Updated article:
Where to Invest $10,000 Right Now
https://bloomberg.com/features/2016-how-to-invest-10k/

I thought CEM, a closed end fund, would provide capital appreciation for me without the headache of the K-1 tax form. I could not have gone into the MLP market at a worse time, so my tale is cautionary. I'm a lousy timer and CEFs can exacerbate errors.

The headline quoted above is from todays WSJ. The question is one that I pose. We often worry about all manner of risk but now perhaps for the first time ever political risk outweighs them all. I fear that lack of adults in charge of our government pose the biggest risk to our wealth today. Please note that this is not a question of ideology but of good old fashion common sense. The folks in charge of our government have the ways and means to knock the whole house of cards down and perhaps would relish the collapse of the system. It might be more fragile than we assume. I am wondering if any here share my concern. TO REPEAT,,,, not Dems vs GOP,,,, just a question of not enough adults in the room.

NY Times obit if WSJ is behind paywall.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/20/business/brenda-barnes-dead.html

OT but this fine person went to David Snowball's own Augustana College. Worth reading about work-life balance.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/brenda-barness-best-career-move-was-quitting-a-great-job-1484908207

According to my test trade at TDAmeritrade, DSEUX has a $5K not a $100K minimum for retirement accounts with a TF.
Kevin

TDA appears to be the first (but the $100k min one only !), then. Perhaps Fido and Merrill will follow this month, or so. Thanks.

@davidrmoran,
According to a test trade I just made in my TDAmeritrade retirement account, DSEUX is available for a $5K minimum with a TF. Since I am grandfathered into the ThinkorSwim commission structure, the TF is only $15 each for buys and sells. For some reason, DLEUX is not available at TDAmeritrade.
Kevin

@mrc70,
As I see it, you have a much better than average selection of funds in your retirement plan. With your selection, I would probably pick one fund and use my other retirement accounts to complete the portfolio.
I am a federal employee, and I have a limited but a more than adequate selection of funds in our Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), which have an average expense ratio of a crazy-low 0.029%.
Right now I have 100% of my TSP in the "S" fund, which is comparable to your FSEVX. Based on technical analysis, I shift assets between the TSP "C" fund (S&P500 equivalent, FXSIX) and the "S" fund, and use my other retirement accounts to fill out our portfolio.
If you have a position in PRWCX, then I would not bother with OAKBX, And SFGIX is a much better option in EM than GTDIX. And for FI, I would stick with PIMIX, and maybe WHAIX, and call it a day.
Kevin

@mrc70, You are getting excellent advices from many experienced investors here. Overall, the choices in your 401(K) plan are actually pretty good. Fidelity's index funds offer low expense ratio and they should form the basis of your 401(K). One sector fund I like is Vanguard Health Care Fund Admiral Shares (VGHAX) Stock. Not so much of Cohen & Steer.
You can then add other funds from other IRAs you have to round out the entire portfolio.
As for other choices you posted, take a look at their performance in the bear market, 2008 and 2001 relative to their respective indeces. Also make sure if the same management team was in place during those period. If not, I would be careful of the performance track record.

Hi Puddnhead:
I am not looking for income via an investment in MLPs. I believe they are somewhat undervalued and will also have the wind at their backs in 2017 with The Big Orange in the White House.

I wish to obtain exposure to the MLP sector without buying an individual equity MLP because of its hassles with regard to tax returns. I am looking for an ETF or ETN in the MLP sector which:
1. Completely avoids the tax-reporting hassles associated with owning an individual MLP stock.
2. Has reasonable Expense Ratio, i.e., less than 1%.
3. Does not have greater volatility than other products in this space.
4. Has excellent and representative performance for ETF and ETN products in this space. It does NOT have to be the top performing ETF or ETN if everything else is in place, as outlined above.
Simply put: if you had to choose one ETF or ETN for investing in MLPs, what would you select and why? Thanks in advance.
dlphcoracl

I think you eventually reached a good conclusion . I think your 401k choices are superb compared to some I have seen and you should be able tp find several good choices.

Thank you all!
Based on the responses I have seen so far, probably, I am expecting too much from a typical 401k as far as fund options are concerned. My previous 401k was horrible with just one American fund for entire International/Global/EM asset classes. When I questioned, our company rep for 401k told me that 'we invest conservatively'. Never expected such nonsensical reply. However, we were given a choice to open brokerage a/c with TDA.
I am passionate individual investor and read many books on investing and asset allocation to educate myself since 2004. Having started investing from 2000, and following M* forum and Fund Alarm/MF Observer since 2004, I know a bit about asset allocation. I have close to 20 funds as I have 5 IRA/Roth IRA accounts across V'rd and TDA for me and my wife. Overall it is a very diversified portfolio with Global, US LCap/MCap/SCap, International, EM, and Bond funds.
Based on what funds I chose in this 401k account, as you suggested, I may have to adjust my IRA accounts to ensure that my overall portfolio is well balanced with the best funds chosen in the available options.
Fidelity Index funds, bond fund, OAKBX are solid options. Looking at M* statistics, Janus fund, Northern small cap, both section funds (if I decide to invest in them), and Invesco Developing markets funds seem to be good choices. Since I don't know much about these funds, looking for expert comments from those of you, who know more about them.
Appreciate your help.
Thanks,
Mrc

The choices you have are not the worst by far but it is what it is. One idea would be to use index and growth funds for your 401k and pick Good international funds with your ira. Be sure to include both into one portfolio. Dividing your investments makes things confusing.

mrc, first, I'd 'second' msf's comments about picking the best available choices in the 401k, then rounding out elsewhere.
Beyond that, except for the absence of a stable-value fund, I am salivating at your plan choices. You have low-cost index funds for L/M/S-caps. You have 2 decent bond choices, 2 very good sector funds, and a good balanced choice.
I think you are being too 'hard' on your plan. I think they have given you a stable of good 'core' options. Maybe... maybe they are lacking in not offering a junk bond vehicle, but that is a minor point.

What I've done when investing in vehicles with limited menus is pick the best they had to offer and then round out my portfolio elsewhere.
Since you say there are a number of good funds in the 401k even if it doesn't offer you a complete array of first rate choices, you can start with those funds. Then adjust your IRAs to give you your desired portfolio allocation.
That is unless there's a particular reason why you want to treat these as separate portfolios. For example, you might be planning to retire at age 55 and draw on the 401k for the first few years. You can do that without penalty with a 401k, but you generally have to wait until age 59.5 to get money out, penalty-free, from an IRA.

@davidmoran
For what interest it holds...
I spoke with a gentleman from the DL Advisory Group on Jan. 13th about brokerage availability. He said that the plans are to have DLEUX/DSEUX available on every platform possible, that it should be available for purchase at Schwab very shortly, that Fidelity typically takes reverse inquiry, and after that they make it available. He was unsure about how long it will take for Vanguard or Scottrade to approve the fund for purchase.
He added that fund availability works two ways: It is DL and the custodian. He said that DL is able to get on most of them within the first three months of the year.

Hi,
Could you please help me in identifying better choices in the following? I have IRAs with Vangard and TDA, where I have superb choices and invested in funds ike VDIGX, VHCOX, ARTKX, FPACX, AKREX, SFGIX, GPGOX, etc.
There are some good funds like OAKBX, Janus Enterprise, V'rd health care, bond funds, index funds, etc. in this list, but overall disappointing choices in my opinion.
I am comfortable with my allocation %ages for various asset classes, so where I need the advice is just in identifying good funds, not overall asses allocation. Appreciate all of your help.
LCap
****
Janus Enterprise Fund Class N (JDMNX) Stock
American Beacon Large Cap Value Fund Class Institutional (AADEX) Stock
Fidelity® Capital Appreciation Fund - Class K (FCAKX) Stock
Fidelity® 500 Index Fund - Institutional Class (FXSIX) Stock
Fidelity® Large Cap Growth Index Fund - Premium Class (FSUPX) Stock
Fidelity® Large Cap Value Index Fund - Premium Class (FLCHX) Stock
MCap
****
Fidelity® Mid Cap Index Fund - Premium Class (FSCKX) Stock
MFS Mid Cap Value Fund Class R6 (MVCKX) Stock
Fidelity® Extended Market Index Fund - Premium Class (FSEVX) Stock
Scap
****
Northern Small Cap Value Fund (NOSGX) Stock
Loomis Sayles Small Cap Value Fund Class N (LSCNX) Stock
UBS U.S. Small Cap Growth Fund Class P (BISCX) Stock
Fidelity® Small Cap Index Fund - Premium Class (FSSVX) Stock
Balanced
********
Oakmark Equity And Income Fund Investor Class (OAKBX) Blend
Sector
******
Cohen & Steers Realty Shares Fund (CSRSX) Stock
Vanguard Health Care Fund Admiral Shares (VGHAX) Stock
International/Global
********************
Deutsche Global Small Cap Fund Institutional Class (KGDIX) Stock
Invesco Developing Markets Fund R5 Class (GTDIX) Stock
Fidelity® International Discovery Fund - Class K (FIDKX) Stock
Bonds
*****
Fidelity® Total Bond Fund (FTBFX) Bond
Vanguard Inflation-Protected Securities Fund Admiral Shares (VAIPX) Bond
Money Market
************
Putnam Stable Value Fund Bond
Fidelity® Investments Money Market Government Portfolio - Class I (FIGXX) Short Term
Retirement Series
*****************
FIAM Target Date 2060 Commingled Pool Class S Blend
FIAM Target Date 2055 Commingled Pool Class S Blend
FIAM Target Date 2050 Commingled Pool Class S Blend
FIAM Target Date 2045 Commingled Pool Class S Blend
FIAM Target Date 2040 Commingled Pool Class S Blend
FIAM Target Date 2035 Commingled Pool Class S Blend
FIAM Target Date 2030 Commingled Pool Class S Blend
FIAM Target Date 2025 Commingled Pool Class S Blend
FIAM Target Date 2020 Commingled Pool Class S Blend
FIAM Target Date 2015 Commingled Pool Class S Blend
FIAM Target Date 2010 Commingled Pool Class S Blend
FIAM Target Date 2005 Commingled Pool Class S Blend
FIAM Target Date Income Commingled Pool Class S Blend

Inflated Optimism?
Economic Overview:
Week Ending January 20, 2017 © 2017 Payden & Rygel All rights reserved.
From 2011 to 2015, the world inflation rate fell year after year. By 2016, the world was abuzz with deflation mania, fearing a further decline in the rate of inflation. Instead, as commodity prices recovered and global growth found its footing, consumer prices perked up in 2016. For 2017, there is a reason to believe the deflation fear may be behind us, as updated forecasts released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week show an expected annual pick-up in prices for the second time in the last five years.

Highlights of the Week:
Treasuries: Treasury markets absorbed stronger inflation and housing data this week. Yields ground higher every day in this holiday-shortened week. The icing on the cake was Yellen’s speech on Wednesday where no one anticipated any remarks with regards to monetary policy and received hawkish ones at that.
Securitized Products:
The ABS market is following along with Ford auto receivables bringing a fully compliant ABS deal both regarding the 5% risk retention requirement and full loan level disclosure. The queue for next week is also full of issuers ready to hit the marketplace.
High Yield:
In this environment, the market has room to compress further, particularly given low expected default rates. Prudent, valuation-conscious investors should be rewarded.
Emerging Markets: The latest activity data from China was a reminder of the country’s adjustment from investment-led to consumption-driven growth. December industrial production and xed asset investment growth eased modestly to 6.0% year-over-year (y/y) and 8.1% y/y, respectively, while retail sales came better than expected at 10.9% y/y.
Municipals Municipal bond funds experienced a second consecutive week of in ows, taking in an additional $511.74 million. Investor demand has been strong, with $10 billion in new issuance well received and broad follow-through in secondary trading.
https://www.payden.com/weekly/wir012017.pdf
Honey. I think the kids are (finally ) leaving ! + We Look Back At Obama Years From Hoya Capital
...demographics over the next ten years are highly favorable to apartment demand. Rent growth data will certainly be interesting over the next several years: it will be a battle between high levels of supply and high levels of demand.
Real Estate Weekly: Trump Takes Office, We Look Back At Obama Years
Hoya Capital Real Estate Jan. 20, 2017
With Donald Trump taking office this week, we think it's interesting to look back at the performance of REITs under the Obama Administration.
REITs returned an average of 13% per year (price) and roughly 17% including dividends. Interesting, this 175% holding period return is almost exactly inline with the broader S&P 500 index.

It's important to note the context, though. Obama took office at almost the exact bottom of an 80% decline in REIT values over the preceding 18 months as the REIT ETF bottomed just a month after inauguration.
Bottom Line So how will real estate perform under Trump? Well, we can pretty confidently say that commercial real estate won't perform as well under Trump as they did under Obama, but that should be rather obvious. Trump enters office at a time that commercial real estate values are near record highs and valuations appear healthy. Based on prevailing cap rate and economic growth expectations, REIT investors should continue to expect a 5-8% average annual total return with plenty of annual volatility.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/4038310-real-estate-weekly-trump-takes-office-look-back-obama-years
Treasury yields are up since Election Day. The benchmark 10-year Treasury is currently trading at 2.47% (as of Jan. 19, based on daily data via Treasury.gov). That’s up from 1.90% on Election Day and close to the highest level in two years.

http://www.capitalspectator.com/moderate-us-growth-prevails-at-dawn-of-trump-era/