BONDS MAY NOT BE the most interesting investment, but they generate their fair share of debate. Especially after 2022’s rout, when total-bond market funds dropped 13%, many investors wonder how best to proceed. An open question: Does it make more sense to buy individual bonds or opt for bond funds?
To answer this question, let’s start with a simple example. Suppose you’d invested in Vanguard Group’s total-bond market fund (symbol: BND) on Jan. 1,

Of my first investments beyond CDs. Bought into a mutual fund in mid-1987 not understanding front-end loads and high expense ratio, not to mention residing in the bottom quartile. Invested in a REIT that immediately and constantly fell in value. Then Black Monday happened to the mutual fund, and the REIT had no secondary market I could sell to.
But the investments were small and the lessons learned huge. I learned that the market came back pretty quickly and that mutual funds are not created equally,

Of the four advantages of index fund investing—cheapness, flexibility, tax efficiency and transparency–I had long thought the last to be the most straightforward to implement. Just define your criteria, find stocks that qualify for inclusion and remain fixed forever.
But two weeks ago I found myself frustrated trying to reallocate my portfolio by size and position along the growth-value continuum using the ubiquitous Morningstar Style Box. Did the creators of our beloved indices not succeed in validly classifying stocks into their correct category?

Investors who desire a broader market index fund than is offered by the 500 large-cap stocks in the S&P Index Fund often opt for the 3,500 or so stocks in the ostensibly more encompassing Total Market Index Fund. But are these two funds—among the largest on the mutual fund landscape– really all that different?  Let’s find out.
The Portfolios
It makes sense to begin our investigation of just how alike the S&P surrogate and Total Market Index are by comparing several characteristics of their portfolios.

You’ve gone long-term the S&P 500 and you think you’re diversified. Lots of luck. Others of you are smug because you opted instead for a total market fund. At least you guys had the right idea. Truth is, neither of you is adequately spread out. Why not? Because you are horribly underinvested in small cap stocks
 
The S&P has absolutely zero small stocks represented, according to Morningstar’s definition. And small companies make up only 8% of the broad market alternative’s holdings.

I was an independent advisor for Charles Schwab but have always entrusted my money to Fidelity. I’ve been spoiled by the elite service, very knowledgeable telephone reps and emphasis on mutual funds.  I see Schwab more as a bunch of swashbuckling stock enthusiasts offering mutual funds merely to have a presence.
I’ve snubbed Vanguard despite its reputation as the hands-down low-cost provider because of its notorious service shortcomings—insufficient online tools, limited telephone hours, poorly trained agents and no local branches.

SUPPOSE YOU WANTED to construct as simple an investment portfolio as possible. What would it look like?
Many argue that, for stock market exposure, you could go with a single fund, one that tracks the S&P 500 index. The S&P index offers broad diversification and tax efficiency, plus it includes the largest and most successful companies, making it a popular choice. But it’s not perfect.
The S&P 500, like many market indexes, holds stocks in proportion to their size,

The new kid’s back in town and he’s a bully. Remember active mutual funds? Get ready because here come active ETFs. In 2019, there were only about 350 of those guys, but now that number has ballooned to almost 1,500. Remarkably, active ETFs gobbled up over 20% of the net asset flow into stock ETFs in the first half of this year.
According to one active ETF advocate, actively management has become more popular as heavyweight asset managers have entered the fray.

Anticipating that I would soon be starting the decumulation phase, I recently set up a five year CD ladder, using brokerage CDs bought through Vanguard. Yesterday I ran Vanguard’s Portfolio Watch. Aside from finding that my stock percentage had gone from 50% to 54%, and my international stock percentage from 20% to 10%, I found that Vanguard counted my CDs as bonds, not as “short term reserves”. Can anyone explain that?
Also, since I need to do some rebalancing,

Years ago I bought some Gold Eagles. Now with gold trading at near historic highs, I figure it may be a good time to sell. If you have sold your gold, I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts on the process, especially in regards to maximizing the sales price.

A NEW TYPE OF MUTUAL fund has captured investors’ attention. Known as buffer funds, they’re so appealing that one industry analyst has referred to them as “candy.” Why? As The Wall Street Journal describes them, buffer funds offer investors “the chance to chase stock returns while also protecting against a potential market slide”—a seemingly ideal combination, especially for those in or near retirement.
But funds like this are complicated—they rely on options strategies.

Like many of you I have read Jonathan writings  from WSJ to Humble Dollar . I have been content to just enjoy reading without comment. After Jonathan health news and his  hopes Humble Dollar will continue I decided to get off the sidelines and have started to add my 2 cents worth (which is only worth about half a cent these days) on some of the posts. This is my first post. What first got you interested in investing?

In two previous posts (“The Morningstar Experience” and “Your Morningstar Freebee”), we looked at how readers considering investment in a Vanguard fund can consult the helpful information in Morningstar’s esteemed advisory service. We demonstrated how they might consult this resource to monitor their investments and evaluate their performance. Today, we’ll illustrate how to decide whether the holdings of the fund meet the reader’s objective. Once again, the fund examined is Vanguard’s Small-Cap ETF (symbol VB, or VSMAX for the mutual fund alternative).

Morningstar, that indispensable fund advisory service, has a freebee, but it’s missed by many folks who could benefit mightily from its wisdom and data. True, to monitor your holdings via the invaluable Portfolio Manager, you’ll have to pony up the $249 admission price. But many investors are unaware they can pull up comprehensive analyses—both quantitative and qualitative—of their individual mutual funds and ETFs without a subscription.
Why would Morningstar allow you to squeeze in without paying for its coveted fund reviews?

In yesterday’s post, “Navigate Your Portfolio in Morningstar in 20 Minutes,” we introduced the highly respected advisory service and walked through how to enter your funds into its Portfolio Manager platform.  We put special emphasis on Morningstar’s hallmark 5-Star Ratings, enumerating some of the system’s strengths and weaknesses. You have access to the Stars without a subscription by simply searching for your fund, but other information on Portfolio Manager and the invaluable X-Ray tool we will navigate today does require one ($249 annually).