Bee, I believe the less movable parts the better for a portfolio which is why I like 60/40 to 50/50 funds which balance it for us and make withdrawals easier. I have learned thru the years there are layers and dimensions of risk far beyond the day you buy any other alternative and your post hit on one of those. It seems investors are always confronted with a decision to make of some unpredictable origin if other strategies are adopted and each one of those decisions can be wrong which wipes out all the previous right decisions.

M* shows 46% in its top 5 holdings. Ya gets what ya pays for.

FYI: (Click On Article Title At Top Of Google Search)
The US public continues to vote decisively against traditional fund management, which attempts to manage equities actively, and beat broad benchmarks, in return for a fee. In the 12 months to the end of January, according to Morningstar, some $245bn flowed out of active funds while $408bn flowed into passive funds, which merely seek to match the returns of a benchmark and to minimise their fees. Once a niche category, passive funds now account for 32.5 per cent of US assets managed in mutual and exchange traded funds.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=active+fund+managers+find+their+voice+FT

I would like to hear from other retirees who have successfully navigate a portfolio's downside risk in retirement from the point of view of a safe withdrawal "method". In other words, along with a SWR (Safe Withdrawal Rate) there also needs to be guidance on managing a SWM (Safe Withdrawal Method). What part of the portfolio will serve as the vehicle for this safe withdrawal "rate" and when will that withdrawal happen. Cash seem to be a part of a retiree portfolio that might help with this.
@hank lamented as to the "when" with his comment,"We don't take a lot out, but have been traditionally taking the full year's distribution in January. Worked well up until this January. Got stung a little. In the future we'll stagger withdrawals over a full year." As a follow up question, what did you decide to redeem; stock, bonds, or cash?
Obviously redeeming and withdrawing shares of equities that have lost 50% of their value (due to market volatility) doesn't sound like a very safe withdrawal method, but holding cash (or a cash like investment) as the withdrawal vehicle would seem to help remove market volatility out of a portfolio withdrawal.
I have found that saving into market volatility (both up or down) isn't nearly as a emotional as spending down a portfolio's assets. Separating out a portion of one's portfolio into cash for emergencies or for future spending might be one way to calm the emotional side of the withdrawal.
Thanks for the thread @shipwreckedandalone...Additional thoughts?

@MFO Members: From 2012-YTD the S&P 500 Index has outperformed SEQEX. I agree with BobC, its time to move on.
Regards,
Ted

The rate is important, but living within ones means in retirement is even more important. I have said it many times before, and I say it again: Starting retirement with no mortgage and no burdensome credit card debt can be the most important goal of retirement planning. This alone can reduce spending by 30-50% and makes a huge impact on the withdrawal rate.

VRX dropped 51% today.

Didn't SEQUX go down 7.69% today, 3/15?

Looks like the fund went down by 15% today. At first, I thought they had sold Valeant but the quote from Morningstar was 3/14. When I saw the quote was old, I searched and found today's.

Asset Allocation RPHYX
Type %
Net %
Short %
Long Bench-
mark Cat
Avg
As of 02/29/2016
Cash 46.66 — 46.66 — 4.42
US Stock 0.00 — 0.00 — 1.33
Non US Stock 0.00 — 0.00 — 0.01
Bond 51.02 — 51.02 — 92.87
Other 2.32 — 2.32 — 1.36

Hi Carefree. If you didn't own SEQUX, would you buy it to fill that space? I always thought I would like to buy that fund if it ever opened up again, but I now feel like it is not the same fund it was 5-10 years ago. Trust in management and stewardship, a term borrowed from M* is not there for me, even though M* still ranks the fund gold for that aspect.
What's your gut say? For me. the best fund in the world is now in question. There are plenty of good funds to choose from.

For those who might like to listen in:
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
3p.m. ET
30-Minute Live Webcast Followed by Q&A
Current market fluctuations may have you concerned — particularly as you approach or are in retirement. T. Rowe Price can help you take steps to more confidently manage your investments despite market uncertainty.
Sign up here:
TRP event webcast

FYI: Morningstar manager research analysts upgraded the Morningstar Analyst Ratings of one fund and four target-date series in February, but downgraded 11 funds and three target-date series. We also initiated coverage on two funds and two target-date series. Some notable changes are highlighted here; a complete list can be found in the tables below.
Regards,
Ted
http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=745317

FYI: If you have so much as tiptoed into the arena of personal finance over the past few decades, you will have heard about the virtues of passive investing. The argument goes like this: the stock market will outperform other investments over the long term, yet no individual is in a position to outsmart the market as a whole. So the best way to reap the rewards of investing in stocks with minimal risk is to put your money in a fund that tracks the performance of some broad, indexed measure of the market, such as the S. & P. 500.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/is-passive-investment-actively-hurting-the-economy?mbid=rss
Cullen Roche: Passive Investing Isn't hurting The Economy
http://www.pragcap.com/passive-investing-isnt-hurting-the-economy/

Good evening all,
An interesting subject: "Cash Is Now A Sin."
Even though I think of myself as a good Christian according to this article I am a big sinner by holding such a sizeable cash position within my portfolio.
In review of a few recent Xray analysis the funds within my portfolio, which consists of forty seven, currently hold an average of 3% in cash which is down from the year ending analysis number of about 5% in cash back in December. My fixed income funds usually hold more cash than my equity funds.
As I entered 2016, combined, my portfolio was holding about 25% in cash. Now, my cash bubbles at about 22% due to the buys I made during the recent market selling stampede, scheduled retirement distributions plus the funds themselves are now holding less cash than they were at year end. My portfolio, on average, generates about 1.25% in cash (yield) per quarter on amount invested. With this, I could easily be close to a 23% cash allocation by the end of the first quarter.
I'll continue to hold the large cash allocation as I am thinking of selling some of my equities since the S&P 500 Index is currently selling at a TTM P/E Ratio of 23 according to the WSJ. With this, stocks are not currently cheap and are richly priced from my perspective using the Rule of Twenty. Since, I am above my target allocation (50%) to stocks, now at about 53%, soon might be a good time to pair back a few of my equity positions and rebalance as summer approaches.
I am thinking my sizeable cash allocation is a blessing and orginates from Biblical teaching. Besides, when I make harvest of my plantings, and book profits, the Lord gets his share.
Have a good evening,
Old_Skeet

FYI: Talk to some traders right now and you’ll hear the smartest ones talking about fading each edge of the range – the market-wide breakouts and breakdowns are all false.
Only amateurs are making high-conviction moves these days. They get bearish at SPX 1970 and bullish as we approach 2000. The market is chopping them up.
Regards,
Ted
http://thereformedbroker.com/2016/03/11/welcome-to-the-chop-shop/
When Do You Want Your Risk, Now Or Later?:
http://thereformedbroker.com/2016/03/10/when-do-you-want-your-risk-now-or-later/

Didn't we close at 2022 today? Hasn't oil rocketed ahead over 50% off its lows. Aren't junk bonds leading stocks and many after today's big move up in the 2.5% to 3% YTD range? I just love these so called professionals who talk down to the amateurs. I guess the difference between a professional and an amateur is the amount of capital involved? And as we saw earlier today, those huge sums of capital managed by the hedge funds have had dismal returns the past 7 years.

FYI: The hedge fund titan Larry Robbins did something out of character last year. He apologized to investors for losing their money and pledged to “right the ship as quickly as possible.” Then he solicited more money from them, raising $1 billion for a new fund and promised to waive the fees.
But he keeps on losing money.
:http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/11/business/dealbook/for-hedge-funds-start-of-2016-offers-little-relief-from-2015.html?_r=0
Regards,
Ted

Subscription Period
Vanguard Core Bond Fund is holding a subscription period from March 10, 2016,
through March 24, 2016. During this period, the Fund will invest in money
market instruments rather than seek to achieve its investment objective. This
strategy should allow the Fund to accumulate sufficient assets to better
construct a portfolio and is expected to reduce initial trading costs.
The Fund reserves the right to terminate or extend its subscription period prior
to March 24, 2016.
During the subscription period, you may invest in the Fund online (if you are
registered for online access), or you may contact Vanguard by telephone or by
mail to request this transaction. Please see the Investing With Vanguard
section of the Fund’s prospectus for more details about requesting transactions.
© 2016

e.r.= 0.25% (Investor Shares) or 0.15% (Admiral Shares)
Prospectus straightforward and unremarkable, as one would expect.....
https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=1320&FundIntExt=INT

FYI: Generally ignoring mixed economic news, equity investors continued to follow the lead of oil prices throughout the fund-flows week ended March 2, 2016.
Regards,
Ted
http://lipperalpha.financial.thomsonreuters.com/2016/03/55317/

FYI: Study finds the pattern persists over five and ten years.
Managers who bought international equities fared better.
Chalk up another victory for indexing.
Sixty-six percent of mutual-fund managers who buy large U.S. stocks underperformed the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index last year, according to a study by S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-09/most-u-s-stock-pickers-failed-to-beat-index-last-year-s-p-says
MarketWatch Slant:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-sp-500-beat-66-of-stock-pickers-last-year-2016-03-10/print
Click On SPVIA U.S. Year-End 2015
https://us.spindices.com/search/?query=spiva+u.s.+year-end+2015&Search=GO&Search=GO