@davidrmoran,
As for inflation, a well diversified portfolio (especially equities) should inflate with inflation...one would hope. TIPS inflate by external means (posted by the government), but equities over time should inflate as a reflection of "equity inflation"..much like Real Estate inflates over time.
I wonder if inflation adjustments, with regard to retirement withdrawals, should be derived as a reflection of these embedded inflationary elements of one's portfolio rather than a fictitious derived number that may or may not be reflective of one's portfolio. Keeping up with inflation requires a portfolio that at least inflates proportionally with external inflation. If it doesn't, these external inflation adjustments could prematurely wipe out a portfolio.
To me RMD is an interesting alternative to the 4%, 4.5%, etc rule. As you age RMD withdrawal percentages increase (as a result of amortization not inflation). The RMD withdrawal method can be tailored to a starting age other than 70.5.
I believe a retirement portfolio's biggest challenge is adjusting withdrawals for prolonged market downturns that are also accompanied by rising inflation. An RMD withdrawal schedule accommodate this possible scenario, but a fix withdrawal plus additive inflation adjustments may not.

I bought PRIJX for my MIL. Didn't time the buy well, but...
Thinking Emerging Value should do better over Emerging Growth assuming that narrative is going to play out.
Until the dollar tanks I don't see how Emerging / International going to outperform S&P500. Just when it seemed dollar was turning, we got turkeyfied.

I'd been holding these in my back pocket (meant to post, hadn't gotten around to it):
Ed Slott's column from a month ago:
https://www.fa-mag.com/news/irs-finally-says-back-door-roth-s-are-ok-39697.html
Yale Law and Policy Review, Spring 2017, Slam the Door: Why Congress Should End the Backdoor Roth IRA
https://ylpr.yale.edu/inter_alia/slam-door-why-congress-should-end-backdoor-roth-ira

Congress was aware at the time of the backdoor Roth IRA’s passage that it would not facilitate greater retirement savings, particularly for those households for which increasing savings is most critical. As Brookings Fellow Peter Orszag warned Congress in 2005, “[r]ather than bolstering retirement security among middle- and lower-earners, proposals to increase income and contribution limits would generate significant asset shifting and be of primary benefit to households who are already disproportionately well-prepared for retirement.”[31] Instead, the driving force behind the backdoor Roth IRA was the need to facilitate the extension of capital gains and dividends rate cuts.[32]

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1625654/000119312518248332/d583955d497.htm
497 1 d583955d497.htm TCW GARGOYLE HEDGED VALUE FUND
TCW Alternative Funds
TCW/Gargoyle Hedged Value Fund – Class I and Class N
Supplement dated August 14, 2018 to
the Prospectus dated February 28, 2018 (the “Prospectus”)
Disclosure relating to TCW/Gargoyle Hedged Value Fund
The Board of Trustees of TCW Alternative Funds (the “Trust”) has approved a Plan of Liquidation for the TCW/Gargoyle Hedged Value Fund (the “Fund”), pursuant to which the Fund will be liquidated (the “Liquidation”) on or about September 27, 2018 (“Liquidation Date”). This date may be changed without notice at the discretion of the Trust’s officers.
Suspension of Sales. Effective the close of business on August 14, 2018, the Fund will no longer sell shares to new investors or existing shareholders, including through exchanges into the Fund from other funds of the Trust.
Mechanics. In connection with the Liquidation, any shares of the Fund outstanding on the Liquidation Date will be automatically redeemed as of the close of business on the Liquidation Date. The proceeds of any such redemption will be equal to the net asset value of such shares after the Fund has paid or provided for all of its charges, taxes, expenses and liabilities. The distribution to shareholders of these liquidation proceeds will occur as soon as practicable, and will be made to all shareholders of the Fund of record at the time of the Liquidation. Additionally, the Fund must declare and distribute to shareholders any realized capital gains and all net investment income no later than the final Liquidation distribution. TCW Investment Management Company LLC (“TIMCO”), investment advisor to the Fund, intends to distribute substantially all of the Fund’s net investment income and realized capital gains, if any, prior to the Liquidation. TIMCO will bear all expenses in connection with the Liquidation to the extent such expenses exceed the amount of the Fund’s normal and customary fees and expenses accrued by the Fund through the Liquidation Date, provided that such accrued amounts are first applied to pay for the Fund’s normal and customary fees and expenses.
Other Alternatives. At any time prior to the Liquidation Date, shareholders of the Fund may redeem their shares of the Fund and receive the net asset value thereof, pursuant to the procedures set forth under “Selling Shares” of “Your Investment – Account Policies and Services” in the Prospectus. Shareholders may also exchange their Fund shares for shares of the same class of any other fund of the Trust, as described in and subject to any restrictions set forth under “Exchanging Shares” of “Your Investment – Account Policies and Services” in the Prospectus.
U.S. Federal Income Tax Matters. For tax purposes, with respect to shares held in a taxable account, the automatic redemption of shares of the Fund on the Liquidation Date will generally be treated as any other redemption of shares (i.e., as a sale that may result in gain or loss for federal income tax purposes). Instead of waiting until the Liquidation Date, a shareholder may voluntarily redeem his or her shares prior to the Liquidation Date to the extent that the shareholder wishes to realize any such gains or losses prior thereto. See “Distributions and Taxes” in the Prospectus. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors regarding the tax treatment of the Liquidation.
If you have any questions regarding the Liquidation, please contact the Trust at 1-866-858-4338.
Please retain this Supplement with your Prospectus for future reference.

FYI: U.S. stocks halted a multiday tumble Tuesday, with the three main equity benchmarks advancing as Turkey’s currency slide abated, allowing investors to focus instead on a healthy domestic economy and strong corporate results. All 11 S&P Sectors were in the green with XLY up .97%.
The session, however, has been marked by seasonally light volume which can make benchmarks prone to volatile intraday moves, market participants said.
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-13/asian-stocks-set-for-mixed-open-dollar-holds-gain-markets-wrap
Reuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-st-gains-on-earnings-recovery-in-bank-stocks-idUSKBN1KZ19R
IBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/stocks-today-walgreens-mcdonalds-lead-dow-jones/
MarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-look-set-to-pop-higher-as-global-markets-try-to-shake-off-turkish-tantrum-2018-08-14/print
CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/14/us-markets-investors-shake-off-turkeys-economic-crisis.html
Bonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/14/us-bonds-and-fixed-income-auction-data-and-turkey-crisis-in-focus.html
Currencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/14/forex-euro-in-focus-as-lira-emerging-market-currencies-seen-vulnerab.html
Oil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/14/oil-markets-saudi-cuts-output-but-looming-demand-slowdown-drags.html
Gold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/14/gold-markets-focus-on-dollar-after-currency-touches-13-month-high.html
WSJ: Markets At A Glance:
http://markets.wsj.com/us
SPDR's Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-tracker
SPDR's Bloomberg Sector Performance Pie Chart:
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectors
Current Futures: Positive
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx
Quote

PRIDX is a TRPrice SC International
FMIJX is a risk averse LC International
If you have a long term horizon EM funds like PRMSX or the index VWO
Also many Blue Chip US companies do business Internationally / Globally so you may actually be more "globally" positioned than 5% ... maybe TRBCX
OGIYX - global opportunities in SC space

Performed X-Ray on portfolio and I’m only showing 5% invested overseas. I tend to let money run in investments such as PRMTX, which when I started in 2002 was 25, now 106 per share. I probably need to diversify a bit more away from large cap which is roughly 45% of portfolio.
Where are some international areas to invest in. Thanks

Yes, and increasingly higher, for God knows what justification --- the base charged fees have gone to 1.1%, 1.25%, and more.
They reduce w/ higher assets; if you turn over millions, they go under 1%, and increasingly well under (marginal).
There are institutional advisers (yours is one, maybe, being w/ ML?), whom one is always advised to stay away from by indies even though many do very good work, whose fees are lower sometimes, or were back in the day, because they were getting spiffed from placing you in the institution's funds and paying said brokerage small fees for stock transactions. The pricing revolution of the last decade has reduced much of that, I hear.

I've become rather disenchanted with bonds and consequently find the paper's arguments less than persuasive. In part because I question why, at least for long term investors, volatility should even matter. Long term a pure stock portfolio wins out; even over "just" a decade, stocks win out around 80% of the time.
In part, because bonds have done worse than the graphic suggests. A common complaint with the US aggregate bond index is that it is heavily weighted toward federal bonds. They have significantly less risk. In 2008 "Lower-risk Treasury-backed debt whipped most fixed-income categories, while company-issued bonds and more daring overseas debt suffered a similarly grim fate as stocks."
This is not to suggest that bonds have near the risk of stocks, simply that the numbers don't tell the full story.
If you're investing for income, then you're investing behind the "efficient frontier", which is okay. But I'm more interested in total earnings, whether that comes from coupons or dividends or capital gains.
I do agree that bonds can serve a very useful role if you "must meet an expense at a particular time in the future. " For that, see bond immunization. The simplest form of immunization is just buying a zero bond that matures when you need the money. No reinvestment risk, and bond (as opposed to cash) rate of return.
In one sense, absence of reinvestment risk makes zeros less risky than coupon bonds. Sure there's the risk that rates will rise and you'll be stuck with your low YTM zero. However, coupon bonds have a similar risk - you're still stuck with the bond paying low coupons. That is somewhat mitigated by the fact that you are getting cash out (interest payments) that you can reinvest at a higher rate, if rates rise. But if rates fall instead of rise, you lose because you reinvest those interest payments at lower rates. That's the reinvestment risk.
Regarding not knowing markup: at least for munis, there's EMMA. Enter a CUSIP in the search box here, and you get not only real time trades, but information about the type of trade (inter-dealer, customer buy, customer sell), that let's you estimate markups in real time as well. Different markups by different dealers.

MikeW,
Will you be able to keep the Thrift Savings Plan?
Often, at retirement, these plans can no longer be contributed to and may also have to be transferred out of the Thrift Savings Plan. This was the case for a relative who work for a government employer (military) who recently retired a few months ago.

I'm not that familiar with TSP (all I know is what I read in the papers). Still, the situation you're describing sounds unusual.
TSP holds itself out as " similar to a 401(k) plan in the private sector." In the private sector, by law you must be allowed to keep your money in your 401(k) so long as you have at least $5K there.
Many plans allow you to keep your money even if you have a lesser amount. With TSP, "If your vested account balance is $200 or more, you can leave your entire account with the TSP until the account withdrawal deadline." The deadline it's talking about is just the usual rule that RMDs begin the later of age 70.5 or separation from service.
https://www.tsp.gov/PlanParticipation/LoansAndWithdrawals/withdrawals/index.html
It's pretty obvious that someone who is not working for an employer cannot make payroll contributions to that employer's sponsored plan (TSP, 401(k), 403(b), etc.) But TSP seems very flexible in the types of other post-retirement contributions it allows.
It accepts rollovers from IRAs and transfers from retirement plans at other employers. "Not only can you leave your money with the TSP, you can simplify your financial life by moving money from plans into your TSP account." However, it doesn't look like it can accommodate Roth money, as it limits IRA rollovers to traditional IRAs.
https://www.tsp.gov/PlanParticipation/EligibilityAndContributions/RolloversTransfers/index.html

Tough holdings for me since 1/26/2018:
SFGIX (actively managed) & VWO (EMM Index)- Both down almost 15 % in steady decline. Active management doesn't seem to be offering much downside protection:

FSUTX has done very well compared to the Utility Index:

FSRPX has buck the trend of (87% Consumer Cyclical & 10% Consumer Defensive) as a result of their choices / weighting in this sector.

FYI: The waiting game for new highs in the S&P 500 continues has lasted a bit longer than it was looking like it would last at this point a week ago. Even though the S&P 500 hasn’t moved much at the index level, though, many of its components have seen big moves. The table below summarizes the average performance of individual S&P 500 components grouped according to sector since the 1/26 closing high. Leading the way higher, Utilities have been the leading sector with an average gain of just under 5%, but right on the Utilities sector’s heels is Technology where stocks in the sector are up an average of 4.2%. Besides these two sectors, the only two other sectors where the average stock is up since 1/26 are Real Estate and Energy. To the downside, in three sectors (Consumer Staples, Materials, and Financials), the average stock is down over 7%. That’s quite an average decline for an index that is within 2% of record highs.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.bespokepremium.com/think-big-blog/sector-performance-breakdown-since-the-126-peak/

Not often mentioned, but another planning topic is your debt to income ratio. Prior to retirement I had very good credit (partly due to my low debt to a higher working income). This "debt to income ratio" will change instantly in the first months of retirement...probably due to a lower income... and as a result your credit score may suffer. More importantly you will qualify for less credit.
I applied for a 30 year mortgage (actually a 15/15 ARM @ a rate of 2.875 fixed for the first 15 years) and also took additional cash out on this loan. I planned to use the cash for home improvements that I knew I now had time to do myself (retirement offers time to do this) as well as serve as a on demand cash for opportunities. Another story for another time, but cash was king back in 2010.
This decision to refinance my home loan prior to retirement effectively locked in my principle/interest payments for 15 years into retirement and since I completed this process while I was still working I qualified for a much larger mortgage due to my higher "debt to income ratio".

Usually about 9.95 dollars per transaction of 5k of bonds at Vanguard, that the only fee you pay. Most bonds pay biyearly div. We use these div to buy more stocks or bonds after once collected. At schwab no fees but the price us slightly higher for same bond.
So if u have 100 cents on dollar yield 5% for instance next year u have 105, 2 year after you have 110.5 Compoundedafter yr 3 u have 116.025. The problem maybe you have to hold bond until it mature.... If the stock bankrupt u loose all the funds put into individual bond.... Been doing this for 8+yrs only 2 defaults so I was very lucky lost about 7 or 8 k... Probably have over few hundreds bonds now
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Bond+investing
We previously had Zions Direct and cost 4.98 per transaction but they recently went out of bonds broker business. We rolled over and transferred all our funds to Vanguard since
You can get Google. Com/alert 'att bankrup' and put alert on the bond u hold (catch taught me this in 2010 $$thx Catch!!!) and get immediate alerts if company have problems and decide to sell bonds quickly if u think bond has bad news going forward

"Zeroes," of course, you buy at a discount to face value.

And the reason they’re priced below face value is that you have to hold them until maturity to get that face value out of them. Until than, they’re generally worth less (although interest rate fluctuations in the broader market could temporarily drive their market value higher or lower)
But “face value” (what they’re worth at maturity) never changes. The biggest risk with zeros (assuming you hold them until maturity) is that the rate at which they were priced may appear very low compared to rates by the time you redeem them. For example, a zero priced to yield 5% to maturity in 20 years might seem attractive today. But if in 10 years 10% yields become common, you’re going to be a bit unhappy holding that 5% zero with still another 10 years left to maturity.
Just a fly by the seat of the pants calculation - Today you might buy a zero yielding 5% annually and maturing in 2038 (20 years from now ) with a face value of $2650 for a price of $1000. Sounds like a discount. But is it really?

@davfor
I wandered a bit from your subject post, relating to the Mackinac Bridge in the article photo; which has a 5 mile span connecting the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan.
As to the subject, I'm not sure why NYT chose this particular piece; but Mr. Lee is likely not wrong about possibilities. There is a very large boat load of money in the form of bond issuance globally.
If one were to envision the financial markets perched upon an eight leg stool of bonds and other cash substitutes; not all legs would have to break to cause a problem.
CDS (credit default swaps); being insurance against bond defaults and other forms of derivatives are still in place, not unlike the market melt 10 years ago. CDS instruments, to the best of my knowledge are still not monitored or under scrutiny by any official agency, U.S. or global. Although I am sure the Fed. and U.S. Treasury know the amounts.
Apologies for the thread drift via the "bridge".....I don't like or appreciate excessive thread drift either.
Regards,
Catch

@Old_Joe, This book should help unconfuse you. https://www.amazon.com/Animal-Farm-George-Orwell/dp/8187138750/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1534117656&sr=8-3&keywords=animal+farm+by+george+orwell
Your homework, in addition to reading this book, is to memorize these prophetic words from it: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
Than you are to compose a 50-word or longer piece of expository prose about it in which you are not allowed to mention @Ted.

The two funds I mentioned now have $1 million minimums and are closed. I bought them when Fidelity had $2500 minimum for retirement accounts, so I'm hesitant to exit my positions.

Right... You don't really care what happen yo the market if you hold individual bonds vs etf or bond funds. You Don't pay Er preload or afterload. Of course etf or bond funds are more diverse. As long as stock Do not bankrupt bond will continue to pay div until matures. you will be ok
.?? If that do you stand to gain 20%versuse losing 15% in any given yr or if you are just being happy to gain 7% per yr no matter what Happen to market and hold bond until matutity.
Imho you probably need a good mixture of stocks and bond both dependent how much risks you have to take .