she has it w/ her 401k previously already set up by her employer, just added/redistributed FFVFX. she has bunch of private stocks that we sold before

I went to a talk by the managers of MWTRX (20 years ago?) before MetWest was acquired by TCW. One of the audience questions was how they would compare themselves with PTTRX. They said that PIMCO funds (and PTTRX in particular) were so large that PIMCO had to manage their funds top down (macro calls), while at MetWest they focused on issue selection.
(Since MetWest was acquired by TCW and their funds have grown so large, I suspect they also no longer have the ability to significantly benefit from astute issue selection.)
This is not necessarily a bad thing; it's just a different approach. But like any high conviction approach, it is subject to periodic bad calls (in hindsight). It comes with the territory. One should understand this and not let rapid losses take one by surprise. (This is a reason why I prefer not to ignore "upside risk" - it can be indicative of future downside risk.)
Over at Templeton, Hasenstab is known for managing this way. So it should not come as a surprise that he too got caught by the drop in the Argentina peso.
https://mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/52009/hasenstab-loses-1-8bn-in-single-day-as-big-bet-blows-up-femgx-tpinx
His Templeton funds are quite different from PIMCO's funds, so I'm not saying they're directly comparable. Still, I find Hasenstab's funds to be more transparent (notably with respect to currency exposure), making it easier to figure out what happened.
Regarding ERs: PIMIX's actual ER last year was 1.05%. That's from the annual report, dated 3/31/2019. Interest expenses stated in a prospectus (which is what all the figures before this post are quoting) are forward looking guesses, usually based on last year's actual expenses. We won't know what PIMIX is actually spending on interest now until it completes a reporting period.
To conclude with another knock on M*'s new format - M* used to give both ER figures (prospectus and annual report), but now doesn't seem to give the actual (annual report) figure. Giving both numbers had caused much confusion, but IMHO omitting data is not the right "solution".

Sold out of most mama's fidelity equities positions at openings . Will Add more Fbnd and fidelity2015 TDF

The fund companies finally realized that one size does not fit all, so they've got multiple series of TDFs.
Would your Fidelity 2015 fund be:
FFVFX (Freedom® 2015), that "Seeks high total return until its target retirement date. Thereafter, the fund's objective will be to seek high current income and, as a secondary objective, capital appreciation"?
Or FLIFX (Freedom® Index 2015), that "Seeks high total return until its target retirement date. Thereafter, the fund's objective will be to seek high current income and, as a secondary objective, capital appreciation"?
Or FIRUX (Simplicity RMD 2015), that "seeks total return until its horizon date through a combination of current income and capital growth. Thereafter, the fund's objective will be to seek high current income and, as a secondary objective, capital appreciation"?

msf's reported ER is corrected (per PIMCO prospects 7/31/19). It is more than double the ER from a year ago.
Look like PIMCO missed several marco calls this year and the fund is lagging its peers. When the asset is so large it is very difficult to make changes quickly without affect other bond prices.

Thanks MikeW and Junkster. Steady as she goes. I do think very highly of Tom Miner, the fund's principal. He's supported well by rest of staff at Garrison Point. I see the AUM has grown to $3B. (So much for closing soon.) I hope to visit them again in November and update the profile. I will be attending Litman Gregory's update on Alt Master's fund at that time. Will reach out to folks at Zeo as well. All three SF based. My bad has been a long delayed profile on Alambic ... an interesting small family of funds. Just been consumed with the Premium site, which I must say has never been better, especially now that we've transitioned to a new user portal and the WordPress framework ... and, I've become less of a hack in php, javascript, jQuery, ajax, json, html, etc. Just added some additional data to MultiSearch results table recommended by Sam Lee. Working now on risk and return at the rolled-up portfolio level ... that too long delayed. Also hope to create a "tight channel" screening criteria inspired by Junkster. At some point, will get back to profiling. (I can hear David sighing now.) Actually, I've struggled a bit with the role of reporting on funds (or strategies). Some strategies just require a long time to be validated, including the stock market itself. So, while we report on "good" funds and show 1, 3, 5 year performance ... that may simply not be enough time to judge, which I know is counter to Fund Alarm. (Oops, I can see David shaking his head!) Some rambling from Orcas this good August morning. c

M*'s write, IMHO; is full of fluff and touchy/feely words.
While RMD requirements would change (for the good), basically; the tax revenue raised by reducing the stretch period will subsidize the other programs.
So, taking from much of the middle class, NO; I'll change that to "working class" who have tried their best to save for retirement, and if the spouse(s) pass before using all of their tax sheltered account monies..............well, the children or whomever will get the tax whack. I'm not writing about the ultra wealthy, but the regular folks.
I questioned (shortly after the passing of the house version) our U.S. rep. about the nature of this transfer of wealth for the working class; but have not had a reply yet, and they are still on break.
Better overview of SECURE ACT.

FYI: Some of Vanguard’s funds appeared to lose as much as half their value on Monday—but the company says those losses were just pricing glitches that were quickly rectified.
The $56 billion Vanguard Wellesley Income fund (ticker: VWINX), which invests in large cap value stocks and investment-grade bonds, appeared to lose 56%, according to Vanguard’s website.
The $105 billion Vanguard Wellington fund (VWELX), which Vanguard says is its oldest mutual fund and the nation’s oldest balanced fund, appeared to lose 32%, the company’s website showed.
The $17 billion Vanguard Target Retirement Income fund (VTINX)—a product designed for people already in retirement—appeared to lose 45.6%, according to its website.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.barrons.com/articles/vanguard-pricing-glitch-causes-funds-to-appear-to-lose-half-their-value-51565663400?refsec=funds

FYI: As part of a set of retirement provisions in the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019, or SECURE Act, Congress would make it harder for heirs who inherit a tax-deferred retirement account (like a 401(k) or an IRA) to shelter the money from Uncle Sam. The set of provisions enjoys wide, bipartisan support, so it’s likely to pass sooner rather than later. These rule changes may at first seem like a big change, but taking a wider view, they probably won't have much of an impact.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.morningstar.com/articles/942416/the-end-of-favorable-tax-treatment-for-inherited-iras

Sold out of most mama's fidelity equities positions at openings . Will Add more Fbnd and fidelity2015 TDF

https://www.kiplinger.com/article/investing/T041-C007-S001-vanguard-dividend-growth-reopens-enter-vdigx.html
Vanguard Dividend Growth Reopens. Enter at Will.
Why you should consider investing in this terrific fund now.

@Charles has held this through thick and thin and that is the best way to play IOFIX - buy and hold. Anyone who hasn’t established a position it’s best to buy after a down day. Down days often occur a couple days before the second to last trading day of the month. Then again, if one hasn’t already had a position why now after its stellar returns since inception. I have been as high as 100% of my liquid net worth at various times the past couple years. As I detailed made the mistake of going from 89% to 55% recently and after today’s close back up to 67%. Will add more when I see a weak day or two. IOFIX seems correlated to absolutely nothing and why I call it the mystery fund. YTD everyone seems to be a bond genius and set for double digit annual returns in all sorts of bond categories so be wary of becoming a Johnny Come Lately.

+1. And that was a great role for him, too. Great film. Go straight in to 7:29 to catch the quote, above.

See my post above. I'm looking at the current (July 31, 2019) summary prospectus.
Vanguard is reporting the ER as of 6/10/2019, i.e. prior to the current prospectus. So its figure isn't current. It comes from last year's prospectus, dated July 30, 2018.
The only difference is that "Other Expenses" (interest expense) is stated to be 0.24%. This is going to vary year by year, as the fund borrows more or less, and as rates rise or fall.

That's why we nibble and build up positions over time!

I don't have to tell you guys, but the problem with buying the dip, is that you don't know how low it will go. Added to Wellington at beginning of the month, my normal purchasing time.

The guys here will tell ya. It really makes no difference with a long time horizon. What was the S&P at 10 years ago? 20?

PONAX was cream-of the-crop years ago, but hasn't been special for a couple. Every dog has its day. For the last couple years my only domestic bond fund is IOFAX, but I'm sure at some point that will change too. Nothing stays on top forever, hence the story for PONAX. Actually if only looking at net expense ratio, PONAX is a bargain compared to IOFAX.
Since most of my money is in a tax deferred IRA and 401k, yield comparisons mean little to nothing for me. All about total return.

Not selling anything, but I am tempted to, again, up my play in IAU (gold). Up over 18% since June 1st. I started playing in December and it didn't move a lot until summer. I'm guessing it has plenty of room in the next year to keep moving.
August is known for volatility. I just asked my crystal ball and it said "No" to the question, "is it time to panic". So, there you go :)

Nada. Month ago I stashed 100% of 2020 budget needs in cash - near the year’s highs. Worked well last year.
Otherwise, steady as it goes. If I was 10-15 years younger I’d be fire-walking / buying down with every 750-1000 point drop in the Dow. Too old for that kinda s*** any more.
Thanks to those who have / will respond. Interesting market. Bears watching. If this continues, there will be calls from many (including some in Congress) to fire Powell. Such is the environment we find ourselves these days. (And I’m trying very hard to steer clear of politics.)

@MFO Members: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway raises Amazon stake by 11% today.
REgards,
Ted
Source CNBC:

think I'm gonna buy some QQQ tomorrow on margin unless a big pop at the opening
krug just now:
One small note of nonpanic over bond yields: the 10-year has fallen in half, but it's still a bit higher than it was in much of 2016, when it didn't presage recession. The reason we have a yield curve inversion is that the Fed raised short-term rates.
That now looks like a clear mistake — partly bc the Fed misjudged the labor market, partly bc it gave too much credence to stimulus from tax cut. But I think this story makes the yield curve inversion less ominous than it might otherwise seem.
Put it this way: one story is that we've been in secular stagnation all along, and the only thing that really changed was a temporary bout of irrational exuberance at the Fed.

FYI:
Regards,
Ted
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2019/08/14/cashin-having-another-washout-after-yesterdays-false-rebound-rally.html?&qsearchterm=Art Cashin