@Starchild: what LewisBraham said! No need to pay 1%. That advisor will not like it if you pull out, but you are correct: that 1% adds up! Steel yourself toward his reaction, and get out from under that 1% arrangement. Do your own homework. You can do this yourself, as long as you don't do anything radical and "screw the pooch."
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=screw the pooch
You've told us that you can let this money work for you for a long time. So a long-term view of things will be appropriate. Don't let day-to-day ups and downs concern you. Most of your stuff ought to be in well-performing stock funds, and if you want to do it, a smaller portion in bonds. Be aware that bonds are facing headwinds, but it's not the end of the world. All this stuff is cyclical. If you want to "set it and forget it," buy into a "balanced" fund which holds both stocks AND bonds. But they all hold a different AMOUNT of each. No two are the same. I'm most familiar with T Rowe Price, so I'd have you look at RPBAX. But there are dozens and dozens of others, too. RPBAX includes some offshore holdings, too. That's another piece worth thinking about. But don't go "whole hog" into foreign stuff.... I found that it's very helpful simply to get familiar with a lot of the professional financial jargon. ("What do you MEAN, 5 basis points???" Why don't you just say, 5 percent?!) A link: Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/
A basic book for you:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Intelligent_Investor
Graham taught Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, by the way.

@Starchild PONAX has been a strong performer, but it normally carries a 3.75% load/commission to make purchases and has a higher expense ratio 0.90% than other share classes of the same mutual fund. So at the least I would recommend buying a different share class if you can get it--PIMIX if the transaction cost is low. At TD Ameritrade you can also buy PIINX--the administrative share class--without paying a transaction fee and with a $0 minimum investment-- and a lower expense ratio of 0.75% as opposed to 0.90% for PONAX. PIMIX has the lowest expense ratio of 0.50% of the three but the transaction fee as it usually isn't on NTF platforms can be high, so if you buy that it is better to buy one big chunk all at once and not to be buying small amounts over time so you only pay one transaction fee.
Regarding diversification, PONAX/PIMIX/PIINX is pretty well diversified so I'm not sure you need much else if you like this fund. But some diversification that might be worthwhile are a small amount in a floating rate fund such as SAMBX or a small amount of an international bond fund with some emerging market exposure. Bear in mind that interest rates are rising so some argue that bonds in general are unattractive right now as bonds tend to move inversely with rates. That's why a higher quality floating rate fund might be worthwhile as its yields rise with rates. That said, there is increased credit risk with such funds that could be punishing if we enter a recession. Another alternative that could be safer than PONAX or floating rate funds is a short-term corporate bond fund as short-term funds are less sensitive to rising rates than long. Hope this helps.

Thanks Lewis! Unfortunately, those classes are unavailable at either bank (SAMBX as well), although PIMIX is used under the managed account. I could ask the manager if it can be changed, but then he would haunt be to make it a managed account, which he's been doing. In fact, that's another topic I'm curious about, and might search here, using the financial advisor. He's managing the smaller account, but charges 1%. That can add up.

From Prospectus: RPGAX
“The fund’s investments in alternative investments may include unregistered hedge funds or other private or registered investment companies. ... ”
“... A hedge fund is considered an illiquid asset by the fund, is not subject to the same regulatory requirements as mutual funds and other investment companies, and could underperform comparable hedge funds with similar alternative strategies. Hedge funds are not required to provide periodic pricing or valuation information to investors, and often engage in leveraging, short-selling, commodities investing and other speculative investment practices that are not fully disclosed and may increase the risk of investment loss. Their underlying holdings are not as transparent to investors or typically as diversified as those of traditional mutual funds, and an investor’s (i.e., the fund’s) redemption rights are typically limited. All of these factors make the fund’s investments in alternative investments and hedge funds more difficult to value and monitor when compared to more traditional investments, and may increase the fund’s liquidity risks.”. http://quote.morningstar.com/fund-filing/Prospectus/2018/3/1/t.aspx?t=RPGAX&ft=485BPOS&d=e356b3ef2f165906373d32ffc4cf44ef
From Yahoo: T. Rowe Price Global Allocation (RPGAX)
Top 10 Holdings (34.03% of Total Assets)
Blackstone Hedge Fund Solutions 9.62%
Reserve Invt Fds 6.47%
T. Rowe Price Instl Emerging Mkts Bond TREBX 3.88%
T. Rowe Price Emerg Mkts Lcl Ccy Bd PRELX 3.10%
TRP DYNAMIC GLOBAL BOND FD-I 2.78%
T. Rowe Price Instl Intl Bond RPIIX 2.57%
T. Rowe Price Instl Floating Rate RPIFX 2.02%
T. Rowe Price Instl High Yield TRHYX 1.63%
Microsoft Corp MSFT 1.09%
Amazon.com Inc AMZN 0.87%
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/RPGAX/holdings/
Morningstar also lists the fund as having 9.62% invested in Blackstone Hedge Fund Solutions. http://portfolios.morningstar.com/fund/holdings?t=RPGAX®ion=usa&culture=fr-CA
“Blackstone Hedge Fund Solutions” appears to be a client tailored hedge fund of hedge funds operated by Blackstone. From Blackstone’s Website:
“Our Hedge Fund Solutions group, Blackstone Alternative Asset Management (BAAM®), is the world’s largest discretionary investor in hedge funds. With approximately $75 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2017, BAAM aims to provide its clients with investment solutions via various different means, including customized and commingled portfolios, special situations, seeding, GP ownership, and registered products. Our investors include many of the world’s leading institutional investors, including corporate, public and union pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and central banks. ... BAAM’s overall investment philosophy is to protect and grow investors’ assets through both commingled and custom-tailored investment strategies designed to deliver compelling risk-adjusted returns and mitigate risk. Approximately half of the assets we manage are invested in customized vehicles created to meet client-specific objectives.”
A “Sorry - Page Not Found” message may appear when you click following link. There is another link on the page (Hedge fund Solutions) that should take you to the material. https://www.blackstone.com/the-firm/asset-management/hedge-fund-solutions-(baam)
I couldn’t find the Blackstone hedge fund listed in RPGAX’s last Annual Report (October, 2017). https://individual.troweprice.com/gcFiles/pdf/argaf.pdf I suspect that perhaps the SEC requires the report to separate out the individual securities (stocks and bonds) from the hedge fund and list each as if it were held individually by the fund. The report does, however, list a near 10% weighting in “alternative investments” - which likely reflects the Blackstone holding. (Short positions are hard to sort-out anyway - usually reflected in cash, bonds or liabilities - a bit over my head).
My Take Aways:
- With over 150 funds now under the T. Rowe Price umbrella, it’s become increasingly difficult to make fine distinctions among them. If you like the house you’ll probably do well over the longer term (10+ years ) with just about any of their equity or allocation funds.
- RPGAX is a “twist” on the conventional 60/40 “Balanced” Fund. By keeping equities pegged at 60% and dropping its bond allocation to 30%, the fund has a 10% “window” open to invest in alternatives. Since it costs a lot more to invest in alternative strategies (ie hedge funds) than bonds, doing so is a bet that over the next market cycle bonds aren’t going to perform as well as they have in the past. That thinking (whether you agree with it or not) ties in with a conundrum Ed Studzinski highlighted in a MFO commentary at least two years ago. Roughly paraphrased (and grossly oversimplified): Bonds as part of a “balanced” strategy no longer offer the degree of downside protection they once did.
- One ingredient of hedge funds usually lacking in conventional mutual funds is the ability to sell short. TMSRX, for example, can short both equities and bonds. (In going both long and short they are, in effect, “hedging” their bets.) It’s proven a difficult tactic for mutual funds over the years. One demon is the higher cost of so doing. Further, the strategy’s very dependent on the manager’s ability to make correct calls - much more so than with long-only funds. A third problem is that these strategies typically fail to keep pace with “the market” - since they’re structured to “zig” when the broader markets “zag”. As a consequence, they tend to suffer large outflows from investors at precisely the wrong times.

Currently, new issue zero coupon T-bills are expected to yield 1.69% for three months, 1.85% for six month. That's within a few basis points of what banks are offering. It may be worth giving up a few months liquidity, especially in states with high income taxes. T-bills are state tax-exempt. That adds about 0.09% to their effective yield if you're in a 5% tax state, and 0.19% or more if you're in a state like California.
For anyone obsessed about an impending financial apocalypse (though if you are, why are you trusting government dollars?), note that T-bills are backed by the full faith and credit of the US government. Bank accounts are "only" insured by the FDIC, which carries just the "sense of Congress" that it's backed the full faith and credit of the government. And a bank's more likely to fail than the US government, even if it is insured.
Ease of purchase may be a tossup. Brokerages may sell new issue T-bills with no fee, though you still have to place the order. (They may offer a service to automatically roll over the T-bill, similar to banks rolling over CDs.) Accessing cash in an online savings account requires you to click on a few buttons as well to transfer the cash to your checking account. But you could wind up chasing rates from bank to bank to maintain competitive returns.
These days, prime MMF yields at places like Vanguard and Fidelity are also in the same ballpark. The plus is a bit more convenience, especially at Fidelity. There, if you need more cash (for withdrawals or transactions) than you have in your "core" account, Fidelity automatically taps your prime MMF. You don't have to manually transfer the money out (though you do have to manually transfer money in). The minus is no insurance, and potential freezes/redemption fees if their liquidity level drops too low.
Online banks are finally getting competition, though obviously not from TBTF banks.

@Starchild PONAX has been a strong performer, but it normally carries a 3.75% load/commission to make purchases and has a higher expense ratio 0.90% than other share classes of the same mutual fund. So at the least I would recommend buying a different share class if you can get it--PIMIX if the transaction cost is low. At TD Ameritrade you can also buy PIINX--the administrative share class--without paying a transaction fee and with a $0 minimum investment-- and a lower expense ratio of 0.75% as opposed to 0.90% for PONAX. PIMIX has the lowest expense ratio of 0.50% of the three but the transaction fee as it usually isn't on NTF platforms can be high, so if you buy that it is better to buy one big chunk all at once and not to be buying small amounts over time so you only pay one transaction fee.
Regarding diversification, PONAX/PIMIX/PIINX is pretty well diversified so I'm not sure you need much else if you like this fund. But some diversification that might be worthwhile are a small amount in a floating rate fund such as SAMBX or a small amount of an international bond fund with some emerging market exposure. Bear in mind that interest rates are rising so some argue that bonds in general are unattractive right now as bonds tend to move inversely with rates. That's why a higher quality floating rate fund might be worthwhile as its yields rise with rates. That said, there is increased credit risk with such funds that could be punishing if we enter a recession. Another alternative that could be safer than PONAX or floating rate funds is a high credit quality short-term corporate bond fund as short-term funds are less sensitive to rising rates than long. Hope this helps.

A-ha! Not that I don't trust TRP. And I see, looking further, that the fund pays (with its bond holdings in mind) only in December. And the December pay-out last year was just .2150 cents/share. I think I'll continue to grow my SFGIX, then. Trying to REDUCE the number of funds I own, anyhow. Can't reduce TOO much, though. Seems like that would not be prudent. I could do the budgeting, but it's easier when a fund pays me MONTHLY and does the work FOR me.
...But now, here's another question: with the idea of harvesting more monthly income (needed beginning in about a year and a half,) how much of my PRWCX should I move into any of these 3?
PRSNX (owned currently)
PREMX (owned currently)
or start a new holding in RPIHX or TUHYX?
(I only just this past week opened a tiny position for $3,500 in PTIAX. I will be growing that. But I'm not happy to learn that PTAM doesn't have the capacity on their website to let a customer log-in to see their account. Gotta call and either use their automated system, or talk to a rep.)
Yes, I could go elsewhere, but to simplify, I'd prefer to go with TRP, where most of my $$$ sits, already. And by the way, PRWCX is 35.46% of my total right now. I don't think I will EVER totally close it out. Solid fund.

FYI: (This is a follow-up to Lewis Braham's, 2/10/18, Barron's article .)
Mutual fund manager LJM Partners was riding high in June when it won a big accolade: In front of 200 peers at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago, a top LJM executive accepted a Pinnacle Award, one of the highest honors in the derivatives industry, for best options strategy.
The glory was short-lived. Last month, LJM took center stage again when a phalanx of lawyers arrived at the federal courthouse in Chicago representing clients seeking amends for millions of dollars in losses at the fund
Regards,
Ted
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180406/ISSUE01/180409959/how-the-wrong-bet-on-market-volatility-annihilated-this-mutual-fund

OK. Thanks for the words, obviously informed statements. I just never heard of a mutual fund doing such a thing: investing in a hedge fund. And perhaps right now is not the time? It's a global fund, and there's a ton of political feces going around about now. I would be diversifying away from holding so very much in PRWCX. It's 35% of my stuff. And when I look at performance numbers between the two, I could do nothing at all and come out better off. I can build some cash. Which I've neglected to do for all these years, and eventually put THAT into RPGAX. I would do RPGAX as a regular investment account. In a couple of years, I'm going to stop re-investing everything, and take profits, whether dividends or cap. gains, for current income. Wife will continue to work, at age 45. And it will happen somewhere other than here. AMEN. Thanks, guys.

My Fidelity rep executed the order for $15,000 with no transaction fee.

IMHO Maurice has the right facts, but in the reverse order. What is important is that hedge funds are less regulated by federal and state authorities. In exchange for less oversight (including fewer disclosure requirements), hedge funds are generally allowed only to be sold to accredited investors (or a few sophisticated investors under Rule 506). That includes money managers like T. Rowe Price, so the fact that not everyone walking in off the street can buy a hedge fund shouldn't be a major concern.
https://www.accreditedinvestorleads.com/accredited-vs-sophisticated/
The idea is that these knowledgeable investors are capable of doing their own research in a "buyer beware" market, so they need less regulatory protection. The premise that an accredited investor with $1M in assets is automatically knowledgeable is debatable, but not germane here.
What matters is that T. Rowe Price is truly a knowledgeable investor, fully capable of doing the research necessary to feel comfortable with its investments. TRP markets itself as an investment firm that relies heavily on research. Unlike Janus that used to make the same claim, I believe TRP. So personally I would worry too much about it being taken for a ride.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/poor-janus-investors/

Fascinating to watch how value comparatively fails from 15y on it, by year, when you do $10k-growth graphing.
If you do that, be sure to include RPG and RPV (can't start 15y ago), to assess how 'large-capness' is key.
Growth has really taken off the last couple years.
For the last 5.5y it was interesting (for me) to see how CAPE differs from LCV, when it does.

@MFO Members: As they say the proof is in the pudding.
Regards,
Ted
iShares S&P 500 Growth: (IVW)
YTD. 2.37
1yr. 21.57
3yr 12.27
5yr. 14.98
10yr. 11.04
15yr. 10.20
iShares S&P Value: (IVE)
YTD. -(3.02)
1yr. 10.08
3yr. 7.98
5yr. 10.57
10yr. 7.35
15yr. 9.20
10yr. Treasury:
2003: 0.39
2004: 4.49
2005: 2.87
2006: 1.96
2007: 10.21
2008: 20.10
2009: -(11.12)
2010: 8.46
2011: 16.04
2012: 2.97
2013: -(.90)
2014: 10.95
2015: 1.28
2016: .69
2017: 2.80

I was able to buy SIVLX from Fidelity.

You must have plonked down $25000 and/or paid transaction fee?

Hi @Catch22,
I have no wrap fee based accounts.
All of my brokerage accounts are of the old school type. However, the firm that I am currently invested with does offer an advisor fee managed account platform. After hearing their presentation I chose not to invested in it. After my study and research the old school account type, for me, was the less expensive. So, I passed on the fee based managed money platform as it was presented. Later, the borker did call and advise he had received authority to discount the fee. Again, asked if I might be interested. I, again, passed.
I'm finding that the average investment advisors of today are more of a sales person who's task it is to gather assets for the firm's managed account fee program(s). They are not the old school knowledgeable advisor. Recently, I asked one of these new school advisors that knocked on my door a few questions to qualify them to continue our conversation. These were simple questions most knowledgeable investors and advisors would have known the answers to. One of these questions was what is the TTM P/E Ratio for the 500 Index? Their answer given was for the forward estimated P/E Ratio. After, showing him through my smart phone linking into Asvisor Perspectives I showed him what the TTM was. And, also linking to the WSJ I again showed this young man what both the TTM Ratio and F/E Ratio was. Since, he failed to answer correctly, I asked him to move along.
I'm thinking I'd go the Index route to investing before I'd start paying managed account wrap fees with new money put to work. I'll continue to pay the commission if I can't do a nav transfer or simply park the money in cash as I've got plenty of capital at work in the markets as it is.
Investing for me is entertaining and one of the ways I use to pass time now that I am in retirement. And, from time-to-time, I'll contract to work an assignement.

Hello,
Last week Old_Skeet's market barometer finished the week with a reading of 161 indicating that the S&P 500 Index was oversold based upon the barometer's metrics. This week the barometer closed the week with a reading of 155 indicating that the Index has now moved to an undervalue reading.
Although, I closed out my spiffs a couple of weeks ago I move some spiff sell proceed money into my emerging market fund (NEWFX) last week; and, this week I added to my commodity strategy fund (PCLAX) which gained better than 5% this past week.
Years back I was more of a momentum strategy investor and have migrated more towards a modern portfolio theory investor. My portfolio returns were much higher under momentum strategies than they have been under modern portfolio theory. With this, I am moving some money back into momentum strategies although I never did completely leave momentum. PCLAX is a momentum position within my portfolio. This week, I may continue with momentum and put some money to work in my small/mid cap sleeve or I may continue to build my commodity position should it maintain it's upward move.
Wishing all ... "Good Investing."
Old_Skeet

Speaking of having faith, I also purchased a TMSRX for my in-laws. Now before someone calls me reckless, here's the allocation, but i will be increasing it to 33% invested. It's really just my MIL now, FIL passed away, and she is 80+
% Fund
-----------------------------------------------------
77.98 T. Rowe Price Government Money Market
5.22 T. Rowe Price Global Allocation
4.34 T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation
4.21 T. Rowe Price Ltd Duration Inflation-Protected Bond
2.10 T. Rowe Price Health Sciences
2.08 T. Rowe Price Multi-Strategy Total Return
2.05 T. Rowe Price Floating Rate
2.02 T. Rowe Price Emerging Mkts Value
And FWIW I moved half of my VWELX to its Global sibling in our taxable accounts a few days back.

@davidmoran
Thanks for the information, David! I had not known of these two.
At first glance at DSENX, when I saw SWAPs, Shorts, etc. as their top investments, that deterred me. I've been trying NOT to learn about those (or Options, etc.) as more time in my life is already spent glued to the computer than I want. BUT, Doubleline is certainly reputable so I checked further. AND I only had one investment in that Large Value M* category I keep track of that also was not in the red YTD (LRGF). Both also good longer returns, but LRGF lost less during down periods, while gaining more during better periods. On the other hand, DSENX 'Worst 3 Months' (-6.48% Aug to Oct 2015) and 'Best 3 months' (+10.33% Jan-Mar 2018) were EXACTLY the right comparison amounts I was looking for my "minimal gains but good enough and safer category" - and very similar to LRGF. So I'll add DSENX to my 'Watch' list and then check DLEUX. Thanks again for taking the time. Cathy

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/313212/000031321218000042/idfpta-march11.htm
Excerpt:
"Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Effective at the close of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, April 2, 2018, the fund will be closed to new investors and new accounts, subject to certain exceptions. Investors who already hold shares of the fund at the close of business on Monday, April 2, 2018, will be permitted to continue to purchase additional shares."
Closing was listed in 3/1/18 summary prospectus
http://www.morningstar.com/news/pr-news-wire/PRNews_20180402PH54574/t-rowe-price-closes-international-discovery-fund-to-new-investors.html

If you have the desire, you may choose to use your Google account and set a Google Alert for whatever wording you choose, for an interest for a particular topic.
I have had an alert set for " CHINA Belt and Road Initiative " for about a year. The average auto search for this wording returns about 10 alerts to our email inbox per business day.
The redundant rate varies, but usually about 40% of the linked story/article are repeats from the same news source or other news sources that are using the same report.
One may delete these alerts as desired through your Google account.
We have about 35 names or topics currently set. Some are so obscure, that the name or topic may only present an alert every 6 months, or as with the current " CHINA Belt and Road Initiative "; perhaps 10-12/business day.
At times, some alert words provide an interesting view of what is being written about being more popular or of current thought versus another time frame.
Example: I set these words for an alert in 2010....... " deflation investments " . We used to receive at least 5/day; and now may receive an alert link for these words 1 time a month.
An example(s) for a particular interest relative to the investor is to set DSENX or PONAX as the "work" or.......well, you get the idea. Any time one of these tickers is noted in an article/story, etc.; your email inbox will receive an email containing one or more clickable links to transport your browser to the story. Keep or delete the email, or view one of the links and then delete the Google generated email.
Regards,
Catch