I have to ask, how many of us have YTD returns in our portfolios of 17-18%? I do not.
Some times I have to laugh at myself for thinking I can do better than these balanced funds by making my "strategic" selections. I can't. I would have been better off over the years just putting everything in PRWCX and maybe a couple others.

ytd VONE + STIP 50-50 = ½ x 25.48% + ½ x 5.38% = 15.43%.
That would not be the best way to do the calculation since the lack of rebalancing implicit in the arithmetic would see the equity allocation drift up toward:1.2548/(1.2548 + 1.0538) = 54%.
Still, that's well below FBALX's 72%. (M*'s analysis says that it average a 2/3 allocation to equity and that the current 72% is its high point.)
Here's a better approximation using Portfolio Visualizer, taking a 70/30 VONE/STIP portfolio, rebalancing monthly, and comparing it to FBALX.
The index fund blend had a comparable std dev (8.04% vs 8.06%), and a worse max drawdown (-3.21% vs. -3.07%). But it did noticeably better when it came to raw performance (16.56% vs 14.80%), Sharpe ratio (2.12 vs 1.91) and Sortino ratio (4.87 vs. 4.29).
Based on AUM, the most popular moderate allocation fund is American Funds American Balanced, once one adds up the assets in its 19(!) different share classes. At $223B, no other fund is on the same planet. The runner up, if one wants to call it that, is Wellington (VWELX / VWENX), half the size at $123B. Then comes Vanguard's index entry, VBIAX, half again as large at $60B, and then PRWCX at $53B.
---
From the M* piece Yogi quoted:
" So, if you're investing for something six, 12, even 18 months from now, a 60/40 is probably a little too volatile for that."
Something that IMHO is key here is that these days the bonds are almost exclusively for ballast (dead weight to temper volatility) and just a smidgen of yield above MMFs over time. The less ballast, the longer one should expect to hold the fund. Currently I'm taking a little money off the table (something I rarely do, but equities have grown to be just too large a portion of my portfolio), so I've been looking at 50/50 funds. That's consistent with the M* quote, since I'm thinking of these as a place for cash for 12 or 18 months out.
The quote also brings to mind what I once read in literature from the former Strong Advantage fund STADX, renamed Strong Ultra Short, and then acquired by Wells Fargo. (From the frying pan into the fire?). That this fund (which was on the aggressive end of its category, with a fair amount of mid and low grade holdings) should not be used for money needed within the next year, but was better suited for money to be used in 1-2 years.

If this money is for retirement and not for a home or family in the next 10 years, the Roth is the best idea hands down.
I think if I was starting out and had 1 investment to start with, I would just buy QQQ and don't worry about diversification at that young age. Technology was a great investment 40 years ago, 20 years ago, 10 years ago and no reason to think differently in the future.
And I can't for the life of me think why a senior in high school whose only obligation for the next 4-5 years is to concentrate on a college degree, and being an only child with parents having good jobs as you described would ever need an emergency fund. It's not like he has to worry about losing his job and have to pay the families bills. This may be the best time of his life to invest as much as possible for the future without having other life-obligations that will certainly come in the future.
I'm very impressed with this young man wanting to understand finance at this young age.

I got a couple of my kids started when they were young, using UGTMs. They are adults now, so they have the accounts. With a relatively small pie to start with, I found it necessary to find MFs with low initial investment limits. If your grandson is ready to have a brokerage account and learns how to trade, the idea from yogi to use ETFs is perfect. One of my kids still has VIG that has appreciated nicely over the years. My inclination is towards a global growth fund, or at least a fund that has some international exposure. APFDX ($1K min) or BWBFX ($100 min) for global growth, AKREX for primarily US exposure. Many funds lower the starting minimum if the holder uses an Automatic Investment Plan. That strikes me as a good option for a new investor.

@Sven ...my portfolio consists of 10% cash and FI holdings, 21% equity OEFs, and the balance being individual stock holdings along with CEFs and 2 ETFs (SCHD and DIVO). That last portion generates divi's of 4.5%. That, plus prudent fund profit taking generates sufficient cash for me.
I understand that bonds are (were) effective ballast, but I think a few high quality healthcare or utility stocks (or even banks) serve the same function. That bull market in bonds we had for the past 30 years was pretty nice, but I see nothing conservative in bond purchases at present.

https://www.morningstar.com/articles/1073089/how-did-the-6040-portfolio-do-in-2021
"'The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated,' says the asset-allocation standard.....through the end of November, the 60/40 has returned about 15%, and I'm using just a generic stock and bond 60/40 portfolio for an example here. So, about 15%. And so, real return after you adjust for inflation, even with high inflation, that's about an 8% real return, which is pretty great. I looked at the rolling 12-month real returns for the 60/40 since 2000. The median over that last 21 years is about 7.5%. So, it's actually outperformed its median real return over that time period. So, even though all this doom and gloom came true, it didn't derail the 60/40.....I think it's definitely not something for a short-term investment. With 60% stocks, you're going to have volatility. You could have drawdowns. In 2008, 2020 drawdowns were a little north of 20%. So, that's your downside risk. So, if you're investing for something six, 12, even 18 months from now, a 60/40 is probably a little too volatile for that. But I think if you have a long time horizon, it's a very good starting point, and it's proven very difficult to beat because the stocks and bonds, when it's like an investment-grade bond portfolio, really balance each other out nicely. And unless that correlation between those two really significantly changes, which it's hard to see how it would, though it could over shorter periods, I think it's a really good long-term investment, and it's definitely been a very hard benchmark to beat....."
And for those who want to venture out some more, look at evolving MULT-ASSET funds that include stocks-bonds-alternatives in the mix.

I read a recent article stating that $50 mil AUM is considered a minimum level for an ETF to be sustainable longer term and suggesting many newer ones may need to close in a few years if they can’t garner that level. I recently bought some of Invesco’s PSMM (actively managed fund-of-funds) costing .33% - including accrued expenses of the underlying funds. Not looking for criticism or affirmation of the choice. Just tossed it out as an example of what’s available at what cost. The fund only has around $20 mil AUM at last look - but appears to be growing steadily.
FWIW - While .33% is still higher than others, it’s about half the cost of PRSIX - an actively managed mutual fund at T. Rowe with a similar 40/60 allocation.

I believe that 2022 will end higher than 2021 concludes, but it certainly won't be a smooth ride. It should be volatile during the first half of the year particularly.
With only a few exceptions, none of my year-end OEF distributions were reinvested. In early January I plan to trim 25% from a few individual stocks which ran up nicely the past 2 or 3 years. I plan to put the sum of these dollars into NVHAX, FRA and FRFZX, and then when the FED moves and the market vomits in response, I'll move that into a few holdings geared towards increasing my dividend income to include RQI, BME, EVT, DIVO, FLC, JPS and possibly ETNHX to make up for a down 2021. Other than floaters and preferreds, I have no conventional bond funds.

Yes, I did exact what you did at the library. For a number of years, I subscribed to No-load Fund Analyst that taught me everything I knew today about mutual funds and more. The internet allows me to further my learning in several blog sites including bogleheads and others. Several of MFO posters here subscribe to Barron’s as well - useful as a sounding board on the global economy.

There have been many changes in the fund industry over the years which benefit today's investors.

COTZX has done well over the life of the fund -- 19 years, Sortino=1.14, APR=8.3, Avg 3 Year Rolling APR=7.2 but I personally would not treat this as a bond sub given the max DD of 42.4% in 200902 and an Ulcer of 7.3.
Imo PRWCX has better risk adjusted returns than COTZX (big risk being manager skill of course)
PRWCX stats are -- 35 years, Sortino=1.40, APR=11.7, Avg 3 Year Rolling APR=11.3, Max DD=36.6, Ulcer=5.3
SFHYX stats are
17 years, Sortino=2.08, APR=7.2, Avg 3 Year Rolling APR=6.7, Max DD=16.9, Ulcer=3.5

John Rekenthaler from M* reminisces about the mutual fund industry over the past 33 years.
Random quotes below.
"In 1988, the largest mutual fund was Franklin U.S. Government Securities (FKFSX), which finished the year with $11.7 billion."
"In 1988, three index funds existed: 1) Vanguard 500 Index (VFINX), 2) DFA U.S. Micro Cap (DFSCX), and 3) a brand-new entrant from Fidelity that was eventually merged into the company’s current offering Fidelity 500 Index (FXAIX). (Even that list is suspect, as DFA now states that its funds are actively managed. However, as it called DFA U.S. Micro Cap an index fund at the time, that is where I have placed it.) In aggregate, those funds held $2 billion, making for a market share of slightly under 0.5%."
"Back in the day, investors who emphasized fund expenses were viewed as cranks. Life was too short to worry about a few basis points. In 1993, for example, the five top-selling mutual funds carried average an average expense ratio of 1.09%."
Link

I'll review my portfolio next weekend.
Bonds comprised 24% of my holdings a few months ago.
My portfolio will be rebalanced to slightly increase bond (and possibly "cash") exposure.
Reducing equity risk is a goal since I plan to retire in a few years.
I'm also contemplating replacing an existing fund in my Roth IRA with either PRILX or SCHD.

@hank, love the balance of forces image. You have some interesting physics concepts gong on there. Takes me back to the many college physics courses I had. I also like your input on TMSRX. I did purchase that fund as a bond alternative but maybe expected more. Maybe expected too much. It's still a keeper for me but I may have over-played the expectation and the amount I allocated to it.
I don't expect to change overall equity percentage much from 2021. My self-managed portfolio has been about 50% equity. I have been adjusting that balancing act though like hank's image. I've had about 30% in 3 balanced funds for years, mostly PRWCX, and plan to stay at that ratio. My biggest change for 2022 will be to go with a higher percentage of alt-funds, 3 of them equally weighted at 8-10% each. They are TMSRX which I've reduced and JHQAX, CTFAX which I have been increasing. The choices we have for alt-funds is of course many, but I think these 3 are all different enough to work well together. All, fingers crossed here, should hedge an equity bear which is my intent. I also have held ETF's, DBC (a commodity basket) and IAU (gold) at about 10% combined as an inflation hedge. I don't plan a change there.
Thanks for starting the post @MikeW. Always interesting to hear others ideas. Good investing to all in 2022.

Copied and pasted from the Big Bang Investing Board.
This briefing is for the week ending December 24, 2021.
The Index Review
For the week the major equity indices finished up as Santa arrives. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained +0.15%. the S&P 500 Stock Index rose +1.22%, the Nasdaq Composite climbed +3.12%, while the Russell 2000 Small Cap Index was up +4.14%. The three best performing major equity sectors for the week were XLY (Consumer Discretionary) +3.47%, XLK (Technology) +2.56% and XLC (Communication Services) +1.97%. The widely followed S&P 500 Index ETF SPY closed the week with a dividend yield of 1.24% and is up year to date +27.48%; and, it is off its 52 week high by -0.62%. The widely followed US Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) was listed with a yield of 1.81% and for the week lost -0.24%. Year to date AGG has had a negative total returned of -1.75% and is off its 52 week high by -3.42%.
Global Equity Compass: For the week my three best performers in my global equity compass were GSP (Commodities) +2.69%, IEV (Europe) +1.72% and VTI (US Total Stock Market) +1.71%.
Income Compass: For the week my three best performers in my fixed income compass were CWB (Convertibles) +2.67%, PFF (Preferreds) +0.62% and HYG (Corporate High Yield) +0.52%.
Currency Compass: For the week my three best performers in my currency compass were FXA (Austialian Dollar) +0.94%, FXB (British Pound) +0.68% and FXF (Swiss Franc) +0.12%.
Old_Skeet's Soap Box ... Since I take all my mutual fund distributions in cash this has now increased the size of my cash area from about 20% to 25% due to strong year end mutual fund distributions received thus far in December. When January arrives I will review my portfolio's asset allocation mix and decide where to invest this recently received cash ... if anywhere. For now ... though ... I sit and I watch. This is mostly due to extended stock and bond market valuations and the current investment climate. One of the hardest things for me to do as a retail investor has been to just (plain old) sit and do nothing. But, I have learned, through the years, that sometimes this turns out to be one of the best things to do. My top producers (this quarter) have come from the growth & income area of my portfolio. Most likely when I start to buy it will be in the G&I area as it holds the value and the equity income parts of my portfolio. However, for now, Old_Skeet is thinking that a stock market swoon is on the horizon. I'm also thinking that a good ten percenter might not be far off. Perhaps so ... Perhaps not. But, when the swoon does come (and in time it will) I will have some extra cash to spend with a buying plan in place.
Again ... for now ... I sit, remaining invested within the confines of my asset allocation of 20/40/40 (cash/bonds/stocks) while I ponder what to do with recently received cash (if anything) which now has me cash heavy by about 5% from my neutral weighting of 20%.. An option ... Short term, I could target cash at 25% and do nothing.
Of Investment Interest
Due to most investment and news sites now requiring sign in passage to read their articles and with it getting harder to find good content that can be linked without sign in requirements the Articles of Investment Interest Area is no more. I am pondering some ideas; but, as I write I have not yet decided what the content will be. This space may become a floating feature area with something of good investment interest posted each week.
For Starters ... This week feature keys on Consuelo Mack's Wealth Track Site
Great Value Investor Bill Miller Discusses His Core Holdings Winners And Recent Promising Additions (Part 1)
https://wealthtrack.com/
Old_Skeet's Favored Reference Links
Stock Proxy S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY)
SPY Short Volume ... https://nakedshortreport.com/company/SPY
SPY Breadth Reading ... https://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=$SPXA50R&p=D&b=5&g=0&id=p25768973625
SPY Yield Chart ... https://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=!YLDSPX&p=D&b=5&g=0&id=p75520805591
SPY Price Chart (Elder Ray System) ... https://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=SPY&p=D&b=5&g=0&id=p20881173280
SPY T/A Opinion ... https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/quotes/SPY/opinion
Bond Proxy Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG)
AGG Short Volume ... https://nakedshortreport.com/company/AGG
AGG Yield Chart ... https://ycharts.com/companies/AGG/dividend_yield
AGG Price Chart (Elder Ray System) ... https://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=AGG&p=D&b=5&g=0&id=p07044822535
AGG T/A Opinion ... https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/quotes/AGG/opinion
Wishing You a Christmas Season Filled with Warm Moments and Cherished Memories.
Old_Skeet

Hi Level5, I have held the A share class of the Thermostat Fund for more than ten years and I hold it within my fixed income sleeve since it is currently 90% fixed and 10% equity. I look at it as a risk-off (risk-on) type fund that adjust it's equity holdings based up price/earning metrics for the S&P 500 Index. So, when equities falter and fall in price it automatically loads equities and sells down bonds. Thus, it is designed to play stock market swoons without me having to do much of anything. When it's time to sit (which is hard for many retail investors to do) it plays the bond market. And, when it is time to engage and ramp up equities it plays the stock market. For me, it's a keeper and currently held within the fixed income sleeve of my portfolio.
In review of its performance I am finding that its average total return over the past five years has been better than ten percent. Not bad for a fund that often just sits in risk-off mode.

I wonder if this might be a potential strategy regarding capital tax losses and Roth conversions.
Let say I want to manage Roth conversions during market sell offs (think back to March 2020).
the-case-for-roth-conversions-in-market-downturns
Let's say I have two accounts, A T-IRA and a taxable brokerage account. They are both invested in the S&P 500 On Jan 1. 2020. Each has $10K as a starting balance. By Mar 31, 2020 they are both worth $8,037.
I take the following actions:
I convert the T-IRA to a Roth and lock in the March 31, 2020 value of $8037. On April 1, 2020 the T-IRA is now in Roth Status (conversion competed) and New Roth account continues to be invested in the S&P500. By years end the Roth value is $11,825. In April of 2021, I will owe taxes on the conversion ($8037 * my tax bracket)
In the 12% bracket I will owe $964.44
In the 22% bracket I will owe $1768.14
In the 24% bracket I will owe $1928.88
In a separate taxable account, I sell the very same investment on the same day I completed the Roth conversion and book a $1963 tax loss on that sale. On Apr 1, 2020, I re-invest back into the Total Stock Market (or appropriate wash-sale security). My $8037 by years end grows to $1287. Obviously this works perfect in hindsight. Equity markets can endure long stretches of under performance.
In April of 2021, I have a tax loss of $1963 that I can apply to my 2020 tax year or carry forward to future tax years...future Roth conversions.
tax-loss-carryforward
If I had I done nothing , both accounts would have lost and subsequently regained their losses. But by timing both a Roth conversion in the T-IRA and harvesting a tax loss in a taxable account at a pull back in the market", I have used a tax loss to "pay for" a Roth conversion.

Quicken Alert!
I am working on this week's updates and started seeing balances that did not match WITHIN Quicken! I ran a "Networth" report and the balances per account did not match what I see for each account in the "Account List" bar.
Digging deeper, I discovered that I have Schwab transactions that have been duplicated into other accounts that are not related in any way to the security and/or Schwab. Some of those accounts are "hidden" because they were taken to zero balances years ago.
In one Schwab account, I found an "Interest" transaction of $19,000+ dollars that had nothing whatsoever to do with the security in which it was found and was causing my account balance in the Networth report to be inflated; yet the Account List view ignored that transaction and thus showed the correct balance.
I literally discovered this a few hours ago. My next step is to run a report that will give me all Quicken transactions by Security/Account to find the rogue entries and then go one by one for every Schwab account to verify Cost Basis and Market Value.
I am no longer going to use the download feature until Quicken and Schwab get this fixed.
OH - and Vanguard uses the double-entry accounting method for transactions and they come into Quicken correctly matched with their DIV, ST, LT designations as single entries. No excuse for Quicken and Schwab to get this so wrong.

For anyone considering recognizing more gain or doing more Roth conversions this year, I ran across a couple of quirks in the way gains may be taxed.
Suppose you have short term gains (say, $3000) and long term losses (say -$1000), so that you're net positive (+$2,000 short term). Not a common situation, but here added long term gains can get taxed at short term (ordinary income rates).
In this example, if you generate an extra $500 in long term gains, that reduces the LT loss by $500, thus increasing the net short term gains by $500: Net LT loss = $500, net gain (short term) = $3000 - $500 = $2500.
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If your income is in the region where some but not all cap gains are taxed at 0%, then adding $1 of ordinary income can increase your taxes by 27¢, i.e. it's taxed at 27%. Kitces has an excellent piece on this; see examples 3 and 4.
https://www.kitces.com/blog/long-term-capital-gains-bump-zone-higher-marginal-tax-rate-phase-in-0-rate/
He discusses how in this situation it is preferable to generate long term gains (even if taxed at 15%) as opposed to doing Roth conversions (even if nominally taxed at 12%). Going further, if one doesn't have much in cap gains/qualified divs, ISTM that it can still make sense to convert all the way up to the next tax bracket. A small amount will get taxed at 27%, but with little in cap gains, most will get taxed "normally". But if one has lots of cap gains that would get pushed into the 27% bracket, it pays to defer converting.
This suggests a multiyear strategy for planning periodic sales of assets and Roth conversions. It can be advantageous to lump them into alternating years. One year you take two year's worth of gains (taxed at 0% or 15%). The next year you work to minimize your cap gains (so there are few gains to get taxed at 27%) and convert more retirement money. Even if those conversions push you into the 22% bracket, that's still better than having a lot of cap gains taxed at 27%.
One needs to look at how much in gains one expects to recognize (including fund distributions), how much one wants to convert, other ordinary income, to see if this lumping strategy helps.

You're correct that the management completed clawing back its fees. From the annual report:

For the year ended April 30, 2021, the Investment Manager has fully recovered all of its previously waived fees totaling $401,308. For a period not to exceed three years from the date on which a Waiver is made, the Investment Manager may recoup amounts waived or assumed, provided it is able to effect such recoupment and remain in compliance with the Expense Limitation.