BIL

kokatsu_na

First of all, my deepest condolences. Losing your partner at such a young age is unimaginable. You are in a vulnerable state. Do not try to invest that $280k into the stock market right now, park that cash in a HYSA or a US Treasury ETF (like SGOV or BIL) inside a brokerage. You will earn \~4.5-5% risk-free. Take $23k from the inheritance and pay off the loan against your retirement immediately. Avoid buying UK/European mutual funds (look up 'PFIC rules'). Make sure whatever you buy (like VTI/VOO) has 'UK Reporting Fund' status to avoid punitive tax rates in England. But generally speaking, you don't need 'shady' financial planners.

SoloOutdoor

My BIL has severe ptsd from 30 years of it

whereitsat23

You can buy ‘research grades peptides’ - powdered form of generic ozempic, mounjaro, retatrutide. Mix with bio static water and inject. My BIL is doing this

Stack_Johnson

lol BOOOO this man!! Btw I’ve been out of equities and holding BIL (short term treasuries) since QQQ 628. Only hole in my portfolio is STRC and I sold that this morning. So.. I don’t have any skin in the game but I know a lot of people do

rhuffq

There needs to be a taco etf. When things are normal put it all in BIL. When Trump tweets sell BIL and buy everything. Then when Trump tacos sell it all and put it back in BIL.

MaxxMavv

Before you do that deep dive into dividend paying ETF and companies. Annuity is damn near a scam far as im concerned. A mix of dividend and things like BIL/SGOV will serve you much better.

MaxxMavv

Here I checked for you, and yes my guess was correct. You would of made a little more just staying in QQQ I used April 2025 when you said you diversified. [https://totalrealreturns.com/n/VXUS,QQQ?start=2025-04-15](https://totalrealreturns.com/n/VXUS,QQQ?start=2025-04-15) Not saying VXUS is bad or anything I picked up IDVO, DIVO and TM during the early crash last year, but did not sell any U.S. stocks deployed my larger then normal BIL/SGOV.

Gutzzu

So….. the money that Microsoft proposed OPENAI was also 50BIL. These guys continuing with the ponzi scheme

potentialPast

lol amazon casually gonna invest 50 BIL in openai!? jesus

MagJack

i mean essentially, but its only the 20th. I am like 30% SPY, mostly tech on the rest, TINY bit of BIL just for some spending cash for deal days

Ok-Amphibian3164

I have a BIL who thinks Trump is playing 5D chess to become the greatest leader ever.

NiceJobSon

Most people lose at this game over time. If you’re young stick to index funds and dca. If you need a real break park it all in BIL and go concentrate on your life for a while.

Icy-nut-inspector

My BIL works for them in Bloomington on the line. Last week they were short interior panels, so they couldn't assemble vehicles for his dept's process or whatever. He instead spent two days of 10+ hours a day counting bolts, by hand, they claimed" To verify Inventory counts", but they never had him right down any numbers for what he counted. Prior to this he also had a week right before the holidays, where he pushed a broom around for his entire shift but he couldn't leave his area, so him and four other people literally broomed the same floor repeatedly. Do what you will with this info.

rithsleeper

I just transfer any idle cash into brokerage. I have credit cards for “emergencies” and can always transfer cash back out of the brokerage to pay the credit card debt before it incurs any interest. It seems cumbersome for most people to do all this transferring but end of the year it looks like about $300-400 extra minimum in interest as opposed to keeping my bank account at say $10,000. Now in the actual brokerage I’m either holding in BIL or SGOV. It also allows me flexibility with margin. I sell a ton of premium so we have a Vix spike I sometimes need to sell a few “shares” of BIL or SGOV to make sure I’m not being charge an overnight rate on futures. I’m managing my money very actively, but it’s fun for me to see those totals end of the year and paying taxes is fun because I get to see I’m making essentially my salary off my investments each year. Just kind of wish we had another 2022 so I could see if I still make another salary of investments and test the non directional strategies I use. This rocket ship of gains has made all my work look like “just voo and chill man” is the right call. But all it takes is one year of even -10% and I’ll be way ahead of the game. Most people say that voo and chill makes them sleep at night, I’m the opposite. Betting on one direction in the market and that we could potentially have another 2008 or something where investments lose 30% in a year?! My diversification in not just companies, but strategic plays through selling premium, nondirectional bias, futures, commodities like oil, bonds, precious metals, corn, nat gas, even the occasional lean hogs future haha. Uncorrelated assets and strategies are what let me sleep at night.

According-Tip-457

Just put all cash into a BIL or a MMF. Enjoy.

ydoyouask

I have some SGOV, some BIL, a few bond funds. I probably leave more in cash than I should, but I have other accounts (401k, etc) that are fully invested, so I like some true liquidity to pursue opportunities as they occur. I probably am not optimizing my returns, but I'm ok with my performance overall.

er824

> Super helpful info! MMFs yielding less than SWVXX, isn’t SWVXX already a MMF? Yes SWVXX is a MMF. Different MMF's have different yields. > It’s specifically a 7 day yield fund. I don't know what you mean by this. '7 day yield' is how the yield is reported on MMFs. Its what annualized return of the fund over the previous 7 days. You don't get that yield every 7 days. >When you say 0-3 month, does that mean it matures in 3 months or expires in 3 months? When I looked up SGOV, it had no maturity from my understanding, but I could totally be wrong! SGOV doesn't mature. That Treasuries it holds matures and the proceeds are then invested in new Treasuries. Its essentially a bond ladder with an effective duration of 0.1 years. >What the difference between Floating Rate Treasuries and Government bonds? A floating rate treasury is a type of Government Bond. Its a longer term bond but the interest rate floats so it doesn't have the same interest rate risk as longer term treasuries. USFR's effective duration is 0.2 years. >I also, tried looking up where to find a list of short term government bonds on Shwab but couldn’t find a list? Their customer service didn’t know either so i’m wondering how do we find the different options out there other than SGOV that does something similar to keep funds liquid with a return. Not sure I follow, are you looking for other short term bond ETFs? How many variations of Vanilla ice cream do you need? Here are some I'm aware of: SGOV, BIL, VBIL, TBIL, JPST, ICSH, VUSB, USFR, TFLO. The only ones I have any first hand experience with is SGOV, USFR and TFLO Here is an oldie but goodie: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogleheads/comments/11prp0b/hysa\_mmf\_cds\_tbills\_searching\_for\_the\_best\_return/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogleheads/comments/11prp0b/hysa_mmf_cds_tbills_searching_for_the_best_return/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)

uppyanddowny

Sigh. Market sentiment meter is presently pointing at "skeptical". Check everything. Data center buildout, quantum computing, flying taxis, uranium extraction,. small modular reactors, rare earth extraction and processing, rocket launches, because space!, etc, etc, etc. It's all crap. And while knowing it's all crap, we just go along with it. Well, don't do that! Crap is crap! Just sell everything which is crap (you know what it is, if you bought the crap (don't you?)). Park the resulting cash in $BIL and wait to see what the 2026 lemmings decide to flock towards.

decay_factor

I see your point. It works for me because I'm able to use the available buying power in BIL and other safer underlyings. This allows me to still earn on cash but have the option of dumping it quickly if needed. Ile leverage up in higher volatility periods to take advantage of the higher premiums.

Latter_Broccoli_4956

I’m a conservative investor. My core portfolio is 40% SGOV and 40% JEPI. I also have 5% in FFDIX and 15% in BIL. BIL functions as my cash reserve if markets are down at the end of the month, I use it to top off JEPI and FFDIX back to their starting dollar amounts. Overall, it works well. Performance is similar to a high-yield savings account, roughly around 6%. Not very exciting and that’s exactly how I like it. Recently, I’ve been dabbling in penny stocks and small caps for day trading. Nothing crazy, about $200. Last month, though, I turned that $200 into $700, so I moved the extra $500 into FFDIX. As someone commented in this thread, I can only imagine the anxiety of trading with much larger amounts. I honestly don’t think I could handle it 😂 but at a small scale, I am having fun. I came across this thread and decided to join Reddit. I don’t have any other social media accounts. Looking forward to having some fun here and maybe even breaking even on those “fun” trades.

Complex_Mention_8495

Thx. I have a nice explanation from Gemini. # 1. The "Zig-Zag" (Sawtooth) Pattern This pattern represents the monthly lifecycle of the ETF's dividend distribution: * **The Upward Slope:** T-bills are sold at a discount and "pull to par" (increase in value) as they approach maturity. As the bills inside the fund get closer to their payday, the Net Asset Value (NAV) of the ETF steadily climbs. This represents the **accrued interest** being earned by the fund. * **The Sharp Drop:** This happens on the **Ex-Dividend Date** (usually the first business day of the month). On this day, the fund "cleans its books" to pay out the interest it earned to shareholders. The share price drops by the exact amount of the dividend to reflect that the cash is no longer held within the fund but is instead being sent to you. # 2. The Pronounced Yearly Drops (Special Distributions) If the arrows you highlighted are at the very end of December or early January, you are likely looking at **Year-End Capital Gains or Excise Tax Distributions.** While $BIL primarily pays out interest, it sometimes realizes small capital gains from trading bills or needs to make a "catch-up" distribution to meet IRS requirements for ETFs before the year ends. * In December, $BIL often has a **second distribution** (sometimes called a "Potential Excise Distribution"). * This creates a "double drop" or a much larger single drop than a typical month because it may include the regular December interest plus any extra gains realized throughout the year. # Why don't other Bond ETFs look like this? If you look at a chart for **$TLT** (20+ Year Treasuries) or **$BND** (Total Bond Market), you won't see this clean zig-zag. This is because those funds hold long-term bonds that fluctuate wildly in price based on interest rate changes. That "market noise" is so loud that it completely drowns out the small monthly dividend drop. Because $BIL has a very short **duration** (approx. 0.09 years), it has almost no price risk, making the dividend cycle the only thing left for the chart to show.

MagJack

oh lmao its only for people who pay extra to robinhood to get a lower savings rate than if they just held BIL or a dozen other options? lmao robinhood bros never cease to humor me.

rithsleeper

This is interesting how you can’t be bothered to explain something but call me “confidently wrong” then delete a post. I’m simply genuinely curious. If you have a piece of information I can’t seem to understand why not explain it rather than troll? My understanding is that an ETF like BIL ladders buying 0-3 month treasuries. They are holding the treasuries until expiration where they then buy more as they mature. It’s not rocket science to understand the inverse relationship between bond price and interest rate in the secondary market…. I understand that a drop in the interest rate would cause the bond value to increase and vice verse. However, if the bond is being held to maturity, this really doesn’t play too much except if you were to sell before the bond matures. Especially in a 3 month treasury. So please give me a scenario where someone could lose money over a 3 month span? I’ll steel man a terrible scenario: Powell says “we fudged up, we are going to raise interest rates in emergency fashion 150 basis points every 2 weeks for 3 months!!!! The dollar is collapsing, inflation is at 10%, it’s all burning down.” Okay well right now the fun (for arguments sake let’s say it’s only 3 month treasuries that are only bought bi monthly. The day after Powell announces this first 150 basis hike 1000 bond that was just purchased the day before goes from being worth (let’s assume current rates are 4% for easy math) you would purchase the bond for $960 (since they aren’t a coupon bond and simply cost less at entry, pay full value $1k at exit). Now that bond is now “worth” $945. Okay you “lost” 15 now….. which will show on your P/L but the bond will still mature at $1000. Now the fund buys another $1000 bond now for $945 2 weeks later. Powell raises again the next day: now you “loose” another $15 as your bond the ETF bought gets hit again. Okay…. Once again it will still mature to $1000. But wait, it will mature AFTER the 3 month window! So ah ha! Thats where they get you! No, the bond is worth well over what you paid for it by that 3 month window. About $995 give or take. So we just earned $50 which will go toward countering the bonds that will be bought later in the cycle closer to the 3mo window. I’m still not getting this math? Maybe if you say tomorrow we buy the fund and the 3 month window is starting today and Powell does the rate thing the day before the end of the 3 month? But even then the interest off the original buy would counter. Maybe a spike of 500 basis points? But common, let’s show some grace and say that would start the 3 month period to hold until you broke even again. I still think someone needs to give me a scenario. I bet there might be one that is impossible but go for it. I’m all ears.

Masked-Redditor

No actually that guy was right. You can't lose money if you held the underlying bond yourself. But a bond ETF works slightly differently than that. \> it’s possible to lose on BIL and SGOV if interest rates crash or move quickly. I said sure ... Given that you don't get basic facts about the relationship between a bond's secondary market price and interest rate, I also wouldn't bother trying to explain it to you. (FYI, it can happen in interest rate *spike*, not *crash*).

rithsleeper

Some guy who said he was a financial advisor once told me it’s possible to lose on BIL and SGOV if interest rates crash or move quickly. I said sure until you hold for 3 months time. Then it will break even ALWAYS. He still instead I’m stupid and he couldn’t be bothered to take the time to explain things to me….. It’s a 3 month treasury. You can’t lose money unless the us gov stops paying their debt.

Upstairs_Whole_580

AWESOME!!! FINALLY, we can say Merry Christmas again! You know we used to not be able to say that? Nobody every told me or anyone in my family we couldn't buy I just went to a non-denominational Christmas party full of my family members and... But hey, Merry Christmas! And Happy Holiday! \*Fuuuuck... I just ruined it, didn't I! As for your message, it's good advice, but I bought 200 contracts when NVDA, already about 40% of my portfolio since I first bought 1500 shares in 2019(and then 500 in 2020) and then 1000 more in late '22) anyway, bought 200 contracts at 172. Just sold half(100 contracts) for about 450K and now I'm playing with the houses money. When they come in at 70B and guide for 83-85B with China revenue in there and it's trading at 220 again, I'll sell the rest and clear anther 1.5-2M. Options are great... for some stocks. AMZN is next up. Pulls back under 220 and Im buying 100 contracts for Jan 2026 leaps at 300. Their next earnings will have them moving like Google(which I was going to buy and told my BIL to buy.. but he doesn't listen, not he wants to buy 20K from me). Oh well. I don't fuck with my Roth or retirement, only my money from reeal estate I sold! I'd been a dan good two years!

GuyNext

Index funds ETF are risky but if you’ve plan over 5 more years then yes but all money. Treasury ETF like USFR, TFLO, SHV, BIL, SGOV are good. Bond ETF ICSH, VUSB, PULS are good.

samuelj264

Maybe NOBL and some BIL or SGOV. A 70/30 or 60/40 blend. NOBL is dividend aristocrats, companies that have not cut dividends in decades. It’s not apples to apples Buffett, but similar

thembitches326

Treasury Bill ETFs. Stable as fuck, good dividend, doesn't grow much though. My recommendations: BIL VBIL XONE SCHO WEEK USFR UTEN

DoinIt4DaShorteez

The thing is, why not just go ex- and pay in January? My mid-month div payment in BIL was 0.365425 vs something like 30 cents (which is about what the monthly has been the last few months) at the beginning of the month. It would make sense if the mid-month was 1/2 as much but I can't imagine the "Extra" is forward-looking (as in either 2 or 6 weeks worth)- they can't (or shouldn't) be paying money they don't actually have yet. I looked at the Feb distributions and they're all "regular" Which means maybe it's carried over all year from the previous January. I just don't get it, lol.

NiceJobSon

Interestingu. My trusty BIL slowly dying.

Bryansix

Buy BIL. Hold.

FloppyButtholeJuiced

I have twice. My BIL has once and my coworker has as well…..

SpecialDesigner5571

Risk free US Treasury Bills? You'd be sitting on $24,883 gain, not $13,000. That's what the BIL ETF actually yielded the last decade. Sorry you were swindled. It's about right for Merrill.

JohnDuffy78

BIL defaulted on their dividend payment today

me_xman

Sitting in SGOV BIL.

Putrid_Pollution3455

if they're scared, they could at least do short term treasury fund USFR/BIL 85%, sprinkle in 5% GLD and 10% VT. No fancy words, if they don't understand, it'll freak them out. Short term treasuries backed by the united states government, Gold spot price, and a global equity fund that owns basically every business in the entire globe.

Iwubinvesting

You're young. Go 35% QQQ. 30% VOO. 10% VT. 10% VXUS. 10% BIL. 5% IBIT.

mvz5bs

For a 1-2 year timeframe with easy access and minimal risk, look at high-yield savings accounts (currently 4-5%) or Treasury bills (3-6 month durations). Both offer inflation-beating returns with virtually no principal risk. Money market funds are also solid options (VMFXX, SPAXX) with yields around 5%. If you're comfortable with a tiny bit more risk for potentially higher returns, short-term Treasury ETFs (SHV, BIL) or CDs with laddered maturities could work. Just avoid anything with stock market exposure or long-term bonds that could fluctuate in value. Remember that keeping house funds separate from investments helps maintain discipline with your timeline.

therealjerseytom

Using BIL as a stand-in for SPAXX, 10 year performance: BIL: 1.58% per year FFFHX: 15.43% per year https://totalrealreturns.com/n/FFFHX,BIL?start=2014-11-25 https://totalrealreturns.com/n/FFFHX,BIL?start=2014-11-25

Goodspike

BIL was going to be my answer.

kgriffen

Try BIL or TBIL

ohlookahipster

Just don’t skip on the tile work. Seriously. Like don’t be that guy with a shit tile job because it shows. I would still hire a good tile guy vs a short-tempered BIL who insists they can do it better

DramaticAd1683

I use BIL, 1-3 month Ts. BILS is 3-12 month. Pays out monthly

TheBarnacle63

$BIL

zxc123zxc123

I had been using SGOV and BIL (just with ever one let me round out my cash). Then I shifted to using BOXX because it's less work and offered more control on how I realized gains. I've slowly been moving out of the curve with sales of BOXX and going into SHY. For the long end. I have IEF for my tax-exempt and TMF for my taxable.

Itchy_Document_5843

Mostly VOO and QQQ. Indices historically go up in the long run. I also have META. Hopefully, it goes up within one year lol I'd average out your entry point. Say 833 into VOO monthly to iron out the volatility. Any cash should be earning interests in high rate savings accounts or BIL etf.

Western-Count-2244

With a hard August 2026 deadline, stick to guaranteed, short-duration options. Build a T‑bill ladder that matures monthly into your target date; buy 4–26 week bills and roll them until closing day. Shop around too-3.4% is low-no‑penalty CDs at Ally or Marcus let you bail early without fees, and brokered CDs/T‑bills matched to your date avoid early withdrawal risk. If you stay on Robinhood, consider SGOV/BIL for Treasury exposure, but try to hold to minimize price wiggles. I use Fidelity for T‑bills and Ally for no‑penalty CDs; gainbridge.io’s MYGA quotes looked good for longer terms, but surrender periods don’t fit a 9–12 month goal. With a set closing date, keep it guaranteed and match maturities.

Alienware15rr3

Yeah you should always back test, to see how a portfolio performed during a certain event, it will not always react the same way, but it will surely rhyme. In the 70s bonds also had a correction not normally seen in Bonds, and guess what, due to inflation. The only people that were safe in 2022 were those who held short term treasuries so your typical 60/40 didn't since it's common to just hold SP500 and Total Market bonds like AGG. Now, did bonds still hedge in 2022 and the April tariffs, they did, the pain blow was lessened. You could always replace 10% of those AGG bonds into short term treasuries to protect from huge bond fluctuations, but do you really think will get a big spike in inflations in the next few years that could again cause bonds to selloff? no one knows. So can do 60/30/10 (SP500, AGG, and SGOV/BIL or the ETF available in your provider.) Here are some back tests for you: |Scenario|100% SPY|Classic 60/40|60/30/10|60/30/10 Advantage vs 60/40| |:-|:-|:-|:-|:-| |Apr 2025 drawdown|−19.05%|−11.30%|−11.36%|\+0.06% (marginal)| |Apr 2025 YTD to low|−15.32%|−8.98%|−8.94%|\+0.04%| |2022 drawdown|−25.40%|−21.53%|−19.94%|**+1.59%**| |2022 full year|−19.49%|−17.70%|−16.19%|**+1.51%**|

Nago31

“Did you see the way the Saudis treated Trump during his visit. Respect.” My veteran BIL. He doesn’t care about anything except the posturing.

rhesusmacaque

Short-term Treasuries. Their price doesn't change with the interest rate. But they pay interest based on the interest rate, so he'll be receiving less interest when the rate goes down. Same as holding BIL or USFR ETFs, or having money in a high-yield savings account.

pickandpray

I chose the wrong account when buying shares of a stock. Ended up needing to sell my sgov to cover the buy. My BIL has a large margin account and had too many zeros entered when he bought some fb shares in a rush, many years ago. He made money on the mistake.

Iwubinvesting

If 80k is your 6-month salary, you'll be fine. You just paid the stupid tax. Now go put your invesment into diversified index fund like VTI, ACWI, INDY, FXI, TLT/BIL, GLD and IBIT.

Senior-Preference678

VOO and chill works if your only risk is market volatility, but not if the risk is political or currency instability. VOO = 100% U.S. large caps, so you’re fully tied to the U.S. economy and the dollar. If you actually want political-risk protection, diversification matters: - VOO (40%): U.S. growth core - VXUS (20%): global exposure outside the U.S. - GLDM / IAU (15%) – gold hedge - BIL / SHV (10%) – cash & liquidity - STIP / TIP (10%) – inflation-protected bonds - SCHD / JEPI (5%) – dividend income buffer That mix keeps upside exposure but cushions geopolitical shocks. Not financial advice, just risk management 101.

Senior-Preference678

VT is definitely a solid one ETF solution, globally diversified, 60% US and 40% international, covers nearly 9,000 stocks, and yields around 2%. But for real political-risk protection, it’s still 100% equity exposure. If the goal is to hedge instability, I’d still mix VT with: GLDM or IAU: inflation & crisis hedge BIL or SHV: cash-like stability STIP or TIP: inflation-protected bonds SCHD or JEPI: dividend income & lower volatility So maybe 60% VT + 40% hedges for a balance between growth and protection. Not financial advice, just fundamentals talking.

WhoCaresWhatITink

I am loaded up on Nov 672 puts on SPY Also parked 30% of my portfolio in BIL. Sold ATM covered calls on a bunch of my other long term positions. If I am wrong, whatever. I am more interested on keeping what I have than gaining more. This market is a fucking joke.

greytoc

That's a weird thing to be concerned about.... SGOV normally trades at a premium to NAV if you are comparing to the INAV. And have you compared it to the drag of a sweep? The expense ratio on a swept product is usually higher than SGOV or BIL.

DoinIt4DaShorteez

If you've done SGOV trades, check the actual total cost of one of your buys, divided by the number of shares. Your history will probably show a round penny amount as the price, but when you do the math, you may find you got actually got filled somewhere close to the middle of the spread. Same with sells. I use Merrill Edge to buy BIL and it doesn't let me put in fractions of a cent as a limit, so I always have to use the Ask as the limit price unless I want to sit around all day waiting to get filled (and probably never get filled). But I always get filled in the middle. Like Bid 91.50 Ask 91.51, I get filled at 91.505. I don;t think there are any short-term Treasury ETFs that have quoted spreads less than a penny. What you'd need is a platform that let you submit a limit order out to 4 decimals. I don't know if those exist for retail.

NiceJobSon

Here’s what to try (in order): revenge trade, yell at phone, pray, park all your remaining money in BIL and take a break.

ethnicnebraskan

I've been using BIL, which has been averaging something like 4.4% over the past 12 months. The real upside of SPAXX is that you can still earn that base 3.79% interest even if you're using it as collateral for CSPs, but then I suppose that's no longer *truly* a reserve then.

chatrep

No problem. It’s the same advice I gave to my daughter and BIL. My daughter bought ITM leaps for NVDA, TSM, HOOD about 6–7 months ago. $35k now $150k. My BIL bought Sofi Jan27 $17 about a month ago and his $16k is now $28k. They are not getting 10 baggers but these are still fantastic returns on solid companies with balanced risk. These are standard brokerage accounts so suggesting they hold for over a year for long-term cap gains.

Rib-I

Stick it in SGOV or BIL or an equivalent short term US Treasury ETF. You’ll get back like 4%, currently, and you don’t have to pay state taxes on any dividends 

DoinIt4DaShorteez

A short term treasury etf like BIL, BILS, or SGOV will get you about 4.00%, so $20/month more per $100k than the money market fund you're in. But the NAV for those goes up about a penny a day during month, then they pull the div out of that and start over again. Instead of accruing a daily div like a money market. So when you sell, you'd have a short-term cap gain or loss you'd have to account for unless you sold at the same price you bought at. Divs in those are mostly state-tax exempt though, if you live in a state with its own income tax.

WhoCaresWhatITink

I use BIL -same idea. Ever so slightly higher fees, but it is a much larger fund better liquidity and been around longer.

yayahi

BROTHERS BID TILRAY 2 BIL MARKET CAP SHORT HEAVY FIRST NON NEGATIVE EPS IT IS AT $2, last time wsb breathern were fucking around with it at $200! IT CAN HAPPEN AGAIN!!

Global-Fisherman-587

For awhile a year ago I was just using high yielding savings accounts because the yield was exactly the same as SGOV but with FDIC insurance. Start of this year, SGOV started to be a slightly better place to park cash. As of right now, I am favoring BIL over SGOV because it tracks slightly longer duration treasuries, meaning it should hold it's yield slightly long if the fed drops rates again (and that is a likely scenario). It's also reasonable to buy some of the 12-18 months CDs that are still floating around just over 4% right now. All of these moves will only extend your ability to maintain \~4% cash yields slightly longer by 3 to 12 months if interest rates drop. If rates drop, and they will likely, stocks will do better than cash assuming the market doesn't bust. The reason for this is just inflation, when rates go down stocks go up not because they are worth more but because the dollar is worth less. If you were really bearish, you could buy longer duration (5 to 10 year) treasury funds or put some money into bonds, (municipal bonds for non-retirement, corporate bonds for retirement accounts because of tax reasons). That would let you ride out a multi-year downturn and still pull in 3-6%. Otherwise if things go to shit, HYSAs, SGOV, BILL, Bonds etc. will all start returning nothing after a year and you will have to buy something or just watch inflation eat your cash. All of this is to say the best way to park cash changes pretty rapidly over time and which is best for you is a function of what level of inflation risk you want to hedge against.

Global-Fisherman-587

This is the r/stocks sub, not the r/investing sub. It implies that we are more active investors that are, to at least some extent, trying/doing things like: * Building positions in companies that we think the market has under-undervalued. * Reallocate to different sectors or stocks based on economic risk exposures and events. * Take profits when our positions hit our targets so we have cash firepower available when the next opportunity hits. * Spending copious amounts of time researching new products, demand trends for different industries, and company earnings. If you are not an active investor, head on over to r/investing, pick a top 100 or 500 ETF, and DCA your heart away. There's nothing wrong with that and you could even argue it's more savvy since most people, even professionals, will not beat the market. Or head on over to r/wallstreetbets and gamble by just dumping money into what everyone else it. But I don't think either of those tactics are what this sub is after. Me personally my retirement portfolio is up 40% since June and this morning I took profits in all my index ETFs and AI-related stocks, reallocated a little to some corporate BBBs while rates are still high, and swept the rest into BIL. I only left my pharmaceuticals and 10% in international whole market. When AI companies start to turn actual profits to justify those P/Es (like small caps, not just the big guys profiting on hardware or burning investment cash) and/or unemployment starts to stabilize, then I'll buy back in. It's unlikely that I will make another 40% in next year and I'm happy to give up some potential gains for capital preservation. Worst case I slightly beat inflation for a bit and eek out a couple percent while I miss 20% upside, best case scenario if we recession I'll have the buying opportunity of my lifetime. More than likely nothing exciting happens, I miss 10% and I buy back in.

rithsleeper

Definitely contextual but I stopped the real estate game a while ago. Couldn’t be happier. So much more to worry about and liquidity is insane. Slippage is stupid when you sell a house. And with house prices so high in some areas why sit on them. You can’t get a renter that reflects the house price. Now in my area it’s not insane, but still doesn’t make sense renting. Only reason I didn’t sell my personal house is that I have a 3.2% mortgage and like that the bank handles all the insurance and taxes for me while I hold the funds to pay it off in BIL or SGOV.

PocketPressured

BUFFET IN TALKS TO BUY OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM FOR 10BIL- Bloomberg

TheKubesStore

I prefer my 3.65% HYSA with Goldman than 4.32% from $BIL in a brokerage. Easier to access

mrnoonan81

If she distrusts banks, she could buy shares in BIL and SHY (treasury bond ETFs) She would own those shares and the fund has to hold the actual bonds whereas you may own a bank account but the bank only owes you that money and doesn't necessarily have to have the reserves. The fundamental difference is that the government would owe her money, not the bank. She could buy bonds too, but that would be a pain to maintain.

wayfarer8888

It helps the stock market a few % each time they shave 25 bpts because a lot of money from MMF and short term treasuries now moves into the (on average) already overpriced equities. I moved out of BIL myself today, I won't wait until Wednesday. Employment numbers will matter once consumer sentiment collapses. The Christmas earnings season could be ugly for cyclical consumer discretionary, retail, transport, also car manufacturers.

Alwaysfavoriteasian

My BIL said his company is for sure letting people go because AI is capable of their position. So... just a messenger.

Next-Mail2444

Isn’t Matt’s other BIL is the founder of Anduil?

MaterialGuy007

ORCL - OpenAI's $500 BIL order would need someone to purchase equipment - OpenAI only makes $10bil a year so far. So what's the order for - some say its $300 BIL ?

greytoc

4.1% is actually not bad and close to the current risk-free rate. Ultra short duration bonds even with lower credit quality may not be worth it - the additional yield may be negligible on 6k. For my kid - I use a treasury-based money market fund because it's convenient and I live a state with income tax so the post-tax yield is better. So - if you live in a state with income tax - a short duration treasury fund with a duration less than 3 months would be a good choice. So something like SGOV, BIL. Or if you want shorter duration - a money market fund. If you live in a state without income tax - you could consider a managed ultra-short duration bond fund. Something similar to a MINT fund could work. More details in the wiki here - [https://www.reddit.com/r/investing/wiki/faq/#wiki\_what\_are\_low\_risk\_investments\_with\_liquidity\_that\_can\_be\_used.3F](https://www.reddit.com/r/investing/wiki/faq/#wiki_what_are_low_risk_investments_with_liquidity_that_can_be_used.3F) Fwiw - 6k per semester is a great deal for a college education.

OurNewestMember

The biggest thing on costs: 1) do you want to fund the trade by buying shares to start, or do you need/want to borrow (which incurs costs) (eg, will you have a long call in your structure)? and 2) if you need to borrow, can you avoid the costs of shorting stock specifically? On costs, it is like this (for stocks that are not "hard to borrow"): * long call, short stock (0.5 lot) * Least economical. The broker will not pay the full market interest rate on your short proceeds, you will have daily mark-to-market which increases management costs for retail * long straddle (full lot) * if you don't have full capital for long shares, this is the least expensive way to get exposure * each unit is double the notional size of the others * this is like two long calls and one synthetic short * long shares, long put (0.5 lot) * This has the highest expected value because it requires capital for the shares (assuming rates are stable) Also, be aware that the first two choices can have a much, much greater burn rate due to the implied borrowing (it can even eclipse the vol exposure), and particularly if you believe rates may fall, you might want to hedge for that. How much difference between these? Currently IBKR should have the best short stock interest rate for retail. For 1 full (not half) round lot of short AAPL (example), you will earn 0% on the $23200 cash you bring in at open. If you short 5 full round lots, the effective rate increases to 0.425% (or 370 bps less than market rate) -- this is the best game in town for retail, so it is fair to say it is never economical to short stock for any duration if decent options contracts exist. By comparison, a synthetic short on AAPL will pay around 4.1% (less dividends). So a 1-year, 1-lot synthetic short at current rates would yield $950 (potentially minus about $104 of dividends) more than shorting the stock with the best broker on paying short interest... This is the reason it is more economical to just fund the position with long shares instead of long calls, or at least build the synthetic short into the options position (which gives a long straddle instead of shorting stock) - it's about a $950/year difference for this stock compared to the best retail broker on stock shorts. [Short Sale Cost | Interactive Brokers LLC](https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/pricing/short-sale-cost.php) Also, when you short stock, you have a mark-to-market requirement. Because the broker also pays you less than market interest rate, this is a second way that shorting stock costs retail real money. If you position marks $1000 higher, then you either need to keep plenty of cash around which earns $0 (even IBKR's highly competitive rates will still probably pay you $0 on the amount of cash you keep to support your short mark-to-market), or you need to actively trade something like SGOV/BIL possibly every day (which will cost you the bid-ask spread and for IBKR, several days' interest on commissions even with tiered pro). However many folks aren't ready for using synthetic shorts, so they may be "safer" just shorting the stock, but it definitely has built-in costs. Overall, I get the IV play, but if I'm buying vol ATM 1 year out and the stock moves much, then my options will move away from peak IV, which seems like a headwind for vega profits (even if IV increases) -- so maybe a long strangle (strikes away from ATM) would give a better reward/risk? I might play around with this for curiosity's sake.

DSCN__034

Good points. What about rolling the proceeds of put sales into BIL or a bond fund? Something non-correlated, or, in a perfect world, inversely correlated to stocks?

Anxious_Cheetah5589

My BIL managed a group of brokers at a regional bank at the time. He was a "true believer. " I'm naturally skeptical and a student of stock market history, and saw that valuations were way out of whack. I remember a conversation just before the bubble popped. He said, "companies like Cisco, they're NEVER going down. " CSCO peaked at $80 (p/e 150) in March 2020, then lost 90% of its value in the next 2 years. It's still trading below that all time high 25 years later. Today's AI buzz reminds me of that conversation, these companies are NEVER going down.

TheKubesStore

I mainly do 3 fund portfolios 40/40/20 One is SPTM/SCHG/AVDE One is SPMO/XMMO/IDMO One is CWB/JAAA/BIL

DoinIt4DaShorteez

I mean tbh, the current top comment ends up basically being correct. I see you say you spend $11,000 a month. So you can just put everything in a treasury money market ETF like SGOV or BIL or BILS and you'll get 2% - 3% even when rates come down and you still won't run out of money even if you spend twice as much as you do now.

DSCN__034

I came here to say this. BOXX makes it so easy and you can control the tax event. The one thing I'm not sure about is the capital requirement in a margin account and how it differs from BIL or SGOV.

trix_is_for_kids

BIL has an insta wife. It’s great entertainment for my wife and I.

RTiger

There are lots of ways to implement a barbell risk curve. I won’t comment on the structures in the op. I will mention a super simple barbell implementation.  Percentage willing to be lost in triple leverage QQQ or SPY. The rest in BIL or similar. For example 10 percent triple leveraged, 90 percent safe. 

Scannerguy3000

To add some detail; I keep a minor portion in BIL. Since I don’t see it as “cash”, I don’t deploy it. This is “break glass in case of emergency” money for something like TXN dropping 17%.

Scannerguy3000

Good question. I really don’t know, but somewhere in the 180k-200k range I would guess. My portfolio is designed by all-cash if possible. I keep 5-10% in BIL as a reserve. Otherwise, almost every dollar is deployed. The only true cash in the account is less than enough to open one contract.

Scannerguy3000

Find my other comments. There’s a ton of really bad advice by people who bite their fingernails and say “Oooh, I don’t know if I can afford a Barchart subscription”. Take a good look at the advice you’re getting and realize these people are gamblers, not options sellers. You can make 4.9% or 6.1% at least, because I’m doing it and I’m not any financial genius. I would say put 5% to 10% of your 40k into BIL, and then forget it. That’s your “cash”, but since it doesn’t show up as cash, it’s easier to forget it’s there. That is only for use on a “once per year” opportunity. Put another 5%-10% into a high yield Covered Call strategy ETF. Those two give you a poor earning but stable base. Then sell CSPs using the remaining 80%-90% of your portfolio. Long term statistics, if you sell CSPs your goal is to *not take* equities. .25 delta and you should expect to win 3/4 of your trades. Expect to lose 1/4 — but that’s under your control. As soon as a play starts going bad, close it. Never roll. Rolling is for idiots. Close a position, then plan your next move as a second step. If you can close these when Last equals your original Premium, then you essentially escape a loser for free. If you can’t catch it in time, calculate your Assignment Exit and your BTC Exit and take the better option. If you take shares, your immediate goal is to get rid of them. If the premium plus Strike covers your Adjusted Cost Basis, then take it. Try to get that at a .50 delta and try to get Called away. If you fail to get them off your books, repeat. Don’t get complicated. Any of these multi-legged “element plus animal” names plays are stupid. They’re over complicated and I haven’t heard anyone tell me “I’m making 12% monthly yield with aluminum seagulls”. Don’t get clever. Keep it simple. Just follow this advice and you’ll double your capital in 14-17 months. If you’re in school, you won’t have time to monitor trades all day. So stick to 45 DTE Puts. They give you much longer time, and slower theta decay, so it won’t get away from you within hours. Monitor your trades and you never have to take a loss. Don’t listen to the haters.

PalpitationOk5494

Just the luck of the draw, and like in a casino, the odds are against you. You gotta realize there are A LOT of people requesting. I’ve gotten more than a dozen and my BIL also has gotten a few dozen.

DataExternal4451

BBAI GUIDANCE for 2025 is between $125 million and $140 million, lower Q2 earnings than last year 2BIL market cap btw LOL

db_deuce

The high interest rate environment has completely decimated American's that rely on borrowing for cars, house, loans and credit cares vs those sitting on capital assets making a S-ton of Money just sleeping with 0 risk. The economy is only working for the very few while there a lot of cause and effect, lowering the interest rate will revive lending rate, improve certain areas of industry like housing, building supplies, and fundamentals. Instead of playing needless interest, those can be diverted to something else. Trump is quite good at responding to inflation and I rather we lower interest rates in early 2025 and toggle as needed. The $$ is way too strong as the value to spend money outside is just too tempting. Foreigners come to America and see the prices of restaurants and everything puke at how absurd it is. At the end of the day, you don't need to upgrade your iPhone evert 2 years or have 20 pairs of sneakers. Toggling purchases is easy, fixing the mortgage is hard. I hold a S\_ton of SGOV, BIL and BILS and a just feel sorry to the taxpayer like me that is paying interest to me instead of paying for government services. I'm really pissed 35% of the budget pays interest. I understand interest is a function of interest rate and amount outstanding, but interest rate is easily controlled. I am fortunate to be on the collecting side of the interest spectrum but that is only because I got the ball rolling in a much friendlier interest rate environment.

trinolcour87

If you're worried about losses just put everything into BIL and trade with dividends. Also switch to cash account just so you can cut early without feeling locked in a trade if you do that and doing options I'd say only risk 10-20% of your total account balance so you don't panic sell and leaves room to play the reversal. Most importantly make sure you see the pattern on 0dte.

NedFlanders304

Your BIL is right and wrong. He can probably (maybe) make more money by investing back into his business versus the stock market. For us average Joe’s that work for someone else, the stock market is better. If you can make more than the S&P 500 return which is around 10% historically, then go for it. The problem is not many can do this.

Tiny-Town7673

Get a new BIL Only joking.  He doesn't understand the stock market very much. People putting a fraction of their paycheck I to a 401(k) is the easiest way of becoming a millionaire. 

callmecrude

I don’t disagree with your BIL’s logic if he owns his own business and is seeing success by investing further into it. The upside is usually MUCH higher than what anyone can get from the stock market. But obviously not everyone is capable and/or willing to run a business.

Responsible-Slide913

Exactly. Like I said, I set up a savings first before buying assets. But that’s just me. Just in case I had an emergency I wouldn’t be selling my assets (at potentially a loss) triggering a taxable event. But I don’t agree with you BIL. It’s a feee and open market. It’s meant for everybody, even small fish like us 😀

redracer67

I don't think the AI hype will die, too many companies are investing/banking on it and I do think it's different than crypto in terms of overall hype. AI has been developing for longer than I think some folks realize (since like the 1960s but didn't quite get into consumer hands until early 2010s). Maybe I have an optimistic view. But, ask someone in 1985 if they think someone could run their entire business remote from their computer, without an office or human interaction and I would venture to guess most people would say "no, that would be impossible". But ask someone that in 2025, and the answer is obviously yes...my BIL runs a international 6 figure business off of freaking WhatsApp and email. I very much think there will be a future when entire businesses will be almost completely automated, maybe not in the next 5 years, but 10+ years? I 100% think that will happen...we already have entire YouTube AI channels or AI generated books making 5 to 6 figures. Hell, I made a card game that my friends and I play on chatgpt...getting ready to throw it on the play store after some more testing and I don't know how to program a single line of code.

Alwaysfavoriteasian

BIL at $12 and accumulated for the years between. Pretty sure he's a millionaire now. He sells cover calls. If pltr does better he needs up selling. That's cool, if it doesn't he cashes checks with CC. Also a win

greytoc

I'm going to slightly disagree with u/xiongchiamiov that a HYSA is a better option if you are willing to lock up access for a 1 or 2 years and you don't need liquidity. The reason is because you need to look at the yield curve on interest rates. The yield curve on treasuries with less than 5 years of duration is currently inverted. So that favors short duration fixed income products like bank savings accounts (ie a HYSA) and short-term treasury bonds. But if you look at where the short-term treasury yield normally peaks - it's about 30-60 days. A treasury fund like SGOV or BIL has a trailing yield of about 4.52% with a YTM of about 4.34%. They also have the benefit of being state-tax exempt unlike a HYSA. If state-tax drag is not an issue for you - there are ultra-short term fixed (60-90 day duration) income funds like MINT which have a yield that will vary between 4.41% to 4.78%. And if you think that short-term treasury interest rates will drop below 4% - you can lock in 1 or 2 year rates at around 4%. Also - if you are willing to take on a little more credit quality risk, you can use target maturity bond funds like Bulletshares or iShares to invest in investment-grade fixed income assets. Investment grade fixed income has a 1 year yield-to-maturity of about 4.56%. If you are willing to take on higher credit risk - the 1 year yield-to-maturity of about 7.2%. If you want to actively manage cash - doing it in a brokerage account is also going to give you more flexibility than chasing yields at various bank HYSA products.

MaterialGuy007

I used to do backlog for a Large Multinational - I just saw CRWV has like a $20-30BIL backlog - which they can convert to Revenue in a quarter - so $2BIL could jump to $10BIL just like that? Prob comes from NVDA, MSFT and GOOG - they need CRWV to accelerate demand....

Heyhayheigh

No worries. What broker are you using? Use an easy central place like Fidelity. The default money market is more than most HYSA, if you want a step further out it in SGOV. If you want to automate, have auto buy of SGOV, then sell the SGOV to do the nondeductible contribution for the conversion (backdoor). The money should be like no other: short term money = SGOV. Long term money sp500 or NASDAQ on an auto weekly (or biweekly paycheck) basis. You just have a funny “reason” for short term, it is still just short term. You can even use a different ETF like USFR or BIL just to segregate. DM me if you have other questions. Best of luck