USFR

AffectionateLeek5854

USFR/SGOV. Better rate than MMF , almost 0 state or local taxes on gain , almost 0% risk.

Putrid_Pollution3455

I have nothing else to do other than follow the plan until December of this year; at which time I'm either unloading all my USFR position into IBIT or some kind of combination thereof.

Putrid_Pollution3455

adding 33% USFR has given me such peace of mind.

Putrid_Pollution3455

take 10 bucks and get two mickies 40oz to celebrate starting investing. Then here's an idea; take 33 dollars into each; IBIT, VT, and USFR. That's bitcoin spot price etf, global equities etf, and short term treasuries yielding around 4% right now. It all depends on what your risk tolerance is, but in general, if you only have 100 dollars, I'd start paying off debt and getting a 6 month emergency fund set up at a high yield savings account. Then take 15% every paycheck into retirement of some kind. If you're a true degenerate, you'll find weird ways to save 50% of your paycheck OR MORE and throw it into various assets. Godspeed

Putrid_Pollution3455

I'm ready for the darkest depression we've ever experienced in the history of the human race; I want to see billionaires lose everything, old people to be thrown on the street, and all these entitled fat women STARVE. USFR and chill as I watch the world burn.

Kashmir79

Not sure why these aren’t more popular. [I use USFR](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogleheads/s/0MnCwNlpu8) and it delivers [almost *exactly* the yield on 3-month T-bills](https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio?s=y&sl=2FyNRIxW7TZAyIHekCNB3u) (after fees) like you were managing your own ladder but without the hassle.

Putrid_Pollution3455

Not 100% I just added 33% USFR cause it helps me sleep at night

Putrid_Pollution3455

Ibit USFR and vt

Putrid_Pollution3455

God would be a little annoyed that you’re risking this much instead of buying VT/USFR and donating the interest and dividends to charity

LotsoPasta

I personally invest in equities and bonds only because of their fundamental value proposition. My primary goal is growth, and interest rates are low relative to expected equity growth, so I'm weighted 90% equity and 10% bonds. Equities produce everything. Ultimately, it's labor that produces value. You need to make assets move for them to get something out of them, and equities are the only thing that does that. I invest in a global market index (VT) because it closely resembles the global value of equities. For the long term, i dont believe strongly in any company, industry, or country (not enough to expect trajectories wont change), but I do believe humans will crack on and continue to progress as a whole one way or another. The value of bonds is contractually defined. They will pay $X dollars over Y years unless the guarentor goes bankrupt. No other asset class has the level of calculable certainty. I invest in a US-based currency bond index fund (BND) because it's the currency I trade in, and I'm not interested in currency risk. BND is as diversified as I can get without taking on risk of other currencies. I also use USFR and GOVT for tax efficiencies and safety associated with US treasuries, and I have a small position in SPHY as BND lacks junk bonds, and it helps balance my weighting back toward corporate bonds given my use of treasury funds. I dont invest in static assets or currencies as they dont have a value-growth proposition. When you invest in other assets, it's pure speculation they will be worth more later. I think they can be valuable as wealth preservers (albeit with a lot of volitility), but my main investment goals are growth.

Extension-Temporary4

bonds, bond funds, TIPS, USFR. Depending on risk tolerance, some high yield  funds like jepq, JEPI, sphy . . . Get an advisor. But a fixed income bond ladder is probably your safest bet — it won’t generate 5% but it will get you part of the way there. Mix in some dividends and diversity, you have a decent upside with a known/limited downside. 

Putrid_Pollution3455

Calculated and smart? I just follow a modern permanent portfolio with some rules for cash flow and rebalancing; 33% ibit vt and USFR so like 300 into each. Physical gold for emergency chaos situations around 5-10% Throw money at the lagging asset, rebalance when you hit milestones around every portfolio doubling like say 1800 2700 3600 4500 9000 18000 etc portfolio cash flow into the lagging asset. I modify rule two to use up to 10% margin to force balance towards target allocation, then the lagging asset is debt first then situation normal into the laggard. Speculation based on macro; xle energy sector, ura uranium miners, sso (2x levered sp500 daily reset.)

Putrid_Pollution3455

Spy needs to break 695 or it just formed a head and shoulders on the one month. If you zoom out to the one year, you see the momentum is exhausted and it's forming a disgusting rounding shape that normally means we implode. But alas, my only bearish position is gold and USFR; just in case I'm wrong. I Came 4 times in the past 24 hours. I can nearly see the future.

Apeist

12 months income in savings in USFR, and a 50/50 split of VT and QQQ. Income is from USFR is reinvested to the EFFs. Buying every paycheck. The same as it always is.

Putrid_Pollution3455

Nice asset allocation! I’m 33% ibit, vt, and USFR with 4 rules regarding cash flows, margin, and rebalancing. Ytd 2.05% compared to 1.07% SPY.

Cav829

The longer you invest, the more you'll learn to tune out the noise. I had to fight the feeling of hating to lose money for so long, to learn to tune out the jitters, to stop worrying every time a stock sells down to support because of some random news item, etc. Every last investor will tell you they made a crazy amount of mistakes, and to this day still do. I was too young to invest in 2002 though I remember it vividly, but 2008 resulted in my best investment opportunity of my life because I kept powder dry. And it wasn't in stock: it was in real estate. This doesn't even mean you have to sit in cash: USFR/SGOV are great places to just stash cash. Ignore anyone who tells you that you have to be 100% equities 24/7.

Putrid_Pollution3455

when in doubt, I sit in USFR and gold until something interesting shows up

Putrid_Pollution3455

might not be a horrible play, if you sit on short term treasuries like USFR you'd crank out a 3.75% yield on top of it so up 17% ish depending what they do to rates sounds pretty solid boi

er824

I’ve got a fair amount of cash in my brokerage held in money market and/or USFR. Bonds are all in tax deferred accounts (Ira and 401k)

Chemical-Fun3692

This is super helpful! I will read up on these links! I didn’t notice any Bonds or mutual funds in your brokerage account and curious why that was, in specific no bonds? I believe this is what you mentioned, which I think i’ll plan on doing the same unless there’s a better way to strategize or optimize/diversify: SWTSX (MF, Total Market)/ SWISX (INTL MF) / SWAGX (MF Bond) - In ROTH IRA SCHB (US ETF) / IXUS (INTL ETF) - In Brokerage SWVXX (MMF) / USFR (FL TREAS ETF)

Chemical-Fun3692

Ok so this is what I am going to do today: SWTSX/SWISX/SWAGX - Roth IRA SCHB/IXUS - Brokerage (taxable) SWVXX/USFR - uninvested in brokerage. What percentages should be the breakdown?

Chemical-Fun3692

Ohh I see! I thought the SWAGX was in your Roth IRA. Since I am not elligible for a Traditional IRA, would I just forgo the SWAGX entirely and just stick with SWTSX and SWISX in my Roth IRA, or is it good to add the SWAGX to my Roth IRA? I would like to use the Boglehead 3 pillars to investment - which is having diversified accounts in each brokerage and IRA. This is what I am thinking: SWTSX/SWISX/SWAGX: in Roth IRA account SCHB/IXUS: in brokerage (taxable account). SWVXX and USFR for uninvested cash (for liquid money). Anything I can change to make it stronger? And regarding investing in 401k in index funds, can I invest in these same above at Fidelity since my 401k is with fidelity?

er824

SGOV and USFR and money market fund are essentially equivalent so I didn’t have a need or reason for both. I have a Traditional IRA at Schwab so that’s where my SWAGX is. My Roth is all SWTSX and SWISX.

er824

SGOV and USFR are ETFs that invest in Treasuries. You can find a list of Schwab’s money market funds here: https://www.schwab.com/money-market-funds These various cash options are all essentially equivalent.

er824

Regarding International…. It diversifies you away from just the US. The US market has outperformed the global market for a while but no idea if that will continue. Plenty of smart people say US only is fine because the biggest US companies are international businesses. Other people say that ignores large swaths of the global economy. I have no idea what the future holds. Personally I the I’m about 30% of my stocks allocated to International. Last year was the first time in a long time International outperformed the US. SWISX is fine in either in a taxable or tax sheltered account. It will tend to pay a bit more dividend then SWTSX but still pretty tax efficient. If you are holding in taxable accounts I’d favor the ETF versions. SCHB is the ETF equivalent to SWTSX, SCHF is the ETF equivalent to SWISX. SWVXX is fine, TBILL ETFs like SGOV or FRN ETFs like USFR, or TBills are all fine places for cash. Personally I found directly buying TBills to be inconvenient so stopped and just use the ETFs and Money Markets now.

Chemical-Fun3692

where did you see the portfolio? How do I find a treasury fund or know what to search for? I believe the SGOV and USFR are treasury bills?? Any you recommend? And would this be in the taxable account to use as liquid money?

er824

It’s SWTSX, assuming you mean Schwab’s Total Market fund. If you want International exposure their International fund is SWISX. You don’t need a separate account at Fidelity unless you want it for some other purpose. Their sweep options are better than what you get at Schwab for uninvested cash but that’s only an issue if you leave the cash sitting in your Schwab account. Investing, like you would be doing by buying SWVXX, SGOV or USFR, solves that problem. The downside to Schwab is having to do it manually whereas Fidelity automates (sweeps) the cash to and from their SPAXX money market for you. The manual options actually yield a bit more so are better as long as you are ok with the manual step. Personally, I don’t see a reason to overweight dividend stocks, all the stocks in SCHD are already in SWTSX and SCHB. If you do decide to hold SCHD consider holding it in your IRA to minimize the tax drag.

Chemical-Fun3692

I am completely new to investing and I’ve been trying to read as much as possible and ask questions. Please let me know your thoughts on this game plan and if there is anything you would change, take out or add? This is just me going based off notes. I am 100% open to suggestions. Step 1: Contribute 4% employer match to 401k on Fidelity. Step 2: Backdoor Roth IRA - contribute $7,500 and invest in SWTSK (any other mutual fund or ETF I should invest in IRA?) Step 3: Invest in SCHB or SCHX in Taxable account Step 4: Invest in SGOV, USFR, and SWVXX in Taxable account - All for liquid funds Step 5: (Consider investing in SCHD in taxable account?) - Dividend focused ETF. Step 6: (Consider a Sweep account at Fidelity which offers a higher % return in a MMA, not sure why?) Step 7: Is SWPPX and/or SWTSX necessary, and if so, which account and why? Step 8: What about international ETFs and/or Bonds, should I add any to my taxable account and if so which ones? Step 9: Consider QQQ in a taxable account (but would this be redundant if I already will have SCHX or SCHB?)

Chemical-Fun3692

Also, is the QQQ necessary if I choose to invest in SCHX or SCHB which are both broader? I am not sure. Here is my game plan: Please let me know your thoughts and if there is anything you would change, take out or add? This is just me going based off notes from here. I am 100% to suggestions. Step 1: Contribute 4% employer match to 401k on Fidelity. Step 2: Backdoor Roth IRA - contribute $7,500 and invest in SWTSK (any other mutual fund or ETF I should invest in IRA?) Step 3: Invest in SCHB or SCHX in Taxable account Step 4: Invest in SGOV, USFR, and SWVXX in Taxable account - All for liquid funds Step 5: (Consider investing in SCHD in taxable account?) - Dividend focused ETF. Step 6: (Consider a Sweep account at Fidelity which offers a higher % return in a MMA, not sure why?) Step 7: Is SWPPX and/or SWTSX necessary, and if so, which account and why? Step 8: What about international ETFs and/or Bonds, should I add any to my taxable account and if so which ones?

Chemical-Fun3692

Ok gotcha! To clarify, you want a short duration basically?! Ok this is my plan so far. Please let me know your thoughts and if there is anything you would change, take out or add? This is just me going based off notes from here. I am 100% to suggestions. Step 1: Contribute 4% employer match to 401k on Fidelity. Step 2: Backdoor Roth IRA - contribute $7,500 and invest in SWTSK (any other mutual fund or ETF I should invest in IRA?) Step 3: Invest in SCHB or SCHX in Taxable account Step 4: Invest in SGOV, USFR, and SWVXX in Taxable account - All for liquid funds Step 5: (Consider investing in SCHD in taxable account?) - Dividend focused ETF. Step 6: (Consider a Sweep account at Fidelity which offers a higher % return in a MMA, not sure why?)

er824

Note USFR’s effective duration is .02 years not .2; so very short

Chemical-Fun3692

Ah thank you! When we say effective duration of 0.1 or 0.2 years what does that mean exactly, what is an effective duration? Thank you for linking me to this boggle heads write up, that is super useful! I started reading though it and it sound like a floating rate treasury is super useful and he recommends getting one for sure, I’m still learning about this. Yea the reason I ask about short term ETF’s is to see if there are others comparable with varying returns. Like for instance there are diffeent 7 days MMF with varying returns and I wasn’t sure if it would be the case with short term ETFs like SGOV. Basically I wanted to know which list SGOV came from. But if they are all similar, I can certainly get SGOV and one of the floating treasuries like USFR and even include SWVXX as the MMF. I need to write all this down! It’s starting to sound like alphabet soup. If you don’t mind me messaging you to keep in touch that be great!

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)

er824

When I last checked Schwab's Treasury MMFs were yielding less than SWVXX. I'd save state taxes with SNSXX but the tax savings didn't make up the yield difference. SGOV and USFR are ETFs that invest in ultra short term government bonds. SGOV invests in 0-3 month Treasury Bonds and USFR invests in Floating Rate US Treasuries. There are several other ETFs that invest in ultra short term Gov't bonds that are equivalent. I actually have a bit of SWVXX but most of my uninvested cash is in USFR. I haven't checked recently but when I last checked it was yielding slightly more then SWVXX and is state income tax free. The key is they invest in ultra short term securities so you don't have the same interest rate risk you have when investing in longer term bonds. A Money Market Fund keeps a constant share price of $1, orders execute every night and you get paid interest monthly. A Treasury ETF trades like a stock. It has the same limitations of other ETFs at Schwab, no Fractional shares. USFR's share price hovers around $50 and SGOV around $100 so if your dealing with small amounts of cash that can be a pain. If you look at a price graph you'll see they make a nice sawtooth pattern. That's because they slowly increase in price throughout the month as they accumulate interest then drop when the interest is distributed. All of these are fine options and are easy to switch between. You mentioned iBonds and TIPS. You can only buy iBonds directly at Treasury Direct. You can buy TIPS at Schwab, either directly, via a Mutual Fund (SWRSX), or via numerous ETFs (SCHP, TIP, etc). Schwab has other options for cash as well, T-Bills, CDs, etc.... I dabbled with T-Bills for a bit but it was more effort then it was worth and just started buying the ETFs instead. The convenience was worth the minor cost to me.

Chemical-Fun3692

Interesting! If you are using Schwab, I am on the research tab, under Money Market Funds and I only see the SWVXX under “Prime Money Funds”, where is the USFR and SGOV located? I clicked on ETFs and typed SGOV, and it says it’s an “ultrashort bond”, Does that mean it’s a bond or ETF? Is this like an iBond or TIPS? Do you get a return on these like the Money Market Funds? Is there a reason you prefer to buy the short term treasury ETFs in addition to the SWVXX? I am curious why you don’t choose Government and Trrasury Money Funds like SNVXX, SNOXX, SNSXX, or the money market ETF like SGVT? All of these have a 7 day yield.

er824

Yes, in my taxable brokerage I use both SWVXX and short term treasury ETFs like USFR and SGOV. I don’t use uninvested money in my IRAs but if I did I’d certainly want it gaining something. You can usually put in the order to sell the mutual fund or ETF the same time you put in the buy order for your investment and everything should settle at the same time. You might need to enable margin in your account but I’m not sure.

er824

You can keep cash equivalents in your Schwab brokerage and get equal or better interest than a HYSA. Either buy a money market fund like SWVXX or a short term treasury ETF like SGOV or USFR.

old_knurd

> Since it’s not SGOV/USFR/TFLO, you will have to pay state and local taxes on the interest Schwab has SNSXX which only buys T Bills etc, no agency paper or repos or anything like that. I haven't yet received a 1099 for it but I assume the year end info will show that 99% (more or less) will be free of state taxes. https://www.schwabassetmanagement.com/products/snsxx

C2theC

Check your broker and see if they have a money market mutual fund where you can park cash (both Schwab and Fidelity do this), that can be used as collateral/cash equity for when you sell covered puts (cash secured puts). You can also set this to be marginable (default). Caveats are: * Since they are mutual funds, they trade at exactly 4:00p EST, and you won’t get charged margin interest on other trades if you’ve put in the order before 3:55p EST to cover the margin * Since it’s not SGOV/USFR/TFLO, you will have to pay state and local taxes on the interest * If set as marginable, anything else you sell won’t settle into cash, and will get tied up as collateral unless you reach out to the margins team and get it freed up

Putrid_Pollution3455

shoutout to USFR, cash gang, the only thing green in my port today. Plus it's forking over an interest payment tomorrow which I can use to buy the blood

Putrid_Pollution3455

up 0.12% and I reinvested the dividends I got from voo and vt. Soon USFR will print off some to deleverage my margin loan

Sorry-Tip-8120

Cash in MMF. Tbills SGOV ETF (ultra short Tbills, fixed rate). USFR (also ultra short Tbills like SGOV but with floating rates, so good if you worry about rising rates).

PossibleIsopod131

I don’t know what the apy is for ally high yield savings but personally I put cash in BOXX or USFR the yield is around 5%. If you’re looking for more return and a bit more risk VOO, VXUS, QQQM, SPYM are all popular. These are a low cost index funds that track the overall market. (S&P500, International, and the Nasdaq100)

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.

Putrid_Pollution3455

There are times where evaluations are high and it’s possible that cash out performs equities for a decade. Strategic rebalancing, not market timing, can enhance returns. For example, I use 33% USFR ibit and vt. If market goes down I force target allocation with up to 10% margin and future income. If market goes up, I pay off debt or load up on USFR to bring balance back to the force. Portfolio income goes to debt first and then VT. I have this all printed off as rules to follow.

PossibleIsopod131

Bonds bad gold better look at a 60/40 stock bond portfolio. It’s not a good look. My view is diversification is good if the instruments are not very correlated and both perform well. Just quick glancing at charts VXUS looks good and gives diversification into international stocks. VOO VXUS Gold I think would a be pretty solid long term portfolio. Cash in USFR or BOXX. NFA

thembitches326

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

greytoc

Yes - that's a good reason to use a brokerage account instead of a HYSA. Also - if you have state taxes - interest from treasuries - interest from funds like USFR are generally state and local tax exempt - whereas interest from a HYSA is generally not state tax exempt. And depending on your tax status - even muni money market funds may generate a higher yield on a post-tax basis.

scruffy-hugger

I Don’t see any significant value /connection with my HYSA. I have an account at a brick and mortar bank also , enough to cover recurring bills and a buffer. No big purchase planned. $ is just parked in a safe account earning some interest. My thought is that USFR or GSST would provide a slight bump and also make it easy to invest if I see an investment opportunity.

Putrid_Pollution3455

Depends what the market will do; if it continues to slip, I'm using my USFR as collateral to margin into the dip until balance is restored to the port. If it goes sideways or up, then I wait for dividends to pay off margin debt or buy more stonks

Putrid_Pollution3455

I like USFR as the collateralized asset class I use for margin and leverage into other securities

Salty-Foundation3451

Diversify. Majority of your portfolio can be in interest bearing cash right now, at a relatively respectable 4.5ish%. If AI is going to continue to be as explosive as the bulls say, then you can allocate a relatively small portion of your portfolio to it to more than make up for the difference. On the flip side, there’s gold, gold miners, crypto, energy, international, long and short bonds, etc that all have different investment theses. High beta? Low percentage. A great strategy for someone humble who just wants confidence in their future. I beat market returns by 10% or so this year in crypto and gold/silver miners with an allocation, and that includes the 60-70% of my holdings that were in USFR the whole time.

Putrid_Pollution3455

Emergency fund in physical gold… Then I do 33% IBIT, VT, and USFR… Then I follow four rules… When I get paid, I buy whatever asset is lagging. If VT lags behind my short-term treasuries, then I sell short-term treasuries until VT equals US FR if the portfolio doubles in terms of dollars then I rebalance. all portfolio income goes into VT.

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.

NoSolution1179

I have an eTrade Roth IRA, which does not do fractional shares except for dividend reinvestment. Most of my money is in VOO and VUG. I don't have enough left over to get any more of those, so I put as much of the leftover as I could into USFR so that it's at least not doing nothing. Now I have less than 25 in purchasing power. How can I make those last dollars do some work? I understand that's a paltry amount, I just wanna get as much as I can working for me. If the answer is "seriously bro don't worry about 25 bucks," then I'd understand.

Putrid_Pollution3455

I personally use up to 10% margin during bear markets only. I balance the fund with short term treasuries USFR for ballast and protection if we shit the bed past my max margin cap.

Putrid_Pollution3455

I've been waiting to do this, you activated my trap card! Rule #2: "When USFR > VT, rebalance by moving 33% of the difference (USFR − VT) into VT and the same amount into Corn.”

aboardreading

That's a poor decision and will cost you far more than 6k long term. If you really want to be risk averse, put like 30% into a bond ETF like USFR, that way you'll get a higher yield than any hysa and you don't have to pay state/local taxes on that yield. Then the rest into low cost index etf like VOO. Seriously having the stability of a US military job for presumably a couple years and the maturity to actually put money into savings are two huge advantages, not having the intelligence to do it right would be tragic.

AffectionateLeek5854

USFR

BillNye69

Anyone still use USFR?

AffectionateLeek5854

This .SGOV and USFR gains are almost state tax exempt.

BillNye69

Anyone still use USFR?

AffectionateLeek5854

sorry to add one more on you list . USFR. Please do check before making a decision. https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogleheads/s/eabNqI99Mz

er824

You're over thinking it. A Treasury ETF like VBIL, SGOV, USFR or Treasury Money Market like VUSXX are functionally equivalent. Just pick whatever is most convenient for you.

Putrid_Pollution3455

If I wasn’t barred from cash rebates due to pattern day trader flag I’d do that but alas I guess USFR/sgov/bil has same interest rate payment AND you can use those as safe collateral for margin loans or margin spending. Pretty handy

hymie-the-robot

you don't lose growth due to a conservative tilt. you lose growth with elevated risk. you want the best risk-adjusted return, not the most growth. use your cash to buy ultrashort government bonds, e.g., USFR or VGUS, or just hold it in a MMF or HYSA. this essentially cuts your maximum drawdown in half, and gives you dry powder to bring your account back into balance when stocks are cheap. when the market recovers, you end up with a bigger balance than before the drawdown started. [https://portfoliocharts.com/2022/04/12/unexpected-returns-shannons-demon-the-rebalancing-bonus/](https://portfoliocharts.com/2022/04/12/unexpected-returns-shannons-demon-the-rebalancing-bonus/)

BigWarning8696

Yeah, waiting would be the prudent thing to do. My guess is we go down 10-15% or so, either now or within a few months. I have some SQQQ and some QQQ put options, but mainly because some longs I don't want to sell for tax reasons. That keeps my port from moving much either direction until I get a better sense of the market direction. Being in cash is fine also (SGOV or USFR)

CwispyNoodles

Yeah, keep my head down, and be quiet :( AKA: stick with VOO and USFR

Putrid_Pollution3455

33% short term treasuries USFR. Got a nice lil cash flow each month, and I can rebalance if we dip, or if we continue to rip for some reason, well, I guess I still win just not as much

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.

youcantdrinkthat

I see it as a way to pay for the gold membership. I have emergency funds in USFR to qualify for the margin so why not?

Putrid_Pollution3455

I’m 33% USFR. Sleeping like a baby and will rebalance if we dip

Putrid_Pollution3455

Only buy puts in the context of a straddle. True bears buy TLT GLD and USFR

Putrid_Pollution3455

cash is actually a good strategy if you're bearish. I recently adjusted strategy to basically rebalance using USFR. So if it dips, I reallocate to the assets that are going down and when it rips I restock cash position to bring the ratio into balance. ONLY adjusting the USFR to avoid taxes.

SumthingBrewing

55 year old here. Feel nervous about a crash in the next year, so this week I moved out of QQQ and into USFR (treasury bond fund paying around 4%). I’m hoping to retire in the next five years so I just can’t risk a crash. So now I’m 50% in bonds. Maybe I’ll miss out on some gains, but I’ll sleep better knowing I’m not in danger of losing a big chunk of my retirement savings. The world is just way too volatile and weird right now. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experience in my lifetime.

Syniakai

From the category of extremely safe bond funds (USFR, SPAXX, SGOV, AND ICSH), ICSH has the highest total yearly returns. With the grand total sum being 21.71%, and the average being 1.97%, and it's the only one who has never been at a loss. I wouldn't fully rely on the 30 day yields shown by these funds. Many of these bond funds are showing an irregular pattern of higher returns from 2023-2024 and it's starting to slow down this year. It seems temporary.

pureghostt

Throw a portion of all profits into a etf that generates dividends. I normally do like 25-50% of all profit straight into USFR so I can never lose it all.

Syniakai

you are right, 5.4% was last year. Total annual return year to date is 3.26% source [https://totalrealreturns.com/n/USFR?normalize=off](https://totalrealreturns.com/n/USFR?normalize=off)

immanewb

Where are you seeing USFR is 5.4%? I'm seeing the 30-day SEC yield at 3.97%, [per their website](https://www.wisdomtree.com/investments/etfs/fixed-income/usfr).

Syniakai

USFR is 5.4%, has lower fees, and should be available in fidelity

Sureness4715

I’ll take the 7%—and presumably the tax beating that comes with it—for my weekly savings going forward.  Would have settled for whatever USFR is yielding, since that’s what I’m doing now.  I’m happy with my positions in growth, value, and Treaurys.  I don’t see anything remotely tempting.  I’ll be an opportunistic buyer at better prices. 

TheHarb81

USFR

TheHarb81

USFR

TheHarb81

USFR

mjanicek345

piggybacking to add USFR too -- US T-bill ETF that basically gets laddered for you (and has the liquidity of a stock/etf), what i hold the majority of my EF in.

fiya4u

Or USFR

TheHarb81

USFR

Lazy-Gene-7284

USFR, it yields 4.34% currently and is buying short term treasuries so as safe as what you have

787Beatz

Do you reinvest your USFR dividends? Or do you keep your earned dividends as Spaxx?

Previous_Cod_1356

Unless you want capital gains instead of a cash dividend, in which case you could choose from the following, depending on the time of month: TBLL SGOV USFR

Sensitive-Owl8987

You could just put that money in USFR and make 4% on it without the risk of the deal falling through.

MysteriousCoat1692

It's okay. You're referencing the devaluation of the dollar relative to other currencies with the 10% which matters but doesn't matter to individuals at the same time unless it's extreme and long-term. At that point it would matter to businesses who purchase abroad as it potentially compresses margins and individuals who purchase a lot of goods abroad, who travel, or plan to live abroad. I'd suggest your mom put her money in a short-term treasury floating rate fund like USFR. It should at least maintain with inflation and she won't experienc3 fluctuations aside from the zig zag movement of the monthly payouts. I think anything else comes with some risk that she would need to be comfortable with understanding.

pureghostt

Yeah man PLEASE put 250k into like USFR or something and get paid from dividends. Don't gamble it away

ck_defender

Know anything in terms of SGOV vs USFR?

JoJoPizzaG

USFR

C2theC

Move 20-40% into T-bills via USFR or TreasuryDirect.gov.

Foehammer_33

Congratulations on starting so early. I'd recommend going 100% VT (Vanguard Total World Market) in your Roth. By far the most set it and forget it ETF available, it handles your US and International diversification. Make sure you have a reported income of at least how much you contribute to the Roth in a year. If you have rent and/or other expenses to worry about, I'd wait to start investing in another brokerage and first open a high yield savings account where you keep at least 6 months worth of your expenses. Or put it in a brokerage in a fund like SGOV or USFR, which will give you a similar yield to a HYSA. If you manage to fill that or don't need it, the S&P 500 is fine in your brokerage if you don't mind the risk.

rthille

I’m retired now, so I’ve got about five years of spending in short term Treasury ETF (USFR). Prior to retirement I had everything in stocks.

10jacksuited

If you’re considering SGOV look into USFR it yields slightly more

Previous_Cod_1356

Agreed. If interested in a few tickers which track Treasuries, have a look at these: SGOV TBLL USFR