How To in a Taxable account

[FIREshrink]

Ever since the flash crash, I've used limit orders when I buy and sell ETFs. There's no reason to take the chance, rare as it might be, that your ETF crashes just when you want to sell or surges just when you want to buy. Limit orders prevent that chance.

If you can't be bothered to learn how to write a limit order, stick with mutual funds.

[G]

FIREshrink wrote:

Ever since the flash crash, I’ve used limit orders when I buy and sell ETFs. There’s no reason to take the chance, rare as it might be, that your ETF crashes just when you want to sell or surges just when you want to buy. Limit orders prevent that chance.

If you can’t be bothered to learn how to write a limit order, stick with mutual funds.

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I happened to be watching CNBC (don't worry, it was for entertainment, not advice!) when the Flash Crash occurred--it was so shocking, if only I wasn't suffering from apoplexy....

FWIW, I often have absurdly low buy and ridiculously high sell orders in play, just in case the stars align and it works out for me.  However, after reading "Flash Boys" I'm pretty confident that much more sophisticated (professional) folks will reap that harvest long before my piddling lots.

[nachos31]

Re: ETFs v MFs in taxable: aren't ETFs better able to flush out capital gains compared to MFs?

I'm guessing maybe not a big concern for PoF and WCI since they likely hold VG and their ETFs are share classes of their corresponding MFs?

The lack of fractional shares with ETFs do frustrate me. The only ETF I own is VG Int'l Small (VSS) since it doesn't exist as MF.

[ReFinDoc]

How about: Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Small-Cap Index Fund Investor Shares (VFSVX)

[nachos31]

ReFinDoc wrote:

How about: Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Small-Cap Index Fund Investor Shares (VFSVX)

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Sorry, no Admiral share class of VFSVX (Investor share class with ER 0.27) whereas VSS has ER 0.13.

[ReFinDoc]

ETF's allow you to do exactly what you shouldn't do...trade more often. I see no advantage to ETF's.

You said "VG Int’l Small (VSS) since it doesn’t exist as MF." It does not exist as an Admiral fund.

[nachos31]

ReFinDoc wrote:

You said “VG Int’l Small (VSS) since it doesn’t exist as MF.” It does not exist as an Admiral fund.

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Yep, I clarified. See above. I use VSS because it is cheaper than its corresponding Investor class MF. I don't trade often. If there was an Admiral share class then I would most certainly use it as I do with my other holdings.

[PHANTASOS]

I would recommend avoiding the first and last 30 minutes of the trading day and ALWAYS using a marketable limit order.  Using a marketable limit order isn't to help you save a fraction of a penny on what price you get.  It is to protect you from paying a really bad price if you place a market order during a 1 second period of the day when the only people who want to sell are asking 2% higher - which nobody would pay unless they had naively placed a market order.  I think it is good form even for very high volume ETFs (like VTI, VXUS, etc.).  Your marketable limit order should execute immediately - there should never be a delay.

'Best practices’ for ETF trading: Seven rules of the road