TALKING TO A BROKER or insurance salesman? Here are 10 things you’ll likely never hear:
1. 'Wow, your 401(k) has great low-cost institutional funds. There’s no way you should roll that money into an IRA."

Under the DOL fiduciary rule, which took effect June 9, financial advisors who recommend that a client roll over a 401(k) into an individual retirement account (IRA) are considered fiduciaries. [Brokers who offer advice on rollovers are considered advisors here, and are thus held to the fiduciary standard.]
Fiduciary Requirements for Advisors Recommending 401(k) Rollovers
Under the fiduciary rule, which took effect on June 9, advisors must recommend a rollover only if it is in the client’s best interest. As part of this responsibility, advisors will need to consider:

• Fees and expenses associated with both the plan and the IRA
  
• Available investments under both
  
• Whether the employer pays some or all plan expenses

"Vanguard economist Joe Davis kicked off the conference with his view of the future of work. In the next five to 10 years, studies suggest, 50% of jobs in the U.S. are projected to be lost to automation. India could lose 69% of its jobs, and more than 75% of China’s jobs could be wiped out. But Davis is optimistic: “We need to change our mind-set about technological change. Jobs do not get automated away, tasks do.”
Based on Vanguard’s analysis, tasks have changed for every occupation since 2000. Chefs, astronomers, and photographers saw the most change. (Economists the least, Davis joked.) He sees this as a positive, because automation means that workers can farm out repetitive tasks and devote more time to uniquely human ones, such as information analysis, communication, relationship management, and creative thinking.
Active shops have responded to this technological threat by putting those “uniquely human” tasks into an automated form—strategic-beta ETFs "

He sees this as positive because workers can farm out repetitive tasks. That's assuming the worker owns the technology and has a choice which tasks are farmed out. It is the business and technology's owners that make that decision and they will choose to fire many workers and replace them with tech. In the money management industry that means only those workers with skills that are uniquely human, that are so specialized that a computer algorithm which picks stocks can't replace them will survive. The terrible irony is many financial analysts and money managers who boast of "capitalist creative destruction" are about to see their jobs creatively destroyed by the technology they once invested in and celebrated. The question for every worker becomes what can you do a computer program, algorithm or robot can't?

Insisting that the product would have generated jobs in Virginia, Mr. McDonnell testified that he was merely extending himself as he would have on behalf of any other constituent and that he never agreed to “put a thumb on the scales of any government decision.” His lawyers invoked the Supreme Court’s holding in the Citizens United campaign finance case that “ingratiation and access” do not constitute corruption.

"The seasonal trend is for stocks to go soft during the summer ... especially, August."
Just off-the-cuff (without further research) I'd tend to agree. Some of the worst stock market sell-offs seem to have occurred in late summer or early fall. The '29 crash, the '07-'09 debacle, and a one-day drop of more than 20% in '87. However, unlike some, I would never risk being substantially underweight equities or largely absent from the markets out of some kind of observance of this historical pattern. To me there's just too big a risk of making an incorrect call and missing out on big gains.
Isn't investing interesting?
I'd agree Ol'Skeet. I consider that's a good reason to follow the postings at MFO and indulge in other
financial print/electronic media. As you well know, however, there are some (well ... 1 in particular here) who profess to find the ebb and flow of markets of little no interest and who are content to "peek" at their investments only once or twice a year. Different strokes for different folks.