I like it for what I use it for. I set up a 50/50 stocks/bonds safety net to replace my previous emergency fund that was just sitting in a savings account earning almost nothing. It's very simple and mindless, as they do all the investing for you in a bunch of index funds. It is very hands-off, the fees are low, and its earning way more than a savings account. That said, I've got pretty good job security and I'm not worried about a big recession sinulatanneously hurting my employment AND safety net, so it's a pretty safe place for my emergency fund, which I really should rarely need to touch. If you are gonna open an account, PM me and I can send you a referral, which will give you six months free with no fees, and gives me a free month.
Betterment is a hell of a lot better than trying to do it yourself, but like anything, don't try to time the market and don't pull out your money if you weren't planning to for a personal financial event (like buying a home or something.)
Also allocation is the most important element of your portfolio. You shouldn't be 50:50 equities/fi if you have a 15-20 year time horizon. If you are going to start using those assets soon, you should barely be in any equities, if at all.
Yeah, it's just an emergency fund for me. I hopefully won't ever be touching it. Way better than a stagnant savings account. If a huge emergency occurs (medical, house, etc) and I need some extra money, it is there for me. But I don't plan on touching it.
Market just wont quit. My just blew though one of my normal sell signals. It will take a while to figure out the "new normal".
There is so much unknown. I could easily see it, but im not predicting that. If Trump cuts corporate tax rate, decreases regulation, promotes a strong dollar policy, and repatriates offshore and overseas money there is no telling where the stock market could end up.
there are over a trillion $ overseas that could be repatriated alllll the dividends MSFT, GE, Pfizer, Apple etc.
I bet it's double that at least. tmbrules will vouch that was the area I was most intrigued by in regards to Trump's opinion on corporate tax policy and the benefit it could provide.
i went through this before the election https://www.oxfamamerica.org/static/media/files/Broken_at_the_Top_FINAL_EMBARGOED_4.12.2016.pdf and purchased according to their holdings overseas and when the reform happens, which it will,
Question from my gf, she's in International Tax with a Big 4: Do you include Retained Earnings when you calculate a firm's D/E ration?
Did you just go with the firms that have the greatest number of subsidiaries in tax havens? Or greatest dollar value?
cant really go wrong with either but cisco and pfizer and apple would be my biggest three. they've been publicly talking about it for a while now
Do you think the benefit is fully priced in at this point? Do you expect a lot of the cash to be paid out in a special dividend?
It's the money earned that hasn't been distributed. That along with capital is what makes up equity. Otherwise you'd just be taking debt over the capital invested into the company.
For context: I underwrite and originate apartment loans for a large agency lender. We're big in apartments and healthcare using the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA/HUD products. I work in our specialty platform that does bridge lending for deals who don't quite yet qualify for agency financing. Typically, our deals need to be renovated, leased up, and re-positioned to qualify to exit via agency financing, ie: most have a value add component and we also provide the CapEx dollars to do the work. Our terms are 24 mos with 2 6 mo extensions at 25 bps per if needed, but we'd rather they not be extended and paid off via one of our agency loans. For the bridge deals, we have warehouse partners who provide 75% of the loan amount and we keep 25% on our balance sheet. We're trying to reduce our corporate contingent liabilities and build more cash to support our other businesses (ie: development, investing, loan serving, etc.) and build a cushion for a possible downturn. The Process: We're looking to do $412mm (34 assets) of collateralized apartment loans in a securitized, revolving CLO with two year reinvestment window. These 34 loans are from two warehouse lines with JPM and Wells. There are multiple steps in the preparation / diligence process and we're in the beginning pitch book phase. The first is a preliminary presentation to the Rating Agencies; this focusses mainly on our overall platform, the expected collateral portfolio generally, and the Top 5 contributed assets in particular. Later in the process, this presentation will be expanded into a bond marketing piece called the Structural & Collateral Term Sheet. From here, the detailed discussion of the Top 5 loans will be expanded to the Top 10 loans. Then we can upload more information including 3rd party reports, docs, and underwriting materials to a shared site for investor verification. I believe this to be the stage where tranches and ratings are assigned. Lastly, the loans and their files get audited and a data tape is made similar to CMBS for investor reporting purposes. The weighted average debt yield is 6.9%, dscr of 1.31x, as is LTV of 79%, and stablized LTV of 71%. The program boundries will be dscr of 1.25x minimum and not to exceed 80% LTV. We have a call next week to discuss, I'm looking forward to learning more as this is rather green to me and I have a lot to learn about this kind of finance. Pretty cool stuff overall though.
Perfect, that was my logic to her as well. Thank you. It becomes RE the moment it's not distributed with the other flow of earnings, correct?
Earnings & distributions are closed out to R/E at year end. Quick example for a new company: Year 1: 200 in net income; 50 in distributions/dividends Year 2: 500 in net income; 100 in distributions/divends R/E at 1/1/year 2 will be 150 (200-50) R/E at 1/1/year 3 will be 550 (150 + 500 - 100)
I realize the asshole-ness of this question, but didn't you say your girlfriend works at a Big 4? And she doesn't understand retained earnings?
I'm surprised one can obtain an accounting degree without at least being somewhat familiar with the concept.
i expect this to get pulled back in the next couple of weeks, especially if the Fed says they will raise 3-4 times in '17 rather than the 1-2 most expect. economy seems to be doing well but the market is turning on the afterburners may be smart to go into some cash here until mid jan. see: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/13/mark...lity-over-trump-policies-cnbc-fed-survey.html
Swim, it prob be smart to stop being an active trader, but if you're going to sell some positions, wait until January when (odds are) your positions will be taxed less the next tax year.
Interesting OP-ED piece here. I can't see 3-4 rate hikes next year with wage growth (2.5% with 3.5 target) and inflation lower than desired. Plus, to your point, the markets seem to be running hot right now and P/E levels are scary high. Even though the fed says it doesn't pay attention to the stock market, I can't see them raising rates several times when there's a pullback. http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/13/the-fed-terrible-time-to-raise-rates-commentary.html
im not as active as you think. and im fucked on taxes this year regardless. which is why i am giving my advisor a big ass check to cash but not necessarily invest until we see what happens in the next 30-60 days. but i do think that first week of jan will be a major sell off anyway, because of what you said primarily. just gotta do an individualized cost/benefit analysis of the gains vs. what happens if market goes down 5% etc.