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Drive Shack is tendering for all three series of preferred stock at $5
way below where the pfd is trading in the market and all the benefit of retiring the pfd obligation ( including all the past accrued) will benefit to common stockholders who are not affected. Actually the offer to purchase document tells you in no uncertain terms that the objective of this exercise is to “further the interest of the stockholders” I am not planning to participate a and if i did I would sell in the open market. Another one of Billionaire Wesley Edens ventures.
BMTX to be acquired by First Carolina Bank for $5/share – a 55% premium over yesterday’s close. https://ir.bmtxinc.com/news/news-details/2024/BM-Technologies-to-be-Acquired-by-First-Carolina-Bank-for-67-Million/default.aspx
As a long time holder of CUBI, I inherited BMTX as a spin out back in Jan ’21. Of course it was run by a Sidhu sibling, Luvleen, daughter of the CUBI’s CEO. Luvleen proved to not be a good CEO imho, despite her pedigree as I think the original tax basis of the spinoff was near 15 going by memory. How good has she been for shareholders? Press release says nothing about her future position after the acquisition goes thru despite her being the present Chair and CEO. After acquisition, BMTX will be led by Jamie Donahue, current President and Chief Technology Officer of BMTX.
I always thought this firm had promise… Reading CC’s over the years its failure as an independent truly seemed based on poor management decisions.
I think a decent heuristic is that if something goes public as a de-SPAC, it’s a bad stock.
That might not be 100% true, but it’s at least 90% true.
SITE Centers Corp. (the “Company”) has provided notice of its intent to redeem all of its outstanding 6.375% Class A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares, without par value (the “Class A Preferred Shares”), and the related depositary shares, each representing 1/20th of one Class A Preferred Share (NYSE: SITC PRA – CUSIP No.: 82981J 877) (the “Depositary Shares”). Pursuant to the provisions of the Company’s Fourth Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation, the Company is undertaking actions to redeem all of the 350,000 outstanding Class A Preferred Shares, represented by 7,000,000 Depositary Shares, on or about November 26, 2024 (the “Redemption Date”).
The Class A Preferred Shares and corresponding Depositary Shares will be redeemed at a redemption price of $503.6302 per Class A Preferred Share or $25.1815 per Depositary Share (the “Redemption Price”) (i.e., the sum of $500.00 per Class A Preferred Share plus accrued and unpaid dividends of $3.6302 per Class A Preferred Share to the Redemption Date or $25.00 per Depositary Share plus accrued and unpaid dividends of $0.1815 per Depositary Share to the Redemption Date).
https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/894315/000095017024117045/sitc-20241024.htm
I wonder what their motivation is to call these??? This doesn’t look like expensive money to me…. Thanks for the post…. got some pre-market
2WR , SITC did a spinoff of Curbline Properties (CURB) to ‘separate’ the r/e holdings, I had sold the pfd a while back for a small gain plus divs, given the uncertainty around this for me although they are trying to unlock value.. they were trying to better categorize themselves vs being an all things REIT. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/centers-provides-transaction-curbline-balance-105900772.html
(After checking Yahoo email and my holding/watch/hot lists for overnight news, trade alerts email if any from my SA service, I start the day here on III w Pfd screen sorted by ‘losers’ for anything of interest, then home page, then sandy box then readers alerts, sort thru recent comments. End up looking at Common Stock and Canadian feeds here before going on my way to the other sites, CEO.CA and SA, another private email for personal/financial things. Then to FIDO for anything before mkt opens or to put in an order. Usually up at 7, bed at 11-12EST, before bed I check hotcopper.au for my Aussie stocks, news, tips. Kills a lot of time in caregiving! Bea)
Thanks, Bea – I did see they raised something like 600 mil from that Curbline deal but a quick looksee didn’t see any real reason why they’d want or need to use any of that money to call this issue…. but as there didn’t seem to be any other issues to play with after this one, I just parked some money for 30 days at about 2x the MM rate and left it at that.
2WR, do that 12 times a year and we are talking about some decent returns!!!
preaching to the choir, pp……..
yes 2WR it is slim pickens out there but nothing wrong with being cashed up for the inevitable bargains we find here ! amazing all the issues you’d think would not be called being called? ..so interesting.. you take care. Hi PP!! B
ATCOL is trading below par. I picked some up today and on Tues.
Decent write up from Kroll.
https://www.kbra.com/publications/PnmdnRyL/kbra-affirms-ratings-for-atlas-corp-and-seaspan
DYODD YMMV
good comment.. atcol/sjnk pair trading near 2 sigma cheap.. was 2 sigma rich in july (1yr horizon) has outperformed since december 2023.. On a longer term (3yr) horizon trading near fair value
I know this is outside the bond forum, but this is related to NWGG’s post.
I like looking for something that might be higher up in the capital stack especially when it comes to shipping.
Yesterday Seaspan 5.5% bond was trading at 93.14 due 8-1-2029
Y75638AF6
I would say you would need to call in to the bond desk if interested.
Fido shows that trade as a 5k customer sell @ 93.137 BUT the dealer paid 94.137 for the bonds so 94.137 would be more like the true bid side. Odd lot offered side = more like 95.5. Man! Do I feel annoying doing nothing more positive than posting crap like this….
But 2WR it gives you something to do!
Plus, Charles, it gives me something to do – read yours and 2wr’s posts!
LOL mbg, reality of the differences in time zones and old age. Now it’s early to bed and early to rise. I wake up and first thing I do before coffee is read the alerts on here to see if I need to make a quick buy or sell order.
If it’s 5 or 6 on the West coast it’s already 8 or 9 on the East coast.
When I lived in the Sierra foothills I had a neighbor who worked for a bank that was up late at night into early morning watching the Asian and European markets, only way to keep up with them.
Charles, just like me. Early to bed, early to rise, check III for posts (Readers’ Alerts, Sandbox, Recent Headlines, etc.)
2wr and Charles,
I wonder if my recent foray into illiquid utes has something to do w/ my own path of becoming less liquid (less flexibility, ease of movement, …)
Hang in there, 2wr 🙂
Medalist Diversified REIT, Inc. Announces Partial Redemption of Its 8% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/medalist-diversified-reit-inc-announces-201500055.html
From the last 10Q – MDRRP
On February 19, 2020, the Company issued and sold 200,000 shares of 8.0% Series A cumulative redeemable preferred stock at $23.00 per share, resulting in gross proceeds of $4,600,000. Net proceeds from the issuance were $3,860,882, which includes the impact of the underwriter’s discounts, selling commissions and legal, accounting and other professional fees, and is presented on the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets as mandatorily redeemable preferred stock.
If outstanding on February 19, 2025, the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock must be redeemed by the Company, out of funds legally available therefor, on that date, the fifth anniversary of the date of issuance. Beginning on February 19, 2022, the second anniversary of the issuance, the Company may redeem the outstanding mandatorily redeemable preferred stock for an amount equal to its aggregate liquidation preference, plus any accrued but unpaid dividends. The holders of the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock may also require the Company to redeem the stock upon a change of control of the Company for an amount equal to its aggregate liquidation preference plus any accrued and unpaid dividends thereon.
The Company believes that it has a range of options available to fund the redemption of the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock including using a combination of cash on hand and cash generated from operations for the remaining six months ending December 31, 2024. In addition to these funding sources, the Company believes that it could generate cash to redeem the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock by issuing a new series of preferred stock or issuing other debt or equity instruments. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to generate sufficient funding to fund the redemption of the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock.
RiverNorth/DoubleLine Strategic Opportunity Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) (NYSE: OPP) announces that its Board of Directors (the “Board”) has authorized and set the terms of an offering to the Fund’s stockholders of inseparable non-transferable rights to purchase additional shares of common stock and newly issued 6.00%, 3-Year Term, Series C Term Preferred Stock (the “Series C Preferred Stock”) of the Fund. It is anticipated that the Fund will apply for the preferred shares to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the ticker OPPPRC. If the NYSE application is approved, trading on the NYSE in the Series C Preferred Stock is expected to begin within 30 days following the issuance date of the Series C Preferred Stock.
Thanks Clayton–I saw that headline but forgot the story so will have to look closer.
Reportedly the Treasury Dept. is sending out a letter telling everyone that iBonds in their gift box must be gifted NOW because of a coming rule change. Supposedly you are to do this regardless of whether the recipient has already purchased $10k this year or not.
I know some of you follow this woman on Youtube. She called them directly for an explanation. Apparently the notices are going out in waves so not everyone will have received them yet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-WZYikr88s
I gifted all mine and cashed out last year, but I would be interested to know what the changes are which are coming. Specifics seem to be lacking.
– Pretty vague: She says the TreasuryDirect rep said they didn’t know what changes were coming, just advised gifting now.
– I have not received any communication from TD.
– I will not take action until I do.
Atlantic Union Bank to buy Sandy Spring in $1.6B deal
The acquisition would give the Virginia lender’s footprint the “Golden Crescent” it has sought for years, with 53 added branches in the D.C. area and Maryland, roughly doubling its wealth business.
Atlantic union is not rated by any of the major rating agencies. But, it does have a 6.875% preferred offering that is selling at or near $25.
The fact that there is so much wealth in the D.C. area is something that people should see as a problem, but kudos to this bank for trying to capitalize on it nonetheless.
Enlink preferred finally was called at 100.8. It started to float in the last year or so. I will miss it. Guess Enlink doesn’t think rates are going back to zero.
Enstar – just recieved voting for the go private. Common at $338 cash/share. My pref’s have this wording (will it be trustworthy down the line…hmmmm):
If the Mergers contemplated by the Merger Agreement are completed, the Series C Participating Non-Voting Perpetual Preferred Stock of Enstar (the “Series C Preferred Shares”), the 7.00% Fixed-to-Floating Rate Perpetual Non-Cumulative Preference Shares, Series D, par value $1.00 per share of Enstar, an 1/1000th interest in each represented by one depositary share (the “Series D Preferred Shares”) and the 7.00% Perpetual Non-Cumulative Preference Shares, Series E, par value $1.00 per share, of Enstar an 1/1000th interest in each represented by one depositary share (the “Series E Preferred Shares” and together with the Series D Preferred Shares and the Series C Preferred Shares, the “Enstar Preferred Shares”, and collectively with the Enstar Ordinary Shares, the “Enstar Shares”) issued and outstanding as of immediately prior to the effective time of the First Merger will be converted into and continue as preferred shares of the Third Surviving Company that are entitled to the same dividend and all other preferences and privileges, voting rights, relative, participating, optional and other special rights, and qualifications, limitations and restrictions set forth in the certificate of designations applicable to the
Series C Preferred Shares, Series D Preferred Shares or Series E Preferred Shares, as applicable, unless the holder of such Enstar Preferred Shares has properly exercised his or her appraisal rights with respect to such shares.
tizod, When does this deal close? when do you need to own by to collect the final payout?
I did not see this. I am not sure that is determined yet. This vote is November 6, 2024. I think it will reach 2025 (total guess). For the common it appears they pay you $338 upon going private. For pref’s there is no “final payout” as I see it but there will be delisting. I am torn as I am happy with AFFT and think ES will follow the same path, and just pay the prefs and slowly buy them up (private transactions, or below par offers I will not abide) until/unless they buy back at par. I will not sell at current prices. I don’t think my vote matters I am sure they have a controlling interest for this, but I am not so scared of them going private, I think. Will decide later today…
tizod, I received my notice yesterday on the preferred I own.
Tizod,
There’s nothing unusual about this merger LINGO that would make me want to sell the preferred for fear the buyer deliberately tries to stop paying.
However, I voted against the merger There’s nothing about it that is helpful to the preferred. So, why agree ?
I’m just pissing in the wind by voting against it.
I’m not sure how far along this is, but they did say mid 2025. It needs many different governmental approvals and I have not kept up with it at all.
Just a heads up about enstar – they were in cahoots with the Zyskind/Karfunkel cabal that took Amtrust (AFSI) private. If they go private, watch out that they don’t stop paying on preferreds.
The cabal apparently arranged to sell Maiden Holdings ((also controlled by the Zyskinds/Karfunkels) income producing assets to Enstar in a sweetheart deal (connected to Enstar’s involvement in taking AFSI private). That crippled Maiden (screwing shareholders to Enstar’s benefit).
The cabal continued its pillage of maiden holdings by screwing the preferred holders – essentially manipulating the shares down by not paying for a few years, then forcing a conversion into common shares (pennies on the dollar for preferred holders). Note that they didn’t (couldn’t?) screw the baby bond holders (like MHLA) the same way because the debt agreements don’t allow the same kind of manipulation that the preferreds did.
So, if Enstar goes private, I would expect enstar to play similar games with preferred holders. I have no evidence or inside knowledge, just my guess based on watching the cabal’s unethical behavior over the last 10 years….
Please, don’t take my word for it. Just my personal opinion. do your own diligence.
@Tizod: I am holding ESGR preferreds. Do we also get to vote on the Merger or is the Vote only for the Common holders?
I own ESGRO and was given a vote
i just voted against
EIIA is now live at Schwab. Trading at $25+/-.
An old “Gridbird special!”
SJIJ tender at $18, been trading in the $14/$15 range. Congrats to Mr. Grid and others on this board who shared knowledge on this name.
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/10/17/2964964/0/en/South-Jersey-Industries-Inc-Commences-Tender-Offer-to-Purchase-for-Cash-Any-and-All-of-the-Outstanding-5-625-Junior-Subordinated-Notes-due-2079.html
I only have a few shares left and with an almost 9% yield I will hold on to mine. I have been buying their 2031 bond which yields over 8% ytm due to going private. They are now owned by a JP Morgan Infrastucture Fund which I have some comfort with.
Cusip 838518AA6 5.02 due 4-15-31…trading ~82
Is $18 supposed to be a deal? (other than for SJ )
If you bought for $13-14 within the past year or so, $18 looks tempting. I think I’m leaning towards tendering my shares.
Gary –
I agree….how very considerate of South Jersey Industries to offer to buy back shares of their baby bonds at a 28% discount to $25 par value and at a yield near 8%. Another entity trying to take advantage of the delisting and Expert Market environment. This one still had a CUSIP and you could buy it via a painful and long phone process with many brokers using their fixed income desk. I remember trying with Schwab 6 months ago and then giving up in frustration, as their phone reps could never find the CUSIP.
I remember Gridbird getting in on some of these at $12/share!
These securities would likely be trading at $25+ in today’s environment if they were still publicly available for trading with the old SJIJ ticker.
If I owned any I don’t think I would sell unless SJ upped the offer considerably.
As of 1:25am 12/19/24….Schwab does not show tender offer for sjij
did anyone expect treasury yields to rise while people continue to bid up preferreds and baby bonds? I don’t get it. Has risk disappeared or are spreads to narrow?
There has been a pretty large difference in performance between TLT and PFF over the past month or so. Preferreds (as a whole) appear to be overpriced right now.
Dick Whitman – Right.
Pull up a 3 month chart comparing PFF to TLT and also UTHY(30 year) and identical resultant. Dramatic performance tank (-700bps!!) just the last 30 days. Add in IEF (10 year) too and looks pretty similar.
Been debating about trimming a bunch of perpetual preferreds here. The rally over the last two months but in particular the last 30 days has been astounding. Even junkier preferreds; everything caught massive bids.
I’ve trimmed and have moved some to floaters recently. Nothing crazy, probably like 20% of my total portfolio.
I have a lot of unrealized gains in taxable accounts and I’ve tried to leave those alone for the most part.
Totally agree, but the $64 question is….sell and do what??
Be patient? There’s no guarantee that the long end of the curve doesn’t keep going higher from here.
Money markets are still paying above 4%. Floaters can be fine for now too. I’ve been adding to SCE-H lately. I’ve also added to RJF-B.
I’ve been looking for historical data but thought someone might have published it on this site in the past. No?
I see one study that B rated preferreds should have a tax adjusted yield of 500+ bps above b-rated debt to account for default, but that A rated preferreds only about 25bps over a-rated debt
That was a study from 2015 that said 6% of a-rated preferreds either default or miss payments in a 10 year period.
I didn’t want to pay the $55 for the whole study so I’m quoting from the abstract.
I’m thinking there’s a recency bias in peoples’ willingness to buy a lot of preferreds. I cannot see buying a 5.75 BBB perp preferred v a 19 year treasury at 4.48, or a 20 year tax free AA at 4.
sorry that was a 1990’s study. maybe it’s still valid. Idk, but it just logically seems improbable yields spreads should be so narrow
“I see one study that B rated preferreds should have a tax adjusted yield of 500+ bps above b-rated debt”
This is subjective but 500 seems absurdly high, so I’d like to see that study. the universe of prefs has evolved over time, and the “appropriate” spread varies w the market environment: prefs have a higher correlation w equities during periods of stress and rates/trad credit when things are normal. But my guess is about 150 bps over (debt from same issuer), on average, with the number changing with the risk level.
and I assume we are taking about legit ratings agencies, not Egan jones of the world.
While it doesn’t answer your question, I found these links helpful:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ae344964611a0fa7c29a4c7/t/64e6635a9ebf92599aa3b9ae/1692820314837/Introduction+to+Preferreds+-+2Q22+Approved.pdf
https://ldrcapitalmgmt.com/knowledge-center/
hi Maine,
You may be absolutely right about relevance 28 years after the study as the preferred market went up almost 300% in par between the approx 260 bill quoted in 96 to the number cited in your link.
30s have to stay ahead of 10s. When the front end is in flattening mode.
lt –
In response to your question …”Has risk disappeared or are spreads to narrow?” – here is what was written in a recent Almost Daily Grants piece:
“….Booming asset prices have spurred ravenous risk appetite in the deep end of the credit pool, and across junk bonds at large. The triple-C-rated portion of Bloomberg’s domestic high-yield gauge now offers a 602-basis point spread over Treasurys, the tightest pickup since early 2022 and down from an average 829 basis points over the past decade (triple-C spreads dipped below 500 basis points in the euphoric summer of 2021).
Overall option-adjusted spreads as measured by the ICE BofA U.S. High Yield Index stand at 293 basis points, undercutting those seen in 2021 for the tightest of the post-Lehman Brothers era.”
Related, I picked up some RIV-A today at $24.40. 6% coupon, ex div Nov 1, 1,700 shares on offer
Received the following from Vanguard today – RIVERNORTH CAPITAL & INCOME FUND INC TERM PFD SER A 5.875% 10/31/24, 76882B207, in the brokerage account –, is scheduled to mature on 2024-10-31. A quantity of 1,200 will be redeemed at $100 for a total of $1,200.
The $100 per share would be nice, but I don’t think I like their math.
2Chinooks–great deal!! Should have kept mine I guess.
Tim,
I have followed your site for several years, not exactly sure how I stumbled across it. I happen to be a financial advisor who uses preferred stocks and baby bonds in many of my portfolios for clients and my extended family. I never intended to use this site to reach people for my own benefit, but I noticed a discussion about financial advisors in the sandbox, and recognize that a lot of advisors don’t use the types of securities that are discussed on this site. I am willing to share my information with people who specifically ask or are looking for it, but don’t want to violate the spirit or purpose of this site.
FIDO New Issue
6.0%
AA+
10.23.54 mat
3130B3CR2 cusip
FHLB
FYI
NWGG Thanks.
I picked up some. First call in Jan. I am ok with that compared to a CD. Nice counter balance to a higher risk play.
Thanks @NWGG. Bought some – Like Charles M, I think a good diversification instead of CD. My first Agency bond buy
Fidelity shows price as $99.95! Did not see an option to buy for anything other than par at $100.
Funny mSquare, my first agency purchase too. Nice alert by NWGG
MDRRP did a partial early redemption that I totally missed today dated for 10/30/24 80% of shares.
CLOs have been one of the top-performing fixed-income investments in 2024, with yields at their highest levels in decades and a growing economy easing fears of a wave of corporate defaults. Now, money managers are betting the ease of buying and selling ETFs will attract more individual investors…
https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/clos-are-so-hot-right-now-theyre-getting-etfd-4e2862a0?
Fabrib, The money managers are getting greedy. Running out of new institutional clients like whales Calif Teachers fund or impatient on the trickle of incoming funds so going after the individual investors. The large government pension funds have some protection being who they are, the small guy has none if things go south.
Everyone is piling into ETF’s, go follow the herd. When the cattle chute narrows it will be too crowded to turn around.
Hard to say who will come out ok. They say ETF’s spread the risk around. If something causes a panic and spooks the herd there will be sell off’s by algorithms and managers that will affect the individual stocks we hold so we will be affected too.
As Westie said, just hope the boat is anchored well enough to ride out the storm. Don’t remind me hope is not a plan.
The plan Sam is taking the unrealized capital gains hit to the holdings as long as the income isn’t affected and have some cash for opportunistic buys.
Don’t forget, unrealized capital gains is just the house’s money you’re playing with. You can take it off the table or continue playing with it as long as you don’t also lose your buy in money.
Can’t read it. This is an alert?
Gary,
Someone already archived the article. Here you go if you want to read.
https://archive.ph/v7gzc
The best of the article as always is to read the comments section folks!
B Rily has declared dividends on perferred B (L) and A (P).
EGLPP now trading on FIDO
Charles
ASML
Yes, I read the news on SA this morning. 6 hour time difference. Wait for it, wait for it.
News reported yesterday US gov is going to restrict chip sales country by country. Starting with Arab states.
Watch at market open on all chip makers. No interest in piling in to trades.
The US already has over 40 countries on a restricted list. Maybe not so much for Saudis and the UAE :
“The policy would build on a new framework to ease the licensing process for AI chip shipments to data centers in places like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.”
-bloomberg
but… why?? $$$$$$$
ASML off $180, NVDA up very slightly– why up?
Oh- ASML had a poor outlook in their report today- getting bashed.
I just found out our ETI.prc ( Entergy of Texas 5.37%) was called today. There is an accounting problem though. FIDO says I was paid $10.00 a share.
I need to call them and find out what is going on.
Mine is still in Schwab, and not marked to be called.
I have the same problem at Fidelity. have a call into them and waiting for a response.
Checked the IPO prospectus at QOL and the call value is $25. The $10 redemption value is obviously a mistake.
Let us know if you get a sane response, Chuck.
Charles, Irish, inspy:
It looks like Fido again sent out a notice by mistake. They did this in September too. When some of us posted about Fido’s notice last month, I emailed ETR’s IR Dept. This was their Sept 26 reply:
Dumas, Shannon T
Sep 26, 2024, 1:52 PM
Good Morning,
There are no plans to redeem the Entergy Texas preferred shares in the foreseeable future.
Thanks,
Shannon
Are they confusing the security with ET.PRI?
YH, no , the shares were listed as ” ETIPR “, and the description was ” Entergy Texas Preferred ”
FIDO returned my call and said the problem was a known issue and they are working to reverse the “redemption” and reinstate mt shares, but it would take 2 days.
We’ll see if they can resolve this successfully. I know others here have experienced the same problem, only at FIDO.
Thanks Insbudget, I just about fell off the kitchen chair when I saw that 1000 shares had been redeemed at 10.00 each.
Thank you so much for pursuing this issue and getting a fix. I had a lot of shares so I noticed the account change this morning :(.
I will check later this week to see if they did it comprehensively customer wide.
I just checked my FIDO account, and they have fixed the ETI- problem!
Must say I’m pleasantly surprised, had low expectations for speedy resolution.
They re-instated my shares at a value of $24.90 which is close enough to the quote on the real time trading platform.
Went to my Fidelity guy and asked him about ETI. His answer? Wow that’s a really good question. Big help. So many brokers just don’t care. Rather stare at their phone all day. This was in Kansas..figures.
New issue $1k bond at Schwab from JPM
48130CTJ4 5.5% 2044, call 10/31/2026, pays annually (wretched)
I mention this one because the coupon is higher than most of late as is the 2-year call protection. There’s a new 2044 5% agency with 3-years to call. You might interpret these developments as an expectation by issuers that treasury yields are done falling for now and rate cuts won’t be drastic or hurried.
Fidelity Investment Data Breach —
So far…77,009 customers affected with SS#’s & other data stolen…might be a good time to freshen up passwords & set up 2-factor identification.
OOOPS, I meant to say “If they already have your SOC SEC # what do you gain by changing your password at that point???
Question: What do you gain by changing your password after the bad guys already have your SOC. SEC. #???? They already have what they wanted at this point. The problem I see in this is YOU CAN’T CHANGE YOUR SOC. SEC. #.
Chuck, I heard or read this past week you can go to the Social security website and put a pass code to lock your SS account. Kinda laughable considering the government isn’t doing a good job themselves of protecting your information.
Since my bank acct got hacked in 2017, I have frozen my credit account.
I pay $15 @ month and have been safe since then.
At first , I monitored my acct every day and saw he was applying for credit at Luxury stores, then Bank America sent him a $10,000 credit card in the mail.
I caught that immediately and contacted them, they voided it.
I did research and found the culprit, but after checking his social media, there were photos show him firing a rifle, I decided to drop the search and freeze my acct.
Stay Safe
This was on AUGUST 17th, they took action to stop it on the 19th and began giving notice 10/9 ! I re-opened my acct in June, so am at risk.
I have not received any message/notice from Fido – how did you find out?
I already have a credit freeze and fraud alert, so not concerned there, but SS is a problem for anyone.
I thought they were secure– guess no one is.
Gary,
I checked my credit account and saw a new address for me in Colorado. I then searched the county property records for the owner.
Google maps actually took a photo of the house and a man standing looking at the Google car.
Once , I got the name from ownership, I searched the internet and matched the photo with the owner. I then checked his social media.
I knew that I wouldn’t take it further than that, but was curious.
As for your social Sec #. Freezing your credit will stop anyone trying to open an account in your name. Also fill out IRS form 14039 ID affidavit and request an IPPIN. You will have to include that on your annual tax filing.
They send you a new one each year.
This makes your tax filing secure.
on the breach:
“Fidelity is a private company and it is known in the financial services industry for its willingness to spend vast amounts, well over $1 billion annually, on technology. “If this could happen to them, it could happen to anyone,” says one cybersecurity executive.
The latest data breach is the fourth the firm has experienced this calendar year, according to the filing. It reported it suffered breaches on March 4, March 18, and July 19.
They aren’t getting much for a billion dollars- nor their customers.
Unfortunately, they aren’t the only brokerages with breaches- no place to hide.
I checked my email accts at gmail & charter (not really used) & both came up as name & email ‘compromised’.
https://haveibeenpwned.com
Malwarebytes has a free scan (very minimal) and a scan to see if you have exposed info (enter email address- they will send a code to your email to confirm it is you). It’s basic, but the pay version goes deeper. Note- they do scan email (if that’s a problem- probably not for you) :
https://www.malwarebytes.com/digital-footprint-app
DYODD
Fidelity has a useful Lockdown Mode that prevents money being transferred out (except for billpay atm etc.) You can enable/disable on demand. I wish all platforms had this feature.
After the National Public Data hack (2.9 billion names+SSN) earlier this year, I froze my credit with all 3 credit bureaus Equifax,Experian, TransUnion.
Useful feature. Thanks. Just locked my accounts.
Things I learn about on here that I would, otherwise, probably not find out about. This is, by far, one of my favorite sites on the internet. Donation coming soon, Tim.
Thanks Mark!!
thanx I was unaware of the FIDO lockdown feature and executed it on all a/c. I don’t use it as cash management. I don’t use the ‘app’ they have I don’t do any financials on an ‘app’.. I do use the FIDO Visa w 2% cash back which they deposit into my taxable or you can use a stmt credit, pay it off ea mo. Adds up. I also froze my credit report when they said most SS are on the dark web.. we do what we can. I don’t use any other brokers. Anyway H-ster, thanx again!! Bea
I keep minimum amounts at Fidelity. Another recent incident:
https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/fidelity-slashes-deposit-limits-following-fraud-wave-37b3e970?st=s1bVFR&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Good news for RILY
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/b-riley-financial-to-establish-partnership-with-oaktree-in-the-great-american-group-businesses-302275072.html
Do you know if there’s something about RILY-K that makes it so much more expensive than the other BB maturing in 2026? I was thinking impossible to borrow for shorting is one factor
I’ve wondered about what seems to be a huge mis-match between K and N since things blew up in August. Could one factor be the later maturity???–which would mean there is much more confidence in RILY staying solvent through March ’26 vs. September?
No…my focus has been about RILY near term survival and RILYM getting to redemption, so I haven’t really looked at the other notes. I’ll start looking at them in February…or sooner if RILYM is redeemed early.
RILYK (not RILY-K) does have a make whole provision, but I don’t know if that explains it.
ABR just sold a 9% to pay off a maturing 4.75%?…ouch…
Hope they can loan it out and make money doing that. Probably be higher risk short term loans. Still hearing talk in the news last night about the trillion dollars in loans that are coming due and have to be rolled over at higher rates in commercial real estate by the end of 2025
9% is pretty much the going rate for mREIT debt. That said, it’s only a 2027 maturity but as a private placement, you can’t expect the same rates you could get if you paid the fees to have your notes listed.
Landlord, It does tell you what Private investors, insurance funds, P.E. etc. think the risk is making a loan to a MREIT.
RILY – From the WSJ – B. Riley to Sell Great American Appraisal Unit to Oaktree – https://archive.ph/UI0Dn#selection-985.0-1159.27
B. Riley to Sell Great American Appraisal Unit to Oaktree
Oaktree has signed an agreement to acquire Great American from the investment bank for close to $400 million in cash and stock
By Alexander Gladstone
Oct. 13, 2024 4:59 pm ET|WSJ Pro
B. Riley Financial shares are down nearly 80% this year.
Investment bank B. Riley has struck a deal to sell its appraisal and valuations unit Great American to asset-management firm Oaktree Capital for close to $400 million, people familiar with the matter said.
Under the agreement, B. Riley will receive about $203 million in cash, preferred equity interests in a new holding company for Great American worth roughly $183 million, and a minority share of common equity interests in the holding company. Oaktree will end up with a majority of the common shares, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.
The deal is expected to close before the end of the year. Great American, which is known for its appraisal, valuation and liquidation work for distressed companies, has been owned by B. Riley since 2014.
B. Riley’s shares have been under pressure since it said in August that it had received subpoenas from the Securities and Exchange Commission in July related to the firm’s dealings with Brian Kahn, the chief executive of a business called Franchise Group that B. Riley had invested in.
Bryant Riley, B. Riley’s founder and chief executive, said on an earnings call in August that the firm was confident the SEC would reach the same conclusion as B. Riley’s own internal investigation “that we had no involvement with or knowledge of any alleged misconduct concerning Brian Kahn or his affiliates.”
Los Angeles-based B. Riley said in February that it launched a strategic review of Great American and that it may use proceeds from a successful transaction to deleverage its balance sheet, repurchase shares and bonds in the open market, and invest in its core securities business.
Write to Alexander Gladstone at alexander.gladstone@wsj.com
Kudos to Riley but sometimes it seems like they can’t just do anything simply. Like they can’t just sell the unit, they have to enter into a JV with Oaktree with an overly complicated capital stack.
(Knowing Oaktree I’d suspect this is in substance more of a very high interest loan than a sale, but I look forward to reading the 8-K to see for sure…)
Recently, there have been new issue agencies with a 5.5% coupon, due 2044 with one-year call protection. Today, the coupon in 5.55%
A person has to think a little “out of the box” & say can I live with a 5.55% coupon that may or may not get called. I’ve had plenty of time to “ponder” about my own portfolio. Most folks would agree that the price of their “things” are up substantially over the last couple of years—many many things up 20 to 30%. So I don’t give a damn about the BS put out by the Gov. with their very manipulated statistics if you are paying 20% more then can you live with a 5% type return also knowing that SOC SEC. has said the increase this year will be a paltry 2.5% which is actually an “insult” to retiree’s. For me I continue to look at the preferred world. Its quite the challenge but what can a person do. Somebody the other day suggested to buy “TIPS” but when I google it lots of gobbledegook comes up but I can’t seem to find what they yield, mature, etc etc.
Chuck,
The inflation protected Treasury notes are based off the CPI ( consumer price index) and who complies the CPI ? The same government you just said manipulates the statistics.
It’s no different around the world. Every government is trying to walk a balance between what it can control and can’t and what it tells it’s people.
Doesn’t matter who is in charge.
The people suspect or imagine that things are not as they are being told. It could be true or not and the reality can even change when something as large as a hurricane destroys normal life.
People in China have had their life savings wiped out investing in a real estate boom and tried to get their money out of banks and investments. Now they look to buying gold. The same rush to buy gold is happening in India and even here in the United States.
Is it smart? I don’t know if it’s any better than Bit coin.
Warning, This is an non political post. No one is doing a great job. We seem to muddle through and I am not in support of any one side or group, I am just along for the ride.
I long for the days of 13% long treasuries, because with many expenses I can always substitute or can engage in a favored activity 10-20% less often without thinking about it too much. I learned this in the 1980’s .
It certainly works for calorie control: I carefully weigh everything I’m about to eat, calculate calories and write it down. Then, before chowing down I just put back or throw out what looks like 10-15% of it.
I would normally repaint the exterior of my house every 10 years. That price has gone up 100%. So, I’ll wait a few more years. Maybe I won’t care by then?
One cost that has been stable: It’s still $50,000 to have your dog cloned despite Viagen Pets having a monopoly. I’m about to do this a second time as the current clones are 8 years old.
Not sure if you were serious, but if you are, can you tell me, does the clone have the identical personality as the original? Seems that would not happen.
if we have another bunch of 13% Treasuries, the world is in a tailspin.
Off the top of my head, I can think of only a few things that would cause inflation to get so out of control that the market interest rate is 13%.
e.g.
a war with Iran where the straits of Hormuz are functionally closed
or a civil war in China that topples the CCP because their property market collapses with all those vacant apartments….
Chuck—I kinda agree with you. However, It’s hard to find quality pr stks with decent yields. In the past I’ve gotten some ideas from your posts. I think you mentioned WTFCP and BANFP, both of which are not IG rated but solid companies. You have any other similar ones in your portfolio that you might share?
To WHIDBEY ISLANDER; Thank You for the kind words. I agree its tougher than hell to find “decent companies” in the preferred arena with a decent coupon at a “decent price”. Truly tough. The only one I can give you “right now” that I have bought quite a bit of (12,500 shares I own) is AGM+E. I literally just spoke to their I R MGR on friday and she is going to get back to me on their exposure to HELENE & MILTON but she did not think it was very big. If you look at their “common stock” its doing great. I feel pretty good about that one Whidbey. The last 500 I bought rounding up to 12,500 shares was at $23.98. Its a 5.75% coupon and is callable in JULY of 2025. Its a very “solid company”.
Hi Chuck P, are you at all concerned about AGM-E not being cumulative? It’s callable in July but YTW is well over 9%!
Is there a difference between Eagle Point Income vs Eagle Point Institutional Income
One is publicly traded fund EIC and one is non-publicly traded fund. Non-publicly traded does not mean there is no trading at all, it is just not for public. See Tim’s today’s post on the home page.
EPIIF is non-listed, but it looks like they will take direct investment ( not sure why anyone would want to ) :
” Investment Minimum: $2,500
• Liquidity: Quarterly repurchase offers up
to 5% of NAV; no early withdrawal fees
97% of the
Underlying Loan
Portfolios are
Floating Rate.
• Share Price (7/31/2024): $10.68
• Distribution Reinvestment Plan: 5% discount to NAV
• Total Assets (includes committed but undrawn capital)6: $115.9 Million
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6356ce5701c557236d653232/t/66c6659f8f4ccf35d56ab23a/1724278175774/Eagle+Point+IIF+-+Fact+Sheet+%28August+2024+Class+A%29.pdf
EIC has more debt related investments vs the lower tranche equity of ECC and EP Institutional (non-listed).
Steven Bavaria on SA has written extensively on CLOs
Temp ticker on Eagle Institutional 8.125% is currently EGLPV. Today’s close was $24.75. Schwab recognizes the symbol, but not allowing trades yet.
Same at Fido, 24.70
Maybe on Monday
just checked again on Fido, “order can not be processed at the current time”
Placed an order at schwab, order accepted
@ra
EGLPV
I’m on Schwab and I get a error closing transaction message. Did you buy it like a stock or a CUSIP trade? Did you have to call a trading desk? Any info would be helpful. Thanks in advance.
I am thinking he called the trade desk. If he did was there a commission?
I submitted an order through CS website, filled at 24.7 plus 6.95 commission.
No i didn’t have to call. 2,635 shares traded, no bid or ask. Commision 6.95
What in the world is going on with this barbaric commission talk? Have we entered the dark ages again?
Only for OTC issues. If it bugs you, you can ask them to waive it.
That’s Schwab garbage. They’ve destroyed TOS, diminished service quality, fill quality, and added fees everywhere in contrast to TDA in my opinion. I’m pretty sure they get paid for order flow as well.
EVERYBODY charges for temp ticker trades because they are not on a recognized securities exchange. Once it moves to its primary exchange, it will be commission free.
Ally allows me to place the order for EGLPV at 24.65 for 100 shares but nothing is happening. OTC shows as grey market. I am unclear if my bid is too low or like in the past the order will sit there doing nothing even with a higher bid.
I was thinking I would just start buying 100 shares of these more recent offerings. Spread the risk around in junkier stuff. If I buy several different ones I can actually get a “position” of some substance.
@III’ers EGLPV
Well of course I called Fido and Schwab and I got the expert market schpeel. This is so stupid and a waste of time.
@NWGG I googled the warning that comes up on the Schwab screen. The account is flagged as a pattern day trader or you have less than 25,000 liquidity. Additionally if you bought and sold out of a position before it closed( ie, did a quick day trade) the account is flagged.
You may have to call to get them to remove that restriction. I am just speculating although I do have plenty of funds but I have been flipping several stocks.
I just had an order fill for 24.65 at Chuckie Schwab’s.
Scott, I just did live chat with a rep at Schwab, wonder if these guys know anything and just throw out a answer. I was told they are not accepting trades because Eagle Point institutional is not up to date on their filings with the SEC
I just filled an order in the Schwab app, 24.65
Irish, are you using think or swim?
No, just the mobile app
I just logged in through my browser and bought them straight up without a problem.
It shows them sitting in my account now at $24.70 ea. but the cost basis is not calculating and is showing “N/A.”
Hopefully they don’t reverse it, but I wouldn’t put anything past them.
BTW, I think I am the only person here who is close to 100% invested right now. Most of my stuff is pinned to par though by various means.
I’m always nearly 100% invested. If I sell something I buy something else with that money within a day or two. Maybe something less volatile, pinned to par is one way to do that. Just keep some loose change around for a quick buy, more often in Fidelilty where it’s earning something without jumping through hoops.
That’s a simple answer, Charles – he’s just throwing out an answer to see if it will stick with you without him knowing. Do you think Eagle Point would be able to issue this at all without already being in compliance
2wr it was worth a try. Too many companies are relying upon chat bots to try to screen calls before they pass you onto customer no service.
Then they don’t invest the time and money into training these people.
There are changes in the wind, as Tex mentioned this business model of franchising brokerage locations. The way things are, I have a little unease about the market so I can pass and wait for another opportunity.
EGLPV, order filled at 24.70
Etrade showing $6.95 commission. Morgan Stanley loves fees.
Term sheet for BXSL 5.35% Notes due 2028:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1736035/000119312524235287/d859483dfwp.htm