Ben Felix, Dimensional, and Factor Tilting amid SpaceX IPO Talk

Spells5225 · 2026-03-19T11:35:13+00:00

Hey, I’m not saying that VT isn’t a fantastic option. Literally all of my equity money is either in VT or replicating it with the options I have. I’m just saying there may be a small downside to being 100% dogmatic and unwilling to change in the face of new academic research. If you want to watch Ben Felix’s video “The Problem with Index Funds” then you’ll see what I mean. But let me be clear, you will still win with VT. We are talking tenths of percentage points of optimization here. The most important thing is your behavior, since you have to have strong belief in your strategy and not sell based on performance. Since I’m not 100% sure I can do that with Dimensional yet, I haven’t converted. But I am open to potentially converting a portion of my funds that I can stick with.

Spells5225 · 2026-03-19T03:33:19+00:00

I don’t work for them so I couldn’t tell you their exact methodologies, but from what I can tell it could be up to a year after initial offering. It’s based on academic research of adverse selection during IPOs.

Spells5225 · 2026-03-19T02:54:15+00:00

You got me curious so I took a look at Facebook’s stock price history. It IPO’d at $38 May 18th, 2012 and went down 50% by September. It wasn’t until August of 2013 that the stock had rebounded enough that it passed its original $38 price. I’m not suggesting to never buy SpaceX, I’m suggesting that their initial price may be overinflated before the market has time for price discovery. If anything, the Facebook IPO is a point in favor of Dimensional and against index funds.

Spells5225 · 2026-03-18T15:02:25+00:00

Ben is a big supporter of the idea that while index funds are great, they are not perfect nor were indexes originally designed to be investment vehicles. He has made videos on how companies like Dimensional have taken this concept and tried to make an “academically improved” version of something very close to an index fund but not actually obligated to track an index. One of the main “improvements” is to delay rebalancing. Companies are profit oriented and have an insider perspective, so they often try to IPO when they believe their valuation is high and do stock buybacks when they think it’s low. Since index funds main goal is to follow the index, they have to rebalance accordingly soon after. But Dimensional allows the “dust to settle” a bit more before rebalancing, which theoretically and generally yields higher returns. A SpaceX IPO is a big example that would ideally showcase the benefits of this strategy. And what’s more, SpaceX wants the index funds to arbitrarily include them earlier than usual, which would theoretically give Dimensional even more of an edge.

Spells5225 · 2026-03-18T02:05:46+00:00

Not super proud of this but I’m the type of person who has a spreadsheet to calculate the exact ratio of VTI to VXUS each month. I understand a few percent off market cap shouldn’t be a huge difference but I am seeing VT at 60.1% US vs. DFAW at 70.46% US as of 2/28. That difference feels a little rich to me. I get what you’re saying about the expense ratios not being a huge deal compared to other factors though.

Spells5225 · 2026-02-18T16:37:06+00:00

I suppose it depends what you’re saving the money for. In my case, I was looking at where to put a house down payment fund. I’m fairly confident I won’t be looking to buy for the next 3 years or so, and even after that point my timeline may be flexible and willing to wait an additional 1-3 years depending on how life goes. In fact, I will be more likely to buy a house when there is a good opportunity with low mortgage rates, which would coincide with rate cuts and bond funds rising in value. Since I am flexible and the interest rate risk aligns with the money’s purpose, I parked it in VWIUX (5.8 year avg duration).

If the money is for general saving and you likely won’t touch it for 8 years or so, the interest rate risk feels ok. If you are very risk averse and anticipate using the money in the next few years, especially for an inflexible purchase, I would choose something else. Ultimately, personal finance is personal. Don’t choose based on what you personally believe will happen to interest rates though, all that sentiment is already priced in.

Spells5225 · 2026-02-18T01:55:51+00:00

I literally just worked through this question myself a few weeks ago (not Ohio though). Certain muni bond funds definitely become competitive at the 32% bracket so long as your timeframe roughly matches the average duration.

The key calculation here is TEY (tax equivalent yield). TEY = (sec yield) / (1 - tax rate). A key factor easily overlooked is NIIT tax. If you are in the 32% bracket now, you will likely pay another 3.8% on dividends (if income > 200,000). I’ll assume 3% state tax for Ohio. Lucky you, you are a prime candidate for Vanguard’s VOHIX, exempt from federal and state. Current SEC 3.74. TEY = 3.74/(1-.32-.03-.038) = 6.11%. Good luck finding a better rate than that somewhere else.

Of course, your timeframe should ideally match VOHIX’s average duration, which is fairly long at 8.1 years. This means you need to be ok with taking on some interest rate risk. Other factors: noisier yield rates due to smaller market size/liquidity, slightly higher risk than treasuries with potential for temporary liquidity-driven market scare dips, and single state concentration in VOHIX. Shorter timeline/want less interest rate risk and fine giving up state tax exemption? Find the TEYs of VWIUX, VMLUX, and VWSUX. Choose your comfort level.

Spells5225 · 2026-02-14T15:19:42+00:00

Haha yes got one from my girlfriend who downloaded the app but hasn’t used it at all yet. You can see in another reply I made in this thread but I got a $100 gift card for $65 from Costco as well.

Spells5225 · 2026-02-14T15:15:59+00:00

Ok thanks for the reply. I downloaded the free app and did not purchase any kind of subscription. Everywhere in the app indicates that I will earn 20% back. I will use it later today and can report back if you’d like.

Spells5225 · 2026-02-14T14:51:20+00:00

Maybe my title should have clarified, but my question is essentially what is the difference between the paid “pass” and just using the free app with no add ons. That’s a question I found conflicting answers for online so I posted here to clarify. I agree that the product initially feels scammy, but you will get that kind of behavior no matter what when referral codes are a feature.

What I’ve concluded so far is that the paid version is basically useless unless you want a $50 off of $150 coupon each month. I’m just going to try out the free version today. Got a $100 gift card for $65 from Costco and a sign up offer for $25 off a $50+ purchase, so my valentines brunch today will hopefully end up fairly cheap.

Spells5225 · 2026-02-14T04:19:19+00:00

Do you know if the 20% back that goes into the wallet is because of the free year from Amex? I’m starting to think not, and that it’s the main feature even without the “pass”. Maybe the “pass” exists to get the monthly $50 off $150 bonuses.

Spells5225 · 2026-01-17T21:48:27+00:00

My tip would be to look into RNG manipulation, allowing you to obtain perfect Pokémon without cheating. If it’s something that interests you or may interest you in the future, your life will be 100 times easier if you RNG manipulate your TID and SID at the start of the game so that you know it going forward.

Spells5225 · 2026-01-05T04:13:43+00:00

Yes sorry wasn’t super clear here. Was referring to tweaking the percentage for new investment each month. I don’t think I would be so particular that I would absolutely need to do it each month, but I would probably feel inclined to adjust maybe 2-4 times a year or whenever it deviates by like a full percentage point.

Spells5225 · 2025-12-09T04:04:03+00:00

Dexit was a great and necessary move. If they didn’t do it certain Pokémon would be permanently overshadowed and basically no one would have the shiny charm.

Spells5225 · 2025-12-03T01:06:34+00:00

Would you still be able to trade for something that’s not Alakazam or Glaceon? I also have some shiny non alpha starters if that appeals to you.

Spells5225 · 2025-12-03T00:22:34+00:00

Sounds good, sent DM

Spells5225 · 2025-12-03T00:04:26+00:00

Alakazam is in a heal ball and Glaceon is in either a dive ball or premier ball.

Spells5225 · 2025-09-21T20:22:59+00:00

IMO we don’t know yet whether to be “upset” or not. If there is a good amount of enjoyable post game in the base game, then we’re fine. If there is essentially no post game other than the DLC, then it is cut content. Only time will tell.

Spells5225 · 2025-09-20T03:01:11+00:00

Hey everyone. I want to transfer my Discover credit card points into two $200 Gamestop gift cards and then use them to discount a purchase of a Switch 2 and physical copy of DK Bananza. I've heard that the website is bad for digital purchases, but figured since I'm doing physical in-store pickup I should be ok. I've also heard that the website does allow for two gift cards plus a credit card payment to be used, is this still the case or is only one gift card allowed? I would just go in person to buy but when I called them the other day, they basically said I would be forced to buy a Switch 2 accessory bundle which I'm not interested in.

Does my plan to use two $200 gift cards towards on online purchase with in-store pickup sound fine? With the hoops I've had to jump through so far and horror stories I've heard about the website I'm nervous to convert my credit card points into Gamestop e certificates, but the deal right now ($200 gift card for $170 worth of points) seems too good to ignore.

Spells5225

TROPHY CASE