Search found 1419 matches

by snailderby
Sat Feb 10, 2024 3:02 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Keep current funds vs. switch to total market funds in Roth IRA
Replies: 9
Views: 1005

Re: Keep current funds vs. switch to total market funds in Roth IRA

Welcome to the forum! ...My question is do we just continue to invest in these existing funds (which my husband feels like is the simplest just because "they're already there") or sell them and just put everything into a Fidelity total stock market/total international index fund/total bond (which feels less complicated to me). If you slice and dice, you could end up investing more or less in one area (small caps vs. large caps, value vs. growth, etc.) than the market. Unless you want to do that (i.e., overweight one area), I would recommend a total stock market fund. ...And if we do switch to a total market fund, is there any major difference between the regular total market fund (FSKAX) and the zero total market fund (FZROX)? Not...
by snailderby
Sun Sep 11, 2022 6:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Replies: 7203
Views: 1421787

Re: Best rewards cards

[Thread merged into here --admin LadyGeek] Anyone found anything better out there than my current lineup? I'm asking from the perspective of someone who has 800+ credit, pays the balance every month and doesn't spend much on entertainment, dining or travel. I use the cards strictly to get cash back, don't have a need for air miles, hotels or rental cars. Best overall: CITI Double Cash - 2% Category card for grocery/gas/warehouse: BOA Customized Cash Rewards - 3% (this card is 1% for everything else so its not used for anything else) Am I missing a better card out there? Do you have Preferred Rewards status with BoA? The BoA Customized Cash gets 3% on groceries only if you have Platinum status with BoA. But if you have Platinum status with ...
by snailderby
Mon Jun 20, 2022 8:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Military Moves and Estate Planning
Replies: 14
Views: 1322

Re: Military Moves and Estate Planning

slippinsurlies wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 8:01 pm7. How does anyone go about finding a reputable estate planning lawyer? I just Goggled it, but that doesn't feel right. Do people just search for lawyers on Yelp? Not looking for specific attorney referrals here, I just want to know where people look for reputable firms.
I would start with the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel directory (https://www.actec.org/), as an initial quality screen.
by snailderby
Sun Jun 19, 2022 9:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Military Moves and Estate Planning
Replies: 14
Views: 1322

Re: Military Moves and Estate Planning

I don't know if this completely solves your problem, especially any tax issues. But take a look at 10 U.S. Code § 1044d. It provides, in part, that: "A military testamentary instrument—(1) is exempt from any requirement of form, formality, or recording before probate that is provided for testamentary instruments under the laws of a State; and (2) has the same legal effect as a testamentary instrument prepared and executed in accordance with the laws of the State in which it is presented for probate."

Usually, the base legal office can help with basic wills/POAs for free. They do those all the time. For more complicated tax or estate planning, you might want to consult a tax or wills/trusts expert.
by snailderby
Fri Apr 01, 2022 7:45 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: WisdomTree GDE: 90% Large Cap + 90% Gold
Replies: 65
Views: 8383

Re: WisdomTree GDE: 90% Large Cap + 90% Gold

Zardoz wrote: Fri Apr 01, 2022 2:20 am I’ll bite: 3 parts NTSX plus 2 parts GDE gives us 71% stock, 14.5% treasuries, 14.5% gold. Some elements of all weather / golden butterfly / permanent portfolio, but wrapped up nicely in two low cost ETFs that will have much lower tracking error than holding all components separately. Rebalancing is also partially taken care of.

I find this combo intriguing as a way to hold the underlying positions with less risk of behavioral error.
I like this idea.

If my math is right, a portfolio split 60/40 between NTSX and GDE would be roughly equivalent to a 56/22/22 split of U.S. stocks/treasuries/gold, leveraged 1.62 times. Does that sound about right?
by snailderby
Thu Dec 30, 2021 6:50 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: LGH backtests better than NTSX
Replies: 13
Views: 2532

Re: LGH backtests better than NTSX

LGH seems to follow some sort of trend following strategy, unlike NTSX, which is essentially a 1.5x levered version of a fixed 60/40 portfolio. This is from the summary prospectus for LGH: The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets, including borrowings for investment purposes but exclusive of collateral held from securities lending, in securities included in the HCM 500 Index. The HCM 500 Index seeks to outperform the Solactive US Large Cap Index using a proprietary methodology. The HCM 500 Index is comprised of securities in the Solactive US Large Cap Index (“Large Cap Equity Sub-Index”), which are common stocks issued by 500 large-capitalization companies traded on American stock exchan...
by snailderby
Mon Jul 12, 2021 8:17 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: looking for a specific type of credit card
Replies: 111
Views: 8620

Re: looking for a specific type of credit card

boolda wrote: Sun Jul 11, 2021 6:46 pm Paypal Mastercard. 2% cashback and no foreign transaction fee.
I used to have this card and really liked it, but rumor has it that PayPal is adding back a 3% foreign transaction fee starting 7/25/21. See https://www.doctorofcredit.com/paypal-2 ... available/.

If you're willing to maintain $1000 in----and make direct deposits to----an Alliant high-yield checking account, you might also consider the Alliant Visa Signature Credit Card. 2.5% cashback on everything. No annual fee and no foreign transaction fee.
by snailderby
Fri Jun 25, 2021 2:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: A donation cashback card?
Replies: 10
Views: 1317

Re: A donation cashback card?

If you live in one of the eligible states, the DuPage Credit Union Visa Platinum Rewards card offers 5% back on charitable donations: https://www.dupagecu.com/credit-cards/platinum-rewards. The Vantage West Connect Rewards Visa Signature also offers 5% back on charitable donations, but only up to $1500 in qualifying purchases per quarter: https://vantagewest.org/personal/credit ... ards-visa/.
by snailderby
Mon Jun 14, 2021 7:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Replies: 7203
Views: 1421787

Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?

ThankYou Points are redeemable 1 = $0.01 as a statement credit or check. This is a recent change. Thanks! I didn't know that. That's certainly helpful given the large number of Thank You Points I've accrued from my Citi bank account, which I'm planning to close; I figured I'd have to find something cost-ineffective to spend them on, so I'm glad I can just do straight cash at a reasonable rate. Given that, I'll have to give this card some thought. Having said that, I'm already fairly well covered in the categories that this card covers, particularly since I'm in the process of moving funds to BoA with the plan to apply for Preferred Rewards and several Customized Cash Reward cards. The new Citi card has categories including "Select Tra...
by snailderby
Sat Jun 05, 2021 12:39 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Stocks risky in the long term: can't understand this video from Bogleheads wiki page
Replies: 64
Views: 5895

Re: Stocks risky in the long term: can't understand this video from Bogleheads wiki page

steve321 wrote: Sat Jun 05, 2021 12:18 pm I guess that what I was more concerned with though, is the idea of whether in 20 years you (or your children) will be ending up with more money than you initially invest. In this sense would it not be correct that they are safe? Inasamuch as even the lowest 20 year returns would certainly be positive (and higher than cash and very likely higher than bonds).
Likely? Yes. Certainly? I wouldn't go that far, as no one can predict the future with 100% certainty.

Compared to bonds, specifically, there have been a number of 30-year periods where bonds have outperformed stocks. See this WSJ article, reporting on this study.
by snailderby
Fri Jun 04, 2021 7:41 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best credit card for ~500/mo travel spending?
Replies: 12
Views: 1414

Re: Best credit card for ~500/mo travel spending?

Are you looking for signup bonuses, points that you can convert into airline miles, or just straight cashback?
by snailderby
Fri Jun 04, 2021 7:27 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Replies: 7203
Views: 1421787

Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?

Gas rewards is one thing I've given up chasing, simply due to the number of credit card skimmers installed on gas pumps in my area. I've switched over to the CSR since it has an NFC chip and I get gas at a station with NFC payment terminals at the pump. If there's a good gas rewards card that comes with an NFC chip, I'd be interested in hearing about it, but for now the costs and hassles of getting my card skimmed are far above the benefits of getting a few extra percentage points of rewards from the transaction. The following cards appear to have a contactless NFC symbol: Bank of America Cash Rewards (up to 5.25% on gas if you have Platinum Honors status with BoA/Merrill) PenFed Platinum Rewards (5x points on gas, worth 0.85c a point for ...
by snailderby
Fri Jun 04, 2021 7:08 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards
Replies: 7054
Views: 890933

Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

dcdcdc724 wrote: Thu Jun 03, 2021 8:58 pm Merrill Edge/ML clients, did they do away with the bull logo co-branding on the updated Premium Rewards card?
The picture on this webpage (https://www.ml.com/solutions/premium-re ... -card.html) makes it look like they removed the bull logo. But I haven't applied for the card through Merrill, so I can't confirm this for sure.
by snailderby
Thu Jun 03, 2021 6:26 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: VTSAX vs VFIAX
Replies: 13
Views: 4458

Re: VTSAX vs VFIAX

I have the same question. But if the correlation is 0.99, why the difference in price? VTSAX is $105.84 and VFIAX $388.01 at the moment. Welcome to the forum! Funds can have different share prices for all sorts of reasons, including stock splits , different inception dates, and changes in the index followed. For example, SPDR currently operates two S&P 500 ETFs. One of them (SPY) currently has a share price of $418.77. The other (SPLG) has a share price of $49.26. Yet both ETFs track the same index. Think of it this way: If you buy 1 share of a $100 fund, and it goes up in value by 50%, is that really that different from buying 2 shares of a $50 fund that also go up in value by 50%? Wouldn't you care more about the fund's performance t...
by snailderby
Tue Jun 01, 2021 5:49 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Replies: 7203
Views: 1421787

Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?

tj wrote: Tue Jun 01, 2021 10:04 am
ZinCO wrote: Tue Jun 01, 2021 9:49 am Travel Rewards card is free. Premium Rewards is $95 and has the travel credit mentioned above.
Travel Rewards requires you to redeem for travel expenses. The Premium Rewards is more versatile and with the annual fee being almost nothing after travel credit, there's zero reason to use the Travel Rewards card.
You can now redeem Travel Rewards points for travel and dining expenses, although I'm not sure whether this is a permanent change or just a temporary COVID policy. We'll see, I guess.
by snailderby
Tue Jun 01, 2021 7:48 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Replies: 7203
Views: 1421787

Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?

Bibliothikarios wrote: Fri May 28, 2021 9:50 pm So about eight months ago, I read this entire thread. lol I read it over a month and half. I racked up nearly 4k in bonuses after reading this thread. Thanks to everyone who has posted over the years.

So, now I'm considering what my steady day to day/long term plan will be. I currently have investments at Fidelity.

I am intrigued by the BofA Merrill Lynch platinum honors.

I wanted to see if those who use the BofA/ML as their default CC rewards are still happy? I guess I just need to hear the experience will be good enough to warrant such a big change (for me, mentally, moving investments).
So far so good. We're not Platinum Honors yet, just Platinum, but that still gets us a flat 2.25% on all purchases on our BoA Travel Rewards card.
by snailderby
Mon May 31, 2021 8:11 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Gold [buying/storing]
Replies: 208
Views: 21429

Re: Gold [buying/storing]

OP, I'm not sure if you're a U.S. investor, but if so, note that capital gains realized from selling physical gold can be subject to different tax rules. I believe (1) long-term capital gains are taxed at 28%, or your ordinary income rate, whichever is lower; (2) short-term gains are taxed as ordinary income; and (3) one potential way to get around this is to hold an ETF like IAU or GLDM in an IRA. But I'm not an accountant, so take this with a grain of salt.
by snailderby
Fri May 28, 2021 6:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Altruistic companies to work for?
Replies: 37
Views: 6960

Re: Altruistic companies to work for?

What you find "meaningful" or "altruistic" may depend on your values/worldview.
by snailderby
Fri May 28, 2021 1:34 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Updated: Help, Financially Naive here.
Replies: 86
Views: 15494

Re: Help, Financially Naive here.

A. Welcome to the forum! B. Comments on specific parts of your post: Should we get a financial advisor like some of my friends? Probably not. Many, if not most, financial advisors make money by “advising” you to purchase mutual funds from companies that pay them kickbacks or commissions, even if those mutual funds have expense ratios that are 1% to 2% higher than the expense ratios of comparable index funds. You may also have to pay a front- or back-end “load” of 5% or more to buy or sell some of these mutual funds. On top of that, many financial advisors charge an annual fee that can range from 1% to 2% of your “assets under management.” At first glance, 2% to 4% might seem like a small price to pay for the peace of mind of having someone ...
by snailderby
Thu May 27, 2021 7:16 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New Life Affords Massive Rebalancing Opportunity
Replies: 12
Views: 1646

Re: New Life Affords Massive Rebalancing Opportunity

1. If it was a perfect 312 into 312 situation I think a ratio of 77% 500 index to 23% extended market would get me to ~ market cap weightings but in my actual situation... I can't do the math Is there anyone out there who can do it fo me or tell me the name of the operation/s I need to learn to make the proportional stuff work out? /Please help I think the current ratio may be around 82/18, but I could be wrong. 2. I used the extended market fund to turn a portfolio that was all S&P 500 into a total market without selling anything (I was afraid to create any taxes). Does it make sense to lower my Expense ratios by selling everything and buying total market in both the Taxable and Roth or only in the Roth or nether because a 0.01 Expens...
by snailderby
Thu May 27, 2021 7:01 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: New Life Affords Massive Rebalancing Opportunity
Replies: 12
Views: 1646

Re: New Life Affords Massive Rebalancing Opportunity

greenway23 wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 6:32 pm Do you really think the OP’s ratio is outdated? Per the wiki, VTSAX is 76% large cap and 24% mid/small cap as of May 2020, unless I’m reading that incorrectly.
There are many different definitions of large, mid, and small cap out there, and the S&P 500/extended market funds don't necessarily line up precisely with those definitions.
by snailderby
Thu May 27, 2021 9:13 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 2% cashback credit cards with minimal effort to redeem/apply CB
Replies: 70
Views: 8049

Re: 2% cashback credit cards with minimal effort to redeem/apply CB

To compile some of the answers: Fidelity Rewards (https://www.fidelity.com/cash-management/visa-signature-card) Citi Double Cash (https://www.citi.com/credit-cards/citi-double-cash-credit-card) PayPal Cashback (https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/credit-card/2-percent-cash-back-mastercard) PenFed Power Cash Rewards (https://www.penfed.org/credit-cards/power-cash-rewards-visa) Alliant Visa Platinum Rewards (https://www.alliantcreditunion.org/bank/visa-platinum-rewards-card) SDFCU Premium Cash Back+ (https://www.sdfcu.org/premium-cash-back) TD Double Up (https://www.td.com/us/en/personal-banking/credit-cards/double-up/) SoFi Credit Card (https://www.sofi.com/credit-card/) Synchrony Premier World Mastercard (https://www.synchronybank.com/cre...
by snailderby
Thu May 27, 2021 5:26 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Adding small cap index to 3-fund?
Replies: 42
Views: 4578

Re: Adding small cap index to 3-fund?

Brianjp18 wrote: Wed May 26, 2021 9:24 pm Side note: Just my first post on this forum and I’ve already received so much useful advice in less than a day. Thanks for the help everyone.
Welcome to the forum! :beer
by snailderby
Wed May 26, 2021 8:47 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Adding small cap index to 3-fund?
Replies: 42
Views: 4578

Re: Adding small cap index to 3-fund?

Brianjp18 wrote: Wed May 26, 2021 4:18 pm
jimkinny wrote: Wed May 26, 2021 2:05 pmOnce you deviate from some market benchmark like a total stock market fund you get into problems with behavioural issues: staying with whatever you overweighted for many years while it's returns are less that the market index.
Really good point about the commitment factor to an added fund in the portfolio that is less diversified than total market.
This is an important point. How would you react if small caps lagged large caps for the next 10 years? Would you stay the course or throw in the towel? At one point I dabbled in small cap value but eventually realized that I didn't have enough conviction to stick with that tilt. (Plus I got distracted by other strategies...lol.)
by snailderby
Wed May 26, 2021 8:41 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Tax efficiency of S&P500 Mutual Fund [vs. ETF]
Replies: 30
Views: 4909

Re: Tax efficiency of S&P500 Mutual Fund [vs. ETF]

Welcome to the forum!

1. I suppose a Vanguard account is not an option? Vanguard mutual funds (like VFIAX) share the tax-efficiency of their ETFs.

2. +1 to retired@50's suggestion below:
retired@50 wrote: Wed May 26, 2021 8:36 pm If you decide to use an ETF, I'd choose VOO (0.03% ER) over SPY (0.09% ER).

That's 6 basis points in savings right from the start.
by snailderby
Sun May 23, 2021 6:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Becoming frugal
Replies: 170
Views: 29208

Re: Becoming frugal

Hogan773 wrote: Mon Oct 29, 2018 5:15 pm Don't have kids, live outside in a tent, take a shower in the local stream, make your own shampoo out of dirt, eat whatever berries you can find and supplement with more dirt or roadkill if it presents itself.

You will be on the FIRE train very quickly. You will maximize your nest egg and pass it on to the government when you die prematurely but you will have been frugal so there's that
Lol. :beer
by snailderby
Sun May 23, 2021 6:15 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio Review - Moving to KISS Theory
Replies: 6
Views: 1671

Re: Portfolio Review - Moving to KISS Theory

Welcome to the forum!

What other low-cost fund options do you have in your current 401(k)? Does Empower really let you invest in any Fidelity or Vanguard fund?
by snailderby
Sat May 22, 2021 8:37 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Funds that pay large dividends
Replies: 26
Views: 3197

Re: Funds that pay large dividends

per the Money wizard article, these funds I'm looking at pay qualified dividends and I would make every attempt to hold for 1 year so any sale would be LT Cap gain. So, if I'm understanding- price per share of a fund that pays 4% dividends is likely to go down over time to account for this above avg dividend the same way my portfolio would go down if I was simply selling off funds (that paid very low or no dividends) to come up with the same amount of monthly income. I was thinking there would be some funds that were actually increasing in value AND paying 4-5% dividends. From the posts here, that is impossible. I guess these are mutually exclusive? A fund that pays 4-5% dividend year after year has a price per share that keeps going down ...
by snailderby
Sat May 22, 2021 8:28 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: T. Rowe Price Retirement funds
Replies: 18
Views: 3271

Re: T. Rowe Price Retirement finds

Do you believe past performance is a good predictor of future returns?
by snailderby
Sat May 22, 2021 6:33 pm
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Searching for Lost Contributors
Replies: 544
Views: 140533

Re: Searching for Lost Contributors

92irish wrote: Wed Apr 28, 2021 1:09 pm For those who have been around for awhile - Munchkin Man was the BEST! Never quite sure whether he was some kind of troll or what his agenda was, but boy he sure was entertaining. Comedic interjection in what can be somewhat boring boglehead land.

If you don't know what I'm talking about - hit the google search bar.
Thanks for the introduction! Just looked up some of his old posts. Inimitable.
by snailderby
Sat May 22, 2021 5:52 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: NASDAQ instead of SP500?
Replies: 96
Views: 13782

Re: NASDAQ instead of SP500?

K8ya wrote: Sat May 22, 2021 5:25 pm Anyone think this is a better play going forward? Tech has been the real driver of the economy since 2000 onwards.
Do you think the tech sector's future prospects haven't been (adequately) priced in yet by the market?
by snailderby
Fri May 21, 2021 6:36 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: WisdomTree NTSX now has siblings NTSI and NTSE launched today
Replies: 110
Views: 18028

Re: WisdomTree NTSX now has siblings NTSI and NTSE launched today

The latter. Seems like the general Bogleheads approach is to put little weight into EM, if at all. The Wiki page on it (https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Emerging_market_stocks) states "Vanguard suggests that investors should allocate between 10% to 15% of the international allocation to emerging market stocks." The typical recommendation for % of portfolio in international is ~20%, right? So that suggests that EM, as a percentage of total portfolio, should be 2%-3%. Personally I think I prefer larger weight in international overall... maybe closer to 30% of total portfolio. So something like 70/25/5 NTSX/NTSI/NTSE seems OK. Not to derail this thread, but I don't think there's a clear consensus on this forum regarding how much to a...
by snailderby
Fri May 21, 2021 6:10 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: WisdomTree NTSX now has siblings NTSI and NTSE launched today
Replies: 110
Views: 18028

Re: WisdomTree NTSX now has siblings NTSI and NTSE launched today

The latter. Seems like the general Bogleheads approach is to put little weight into EM, if at all. The Wiki page on it (https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Emerging_market_stocks) states "Vanguard suggests that investors should allocate between 10% to 15% of the international allocation to emerging market stocks." The typical recommendation for % of portfolio in international is ~20%, right? So that suggests that EM, as a percentage of total portfolio, should be 2%-3%. Personally I think I prefer larger weight in international overall... maybe closer to 30% of total portfolio. So something like 70/25/5 NTSX/NTSI/NTSE seems OK. Not to derail this thread, but I don't think there's a clear consensus on this forum regarding how much to a...
by snailderby
Thu May 20, 2021 3:13 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: WisdomTree NTSX now has siblings NTSI and NTSE launched today
Replies: 110
Views: 18028

Re: WisdomTree NTSX now has siblings NTSI and NTSE launched today

I'm definitely interested. How was the bid/ask spread when you bought NTSI and NTSE today?
by snailderby
Thu May 20, 2021 11:16 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Suits (for work) - where and what brands?
Replies: 51
Views: 6958

Re: Suits (for work) - where and what brands?

SmokeyAbe wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 5:27 pm http://alaindupetit.com

Amazing prices, solid quality.
Wow. $39 suit?
by snailderby
Thu May 20, 2021 9:21 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: WisdomTree 90/60 US Efficient Core Fund [NTSX] (formerly US Balanced Fund)
Replies: 857
Views: 158050

Re: WisdomTree 90/60 U.S. Balanced Fund [NTSX]

That's great. Thanks for the update! Looks like NTSI will have an ER of 0.26% and NTSE will have an ER of 0.32%.
by snailderby
Wed May 19, 2021 7:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Seeking Online Bank Recommendations
Replies: 63
Views: 7490

Re: Seeking Online Bank Recommendations

Here are a few that come to mind, but I'm I'm sure there are many more options out there:

Cash management accounts:
--Fidelity
--SoFi

Checking accounts:
--Ally
--Schwab
--Capital One
by snailderby
Tue May 18, 2021 7:11 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: American Funds vs indexing - data/study?
Replies: 15
Views: 2929

Re: American Funds vs indexing - data/study?

One thing to note about the study cited above: It used the lowest cost share classes for American Funds that are typically only available in retirement plans. Notably: American Funds has a variety of other share classes that it claims allows it “to compensate your financial professional for helping you decide which funds are right.” While the gap between the expense ratios of the lowest-cost and highest-cost funds in share classes from DFA and Vanguard can typically be measured by counting basis points on the fingers of your two hands, the same gap between the American Funds share classes can be more than 1.2 percentage points. And some of the share classes come with sales charges, deferred sales charges or hefty 12b-1 fees (up to 1%). In o...
by snailderby
Tue May 18, 2021 7:09 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: American Funds vs indexing - data/study?
Replies: 15
Views: 2929

Re: American Funds vs indexing - data/study?

American Funds has several funds with good track records. If you had to choose an actively managed mutual fund family, you could do a lot worse than American Funds, T. Rowe Price, or Vanguard. One study by Larry Swedroe found that the "only actively managed fund family in the group that added value when compared to both Vanguard and DFA (though in the second case by only a small margin) was American Funds." In addition, "American Funds also showed positive alphas relative to each of the factor regressions." https://www.advisorperspectives.com/articles/2016/05/03/does-t-rowe-price-add-value-for-investors. Another article by Larry Swedroe noted the following about American Funds, specifically: There’s a lot about the firm ...
by snailderby
Tue May 18, 2021 9:34 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: interstate movers recommendation
Replies: 31
Views: 3792

Re: the result

Thought I'd update this thread, now that that move is over... We chose United Van Lines (sister company to Mayflower) and had a very good experience. A few broken glasses/mugs (due to our poor packing) and one damaged piece of furniture (due to mover's error), but otherwise things went very smoothly. I can provide more details if people are interested, but I will make one key observation now: as stated by a previous poster, the crew that you get to load/unload/transfer your belongings makes all the difference, and it is admittedly a bit of a crap shoot. We got lucky and had professional, responsible people handling our stuff. Ideally, you'd be able to choose your team based on reviews, but that's not how things work, at least not for the n...
by snailderby
Mon May 17, 2021 7:22 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "Beware of Sci-Fi Portfolios"
Replies: 185
Views: 19736

Re: "Beware of Sci-Fi Portfolios"

This is my own Sci-FI portfolio backtested to Dec 31, 2009. It beats S&P 500 by 1.5 points (16.12% v 14.52% for SPY) with HALF the drawdown/volatility. I know folks will protest and cite "volatility decay" but it works, related to HEDGEFUNDIE adventure. Thoughts?? VUG (Vanguard growth) 50% SSO (2x SPY) 10% STPZ (Pimco 1-5yr TIPS) 10% LTPZ (Pimco 15+ TIPS) 10% TYD (3x 7-10 yr Tbills) 10% TMF (3x 20+ yr Tbills) 10% moontower, you've asked for feedback on your portfolio in many different threads, including the Three-Fund Portfolio thread, the WisdomTree 90/60 U.S. Balanced Fund [NTSX] thread, the HEDGEFUNDIE's excellent adventure thread, and several others. You might get more helpful input if you created your own thread asking f...
by snailderby
Fri May 14, 2021 7:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Replies: 7203
Views: 1421787

Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?

The Bank of America Premium Rewards card is frequently recommended on here, but for someone who doesn't want to pay an annual fee and doesn't want to deal with the American Airlines gift card workaround, the Travel Rewards card can be another good alternative.
by snailderby
Fri May 14, 2021 7:30 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Too Good To Be True Portfolio
Replies: 35
Views: 5292

Re: Too Good To Be True Portfolio

Have you checked out these similar suggestions from other investors?

https://www.optimizedportfolio.com/all- ... -portfolio (leveraged All-Weather Portfolio)
viewtopic.php?t=327599 (leveraged U.S./ex-U.S. equities/long-term treasuries/gold)

The Efficient Investor also has a blog called the https://theleveragedindexer.com/. I'm tagging him here in case he has any insight to add:
EfficientInvestor wrote: Mon Oct 12, 2020 1:06 pm
The technical details of the best way to leverage a portfolio are beyond me, but perhaps you might find some insight in the long, HFEA thread:

viewtopic.php?t=272007 (part 1)
viewtopic.php?t=288192 (part 2)
by snailderby
Thu May 13, 2021 7:48 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Kyle Weaver superstar fund manager 79% return
Replies: 48
Views: 5287

Re: Kyle Weaver superstar fund manager 79% return

Is this a better active managed fund with a longer history to invest in? https://www.morningstar.com/funds/xnas/prwcx/quote T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation (PRWCX) Morningstar Analyst Rating 5 stars! Why don’t we just all pick 5 star Morningstar funds to invest in? Morningstar ratings are a measure of past performance. And again, past performance is not a good indicator of future performance. Consider these quotes from a Wall Street Journal article, https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-morningstar-mirage-1508946687: Investors everywhere think a 5-star rating from Morningstar means a mutual fund will be a top performer—it doesn’t A lot of these investors, and the people paid to guide them, take for granted that the number of stars awarded to...
by snailderby
Thu May 13, 2021 10:13 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Kyle Weaver superstar fund manager 79% return
Replies: 48
Views: 5287

Re: Kyle Weaver superstar fund manager 79% return

1. Has FAGAX outperformed the total stock market since its inception? Yes, but at the cost of higher volatility and a worse maximum drawdown in the 2008-2009 financial crisis. See https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio?s=y&timePeriod=2&startYear=1985&firstMonth=1&endYear=2021&lastMonth=12&calendarAligned=true&includeYTD=false&initialAmount=10000&annualOperation=0&annualAdjustment=0&inflationAdjusted=true&annualPercentage=0.0&frequency=4&rebalanceType=1&absoluteDeviation=5.0&relativeDeviation=25.0&reinvestDividends=true&showYield=false&showFactors=false&factorModel=3&portfolioNames=false&portfolioName1=Portfolio+1&portfolioName2=Portf...
by snailderby
Thu May 13, 2021 10:05 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Your Honest Opinion On This SCV Portfolio
Replies: 27
Views: 3512

Re: Your Honest Opinion On This SCV Portfolio

ruud wrote: Thu May 13, 2021 9:54 am The portfolio recommended by PAS didn't work out?
I'm also curious to hear what made you want to switch from Vanguard PAS to this portfolio.
by snailderby
Thu May 13, 2021 10:02 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Kyle Weaver superstar fund manager 79% return
Replies: 48
Views: 5287

Re: Kyle Weaver superstar fund manager 79% return

1. Has FAGAX outperformed the total stock market since its inception? Yes, but at the cost of higher volatility and a worse maximum drawdown in the 2008-2009 financial crisis. See https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio?s=y&timePeriod=2&startYear=1985&firstMonth=1&endYear=2021&lastMonth=12&calendarAligned=true&includeYTD=false&initialAmount=10000&annualOperation=0&annualAdjustment=0&inflationAdjusted=true&annualPercentage=0.0&frequency=4&rebalanceType=1&absoluteDeviation=5.0&relativeDeviation=25.0&reinvestDividends=true&showYield=false&showFactors=false&factorModel=3&portfolioNames=false&portfolioName1=Portfolio+1&portfolioName2=Portfo...
by snailderby
Thu May 13, 2021 5:31 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 10 million dollar dilemma
Replies: 56
Views: 15057

Re: 10 million dollar dilemma

With the understanding that the past doesn't always predict the future, check out the heat maps and safe withdrawal rates for different portfolios at https://portfoliocharts.com/. You certainly don't have to be 100% stocks if a lower stock allocation will generate enough growth for your needs. Some investors also use TIPS, gold, and/or commodities to hedge against inflation, although there are mixed views on this forum about the latter two asset classes.
by snailderby
Tue May 11, 2021 7:54 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: I See no Path Forward Financially
Replies: 101
Views: 14688

Re: I See no Path Forward Financially

1. Welcome to the forum, and props to you for being honest with yourself about your situation. 2. There are lots of people your age or older who are in much worse shape, financially. You're young. You have a good paying job. You have a supportive family. You're trying hard to save where you can. 3. Two areas to look at: (a) Can you lower that cell phone bill at all? Mint Mobile has cell phone plans that run for $15 to $30 per month for unlimited talk and text plus a decent amount of high speed data. (b) Is selling the Honda Pilot, paying your dad back, and buying a used car with the remaining money an option? Not sure if the numbers would work out, but if they do, that would knock out your monthly car payments. If not...just keep plugging a...