The Long Term Investor

There is no stopping this train....it is happening. I can understand why it is necessary. BUT....yes there is always a "but".....it will take a while for us to see the real impact on the markets. I suspect it will lead to more volatility.......MUCH MORE....even during the normal trading hours and will also lead to MUCH MORE gambling and speculation.

There will be short term impact and long term impact on the markets and the inherent structure of the markets. It is going to take 2-5 years to see and understand the impact.

We just got closer to 24-hour stock trading. Is that a good thing?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/just-got-closer-24-hour-202633261.html

(BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content)

"Ringing the opening and closing bell on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq is a time-honored tradition—and a major honor for companies and executives who get to participate in the ceremony. The ritual, however, may be declining in significance as around-the-clock trading becomes the norm on Wall Street and throughout the world.

This fundamental shift hit a milestone late last month when the aptly named 24 Exchange became the first exchange operator to gain SEC approval for overnight trading. The company is now looking to raise $50 million, Axios reported, ahead of its planned launch next year.

The move comes as other popular brokerages like Robinhood already offer 24-hour trading—allowing retail investors to wade into a domain previously reserved for hedge funds and other major institutional players. In October, the NYSE announced it would file with the SEC to run 22-hour weekday sessions as markets adjust to a globalized and digital world.

Popular stocks like Tesla, Nvidia, and Apple can swing big in either direction before or after the bell, particularly off the back of earnings releases or other major news events like, say, presidential elections. In that sense, it’s obvious why many investors don’t want to be limited to buying and selling from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

After all, they can trade cryptocurrencies 24 hours a day, and the same is true for foreign exchange markets. Making moves outside normal trading hours, however, comes with increased risks that equity investors need to understand.

In fact, similar drawbacks apply to extended trading hours currently offered by the major U.S. stock exchanges, which investors can participate in through many retail brokerages. The NYSE and Nasdaq both have premarket sessions from 4 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The former is open for after-hours trading from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., while the latter closes shop at 6:30 p.m.

For all of these nontraditional trading periods, it’s important to know that trading volumes are much lower during these sessions, meaning prices can swing more quickly and dramatically as investors try to expand or exit their positions.

“Investors trade with no commissions today—but they effectively pay commissions in the form of a spread,” Richard Torrenzano, a former member of the NYSE’s policy and operations committees, explained in a recent Fortune opinion piece.

Those spreads, or the gap between buying and selling prices for a stock, often widen in extended trading and can eat into profits. In other words, lower liquidity means investors are often better off when they wait for the core trading session.

Why is the SEC a fan of 24/7 trading?

The Securities and Exchange Commission, including outgoing chair Gary Gensler, unanimously gave 24 Exchange the green light to move forward with around-the-clock trading operations. This suggests they share the view of proponents, who say regulated overnight trading could potentially make markets more transparent.

Currently, institutions often use an alternative trading system, or ATS, to find counterparties for big transactions outside typical exchanges. Hedge funds, especially, favor so-called dark pools, which are mostly run by investment banks and allow investors to trade large blocks of shares away from public view.

In a statement announcing 24 Exchange’s approval, SEC commissioners Hester Peirce and Caroline Crenshaw claimed overnight sessions on a lit exchange, effectively the opposite of a dark pool, could make trading more convenient for both U.S. and foreign investors.

“It potentially will draw more participants into our markets,” they wrote.

In his Fortune opinion piece, however, Torrenzano said he doubts there will be such a shift. Stocks such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Oracle, Visa and Mastercard, JPMorgan, and Exxon, he said, already trade outside U.S. market hours through dual listings on exchanges in Tokyo, London, and elsewhere.

“In the absence of this commanding presence or a yet unidentified magnetic force, enticing non-U.S. investors to engage in U.S. stock trading during off-market hours appears exceedingly challenging,” he wrote, “particularly when they can trade in their home market, protected by local oversight, when U.S. markets are closed.”

For American retail investors, however, overnight trading likely represents a meaningful shift. Starting in the second half of 2025, 24 Exchange plans to operate from 4 a.m to 7 p.m on U.S. business days. It then aims to expand to 23-hour weekday trading, which will run from 8 p.m. on Sundays through 7 p.m. on Fridays."

MY COMMENT

When this happens....there will quickly be NO trading or market day. That traditional way of thinking will quickly vanish.

There will be no such thing as reporting earnings before or after the bell. There will be no such thing as releasing economic data or other information when the markets are...."closed".

I expect one of two things to happen......first possibility.....the thrill will soon wear off and people will still disconnect from the markets during the evening and night time hours and will still tend to think it terms of the current market day.

Or....second possibility....more likely in my view.....massively increased speculation will drive HUGE swings in individual stocks....all day long....making the short to medium term markets.........INSANELY IRRATIONAL.....and...totally disconnected from FUNDAMENTALS.

Speculating about the impact of this is a waste of time....it will happen....it is happening now.

 

I agree......Road. It will be a bonanza for....AI Trading Platforms. If we think the futures are wild now.....just wait. It is going to be a real shock for people to wake up in the morning to real and often.....SIGNIFICANT......losses.

It will be a DREAM....for the rumor and fear-mongers. No doubt the media will love it......and....fully participate in driving the markets CRAZY.

For some reason I doubt that the HUGE VOLATILITY.....will work out very well to the upside.

The problem with these constant changes in how the markets work is that.....sooner or later......some change is going to be put in place and a few years down the road we will realize that we have DESTROYED the market system in a way that can not be undone.

 

A timely little article.

A Yearend Personal Finance Checklist
Three things you can do to feel more financially prepared for 2025.

https://www.fisherinvestments.com/e...mmentary/a-yearend-personal-finance-checklist

(BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content)

"‘Tis the season for making a list and checking it twice … and not just for Santa in his quest to find out who is naughty and nice. You might also find it helpful to knock out a personal finance checklist during yearend downtime. What to include? Read on!

First, consider whether your financial goals and needs have changed.

Various life events—a new job, a marriage or divorce, a new home or retirement—can trigger changes to your money’s primary purpose (your goals) or how long your investments must work toward your goals (your time horizon). Either or both could make it sensible to revisit your asset allocation—the blend of stocks, bonds, cash and other securities comprising your portfolio.

First, check in on your goals. Generally, this is growth, cash flow or some combination of the two. To know the best balance for you, consider your primary purpose for investing and if it has changed. Are you newly retired or about to? Are major new expenses about to start, such as funding long-term care? That may mean your primary purpose has shifted to generating cash flow. Have you promised to help pay your new grandbaby’s college tuition in 18 years? That may put more emphasis on long-term growth. The two, though, aren’t mutually exclusive in most cases. Folks who need cash flow very often still need growth to defray inflation’s impact or generate enough return to ensure their portfolio’s longevity, especially with things like medical costs potentially rising late in life. The key in an annual checkup is simply to identify and weigh whether something has shifted and what that means.

Some of these may also trigger changes to the second main consideration, time horizon. Plans to leave money for a younger spouse, heirs or a charity would extend your time horizon past your own lifetime. Did you get married this year? Have new grandchildren you want to support after you are gone? Think about how changes to your family situation may lengthen the time your money needs to work. Conversely, a major near-term cost—like a new home purchase—or other need could shorten it, at least for a portion of your assets. Is this the year you finally splurge on that mountain cabin or beachside cottage? Separately, changes in health or life expectancy—like a diagnosis or major weight loss—could also justify an adjustment.

Third, reassess your comfort with market volatility. Did the temporary pullbacks this summer and early autumn cause you to lose sleep? Be honest with yourself about this. Or, are you carrying too much fixed income and cash, muting returns? Note, this isn’t about heat chasing—it is about honestly assessing and weighing your comfort with enduring potentially greater ups and downs in exchange for higher returns that may deliver a higher likelihood of reaching your goals.

Your goals and needs can help determine which asset allocation is best for you, but keep in mind the tradeoffs: Stocks’ long-term returns are a tradeoff for their higher expected short-term volatility, while bonds’ lower expected short-term volatility comes as a tradeoff for lower long-term returns. Thus, knowing your goals, time horizon and comfort with volatility can help determine the right blend of the two for you. Generally, shorter time horizons and higher cash flow needs point to higher fixed income allocations to decrease the likelihood of having to sell securities in down markets.

Next, update your personal and/or household budget.

Here, we would start by taking stock of your 2024 spending. Tally your monthly expenses and separate them into two categories: essential and discretionary (this will help you distinguish where spending can be cut, if needed). Then, compare this against your existing budget to help clarify how inflation changed your spending versus what you previously planned. Also consider whether you accurately assessed your spending needs and/or plans. Take stock. Are you surprised by how much or how little you spent? Inflation can sneakily stack up everyday costs, so this might warrant a budget adjustment.

Moreover, if you are currently taking portfolio withdrawals, compare your actual 2024 withdrawals against the amount you originally planned. If you took more than budgeted, is this sustainable? Overall and on average, it is beneficial to limit withdrawals to somewhere around 4% of a portfolio’s starting value annually, adjusting for inflation over time. That is just a rule of thumb and personal situations can of course differ, but it is a useful guide nevertheless. If your withdrawal rate is well above this, you could risk depleting your savings.

Finally, check your portfolio for overconcentration.

Mind you, this isn’t solely a yearend task. It can be beneficial to check in periodically—but if you haven’t done it, now is a good time. Consider: Tech and Financials stocks outperformed broader markets this year. For some folks, this might result in the sectors holding outsized portfolio weights. One way to check this? Compare it against a broad benchmark like the MSCI World Index. Tech makes up roughly 26% of the MSCI World’s market cap, while Financials is about 16%. So if your portfolio is half Tech or Financials, it is probably time to cut back. Even if you expect these sectors to continue outperforming, this lopsidedness disrupts diversification. Always remember you could be wrong—if the sector or region dominating your portfolio doesn’t perform as you expect, not only would it drag on your returns, but it would leave you very underexposed to the areas of the market that are leading. Those missed returns can be a big opportunity cost.

Which brings us to what to do with the proceeds: Look at the rest of your portfolio to see if you have blind spots to a particular sector or region. Even if you don’t expect certain areas to do well, having just-in-case exposure limits the risk in case your primary expectations prove wrong. Here, too, you can compare your portfolio’s weightings to the overall market’s. If your portfolio is mostly devoid of Industrials, or if you have been shunning Energy or Materials, then allocating the proceeds of your trimmings to these areas to improve diversification will likely be beneficial.

While this checklist isn’t exhaustive, it covers what we think are some of the most important personal finance items out there. So feel free to share this with friends and loved ones. Checking these boxes can lend to a happier, brighter and financially healthy 2025."

MY COMMENT

I constantly evaluate my investment thinking and portfolio. That is one reason that I focus on what is going on day to day....even though a long term investor. My goal is to DO NOTHING.......but stay very informed.

I have my budget in writing and ready to go for 2025. I have 30-40 items budgeted in writing. These are items outside my normal monthly spending....things like....income and property taxes, HO insurance, auto insurance, Medicare supplement premiums, vacations, dog boarding, dentist, etc, etc, etc.

I have my cash flow needs outlined for the first four months of 2025 on index cards and will soon lay out cash flow needs for the entire year of 2025 on a monthly basis. Being on a fixed retirement income....it is critical for me to anticipate cash flow needs......for big budget items....on a month by month basis.

The system I use for budgeting and cash flow....is the same every year. So I know it works for me and my thinking. As long as it works I will not change it. My mantra.....keep it simple and do the same thing over and over and over....until it does not work.

For money management I maintain a ledger........a book....not on the computer. My budget and cash flow cards are also NOT maintained on the computer.

My budget is a list with total annual dollar amounts that takes up a single page of paper. As I spend in a category....I update what is left in that category. My cash flow....on index cards.....takes up four or five cards and they sit on the corner of my desk. Each card covers four months so I can see four months at a glance.

I keep the one page budget document paper clipped to the left hand page of my ledger......the right side page of my ledger is where I keep my data. I ALWAYS use checks for budget expenses.......and when I put them in the ledger I adjust the budget item.

My ledger is an actual book. I usually end up with a year covering about 4-5 pages of the book.....and can fit about 15-20 years into a book.

I started using this system for budgeting in 1999.....when I retired and no longer had an income. I moved on to my second ledger book three years ago. So between the two ledgers....which sit in the bottom file drawer of my desk....... I can look at the past 26 years.....at a glance.....with no screwing around on the computer.

 

Seems like today is following the poor market performance that we saw on Monday and Tuesday this week.....at least so far.

So....a mixed.....but negative day.

 

The economic news of the day.

Wholesale prices rose 0.4% in November, more than expected

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/12/producer-price-index-november-2024-.html

(BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content)

"Key Points

• The producer price index increased 0.4% for November, higher than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 0.2%.
• However, excluding food and energy, core PPI increased 0.2%, meeting the forecast.
• First-time claims for unemployment insurance totaled a seasonally adjusted 242,000 for the week ending Dec. 7, versus the 220,000 forecast and up 17,000 from the prior period.

Wholesale prices rose 0.4% in November, more than expected

A measure of wholesale prices rose more than expected in November as questions percolated over whether progress in bringing down inflation has slowed, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday.

The producer price index, or PPI, which measures what producers get for their products at the final-demand stage, increased 0.4% for the month, higher than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 0.2%. On an annual basis, PPI rose 3%, the biggest advance since February 2023.

However, excluding food and energy, core PPI increased 0.2%, meeting the forecast. Also, subtracting trade services left the PPI increase at just 0.1%. The year-over-year increase of 3.5% also was the most since February 2023.

In other economic news Thursday, the Labor Department reported that first-time claims for unemployment insurance totaled a seasonally adjusted 242,000 for the week ending Dec. 7, considerably higher than the 220,000 forecast and up 17,000 from the prior period.

On the inflation front, the news was mixed.

Final-demand goods prices leaped 0.7% on the month, the biggest move since February of this year. Some 80% of the move came from a 3.1% surge in food prices, according to the BLS.

Within the food category, chicken eggs soared 54.6%, joining an across-the-board acceleration in items such as dry vegetables, fresh fruits and poultry. Egg prices at the retail level swelled 8.2% on the month and were up 37.5% from a year ago, the BLS said in a separate report Wednesday on consumer prices.

Services costs rose 0.2%, pushed higher by a 0.8% increase in trade.

The PPI release comes a day after the BLS reported that the consumer price index, or CPI, a more widely cited inflation gauge, also nudged higher in November to 2.7% on a 12-month basis and 0.3% month over month.

Despite the seemingly stubborn state of inflation, markets overwhelmingly expect the Federal Reserve to lower its key overnight borrowing rate next week. Futures markets traders are implying a near certainty to a quarter percentage point reduction when the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee concludes its meeting Wednesday.

The Fed uses the Commerce Department’s personal consumption expenditures price index, or PCE, as its primary inflation gauge and forecasting tool. However, data from the CPI and PPI feed into that measure.

An Atlanta Fed tracker is putting November PCE at 2.6%, up 0.3 percentage point from October, and core PCE at 3%, up 0.2 percentage point. The Fed targets inflation at 2% and generally considers core a better long-run indicator. The projections have not been updated to include the PPI release.

Stock market futures were slightly in negative territory following the economic news. Treasury yields were mixed while the odds of a rate cut next week were still around 98%, according to the CME Group.

One reason markets expect the Fed to cut, even amid stubborn inflation, is that Fed officials are growing more concerned about the labor market. Nonfarm payrolls have posted gains every month since December 2020, but the increases have slowed lately, and Thursday brought news that layoffs could be increasing as unemployment lasts longer.

Jobless claims posted their highest level since early October, while continuing claims, which run a week behind, edged higher to 1.89 million. The four-week moving average of continuing claims, which smooths out weekly volatility, rose to its highest level in just over four years."

MY COMMENT

Perfectly fine data. Inflation is simply.....NORMAL. If we get down to 2% inflation we will be approaching....DEFLATION. That goal is ridiculous and does not reflect reality which is inflation in the 3-4% range.

 

That is about it for today. I am waiting for my COST earnings after the bell today....that is what I care about today.

 

YES....Husker. I dont see any reason to not do a split. In my view it is FOOLISH to allow the price of a stock like COST to get up to $1000 per share.

It does not benefit the shareholders and it does not encourage potential buyers of the stock.

 

LETS HOPE SO......!!!!!!!

Macy's tightens financial controls after employee covered up what became a $151 million mistake

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/macys-offers-mixed-outlook-reporting-121045748.html

 

It was not planned but this year has been a big art year for us. We added......five paintings.......and.....two bronze sculptures to our little collection this year.

Two of the paintings came as a result of a......"trade".....that I made with a dealer. We traded three paintings and a small bit of cash for three paintings.....one of which I gave to one of my kids. It was a good trade for us. We got rid of three lesser pieces.....and....at the same time upgraded to a much better piece for one particular artist......plus a second painting that I have had my eye on for years.

We also bought three paintings at auction this year.....one National auction and one Regional auction. This was one of the largest art acquisition years we have had in a long time.....in terms of significance of the pieces and dollars spent.

That is how collecting works.....it happens in spurts. Trading is a big part of the collecting process. It is a process of constantly consolidating and upgrading your collection.

We have seen nice price and value increases in many of our pieces this year as the markets for what we collect was very strong. It is all about....quality, quality, quality.......when seriously collecting anything. Money can be made.....on paper......if you know what you are doing.

We have one more painting that we are trying to acquire before year end. It is a small oil painting that is for sale by......."DRAW".....before year end. Many galleries that represent highly sought after artists do sales by "draw". They advertise the piece at a set price and solicit collectors to submit their name. On a set date they draw a name and that person gets the piece at the pre-set price.

The piece we are after will probably have somewhere between 30-60 people putting their names into the hat. We have about a 15%-20% chance of getting this painting since our entire family has their names in for the draw.

If we liquidated all art I have no doubt that we would make good money.....but.....not as much as if the money was invested in stocks and funds. But........we do not do art as an investment........that is a secondary BONUS.

 

I talked about my budget earlier.....here are my budget categories:

DOG HEART WORM
HORSE DENTIST
ART/MISC
PLATINUM (a horse supplement, not the metal)
HORSE TRIM & SHAVING
HAIR (wife beauty parlor)
COINS (gold/silver)
B. K, C, K, I, K, BIRTHDAY
ANNIVERSARY
MEDICARE SUPP
HOA
PROPERTY TAX
INCOME TAX
CHRISTMAS
DENTIST
AUTO/UMBRELLA
HORSE SHOTS
VACATION
HO INSURANCE
AC/HEAT TUNE
PEST CONTROL
HORSE SUPPLEMENTS & FLY SPRAY
DOGS VET
DOG BOARDING
SAVINGS (if possible)

These are my extra-ordinary spending items outside our regular monthly expenses.

 

OH....right....the markets. Not much change. For me it is a mixed market today with about 50/50 red and green.

With NVDA being down I suspect that I am in the RED over-all. The big averages look about the same as we have seen all morning.

I calculated my YTD return for my entire portfolio last night......+71.91%. Looks like I will lose some of that today. BUT....I am in good shape for the year end....with ONLY 12 market days left.....after today.

 

HERE....are the TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS.....for investors.

 

AND....since i am feeling the Holiday spirit today....here is an old article worth repeating....even though the REAL 12 days of Christmas do not start till December 25.

The Twelve Days of Christmas for Investors

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2014/12/24/the-twelve-days-of-christmas-for-investors/

(BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content)

"The Twelve Days of Christmas refers to a festive season which begins on December 25. Colonial Americans modified this a bit by creating wreaths which they hung on neighbors' doors on December 24 in anticipation of starting the festival of twelve days, which historically included feasts and celebrations.

Better known is the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" which is believed to have started as a French folk rhyme, then later published in England in 1780. The song commemorates the twelve days of Christmas by offering ever grander gifts on each day of the holiday season.

So, it being Christmas Eve I am stealing this idea completely, and offering my list of the 12 gifts investors would like to receive this holiday season from the companies in which they invest:

1. Stop waxing eloquently about what you did last year or quarter. Yesterday has come and gone. Let's talk about the future.
2. Tell me about important trends that are going to impact your business. Is it demographics, aging population, the ecology movement, digitization, regulatory change, organic foods, mobility, mobile payments, nanotechnology, biotechnology... ? What are the critical trends that will impact your business going forward?
3. Tell me your future scenarios. How will these trends change the way your customers and your company will behave? What are your most likely scenarios (and don't try to be creative to preserve the status quo!)
4. Tell me how the game will change for your industry over the next 1, 3, and 5 years. How will things be different for the industry, based on the trends and scenarios. The world is a fast changing place, and I want to know how this will change your industry.
5. Tell me about the customers you lost last year. I gain no value from hearing about/from your favorite customers that love what you already do. Instead, bring me info on the customers who are buying alternative products, changing their behaviors in ways that are starting to impact sales. Even if these changes are only a small percentage of revenue.
6. Tell me who the competitors are that are trying to change the game. Don't tell me that these companies will fail. Tell me who the players are that are really trying to do something new and different.
7. Tell me about the fringe competitors. The ones you constantly say do not matter because they are small, or not part of the historical industry, or from some distant location where you don't now compete. Tell me about the companies doing the new things which are seen as remote and immaterial, but are nibbling at the edges of the market.
8. Tell me how you are reacting to potential game changers in your market. What are your plans to deal with disruptive competitors and disruptive innovations affecting your way of doing business? Other than working harder, faster, cheaper and hoping to do better, what are you planning to do differently?
9. Tell me how you intend to be a market game changer. Tell me what you intend to do that aligns with trends and leads the company toward fulfilling future scenarios as a market leader.
10. Tell me what projects you are undertaking to experiment with new forms of competition, attracting new customers and creating new markets. Tell me about your teams that are working in white space to discover new opportunities.
11. Tell me how you will disrupt your own organization so the constant effort to enhance the old success formula doesn't kill any effort to do something new and different. How will you keep these experimental white space teams from being killed, or simply starved of resources, by the organizational inertia to defend and extend the status quo.
12. Tell me the goals of these white space project teams, and how they will be nurtured, encouraged and protected, as well as evaluated, to lead the company in new directions. Don't just tell me that you will measure sales or profits, but rather other more appropriate goals that measure market learning and ability to understand new customer behaviors.

If investors had this transparency, rather than merely reams and reams of historical data, just imagine how much smarter we all could invest.

Happy Holidays!"

MY COMMENT

YES....how wonderful it would be to have all the information above.

 

Ok....having looked.....I have a small to moderate loss right now. Five stocks UP and four stocks DOWN. I am happy to see CMG now performing well.

I am also happy to see some of the loss in NVDA moderating as the day progresses.

I heard on a TV business show that market breadth is NEGATIVE so far for the entire month of December. Every single day.....so far this month.....has had more stocks DOWN than UP.

 

YES......Tiresmoke.....and the markets are slowly losing more steam today. More as the day progresses. I still have a medium loss....but am now down to only 3 of 9 stocks green.

It is a very confused market....especially in the face of EPIC earnings from companies like NVDA. It seems like the company has become a short term trading vehicle.......which is impacting the gains that should be (historically) happening based on earnings. For example NVDA is.....RED for five days.....RED for one month.....and up by only +9.74% over the past six months.

I put much of this on the obsessively negative media....and......the AI Trading platforms that trade off the media headlines and content. I also see it as a.....slight.....warning that our market system is fragile......and breakable.

We are far from this point....but....if our market system becomes disrupted and non-supportive of good fundamental results.....and fails to fairly value companies.......there will be less and less need for "PUBLIC" companies. It will be to the advantage of companies to simply be...."private". Of course I am talking about a time span of 20-50 years down the road. It is all a function of......TRUST.....and once that is lost....the markets are dead money.

 

Of course I say the above from a very CLINICAL and DETACHED point of view.....that is one good thing that my personality gives me when it comes to investing. The ability to be extremely logical, clinical and detached.......so I am POSITIVE and UPBEAT about the future at the same time...I say things like above. (at least for my remaining life span)

 

I happen to agree....but...even if I did not....it is not the function of the NASDAQ to impose this sort of...general, blanket.... rule on business.

DEI backlash reaches Nasdaq as court strikes down diversity rules

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dei-...t-strikes-down-diversity-rules-165237789.html

"These rules would have required the thousands of companies listed on the tech-heavy exchange to have at least one person who self-identified as female on their board, or explain why there was not one, along with at least one person who self-identified as either from a racial minority or as LGBTQ."