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Stock Thread 2018

VRX Valeant Pharmaceuticals Inc,

Is it safe to say they're out of the woods?
They may have killed the career of Bill Ackman but I'm ready to dip a toe in the water. I've been watching this one for a long time to see if lawsuits would kill it or if it would rebound. Its rebounding well.
 
This is not a stock question per se, but an investing one. Thoughts on 401(k) target date funds?

My wife is retired and I am considering moving her entire 401(k) asset allocation (which is too aggressive, although I am pleased with last year's returns :))into a Vanguard target date fund that has an expense ratio of just 0.05%. This is a company portfolio-specific fund that Vanguard does not offer; their target date fund VTXVX e.r. is 0.15%

The asset mix is roughly 55% bonds, 42% equities and 3% cash/other investments.
 
Are you not comfortable with your financial advisors suggestions?

Of course not, hence the question here. I am that financial advisor, I've been paying myself quite handsomely for the past 16 years or so. :teeth
 
This is not a stock question per se, but an investing one. Thoughts on 401(k) target date funds?

My wife is retired and I am considering moving her entire 401(k) asset allocation (which is too aggressive, although I am pleased with last year's returns :))into a Vanguard target date fund that has an expense ratio of just 0.05%. This is a company portfolio-specific fund that Vanguard does not offer; their target date fund VTXVX e.r. is 0.15%

The asset mix is roughly 55% bonds, 42% equities and 3% cash/other investments.

A fund that invests in other funds? Not really my style, you can easily choose a mix of funds yourself.

Also consider if the investment decisions are index-driven, or does the fund manager have wide discretion? If the latter I would stay away due to potential for abuse. Note Congress has recently decided that investment advisors no longer have to act in the client's best interest. :nchantr
 
Of course not, hence the question here. I am that financial advisor, I've been paying myself quite handsomely for the past 16 years or so. :teeth

I was being a fly on the wall listening to a former colleague in a cube nearby trying to get organized before he retired last year. Once I heard him talking to a financial adviser at Fidelity. One comment he made to his adviser was that he was not happy about the recent performance of the int'l funds in his portfolio. A few days later, I heard him talking to one of his friends that he was going to stick to the advice Fidelity gave him on the diversification in his portfolio.

If you or your spouse have a retirement account at one of the big brokerage companies, it wouldn't hurt to listen to what they have to say. But it all boils down to your tolerance for risk and how much weight you put on the advice of others. I have heard many times that you are your best advisor.
 
... Note Congress has recently decided that investment advisors no longer have to act in the client's best interest. :nchantr

What? They reversed the rule that investment advisors that handle retirement accounts need to be fiduciaries? When did they do that? Laws that protect seem to be changing/reversing overnight and all too frequently nowadays :mad
 
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What? They reversed the rule that investment advisors that handle retirement accounts need to be fiduciaries? When did they do that? Laws that protect seem to be changing/reversing overnight and all too frequently nowadays :mad

I thought I saw that the reversal passed but can't find a reference now. Maybe it's part of the budget bill that's being fought over?
 
I thought I saw that the reversal passed but can't find a reference now. Maybe it's part of the budget bill that's being fought over?

awwww mann, seems like the little guy has to fend for himself on so many things nowadays ...
 
I thought I saw that the reversal passed but can't find a reference now. Maybe it's part of the budget bill that's being fought over?

Who were they looking out for with that change and why does it not seem to matter to his voters?
 
Who were they looking out for with that change and why does it not seem to matter to his voters?

I found something, as recent as 1/3/2018:
http://www.investmentnews.com/artic...rve-spending-rider-to-kill-dol-fiduciary-rule


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Just in case you are not able to read the article in its entirety without being asked to subscribe:

"House Republicans will seek to preserve a provision of the chamber's spending bill that would kill the Labor Department's fiduciary rule as they negotiate a measure to fund the government.

Republican and Democratic House and Senate leaders were scheduled to meet Tuesday afternoon to begin talks on legislation that would keep the government open beyond the current so-called continuing resolution that expires on Jan. 19.

It's not clear whether lawmakers will have to rely on another short-term spending measure or can hammer out a larger bill that would set the government budget through the end of fiscal 2018, which ends on Sept. 30.

A spending bill the House passed last fall included a so-called rider that would gut the DOL rule, which requires brokers to act in the best interests of their clients in retirement accounts.

"The provision was in the House-passed version of the bill," Jennifer Hing, spokeswoman for the House Appropriations Committee, wrote in an email. "The House negotiators will fight for this and all House provisions to be maintained."

A rider to kill the DOL rule has come up in the budget process for several years. Each time, it was snuffed out by Democrats who opposed riders on an array of issues.

DEMOCRATS NEEDED

Republicans, who control the House and Senate, will have to gain the support of at least some Democrats to pass a funding bill. The Democratic caucus in the Senate has 49 members, plenty to sustain a filibuster.

Lisa Gilbert, vice president of legislative affairs at Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, is worried that some of the hundreds of riders in the House bill could slip through, if Democrats aren't unified.

A complicating factor is that a lot of big issues, including disaster relief and a program to keep children of undocumented immigrants in the country, are also being negotiated.

"We think it's incredibly important that Democrats push back against poison-pill riders and that they hold the line that an omnibus [spending bill] is what it's intended to be — a spending package," Ms. Gilbert said.

A leader of the Financial Planning Coalition also is keeping an eye on the fate of the fiduciary rider, which reflects the opposition to the DOL rule from Republicans and industry opponents.

"It's been on a wish list for a number of years," said Maureen Thompson, vice president for public policy at the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. "It's always a concern, and we will be watching closely."

Another fiduciary advocate is downplaying the chances of the DOL rule rider's survival.

"While there have been some rumors circulating about a fiduciary rule rider, there doesn't appear to be much momentum behind the idea," Stephen W. Hall, legal director and securities specialist at non-profit group Better Markets, said in a statement. "They seem to be little more than stray whispers at this point. It should be noted, however, that should such a rider become a concrete threat, we expect that it will be strenuously opposed."

OPPOSITION EXPECTED

Kate McBride, a founder of the Committee for the Fiduciary Standard, also expects Democrats to stand firm against a fiduciary rider.

"I do expect that they hold together," said Ms. McBride, founder of FiduciaryPath, a fiduciary consulting and auditing firm. "They know exactly what the stakes are for retirement investors. Democrats in the House and Senate do get this."

Parts of the DOL rule were implemented last June. But its enforcement mechanisms have been delayed until July 2019, while the DOL reassesses the impact of the regulation on savers and the industry under a directive from President Donald J. Trump.

Advocates for the rule say it mitigates broker conflicts of interest that lead to the sale of inappropriate high-fee investments that erode savings. Opponents say the regulation imposes high costs and legal risks for firms that will make advice more expensive and price out investors with modest assets."
 
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Thanks Jennifer, good find.
 
Stock fundamental question.

You buy 100 shares at $25. Stocks doing well, gets to $31.

Is is worth buying more at $31? I guess it depends if one feels the stock will continue to rise.
 
Stock fundamental question.

You buy 100 shares at $25. Stocks doing well, gets to $31.

Is is worth buying more at $31? I guess it depends if one feels the stock will continue to rise.

It all depends on how you feel the stock will perform in the future. I bought NVDA at this time last year when it was near its all time high. I've never done that before with a stock, but it turned out very good. Usually I wait for a pullback before entering.
 
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