Best CD, MM Rates & Bank Special Deals Thread 2022 - Please post updates here

[jazz4cash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graybeard Yes, by about 14 hours! I never bought on the secondary market and I don't understand it. The Vanguard display for new issue T bills is simple to understand, I just bought my first T bills in May. The display for the secondary market looks confusing, I don't understand what all the info means so I don't know how to decide what makes sense to buy. I'd probably buy something that is a bad choice. A good thread would be how to buy on the secondary market and how to understand all that info.

I think if you explore the VG bond pages you’ll find it easy to comprehend. Start with the yield table and look for the maturity closest to the one you just missed. Hover or click on it and a list of similar issues will pop up. The price/yield will be very close to the auction result. Hover/click/ check the glossary of terms. Call VG or post specific questions here. No need to miss the opportunity just because you missed the auction. I use Fido but VG is similar.

[JoeWras]

Thanks jazz4cash. Like Graybeard, I'm slowly dipping toes in these markets. I think it becomes simple for one who has done it. For a first time user, it can be perplexing. Kind of like driving a car with a manual transmission.

I have attached some relevant screen shots. If you don't mind, I'm going to pick apart your instructions and discuss them, referring to the picture, trying to do what Graybeard wants to do. Anyone, please correct me if I am wrong.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazz4cash I think if you explore the VG bond pages you’ll find it easy to comprehend. Start with the yield table and look for the maturity closest to the one you just missed. Hover or click on it and a list of similar issues will pop up.

OK, the bottom of my screenshot is part of the yield table that comes up when using the "Quick Search" tab. I click the highlighted, in order to access the 3 month T-bill I just missed buying yesterday. A list of similar issues do pop up, including that 13 week that matures 12/1. So far, so good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazz4cash The price/yield will be very close to the auction result. Hover/click/ check the glossary of terms. Call VG or post specific questions here. No need to miss the opportunity just because you missed the auction. I use Fido but VG is similar.

I think this is where a lot of us lose it and grind the gears. We've gotta lot of numbers. Min/max buy/sell. Maturities. Coupon numbers (in this case, all 0.0000). And so on.

For the highlighted sections in my example, it appears I could buy a bond for 99.285 that has an effective yield of 2.885. Right? Above this you see the auction result which is 2.941%. Close, but not the same as a result of the "extra hands" in the secondary market effectively taking their cut, right?

Speaking of which, the "bid/ask" which is really sell/buy adds confusion for the novice. When buying, I really only care about ask, right? And this spread is a consequence of the extra hands in the market, in this case the market maker, getting their cut of the pie for enabling this transaction, right?

----

I think for zero coupon treasuries this mostly makes sense. But some is still confusing, so check my following statements: You buy in increments of $1000, but the price displayed is per $100. Confusing.

Corporates use the same $100 quote, right? I think looking at corporates or treasuries with coupons adds another dynamic because the "yield to maturity," especially for high coupon items with very short maturities, can be negative. I assume this is because a coupon payment is about to drop? Confusing...

[jazz4cash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras For the highlighted sections in my example, it appears I could buy a bond for 99.285 that has an effective yield of 2.885. Right? Above this you see the auction result which is 2.941%. Close, but not the same as a result of the "extra hands" in the secondary market effectively taking their cut, right? OK, this is a challenge for me, but let's see. The difference between the auction result may be due to "extra hands" but also whatever changes have occurred in the market since the auction Speaking of which, the "bid/ask" which is really sell/buy adds confusion for the novice. When buying, I really only care about ask, right? And this spread is a consequence of the extra hands in the market, in this case the market maker, getting their cut of the pie for enabling this transaction, right? Yes you are only concerned with the ask. The market only works if the ask is higher than the bid at any point in time. That's why these issues are so easy to sell. ---- I think for zero coupon treasuries this mostly makes sense. But some is still confusing, so check my following statements: You buy in increments of $1000, but the price displayed is per $100. Confusing. I agree, it is confusing and it is the same for a corporate bond Corporates use the same $100 quote, right? I think looking at corporates or treasuries with coupons adds another dynamic because the "yield to maturity," especially for high coupon items with very short maturities, can be negative. I assume this is because a coupon payment is about to drop? Confusing... Not sure about this one, but your assumption could be correct

My replies to some of your comments are above in RED

I only bought my first Treasury at Fidelity a few months ago so I am still learning. I am finding the VG site much, much harder to navigate and less helpful. I did see the list of Treasuries in the format you pasted (which is familiar) but I can't get back to it. I don't see much in the way of educational resources either.
The issue you posted (ending in P64) is available at Fido right now at a yield of 2.91 <That yield is for a qty of 1000 bonds. For a single bond the yield is the same as VG

[jazz4cash]

Oh, forgot to mention the Min/Max column. It displays the minimum and maximum quantity of bonds available. The ask price is always the best available but sometimes the minimum quantity is high. You may be able to buy smaller quantities at a higher price. I see a "show more" button on VG that will return options for smaller quantities (I think). At Fido there is a depth of book column and icon.

[COcheesehead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazz4cash Oh, forgot to mention the Min/Max column. It displays the minimum and maximum quantity of bonds available. The ask price is always the best available but sometimes the minimum quantity is high. You may be able to buy smaller quantities at a higher price. I see a "show more" button on VG that will return options for smaller quantities (I think). At Fido there is a depth of book column and icon.

The “show more” on Fidelity is known as depth of book and shows a little open book icon. It will list all the lots available some with smaller minimums. It will always show the corresponding yield which will vary by lot.

[lawman]

What is Fido?

[COcheesehead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lawman What is Fido?

Fidelity

[RetireAge50]

Got my feet wet with my first treasury purchase this morning on the secondary market. 3.237% YTW Feb 2023 maturity.
I’m thinking about buying the 26-week bill in $25,000 increments over the next 12 auctions (not on the secondary).
Still trying to figure it out. I guess I should buy some other shorter term maturities while I am building this out. In the meantime sitting in VMFXX.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetireAge50 Got my feet wet with my first treasury purchase this morning on the secondary market. 3.237% YTW Feb 2023 maturity. I’m thinking about buying the 26-week bill in $25,000 increments over the next 12 auctions (not on the secondary). Still trying to figure it out. I guess I should buy some other shorter term maturities while I am building this out. In the meantime sitting in VMFXX.

2 and 1 month T-Bills are open today if you want to try an auction buy. Cut off tomorrow morning at 9:30.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazz4cash Oh, forgot to mention the Min/Max column. It displays the minimum and maximum quantity of bonds available. The ask price is always the best available but sometimes the minimum quantity is high. You may be able to buy smaller quantities at a higher price. I see a "show more" button on VG that will return options for smaller quantities (I think). At Fido there is a depth of book column and icon.

Thanks!

I forgot I could bring up the live bond trading display on Fidelity through my HSA. It gives me a chance to compare Fidelity and Vanguard live. Turns out the different platforms both have pluses and minuses.

[wrigley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetireAge50 Got my feet wet with my first treasury purchase this morning on the secondary market. 3.237% YTW Feb 2023 maturity. I’m thinking about buying the 26-week bill in $25,000 increments over the next 12 auctions (not on the secondary). Still trying to figure it out. I guess I should buy some other shorter term maturities while I am building this out. In the meantime sitting in VMFXX.

I am no longer a "T-Bill Virgin' either. I bought my first 13-week at 2.715%. I'm not going to pretend I really know what I did so I figured go short and see how this all plays out. Worse come to worst I might learn something!

Mike

[disneysteve]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graybeard I never bought on the secondary market and I don't understand it. The Vanguard display for new issue T bills is simple to understand

Vanguard makes buying on the secondary market super easy also. You just choose the maturity you want and get a list of the available options, pick the one you want and for how much and you're done. Let me know if you have any questions about it, but it's very user-friendly and self-explanatory.

[COcheesehead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by disneysteve Vanguard makes buying on the secondary market super easy also. You just choose the maturity you want and get a list of the available options, pick the one you want and for how much and you're done. Let me know if you have any questions about it, but it's very user-friendly and self-explanatory.

Fidelity is similar. I find buying bonds easier than evaluating and buying equities.

[disneysteve]

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Originally Posted by COcheesehead Fidelity is similar. I find buying bonds easier than evaluating and buying equities.

Totally. There's really nothing to evaluate with T bills. They're all equally safe. It's just a matter of choosing the best rate for the duration you want.

[JoeWras]

The thing that helped me most was realizing I could click on the "quick grid" that both Fidelity and Vanguard bring up. It is a good starting point instead of trying to wade through the search parameters with unfamiliar language and terms.

Once I did that a few times and got a feel for the playing field, then I could develop real searches.

[Sojourner]

WADR to those of you posting about treasuries and bonds in this thread, I'd like to politely request that those discussions be held in a separate (very active) thread such as this:

https://www.early-retirement.org/for...ng-114400.html

IMHO, it would be better not to have to wade through pages of comments about purchasing bonds and treasuries for those of us who just want to see the latest updates on CDs and high yield savings rates. My two cents

[disneysteve]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras The thing that helped me most was realizing I could click on the "quick grid" that both Fidelity and Vanguard bring up.

Absolutely. They make it incredibly easy navigating from that grid.

[Gotadimple]

Amex announced an increase in interest to it's high yield savings account to 1.75% effective 8/31, up from 1.65% announced 8/19. CD rates are competitive with Ally, for CDs held in multiples of 12 months: 1 year 2.5% 2 year 2.75% 3-year 3.0%
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-u...savings-nav-cd

- Rita

[disneysteve]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sojourner IMHO, it would be better not to have to wade through pages of comments about purchasing bonds and treasuries for those of us who just want to see the latest updates on CDs and high yield savings rates. My two cents

I can understand that, but I'd also point out that many who stick to CDs may not be familiar with how simple it is to buy treasuries which are just as safe and secure and for maturities up to 2 years, pay higher interest that is also state tax-free. I was a CD guy until I learned more about treasuries in this thread and others.


Also, I knew nothing about brokered CDs previously. At Vanguard, at least, you buy brokered CDs and treasuries from the very same screen so there is a lot of overlap in the information.

[JoeWras]

Yeah, sorry I mentioned corporates. We can go to the Golden Age thread for that discussion. Everything else about brokered CDs and probably treasuries makes sens here. People want the "Best CD rate" (title of this thread) and many are brokered. Buying them is very similar to buying a bond or treasury. They all swim in the same lake.

But perhaps this thread should just be about deals and maybe we need a thread on mechanics of buying fixed instruments? I guess the giant was sleeping and now has awakened. Everyone wants in on the fun.

Quote:

Originally Posted by disneysteve At Vanguard, at least, you buy brokered CDs and treasuries from the very same screen so there is a lot of overlap in the information.

Same at Fidelity, different tabs on the same section.