twenty years. It has done well for us, with an XIRR (internal rate of return) of about 8%, and roughly doubling what we have put into it. The parent company was United Missouri Bank (UMB). They have recently announced the sale of Scout Investments to Carillon Tower Advisers, Inc. http://www.carillontower.com This appears to be a small outfit; Scout’s $27 billion AUM will almost double Carillon’s, giving a total of around $60 billion, and it appears from some "stale" webpages in a Yahoo search that it hasn't been very long since their AUM was...
by Castanea_d.
Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:14 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is this the right Fund for Metals?
Replies: 7
Views: 1637

Re: Is this the right Fund for Metals?

For part of your question: thinking strictly Vanguard funds/ETFs, the VGPMX is pretty much all there is for precious metals. As other have indicated, it is mostly the stocks of mining companies, not gold/silver directly. The mining shares often (not always) move in the same direction as gold/silver prices - sometimes more drastically. But they have their own set of risks/rewards, for they are businesses, generally carrying a lot of debt and with considerable uncertainties as to their prospects, so they sometimes move with equities, not the metals. If you want a more direct investment in gold/silver, you could do so from within a Vanguard brokerage account. This is what I have done (besides owning some VGPMX), with a fairly long-term holding...
by Castanea_d.
Fri Apr 21, 2017 11:53 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: You can never go "home" - retirement
Replies: 85
Views: 17181

Re: You can never go "home" - retirement

This thread has been thought-provoking for me. My wife and I are still a few years from retirement, and have been talking about various forms of going "home." - We don't want to stay where we are, for a variety of reasons. - We own half of what was my grandfather's farm in the Appalachians. Stunningly beautiful place in the mountains, not far from the New River gorge. But moving there is not without its problems, some of which have come up in the thread. It is very, very isolated, for better and worse, and neither of us has lived for more than a year or two in deep-rural areas. - We have considered my wife's home town, in Iowa. A very nice place for totally different reasons. But economically depressed, I suspect she would find it...
by Castanea_d.
Fri Apr 21, 2017 11:32 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Larry Swedroe says "Goodbye."
Replies: 445
Views: 80240

Re: Larry Swedroe says "Goodby."

Larry, all good wishes. As hundreds of others have said here, I have learned much from you, and I am grateful for the time and energy you have put into BH when there is no direct benefit from it.

I hope that you can carry with you the knowledge that you have helped hundreds, probably thousands of people in ways large and small. This is not a small thing.
by Castanea_d.
Sun Mar 26, 2017 11:09 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Negative price/earnings ratio
Replies: 3
Views: 959

Re: Negative price/earnings ratio

Alex and Valuethinker, thank you! You've both helped me understand these things better. :beer
by Castanea_d.
Sat Mar 25, 2017 1:43 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Negative price/earnings ratio
Replies: 3
Views: 959

Negative price/earnings ratio

The annual report for the Vanguard Precious Metals and Mining fund (VGPMX) is out: https://personal.vanguard.com/funds/reports/q530.pdf?2210125505 The fund profile (page 12) lists a price/earnings ratio of -42.4x What does that mean? I presume it means the VGPMX holdings in the aggregate posted losses instead of earnings and probably large ones. Return on Equity of -1.3% and Earnings Growth Rate of -7.5% don’t sound encouraging, either. The first seems to (again) suggest losses, and the second seems to suggest that things are getting worse instead of better for the mining companies, even though the prices for the metals (and the mining company shares) rose during the year, and VGPMX rose quite a lot: +76% for the twelve months ending Jan. 3...
by Castanea_d.
Wed Sep 21, 2016 10:53 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What to do with VGPMX (Vanguard Precious Metals and Mining)?
Replies: 131
Views: 27560

Re: What to do with VGPMX (Vanguard Precious Metals and Mining)?

Ben Carlson recently posted some thoughts on natural resource equities: http://awealthofcommonsense.com/2016/09/an-allocation-only-a-mother-could-love/ He runs some backtests, using VGPMX as a proxy for the sector. Highly imperfect, as he admits, but it was the longest-running fund more or less in the sector that he could find (it goes back to 1985). For our purposes in this thread, it is fun to see what he comes up with. "Correlation to stocks 0.13 [1985 to present, with Vg Index 500 as proxy]... correlation to bonds 0.03 [Vg Total Bond Mkt]" Most of the low correlation, he says, comes from the very high volatility. He compares a 60/40 portfolio (Index 500/Total Bond) with a 50/10/40 (adding 10% of VGPMX) over the period 1985-201...
by Castanea_d.
Wed Jul 06, 2016 7:33 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What to do with VGPMX (Vanguard Precious Metals and Mining)?
Replies: 131
Views: 27560

Re: What to do with VGPMX (Vanguard Precious Metals and Mining)?

VGPMX at $12.11, up 41 cents today. Up 90% year to date (from $6.36), and more than that from its low in mid-January. Today's close is, the best I can tell, a three-year high (based on weekly closes), going back to May 2013.

But it could double again and not be quite back to its 2011 levels. I have to pinch myself; it all seems unreal. I rode it down from the $20 to $22 range (buying in to rebalance as I was able), and for now it is off to the races. My plan for this holding is to rebalance at 30% over target. I have done that twice already in 2016.
by Castanea_d.
Fri May 27, 2016 1:06 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is it worth the additional Expense to try to replicate Total International?
Replies: 20
Views: 2304

Re: Is it worth the additional Expense to try to replicate Total International?

My two cents: you're fine either way. I would probably continue with what you have described and it sounds like a pretty good equivalent to total market funds. As Aptenodytes says above, you might consider adjusting your percentages if you want a more exact match to the total market weights. The expense ratio of 0.165% for emerging markets is not unreasonable. Yes, it is higher than your other fees, but not (in truth) by very much. For comparison, the Vanguard Emerging Market Index Admiral shares (VEMAX) has an expense ratio of 0.15%. There are simply more expenses involved for a fund to trade in emerging markets than in developed markets, and that is reflected in the higher expense ratio. I consider the value of including a bit of emerging...
by Castanea_d.
Fri May 27, 2016 12:43 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New to investment
Replies: 5
Views: 916

Re: New to investment

Welcome to Bogleheads! I think that you will find this a good place to get started as an investor and ask questions. My advice for a first step: do a little bit of reading in the Bogleheads Wiki, especially this: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Getting_started The links on that page are all good. Here is one of the “start-up kits” https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Bogleheads%C2%AE_investing_start-up_kit A lot of this material is incorporated into videos, if that works better for you; see the links on the above pages. Do you have an emergency fund? Debts? Are your expenses less than your income? These would affect whether you are ready to start an investment program. Also, do you have the option of investing in an employer’s 401(k) or equivale...
by Castanea_d.
Wed May 25, 2016 10:44 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Equity Income (VEIPX)
Replies: 55
Views: 17681

Re: Vanguard Equity Income (VEIPX)

I went back and checked: since 2003 when they started separating short-term and long-term capital gains, our Vg Equity Income holding has returned $1543.27 of ST gains, as compared to a total of $21,285.71 in distributions (ST and LT cap gain plus dividends). There have been a handful of years where the ST gain was a significant fraction of total capital gains: 2004 was the highest, when ST was almost as large as LT. Most years the ST gain has been around 10% of the total distributions, sometimes less. In 2013, it was under 3%; there were no capital gain distributions at all from 2009-2012. Our numbers for 2015: $397 ST, $1473 LT, $1568 dividends, or 12% of the total in short-term gains. Whether this level of STCG (and overall distributions...
by Castanea_d.
Fri May 20, 2016 1:43 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Beginner Questions
Replies: 5
Views: 1117

Re: Beginner Questions

I second the advice of others here: if possible, buy Vanguard funds in a Vanguard account. If you are for some reason stuck with Fidelity (e.g., a retirement account), look for equivalent Fidelity Spartan index funds. They are low-cost, and just as good as the Vanguard funds for their purpose. In my opinion, the thing you need to shy away from at Fidelity is their actively-managed funds, which generally have a much higher expense ratio. Overall, I consider them a good company, as good or better than Vanguard in some respects. For one of your other questions: Unlike an individual stock, a mutual fund's shares are not diluted by changes in the number of shares outstanding; their underlying equity or bond holdings are adjusted to match the fun...
by Castanea_d.
Fri May 20, 2016 1:05 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Burton Malkiel: "I think [commodities] should be in every portfolio."
Replies: 35
Views: 6222

Re: Burton Malkiel: "I think [commodities] should be in every portfolio."

.... Since I own total market index funds, I already have access to energy and materials. However, they are a small percentage of the index. Does it make sense to overweight them as Malkiel is suggesting? Is this a dangerous move? It would be a shame for this slice of a portfolio to underperform the total market over the long-term. As Taylor observed, someone who is in total market index funds does indeed have the market weighting of commodity producing companies, which is a small percentage. That might be enough, though I prefer to carry a heavier weighting, and also to have some in gold/silver (the GLD or SLV etfs, or the Sprott funds, or in my case CEF) as well as the mining companies, because they often behave differently. I think that...
by Castanea_d.
Wed May 11, 2016 10:27 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: PRIMECAP -- Am I being sentimental?
Replies: 5
Views: 1506

Re: PRIMECAP -- Am I being sentimental?

Me too. They are good funds. I am glad to hear that Vg is going to let you transfer the Primecap.
by Castanea_d.
Wed May 11, 2016 10:25 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 30 minute commute?
Replies: 80
Views: 24634

Re: 30 minute commute?

... The one thing I REALLY miss about working closer to home is the chance to go home at 4 or so, then head back to school after dinner to drop in on a couple of innings or quarters of a softball or basketball game some students are in. Now if I want to attend just 30 minutes of a game to see a favorite student, I am at school from 6:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (varsity games are often at 6), then head home to arrive between 7-7:30 p.m. Since I have my own children at home and wake at 5:30 a.m., I rarely do this unless I am chaperoning. This is also the case on weekends. When I lived close by, I could drop in on a fundraiser or a dance performance for 30-60 minutes. Now it's more of a whole-morning or afternoon commitment. Good luck with your dec...