Talking stocks, trading, and investing in general

[Omega Male]

 

[usctrojans31]

More DuPont financial engineering with its sale of its nutrition business to IFF. Ed Breen and the bankers have made a killing with these moves. Shareholders less so.

 

[jbarwick]

With tail tucked, I rebought into EMs.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

It has been very hard to not dump my international.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Why is it that buying bonds, and even getting quotes is so difficult? There's a million apps where I can buy and sell stocks all day, but nothing like that for corporate debt.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

With tail tucked, I rebought into EMs.

When you say EM is that an actively managed fund, or just like an total international allocation?

 

[jbarwick]

Why is it that buying bonds, and even getting quotes is so difficult? There's a million apps where I can buy and sell stocks all day, but nothing like that for corporate debt.

Vanguard has an area for Corporate debt but it is very limited. To buy anything in the B range you had to give them a call. I haven't looked in a while but had my eye on one bond. Given up on that now.

When you say EM is that an actively managed fund, or just like an total international allocation?

VWO - Vanguard EM which is basically China with other stuff added in. Most of the lower expense ratio EM funds have a lot of Chinese Tech so it is leveraged to one sector. There are EM ex-China funds but you move up the cost curve and down on liquidity.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

I was looking into the Vanguard EM, but the expense ratio is high-ish, which is why I went for total international.

 

[JDMills]

Why is it that buying bonds, and even getting quotes is so difficult? There's a million apps where I can buy and sell stocks all day, but nothing like that for corporate debt.

Unfortunately it's because bond trading is stuck in the 80s. Stocks are traded electronically over exchanges, bonds trade manually through dealer networks, which means there is much less price transparency.

There are exchange traded debentures you can purchase much like stocks, however they're unsecured debt, rather than secured as you would get with most bonds.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Yeah, I know a bond trader. He basically answers the phone and has to look for what clients want and execute for them. it seems stupid.

 

[JDMills]

It's moronic, this is why I hold my bond exposure through an ETF with Vanguard.

 

[Piobaire]

Okay, so this is based off something from previous experience.

Muni bond funding for non-profits. Look for bonds trading under par value that mature within the next few years and are paying a nice coupon rate. You can find their financials, the 990s, on various websites like Guide Star that they have to file with the IRS. Get your (tax advantaged) yield for a few years then the delta between what you paid and the par value.

 

[Omega Male]

Tesla $420 lol.

 

[imatlas]

Okay, so this is based off something from previous experience.

Muni bond funding for non-profits. Look for bonds trading under par value that mature within the next few years and are paying a nice coupon rate. You can find their financials, the 990s, on various websites like Guide Star that they have to file with the IRS. Get your (tax advantaged) yield for a few years then the delta between what you paid and the par value.

My wife worked in that industry straight out of B-school. The firm she worked for underwrote bonds for non-profit senior living facilities. That would be a particularly safe niche within the larger world of this type of bond.

 

[IChen]

I've gotten out of my 2 small caps, COUP and OKTA. It was a good run of a year and a half. Moved the funds to US low volatility. Thought about moving the money into China ETF like MCHI but holding off for now....