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birb_cromble  5d ago (text post)   778 thread views

Weekly Finance Thread - 2026-08-01

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Replying again because I found this post that sums up my feelings on MFs vs ETFs:

For me the "ritual" goes something like this.

  1. On Saturday morning, take a look at the finances and realize you want to allocate $10K into this fund.
  2. Ah, but markets are closed, so write it down as a todo for Monday sometime.
  3. On Monday, take a break from the work day to execute this. Spend another 5 minutes double-checking, because it's been a couple of days since Saturday and some details have faded.
  4. Log into the account, go to the buy page. Watch the clever little Wall Street robots getting it on on the quote page. Briefly reflect on the incentive structure of modern capitalism.
  5. Check the premium/discount. Wonder if it means you're taking a 0.2% haircut right off the bat. Check the history. Oh well, it seems to be about average. Hopefully I'll get it back when I sell.
  6. Pick a number of shares and a limit price that's slightly above the Ask so your order gets executed quickly so you can get back to work. But not too much so you don't take it on the chin if an ETF share is temporarily under construction.
  7. Get startled by the yellow warning box. What did I do wrong? Realize that it's just Schwab telling you that the order may be executable. Well duh, I'm here to buy something not lay traps.
  8. Place the order and refresh a couple of times to see it executed. Notice that the price has inexplicably crawled up to right under your limit price; a clever little robot probably got you. Secretly hope that the robot's master discovers a hitherto unknown seafood allergy at the dinner you just paid for. Immediately feel a little guilty; seafood allergies are no fun.
  9. Realize that the clever little robot exposed a little mistake in your calculation: you rounded the limit price up. Again. Can never get those right. So now you owe Schwab a couple of bucks on your no-margin account. Set up a transfer and hope it makes it in time. 9.5, optional) Giggle as you recall asif408's apt description of the alternative, "cash turds leftover". Ain't that right.
  10. Log out, with that vague feeling of negotiation skill inadequacy that you always get after interacting with your car dealership. For the rest of the day, casually check your portfolio app to see how auspicious your choice of trading break time was.

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