Investment

» allancoleman - GNMAs down today

As expected , the nav prices of our favorite Vanguard GNMA funds ( VFIIX & VFIJX ) closed down to $10.35 today .

Observations :

VFIJX = 1.67% ytd with a 4.88% yield
VBTLX = 1.48% ytd with a 4.48% yield
VMMXX = 1.25% ytd with a 2.39% yield
VMSXX = 0.95% ytd with a 2.43% yield
VWEAX = 1.49% ytd with a 8.23% yield and closed down a penny today .

-- posted by allancoleman

» allancoleman - Yields

Most yields changed overnite :

VFIJX increased to 4.90%
VBTLX increased to 4.51%
VMMXX stayed the same at 2.39%
VMSXX decreased to 2.38%
VWEAX increased to 8.24% making my combined average weighted yield between this and my GNMAs at 5.8352%

And I think PEIC got the answer to his question of how long the tax free tax exempt money market fund yield would remain higher than the taxable money market fund . Til this evening . However it's still closer than I've seen in my past experience as I've always used a tax free tax exempt fund for my bucket number one to fund my living expenses and other assorted costs like real estate development expenses .

-- posted by allancoleman

» allancoleman - GNMAs unchanged today ? ?

With the ten year treasury yield trading pretty much unchanged from yesterday's close , the nav prices of our favorite Vanguard GNMA funds ( VFIIX & VFIJX ) should close pretty close to yesterday's close of $10.35 after dropping six cents yesterday . High nav price this year on GNMAs is $10.55 and the low has been $10.25 with neither likely hood of the nav price moving out of that range unless the Fed acts again this year which is less likely with the recent CPI data release not showing much increased signs of inflation ... yet .

Bernanke's speech earlier this week when he commented the markets still weren't stable and fixed yet could lead one to believe the Fed could cut rates another quarter later this summer . However most believe the Fed could be done and rates may settle down and we could be looking at our highs and lows for GNMA nav prices until the next crisis makes the Fed move one way or another .

In the meanwhile , GNMA investors continue to collect their guaranteed dividend of 4.90% as of this morning backed by the full faith and credit of the US Treasury printing presses while the Vanguard money market funds yield 2.39% making GNMAs yield over twice the present money market yields .

-- posted by allancoleman

» allancoleman - GNMAs unchanged today

As expected , the nav prices of our favorite Vanguard GNMA funds ( VFIIX & VFIJX ) closed unchanged today at $10.35 a share .

Observations :

VFIJX = 1.68% ytd with a 4.90% yield
VBTLX = 1.49% ytd with a 4.51% yield
VMMXX = 1.26% ytd with a 2.39% yield
VMSXX = 0.95% ytd with a 2.38% yield
VWEAX = 1.51% ytd with a 8.24% yield and finished unchanged

-- posted by allancoleman

» allancoleman - Bond funds average annual total returns

" Average Annual Total Returns for Periods ending March 31st , 2008 "

VFIIX
Year to Date = 2.23%
1 Year = 7.98%
5 Year = 4.49%
10 Year = 5.82%
Since inception = 8.51%
30 - Day SEC Yield = 4.73%

VWEHX
Year to Date = - 2.39%
1 Year = - 2.59%
5 Year = 6.21%
10 Year = 4.39%
Since inception = 8.84%
30 - Day SEC Yield = 8.68%

VBMFX
Year to Date = 2.18%
1 Year = 7.70%
5 Year = 4.53%
10 Year = 5.78%
Since inception = 6.98%
30 - Day SEC Yield = 4.19%

-- posted by allancoleman

» allancoleman - Yields

Some yields declined overnite :

VFIJX stayed the same at 4.90%
VBTLX stayed the same at 4.51%
VMMXX stayed the same at 2.39%
VMSXX declined to 2.33%
VWEAX declined to 8.23% making my combined average weighted yield between this fund and my GNMAs at 5.8324%

-- posted by allancoleman

» allancoleman - GNMAs up at the close today ? ?

With Bernanke's face on CNBC today and the market reacting to their usual downside by that fact , I suspect the nav prices of our favorite GNMAs will close up today as the ten year treasury yields are trading lower at this moment as weak hands stock market traders seek the safety of treasuries .

Leave shortly for the colder north of North Pole / Fairbanks on probably my longest real estate trip of the summer . If the creeks don't rise or we have our usual early spring snow storm in the passes , I should return by middle of next week to spend the Memorial Day weekend safely at home while I prepare my second and probably longest trip back down to Homer shortly after the holiday weekend . After that , I get a break for the first part of June until I see if my for sale sign and ad in the Daily Newsminer makes my phone ring this summer or if I get emails from interested buyers . Plus I also now have the added task of developing a shared driveway on my Chena Ridge property too . Will meet with my real estate attorney in Fairbanks on Friday to see if I can't " piggy back " on my neighbors easement and share the expense of the construction of a driveway later this summer . I usually go back up in mid July to check on my North Pole for sale sign anyway and maybe this summer can sign , notarize , and record a shared easement with my neighbor making this property ready to sell in future years .

Real estate markets in Alaska remain very strong on increased talk of the start of construction of a natural gas pipeline in the future down from the Artic past Fairbanks / North Pole to hungry energy starved lower 48 consumers . Wouldn't want fellow Americans to freeze in the dark down there while I'm in Hawaii surfing this winter .

-- posted by allancoleman

» allancoleman - GNMAs up at the close today

The nav prices of our favorite Vanguard GNMA funds ( VFIIX & VFIJX ) closed up to $10.42 today .

Recent observations :

VFIJX = 2.43% ytd with a 4.86% yield
VBTLX = 2.15% ytd with a 4.51% yield
VWEAX = 2.13% ytd with a 8.16% yield
VMMXX = 1.29% ytd with a 2.39% yield
VMSXX = 0.98% ytd with a 2.22% yield
VFINX = ( - 2.10% ) ytd with a 1.98% yield
My personal 401(k) = ( - 2.1% ) ytd
VTSMX = ( - 1.71% ) ytd with a 1.95% yield

Year to date losses have come down to less than almost $38k . Quite a difference from my almost $228k losses at the bottom earlier this year . . The trend is my friend and my cup is over half full and filling up . With my fixed income performance , I should pull above some market indices end of this month .

-- posted by allancoleman

» allancoleman - Yields

Some yields on the fixed income mutual funds I track , changed overnite :

VFIJX decreased to 4.84%
VBTLX stayed the same at 4.51%
VMMXX decreased to a new low of 2.38%
VMSXX decreased to 2.06%
VWEAX stayed the same at 8.16% making my combined average weighted yield between this and my GNMAs in my Vanguard Roth account at 5.7696% . . Although not very high , with the money market funds paying well less than two and a half percent and with almost three quarters of my fixed income assets being very high quality guaranteed by the treasury printing presses and almost a quarter backed by probably the best managed junk bond fund in the world , I can sit here all year if necessary while it grows as I spend less than 2% of my critical mass to live and develop real estate to sell later as that market recovers .

My own cup is over half full and filling .

I returned last nite late from a usually very educational real estate trip to the Fairbanks / North Pole area of the golden heart interior of Alaska where I placed an ad in the Daily Newsminer newspaper for my North Pole lot on the new natural gas pipeline that'll bring new natural gas resources from the US artic to the lower 48 in combination with Canadian natural gas it'll add as it passes south straight to our American markets . Even if this particular piece of property doesn't sell this year , I'm not a bit concerned that it will not sell next year or in the coming future years as this national natural gas project gathers speed to bring needed energy supplies to the US .

This particular property will be a " ten bagger " for me as I only paid a tenth of my asking price decades ago . My second and last piece of property I'm also developing in that area could be a " twenty bagger " for me depending on my total development costs as I co-oporate with a neighbor to develop a shared driveway to our adjacent parcels . I'll await my for sale sign and ad on my North Pole lot this summer while I work through the difficulties of putting a driveway to my only other property up north to sell at a future date as the nation's need for energy increases .

I will also leave for my other properties south in Homer , Alaska where I pave three driveways later this summer on my property down there to sell after my lots up north have sold . That trip will be on June 3rd .

-- posted by allancoleman

» allancoleman - GNMAs up at the close today ? ?

With stocks trading down today and weak hands money moving to the safe haven of treasuries making bond prices rally and the ten year treasury yields trade lower , expect the nav prices of our favorite Vanguard GNMAs to increase at the close today . We're still in a trading range on our GNMA prices and yields making our GNMAs and actually my High - Yield bond fund very nice . I'll take my five and three quarters percent fixed income yield any day while stocks continue to trade lower .

-- posted by allancoleman