Retired computer scientist, a finance and economics enthusiast, a big fan of Jonathan Clements and John Bogle.
Forum Posts
Comments
As David Powell mentions in the comments, the market price of a share of an ETF can differ significantly from the ETF’s NAV for brief periods of time during periods of market volatility. Hence, it is advisable to use a limit order, instead of a market order, for trading ETF shares in order to ensure that the transaction will occur at a share price that is comparable to your intended price.
I am under the impression that Vanguard’s Personal Advisory Service charges 0.3% of assets under management annually. I am not aware that there is a fee cap. Could you please help me understand your statement: “my Vanguard fees benefit from the platform’s fee cap”? Thanks very much.
I have a money market account whose assets represent my cash flow needs for the next two years and a checking account for ongoing expenses. How would a saving account benefit me?
This article mentions a “small risk that you could lose money” in a money market account. If a money market account holds only US Treasury securities, then is such a money market account safe from loss because its assets are backed by the U.S. Government, which also backs the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)? So, from that perspective, are bank savings accounts (within the FDIC insurance limits) and US Treasury money market accounts equally safe? And, if that is true, is there any reason for an individual to have a savings account instead of a US Treasury money market account given that most low-cost US Treasury money market accounts have a higher yield than high-yield savings accounts? Thanks.
Dear Mr. Clements, I have been reading your writings for over two decades, starting with your column in the WSJ and continuing with your books and now this website. I feel utterly unqualified to offer any advice about the future direction of this website to someone of your stature. Nevertheless, I have some suggestions that I would humbly like to proffer. In financial planning, as in many aspects of life, less is more. Given our busy lives, we have limited time to devote to financial planning. It is better to focus on the few key aspects of financial planning lest we get overwhelmed by less important aspects and inadvertently neglect the key aspects. Moreover, too much information can be overwhelming, and may lead to paralysis and suboptimal decisions. Over the few years that I have read articles on your website, it seems that the number of contributors and the number of articles have increased significantly. This increase in content creates the risk of overwhelming your readers and submerging important articles and information. The most important content on your website is the online financial planning guide. Articles by great thinkers such as Charley Ellis, William Bernstein and yourself are immensely valuable. Articles by Adam Grossman, based on his experience as a financial planner, are very insightful. No disrespect is intended to any names that I have excluded. Many of the articles by other writers provide useful information. Even though I am retired, I am unable to find the time to read all of the articles on your website. The content has become overwhelming. I am afraid that important articles might get lost in the midst of all of the new content and that I might overlook them. I would appreciate it if you could please give some thought to reducing the amount of new content on your website by limiting it to those articles that provide significant new insights and timeless advice. Reducing the amount of content might make the website more financially viable and more effective for your time-pressed readers. Thanks very much for maintaining this website. It is an invaluable service to the community.
In comparison with the Japanese small-cap value asset class, global ex-US small-cap value provides greater geographical diversification. As a result, this global asset class has lower risk than a less geographically-diversified asset class. However, the ETFs for these asset classes have high bid-ask spreads. I would probably wait for Vanguard to introduce a low-cost international small-cap value mutual fund.
One final question, Jonathan. Since ‘all-in-one’ funds, such as Vanguard’s LifeStrategy and Target Retirement funds, rebalance continuously, is this a significant argument for using these funds instead of using Vanguard’s Personal Advisor Service which may not rebalance a client’s portfolio at an opportune time, as Allan Roth’s article in Barron’s indicates? Thanks.
A clarification, Jonathan. I am not looking for capital gains. I am hoping that these all-in-one funds did engage in rebalancing trades during the stock market decline of March 2020 in order to buy cheaply-priced equities, unlike Vanguard’s Personal Adviser Service which did not rebalance some client portfolios per article by Allan Roth in a June 2021 issue of Barron’s magazine. Does the charter of these funds allow them to trade securities in order to rebalance their portfolios or do these funds rebalance solely using fund flows? If they only use fund flows, then they might have missed the opportunity to buy inexpensively-priced equities in March 2020. That is my concern. How can we determine what these funds did or did not do in March 2020?
Comments
As David Powell mentions in the comments, the market price of a share of an ETF can differ significantly from the ETF’s NAV for brief periods of time during periods of market volatility. Hence, it is advisable to use a limit order, instead of a market order, for trading ETF shares in order to ensure that the transaction will occur at a share price that is comparable to your intended price.
Post: Mutual Funds Vs. ETFs Which do you prefer and Why?
Link to comment from November 1, 2025
I am under the impression that Vanguard’s Personal Advisory Service charges 0.3% of assets under management annually. I am not aware that there is a fee cap. Could you please help me understand your statement: “my Vanguard fees benefit from the platform’s fee cap”? Thanks very much.
Post: The High Cost of Financial Advice: A Tale of Two Portfolios
Link to comment from October 4, 2025
I have a money market account whose assets represent my cash flow needs for the next two years and a checking account for ongoing expenses. How would a saving account benefit me?
Post: Meet Marcus
Link to comment from June 23, 2024
This article mentions a “small risk that you could lose money” in a money market account. If a money market account holds only US Treasury securities, then is such a money market account safe from loss because its assets are backed by the U.S. Government, which also backs the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)? So, from that perspective, are bank savings accounts (within the FDIC insurance limits) and US Treasury money market accounts equally safe? And, if that is true, is there any reason for an individual to have a savings account instead of a US Treasury money market account given that most low-cost US Treasury money market accounts have a higher yield than high-yield savings accounts? Thanks.
Post: Higher Bank Yields
Link to comment from May 1, 2024
Deleted
Post: Less Is Better
Link to comment from August 14, 2022
Dear Mr. Clements, I have been reading your writings for over two decades, starting with your column in the WSJ and continuing with your books and now this website. I feel utterly unqualified to offer any advice about the future direction of this website to someone of your stature. Nevertheless, I have some suggestions that I would humbly like to proffer. In financial planning, as in many aspects of life, less is more. Given our busy lives, we have limited time to devote to financial planning. It is better to focus on the few key aspects of financial planning lest we get overwhelmed by less important aspects and inadvertently neglect the key aspects. Moreover, too much information can be overwhelming, and may lead to paralysis and suboptimal decisions. Over the few years that I have read articles on your website, it seems that the number of contributors and the number of articles have increased significantly. This increase in content creates the risk of overwhelming your readers and submerging important articles and information. The most important content on your website is the online financial planning guide. Articles by great thinkers such as Charley Ellis, William Bernstein and yourself are immensely valuable. Articles by Adam Grossman, based on his experience as a financial planner, are very insightful. No disrespect is intended to any names that I have excluded. Many of the articles by other writers provide useful information. Even though I am retired, I am unable to find the time to read all of the articles on your website. The content has become overwhelming. I am afraid that important articles might get lost in the midst of all of the new content and that I might overlook them. I would appreciate it if you could please give some thought to reducing the amount of new content on your website by limiting it to those articles that provide significant new insights and timeless advice. Reducing the amount of content might make the website more financially viable and more effective for your time-pressed readers. Thanks very much for maintaining this website. It is an invaluable service to the community.
Post: How We’re Doing
Link to comment from January 1, 2022
In comparison with the Japanese small-cap value asset class, global ex-US small-cap value provides greater geographical diversification. As a result, this global asset class has lower risk than a less geographically-diversified asset class. However, the ETFs for these asset classes have high bid-ask spreads. I would probably wait for Vanguard to introduce a low-cost international small-cap value mutual fund.
Post: Turning Japanese
Link to comment from August 14, 2021
Thanks, Jonathan. I appreciate the discussion very much.
Post: Calling for Backup
Link to comment from July 10, 2021
One final question, Jonathan. Since ‘all-in-one’ funds, such as Vanguard’s LifeStrategy and Target Retirement funds, rebalance continuously, is this a significant argument for using these funds instead of using Vanguard’s Personal Advisor Service which may not rebalance a client’s portfolio at an opportune time, as Allan Roth’s article in Barron’s indicates? Thanks.
Post: Calling for Backup
Link to comment from July 9, 2021
A clarification, Jonathan. I am not looking for capital gains. I am hoping that these all-in-one funds did engage in rebalancing trades during the stock market decline of March 2020 in order to buy cheaply-priced equities, unlike Vanguard’s Personal Adviser Service which did not rebalance some client portfolios per article by Allan Roth in a June 2021 issue of Barron’s magazine. Does the charter of these funds allow them to trade securities in order to rebalance their portfolios or do these funds rebalance solely using fund flows? If they only use fund flows, then they might have missed the opportunity to buy inexpensively-priced equities in March 2020. That is my concern. How can we determine what these funds did or did not do in March 2020?
Post: Calling for Backup
Link to comment from July 8, 2021