Bogleheads.org

Kevin8696

:moneybag I'm feeling pretty good about my instinct to post on here and to ask for advice. I feel this is the best thing I've done financially in some time. I look forward to learning more each day. Congratulations on taking this step toward controlling your financial destiny !!I :moneybag Glad you ...

Kevin8696

I can only tell you, I was in your shoes once. I found this wonderful group of people who gave me the advice and encouragement I needed to fire my financial advisor ( not nearly as bad as an EJ agent) and strike out on my own with a simple strategy of indexed funds. I have probably saved $200,000.....

Kevin8696

10-year Treasury rates went up 1% from say mid-July 2016 to mid-December 2016, but that 1% was a 73% increase in rate, so a 1% increase going forward would be a much lower percentage increase. Yes, the 10-yr Treasury did take a jump in the latter part of 2016, and the intermediate bond funds got wh...

Kevin8696

In their study, Vanguard acknowledges that investor hold periods rarely approach the 40 years shown in their graph. In fact, they point out that investors might "consider more recent experiences to be more representative of the future as global markets become more integrated and information fl...

Kevin8696

PJW... Question for you. In anticipation of a possible 1% rise in the 10-yr bond yield, how would you calculate the estimated price change for a bond fund with the following portfolio: 8.4-yr average maturity, 6.1-yr average duration, 3.1% average coupon, 3.3% yield to maturity, and SEC yield of 3....

Kevin8696

... No, it doesn't make me wonder why. I think that most investors don't have the slightest clue as to the impact of rising rates on an intermediate term bond fund. Most do not even understand that when rates go up, bond prices go down. You seem to be confusing their inaction due to a lack of under...

Kevin8696

I wonder whether it is less problematical to understand how investing in both types of equities mpacts individual portfolio volatility. Is understanding this as hopeless as specilatong about each asset class’s total return? After all, diversification isn’t valuable because it maximizes total return...

Kevin8696

I own an older Subaru Forester with > 100K miles. I recently spent $750 on a timing belt replacement so probably will keep the car 'til it dies. Who else has a high mileage vehicle that's used as a daily driver? What type of vehicle is it, and how do you decide when to sell it? Do you buy another c...

Kevin8696

With the Fed's continuing program of raising short-term rates, the spread between the 2-yr and 10-yr Treasuries has narrowed to just 0.20% compared to a historic spread of about 2.0%. This flat yield curve has analysts saying that investors in intermediate term bond funds (such as Vanguard Total Bo...

Kevin8696

I suspect this is primarily a function of the short time period examined. Since 1970, the full period for MSCI World ex US, a portfolio of 35% intl and 65% US had less variance than US only. https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/optimize-portfolio?s=y&mode=2&timePeriod=4&startYear=1963&am...

Kevin8696

I suspect this is primarily a function of the short time period examined. Since 1970, the full period for MSCI World ex US, a portfolio of 35% intl and 65% US had less variance than US only. https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/optimize-portfolio?s=y&mode=2&timePeriod=4&startYear=1963&am...

Kevin8696

I wonder whether it is less problematical to understand how investing in both types of equities mpacts individual portfolio volatility. Is understanding this as hopeless as specilatong about each asset class’s total return? After all, diversification isn’t valuable because it maximizes total return...

Kevin8696

Here are my thoughts on investing in international stocks. Would like to hear comments. Consider these 5 facts: 1. Diversification: Over 40% of the revenues of the S&P 500 come from international operations. So, the S&P 500 already has international covered. 2. Performance: International sto...

Kevin8696

I currently have 90% (about 1.4MM) of my investments with E. Jones and want to compare costs, fees with and services with Edelman Financial and Vanguard. I have a telephone appointment with Vanguard coming up to review what they have to offer. I will be quizzing them on their 'total' advice. So far...

Kevin8696

mortfree wrote: ↑Fri Aug 31, 2018 6:18 pm I’ll go out on a limb and predict that Vanguard will suggest the following:

Total US Stock
Total International Stock
Total US Bond
International bond fund

Oh no !! Not the famous closet target date fund wrapped in a 0.30% advisory fee...

Kevin8696

mortfree wrote: ↑Fri Aug 31, 2018 6:18 pm I’ll go out on a limb and predict that Vanguard will suggest the following:

Total US Stock
Total International Stock
Total US Bond
International bond fund

Oh no !! Not the famous closet target date fund wrapped in a 0.30% advisory fee...

Kevin8696

1. If interest rates go up 2%, which would put them higher than they have been in a long time, and from my perspective unlikely but not impossible, then that is 6% price decrease. Add in your 5% interest and you are down 1% over a year. If this has you up at night then you really need to contemplat...

Kevin8696

Welcome to the Forum !! Yes you absolutely can manage the money yourself. Lots of folks here to help as well. Paying any management fee is unnecessary. Pick up a copy of "The Coffeehouse Investor" by Bill Schultheis... a recovering Smith Barney Broker. Amazon $15.00 It's a quick and easy r...

Kevin8696

In the meantime, it's irritating me that Bank of America gives me about 55¢ a month in interest on this savings. I may need some quick liquidity for cash once I find the house I want but probably only need the money within 48 hours should be fine. My question is should I move this Bank of America s...

Kevin8696

Hi Sandy.... Welcome to the Forum !! Regarding your proposed allocation to International Stocks, consider the following 5 facts: 1. Diversification: Over 40% of the revenues of the S&P 500 come from international operations. So, the S&P 500 already has international covered. 2. Performance: ...

Kevin8696

If they perform better then equivalent funds tracking the same index... the proof will be in the pudding. Unfortunately, the Fidelity Zero funds are benchmarked against Fidelity's proprietary indices. The closest we can come will probably be comparing them to other total market funds such as FSTVX ...

Kevin8696

Sounds to me like somebody is starved for cash. Maybe offer them 50 cents on the dollar and see how hungry they are :) Really though, if you have 13 yrs to go, a 25% discount would be like cutting 3.25 yrs off your payment schedule. Keep digging to see if there's a catch. Maybe their service and/or ...

Kevin8696

What do you guys think of USAA? I know it's restricted use, so not everyone qualifies. I've been with them for a couple years now and I enjoy it. Pay absolutely no fees on anything. I do savings through Goldman Sachs Marcus though. USAA just didn't have competitive rates. I banked with USAA for a w...

Kevin8696

Portfolio Visualizer is a great tool !! Thanks for sharing it on the forum. Portfolio Visualizer would completely miss the 2% rise in May 2018 that I showed in the chart for VBTLX. Portfolio Visualizer is a tool with limitations. You are indeed correct that Portfolio Visualizer is not a good tool f...

Kevin8696

So far in 2018, Wellington is getting beat up pretty badly due to it's low exposure to the tech sector. Run a screen on Morningstar of moderate allocation funds (50% to 70% equity), and you will see how badly it is performing vs PRWCX, FPURX, FBALX and many others over ytd, 1 yr, 3 yr, 5 yr and 10 ...

Kevin8696

There have been a lot of posts on the board lately expressing concern and worry about what's going to happen with bonds. For those who are nervous about bonds, you better check your stock allocations because that is going to cause far more trouble and worry than bonds ever will. No where to hide !!...

Kevin8696

... JBTX.... Are you saying that all the bonds in the fund's portfolio will start paying a 5% coupon rate of interest in a year ? I'm not JBTX, but no, because that's not what a bond yield is. Coupons apply to the original face value. Yields take current market prices into account. It's a frequent ...

Kevin8696

What the Fed sets is an overnight interest rate, called the Federal Funds Rate , which only applies to the most creditworthy banks lending among themselves. The Fed does not set bond yields . OP - I'll respond to some of your further points after this post. PJW PJW.... I don't think anyone in this ...

Kevin8696

Who needs wires ? Today's world of ACH is cheap, easy, and free. I had to use a wire-transfer to payoff my mortgage. (There's a 100k limit on ACH, I believe.) It was a great and wonderful day. :beer Congrats on burning the mortgage !! My point was how often do people really need to send a $20 wire ...

Kevin8696

Currently using Citibank and my annoyance level has hit a new high. The amount of time I have spent answering their intrusive KYC surveys has been ridiculous. I have accounts at Ally, E*Trade, Chase, HSBC (all for different reasons) and have never been treated like this. I used to be a big Citibank...

Kevin8696

With the Fed's continuing program of raising short-term rates, the spread between the 2-yr and 10-yr Treasuries has narrowed to just 0.20% compared to a historic spread of about 2.0%. This flat yield curve has analysts saying that investors in intermediate term bond funds (such as Vanguard Total Bo...

Kevin8696

My recommendation: Either Vanguard Prime Money Market, or Ally Bank. Ally Bank - Online Savings account now paying 1.85% with FDIC insurance. 12-month CD is 2.50%. No penalty CD is 2.00% I checked out ALL the online banks. IMO, most are either idiots or crooks. Some are both. I went with Ally Bank. ...

Kevin8696

1. If interest rates go up 2%, which would put them higher than they have been in a long time, and from my perspective unlikely but not impossible, then that is 6% price decrease. Add in your 5% interest and you are down 1% over a year. If this has you up at night then you really need to contemplat...

Kevin8696

So, I remember reading a post back in 2011 from someone who was retired. Everyone was sure interest rates were going up and long term bonds should be avoided, but this one poster said he had a 30 year retirement so he was in a long bond fund. I thought to myself, you poor man, you are going to regr...

Kevin8696

1. If interest rates go up 2%, which would put them higher than they have been in a long time, and from my perspective unlikely but not impossible, then that is 6% price decrease. Add in your 5% interest and you are down 1% over a year. If this has you up at night then you really need to contemplat...

Kevin8696

I did just this in my HSA. Pure timing move even though IPS called for intermediate bonds, but I just don't see the point of taking interest rate/duration risk when you can get virtually the same yield from ST. We'll see what happens! Thanks for the feedback. Btw, a couple of replies mentioned &quo...

Kevin8696

Hi there Bogleheads, I think I can get her to read a book, maybe two. Ideally, I'd like to find a book that includes a critique of full-service brokers, and perhaps EJ specifically, in additon to discussing index funds, the importance of costs, etc. Anybody have a recommendation? It'd be great if I...

Kevin8696

With the Fed's continuing program of raising short-term rates, the spread between the 2-yr and 10-yr Treasuries has narrowed to just 0.20% compared to a historic spread of about 2.0%. This flat yield curve has analysts saying that investors in intermediate term bond funds (such as Vanguard Total Bon...

Kevin8696

Looks like your trying to definitely diversify your short term risks. What remains to be seen though is how much you could potentially loose in a hard market crash. If possible i try to look back to the end of 2008 to see what happened to the etf during that time period. Unfortunately most ETFs i l...

Kevin8696

First of all... Thank you for wearing the badge and protecting this great country !! Welcome to the Forum !! Regarding your proposed allocation to International Stocks, consider the following facts: 1. Diversification: Over 40% of the revenues of the S&P 500 come from international operations. S...

Kevin8696

" The fee for PNC Express Funds is 2% of the total check amount.... In addition, if the check you deposited using PNC Express Funds is returned due to insufficient funds, PNC will not charge your account for the amount of the check that was returned" Well, if they don't do a chargeback fo...

Kevin8696

I used the annualized distribution yield as it reflects actual cash income to the investor, as opposed to "hypothetical" income in SEC yield. SEC yield is far from hypothetical and is a standardized way of comparing bond funds. If you don't believe that, imagine a 10 year premium bond whi...

Kevin8696

Digitalcheese, Regarding your proposed allocation to International Stocks, consider the following facts: 1. Diversification: Over 40% of the revenues of the S&P 500 come from international operations. So, the S&P 500 already has international covered. 2. Performance: International stocks as ...

Kevin8696

dks12, Welcome to the Forum ! Don't freak out... be very glad you got the wake-up call at age 28 and not at 48. Lot's of time on your side. I'd suggest reading a great little book titled, "The Coffeehouse Investor", by Bill Schultheis (a recovering Smith Barney broker). It's a quick and ea...

Kevin8696

Can you just open a joint account with Ally Bank ?

That would get the ball rolling, and then you would convert to single owner at age 18+ ?

Kevin8696

To Rollover or not ? Two issues to consider... investment options and expenses. Choose the path that offers you the best balance of investment options and expenses. IRA will usually give you better options and lower expenses, but may not always offer what you want/need. For instance: I stayed with a...

Kevin8696

Unfortunately, none of the intermediate to long term bond funds have done well in 2018, during this period of rising interest rates. Additionally, with the recent (and continuing) increases to short-term rates by the Federal Reserve, the spread between short-term rates (like VMMXX) and the bond fun...

Kevin8696

Thanks Kevin. I do notice the difference in the performance of the US Total Stock Market Index (VTSAX) and the Total International Stock Index (VTIAX) and understand why. I have already planned to cut the percentage of VTIAX because of the volatility. Are you suggesting that it would be a good move...

Kevin8696

Thanks for your responses everyone. So Kevin, thanks for the tip about VMMXX, and the "Flagship" level. Feels good. Highfeehater... Glad to be of assistance in your transition. Regarding international stocks.... I would encourage you to look at the performance of Vanguard Total Internatio...

Kevin8696

Congratulations on the move to Vanguard !! With balances in Vanguard funds over $1 million, you qualify for the "Flagship" level of service. Be sure they set you up for that. Good friend of mine just moved similar size accounts to Vanguard from Ameriprise. He's happy as can be !! While you...

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