u/National-Dare-4890

I live in Bellingham, WA. I'm repainting an existing deck that was originally stained with a semi-transparent oil based stain. The current state of the wood is mixed with many areas with bare wood and covered areas with the stain intact.

The contractor suggested I use PPG Proluxe solid but the base for light colors isn't available. I'm therefore considering the PPG Pro Flood solid or the BM Woodluxe solid. Both paints are water based acrylic. The plan is to power wash, sand and then paint the deck.

Which of the paints would you pick?

I bought a refurbished BedJet 3 unit for my wife in November 2024. She has religiously maintained the filter and unit. Recently, she's noticed that the fan produces less airflow and temperature feels lower for the same setting.

Has anyone encountered these issues?

I have a position in AAAU (gold) that has an unrealized loss given the decrease in gold. I want to sell the position and simultaneously buy GLD or DGL to maintain exposure. Alternatively, I could invest in a gold miner but it has a higher divergence to the others. I'm unsure whether the strategy will pass the wash sale rule.

AAAU
The [Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF (AAAU)](https://www.etf.com/AAAU) is an exchange-traded fund designed to track the spot price of gold (minus operating expenses). It provides investors with direct, liquid exposure to physical gold bullion without the complexities of storing or insuring the metal themselves.

GLD
The **SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD)** is the oldest, largest, and most heavily traded physically backed gold ETF in the world. While it serves the exact same primary purpose as AAAU—tracking the spot price of physical gold bullion—it has a very different structural footprint and cost profile

DGL
The single index Commodity consists of Gold. The fund invests in futures contracts in an attempt to track its corresponding index.

I have a position in AAAU (gold) that has an unrealized loss given the decrease in gold. I want to sell the position and simultaneously buy GLD or DGL to maintain exposure. Alternatively, I could invest in a gold miner but it has a higher divergence to the others. I'm unsure whether the strategy will pass the wash sale rule.

AAAU
The Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF (AAAU) is an exchange-traded fund designed to track the spot price of gold (minus operating expenses). It provides investors with direct, liquid exposure to physical gold bullion without the complexities of storing or insuring the metal themselves.

GLD
The SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) is the oldest, largest, and most heavily traded physically backed gold ETF in the world. While it serves the exact same primary purpose as AAAU—tracking the spot price of physical gold bullion—it has a very different structural footprint and cost profile

DGL
The single index Commodity consists of Gold. The fund invests in futures contracts in an attempt to track its corresponding index.

I have a portfolio of 60 stocks from my last money manager ($5MM). The stocks are all domestic with 100% belonging to the S&P. Approximately 50% of the individual stocks have meaningful gains. Those stocks represent $4MM of the $5MM. I want to diversify into international and hedged stocks and fixed income.

I see 2 solutions to the situation.

1. Sell the stocks with the lowest embedded gains up to my cap gains budget and use the proceeds to diversify. I'll be left with 30 stocks that have a value of $4MM and a higher concentration, $ per stock, than my current portfolio. I don't know the tracking error of the remaining stocks.

2. Use Direct Indexing to identify the combination of stocks that results in the greatest proceeds, the smallest gains, and lowest tracking error. I will likely not be able to diversify as much to non-S&P ETFs since I'll need to use some of the cash proceeds to the DI to lower the tracking error. I'll end up with a basket of DI stocks that have a low tracking error but one that has less overall diversification.

The core question is whether I'm best off with a less diversified portfolio with a lower tracking tracking error for the core allocation (~80% of $).