FYI: Retirement plan advisers who thought Washington had ditched the idea of requiring Roth 401(k) savings instead of traditional 401(k)s should think again.
Those who closely follow retirement policy say senior legislators on Capitol Hill are again whispering about so-called Rothification. The idea could re-emerge, perhaps to make up for tax-revenue shortfalls related to other retirement legislation being floated, observers said.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=rV0zW970C8vHjwSs5KDgBA&q=Push+to+require+Roth+401(k)+savings+over+traditional+plans+may+re-emerge&oq=Push+to+require+Roth+401(k)+savings+over+traditional+plans+may+re-emerge&gs_l=psy-ab.3...4303.4303.0.6152.3.2.0.0.0.0.66.66.1.2.0....0...1.2.64.psy-ab..1.1.67.6..35i39k1.67.5c8n6pMyLlc

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3366151-chinese-stocks-enter-bear-market
Tipie toe in?!
'Chinese stocks growled their way into a bear market overnight, taking the Shanghai Composite's loss since a January high to 20% and wiping out $1.8T in market value.
Investors have largely ignored government measures to support market sentiment, including a weekend bank reserve-ratio cut, as trade tensions add concerns about Beijing's deleveraging campaign and weaker-than-expected economic data.
Shanghai -0.5% to 2,845. '

@DavidMoran
OK, you're right- I (we?) didn't read down to that part. Note that it states that each couple "have a minimum household income of $75,000 or at least $100,000 in investable assets". Well hell, that's your average American "couple" for sure.
Here's some of what Fidelity actually said:
"Fidelity® Couples Study Uncovers Disconnects on Retirement Expectations"
"43 percent, up from 27 percent in 2013) couldn't correctly identify how much their partner makes—and of that, 10 percent were off by $25,000 or more. Which begs the question: if so many couples can't get this most basic item in their financial lives correct, what other disconnects exist that are unknowingly causing cracks in their financial foundation"
"When asked how much they will need to save to maintain their current lifestyle in retirement, nearly half (48 percent) have "no idea"—and 47 percent are in disagreement about the amount needed. This level of disagreement is highest among those who are closest to retirement—Baby Boomers (born 1946-64)."
"74 percent say they worry about being able to afford unexpected health care costs in retirement, up from 70 percent in 2013. More than half (51 percent) worry about outliving their savings in retirement, a number that is significantly higher than what was reported in 2013."
"Despite these concerns, only 21 percent have developed a retirement plan to ensure they do not outlive their savings"

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/773757/000119312518204090/d601516d497.htm
497 1 d601516d497.htm CFST I
Supplement dated June 26, 2018
to the Prospectus, Summary Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (SAI), as supplemented (as
applicable), of the following fund (the Fund):
Fund Prospectus and Summary Prospectus Dated SAI Dated
Columbia Funds Series Trust I
 Columbia Diversified Absolute Return Fund 10/1/2017 6/1/2018
The Board of Trustees of the Fund has approved a Plan of Liquidation and Termination (the Plan) pursuant to which the Fund will be liquidated and terminated.
Effective at the open of business on July 27, 2018, the Fund is no longer open to new investors. Shareholders who opened and funded an account with the Fund as of the open of business on this date (including accounts once funded that subsequently reached a zero balance) may continue to make additional purchases of Fund shares, including purchases by an existing retirement plan that has a plan-level or omnibus account with the Transfer Agent or other omnibus accounts relating to new or existing participants seeking to invest in the Fund. Effective July 27, 2018, any applicable contingent deferred sales charges will be waived on redemptions and exchanges out of the Fund.
Under the terms of the Plan, it is anticipated that the Fund will be liquidated on or about September 7, 2018 (the Liquidation Date) at which time the Fund's shareholders will receive a liquidating distribution in an amount equal to the net asset value of their Fund shares. For federal income tax purposes, the liquidation of the Fund will be treated as a redemption of Fund shares and may cause shareholders to recognize a gain or loss and pay taxes if the liquidated shares are held in a taxable account. You should consult with your own tax advisor about the particular tax consequences to you of the Fund’s liquidation. Shareholders of the Fund may redeem their investments in the Fund or exchange their Fund shares for shares of another Columbia Fund at any time prior to the Liquidation Date. If the Fund has not received your redemption request or other instructions prior to the Liquidation Date, your shares will be automatically liquidated on the Liquidation Date.
As of the close of business on the business day preceding the Liquidation Date, the Fund will not accept any orders for the purchase of or exchange for shares of the Fund. Orders for the purchase of or exchange for shares of the Fund may, in the Fund’s discretion, be rejected prior to the Liquidation Date, including for operational reasons relating to the anticipated liquidation of the Fund.
During the period prior to the Liquidation Date, the Fund’s investment manager, Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC (the Investment Manager), may depart from the Fund’s stated investment objectives and strategies to reduce the amount of portfolio securities and hold more cash or cash equivalents to liquidate the Fund’s assets in an orderly manner that the Investment Manager believes to be in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders. Shareholders remaining in the Fund may bear increased transaction fees incurred in connection with the disposition of the Fund’s portfolio holdings. Such transaction costs would reduce distributable net capital gains.
The Fund will pay out all distributable net income and net capital gains prior to the Liquidation Date. Shareholders will receive liquidation proceeds as soon as practicable after the Liquidation Date.
Shareholders should retain this Supplement for future reference.

FYI: U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as gains in technology, consumer discretionary stocks and General Electric (GE.N) helped Wall Street recover from a sharp sell-off a day earlier on spiraling global trade tensions.
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-25/asia-stocks-to-extend-global-slide-dollar-dips-markets-wrap
Reuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-street-rebounds-from-selloff-on-trade-worries-idUSKBN1JM1CO
MarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-industrials-set-to-take-a-breather-after-their-300-point-tumble-2018-06-26/print
IBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/major-stock-averages-rebound/
CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/25/us-stock-futures-trade-keeps-investors-on-edge-data-in-focus.html
Bonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/25/bonds-and-fixed-income-trade-tumult-remains-a-hot-topic.html
Currencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/26/forex-dollaryen-in-spotlight-as-us-escalates-global-trade-fight.html
Oil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/26/oil-surges-after-state-dept-orders-buyers-to-cut-iranian-imports.html
Gold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/26/gold-markets-dollar-in-focus-as-trade-dispute-intensifies.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

FYI: In the spring of 2013, PIMCO Total Return (PTTRX) was the world's largest mutual fund. Its fortunes were about to change, and then some. That May, the fund suffered the first of what would become 51 straight months of net outflows. PIMCO Total Return now ranks 28th in assets. It is not even the company's biggest offering, having been overtaken by PIMCO Income (PIMIX).
Regards,
Ted
https://www.morningstar.com/articles/870740/5-years-later-pimco-total-return.html

FYI: Average on Tuesday, many participants in its 401(k) retirement plan were likely in shock. Over one-third of the plan’s assets have been invested in the shares of General Electric, as shown by the company’s federal filings. Its share price has fallen by 60% since the end of 2016, as the S&P 500 has risen by over 25%.
Similarly, participants in the 401(k) retirement plan at Scana—a natural gas company in Georgia—have suffered heavy losses from inadequate diversification. Over 60% of the plan’s assets were invested in Scana stock, as shown by the company’s federal filings. Its share price fell by nearly 50% since the end of 2016.
As these examples illustrate, holding a large portion of your retirement assets in your employer’s stock is dangerous for your financial health. Such a large concentration undermines the risk-reducing benefits of a diversified securities portfolio. Indeed, a large holding in employer stock doubles your risk: If your company runs into major problems, you may lose your job and your retirement security.
Regards,
Ted
http://fortune.com/2018/06/20/general-electric-dow-jones-401k-retirement/

I’m using the following options for cash.
- Money market funds yielding 1.25-1.5%
- CD ladder with individual issues maturing about every three months and overall yield about 2%
- Stable value fund in 401k currently yielding about 2%

Hi crash... I gave Penfed... Very reason ble credit card and good ratecar/mortgage loans to borrow from fwiw

I received a maturity notice from PenFed yesterday. They emphasized their new early withdrawal penalty:

The penalty in the first year is all the dividends owed. Thereafter, the penalty will equal 30% of what would have been earned if the Certificate had reached maturity, not to exceed total dividends earned."

If I understand this right, the penalty for a 5 yr certificate if I withdraw at the end of year 1, 2, 3, or 4 is 100.00%, 78.47%, 51.53%, or 38.07% of the interest earned thus far.

Sometimes, management can't get a clear focus on the proper path; or the battles with others and their pathways.
IBM seems to remain stuck, IMHO. WATSON super computer was quite the introduction for such a device in the A.I. world.
Apparently, something fully related to the "human" aspect of IBM remains to get in the way.
---I suggest they program WATSON with at least 5 scenarios and let it decide the pathway for the company.
What greater demonstration of the company's insight and future value, than this.
https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/robotics/artificial-intelligence/layoffs-at-watson-health-reveal-ibms-problem-with-ai
Disclosure: no direct investments in IBM at this house

-- June 25, Monday 10pm
-China related equity getting the big slap again (their opening markets).
-Global overall still holding the barf bag and filling same.
-U.S. equity closes today find utils/telecom/con. staples positive, a very short list.
-The big winners for the past few years are naturally taking the hits...tech.; health along with large cap growth in general. Y'all knew getting d'FANGED would affect many areas, yes?
-Real estate a bit negative, too
***In particular, with a view towards the above is that U.S. Treasury issues, 10 and 30 year are not getting much positive action.
So, we don't have a scared to death market yet, eh?
Profit taking only. If so, where is the rotation moving towards?
Too many questions still without a good guideline.
Feel free to add to the list, either negative or positive.
Good night.
Catch

Re “... did the article make a clear connection with Trump?”
Here’s the entire (unedited) third paragraph:
“Parnassus can thank Trump for the money gusher. A backlash against the President’s policies on the environment and other issues has helped to fuel a surge of money into funds such as Endeavor, which invest according to environmental, social, and governance principles. Indeed, the month after Trump was elected, net inflows into ESG mutual funds and exchange-traded funds soared nearly tenfold to $2.5 billion, compared with the prior month.”

Amex bumped from 1.65 to 1.75.
By the way, Prestige CU in Dallas has a 3% Checking Account IFF...
...Direct Deposit >$400 per month
...15 transactions per month
You can collect 3% on balances upto $15,000. I did this once with another bank that merged away couple of years back. Was getting 2.0%. Seemed too much of a pain. But, if you have the time...
http://prestigecu.org

Re: the article, I don't have access, but the message is clear from the summary. However, anyone can argue any fund or other investment is somehow unworthy by cherrypicking the period by which it's judged. Too bad for this article's particular argument, PARWX is top 1-2% for 1m, 3y, 5y, and 10y. Yes, it's lumpy, but longer term, it's one of the very best.

@AndyJ - Not sure you got the gist of the argument from that incomplete summary John provided. Won’t give the greedy buzzards @Barron's my email address (because they’d saturate it with promotions - and probably want my cc number as well). So can’t access the article online. I do, however, receive the paper edition.
The article focuses on increased flows into ESG funds (like PARWX) which invest “according to environmental, social, and governance principals.” In effect, Trump’s anti-environmental policies have awakened a “sleeping giant”. Environmentally conscientious Americans, alarmed by Trump’s environmentally harmful policies, have been investing heavily in environmentally friendly funds as a means of protest against his policies. And they’re doing so inspite of those funds’ lackluster performance. (Now, that’s principle.)
This is most interesting. I liken it to the increased subscription levels at the NYT, WP and other fact-based news outlets since Trump’s election (using the term loosely). It’s doubtful @JohnN fully understands the article either. (But he seems like an otherwise “good guy”.) :)

I've found an AT&T (T) make whole note, coupon 6.5%, maturing 3/15/29, with an asking YTW of 4.991%. (Other maturity bonds are also available; longer ones with higher yields and shorter ones with lower yields.) CUSIP 001957AW9.
On the page you cited is a link to a Bloomberg article from ten days ago:
AT&T Cut by Moody's as Time Warner Deal Adds Billions of Debt

The purchase made the company the most indebted in the U.S., excluding financial companies. AT&T’s debt load will force it to refinance large amounts of debt every year, "making the company beholden to the health of the capital markets," Moody’s said as it lowered the company’s unsecured debt rating one level to Baa2, two levels above speculative grade.

IMHO it's reasonable to hold a ten year corporate bond like this as part of one's diversified bond portfolio. Good cash flow (especially since it's a premium bond). So it does what a bond is supposed to do. Whether it's a good vehicle in which to hold cash is less clear. I suppose that depends on what one's requirements are for cash.

I am sure T is safe, but I recently saw in one of my Fido accounts a deposit of $87 or something, which it turned out upon examination was the final payout of a Lehman $10k bond I had bought maybe 15y (?) ago for my wife --- for safety to balance her riskier equity holdings. Have looked at bonds differently ever since 9/08.

Att corp yields 5% previously.
http://bonds1.net/rates/corp-bond/t-att-inc-corporate-bond-yields-rates-new-issues-quotes-news/
Just hold until matures... No fees.. Minimal worries. #1 wireless company in world...

The yields of all of the securities mentioned in the column, SPAXX (1.49%), SHY (1.16%), MINT (1.75%), FLOT (1.66%), FLRN (1.77%), and BSV (1.75%) are in the same ballpark as various online banks including Synchrony (1.75%) and Marcus by Goldman Sachs (1.80%).
Why squirrel cash away in any of these securities that (except for SPAXX) have fluctuating values, potential trading costs or holding periods, and the risk of losing value in a rising interest rate environment? Not to mention the absence of government guarantees.
If one is willing to give up a small amount of liquidity, there's currently a 1 month zero T-bill auction with an expected yield of 1.82%. If you're in a high tax (say, 10%) state, that's equivalent to over 2% interest.
When investing in bonds/bond funds, I draw a distinction between bond allocations and cash allocations. For cash, I want my holdings to be very stable, never lose money (over, say, any three month period), and at worst return not much less than "true" cash annually.
A few issues with the SeekingAlpha data:

• it shows the price of SPAXX as $1.50, up a penny (mouse over the ticker). This is a MMF.
• the column, dated 6/22, reports SPAXX's yield at 1.49%. Fidelity (6/25) shows it at 1.39%. MMF yields don't typically fluctuate 10 basis points daily.
• the bar graph titled "Annual Returns of Portfolio Assets", above the label 2018 is showing not annual (or annualized) returns for 2018 but YTD figures.

>> the yield curve is not inverted
Or is it?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/25/business/what-is-yield-curve-recession-prediction.html

Hi Catch
He still has stocks heavily invested mostly technology/NASDAQ stuff/sp500 and indexes. He has not sell them yet. Although he has new money coming in and holding in cash waiting for crash to buy more real estates so he can rent the houses out. Cali in Bay areas homes now goes up ~ 900 dollars/day I think, it still a very hot market and he think it maybe best place to invest short/long term once the crash happen. He does not know but real estate crash happens every 10-17 yrs, last one was late 2007, and previous one in Cali was in early 1990s until the tech/dot.com boom
so we maybe due for another one soon 12-36 months?! dont really know