2026-1031
Rebalance
Why we didn't buy after the 9 Oct drop
A 0.4-point drift, cash already promised to a roof, and a band that came back by itself.
Date
Time
07:12 ET
Account
Brokerage
Amount
$18,700
Status
Declined
Checks passed
Wash-sale clear · Band rule · Liquidity floor · Tax bracket · Position cap · Trading window · Cost vs benefit
Signed by
Theo Lindqvist
CFA
On 9 October US stocks fell 3.4% before noon, and the next market day’s pass, on Monday 12 October, found the household’s US equity sleeve at 54.6%, just under its 55% floor. The AI drafted a rebalance: buy $18,700 of the US total-market fund with cash from the bond ladder.
Theo declined it. The drift was 0.4 points outside the band, the bond rung it would have used was due in nine days, and the household had told us in September that a roof replacement would come out of the same cash. Buying stocks to fix a 0.4-point gap, with money already promised elsewhere, was not what the plan meant.
The move stays in the journal with its reason. The next morning’s pass found the sleeve back at 55.3%, inside the band, and drafted nothing.