Thank you, @rforno and @PRESSMuUP. Very different personal styles of investments. Someone mentioned on another forum that individual names should not amount to more than 10% of your portfolios. However, if you held it for some time and know it very, why not.

@Mark, thank you. yes, that is it...K-1. Thank you for reminding me. If you were to hold it in a taxable account? I assume TurboTax or HR Block software will need to be used to handle it.

ISTM Alternative funds occupy a bizarro corner of the investing universe. For lack of a better source, U.S. News does offer up a mixed platter of such funds. For those interested in return, checking the 5 year + return of some of these might give a clue as to what to expect over the next several years. (Better to look after a prolonged downdraft than when equity / bond markets are sky high)
I don’t dwell on what any pocket of my allocation model will return. Total return over 3-5 years is the goal. At any specific time some assets giveth and others taketh away.
One way to look at it … If inflation over the next 5 years averages 3% than a total (annual) return of 5% over that time might be good enough. But if inflation averages 10% over those 5 years, a 5% annual return would leave you standing in the dust. What will inflation be? Only The Shadow knows!

- “I’m not against alternative funds perse … But when do these winning alternative funds get mentioned? When do they come into MFO attention? - when they have already made their money. That's my point.”
- “I'm sure there are some here that are good at adding value to their returns with their buys and sells. I dare say, I've looked at past data and I am not one of them. But I keep trying.”

@MikeM - Be careful with the term “alternative fund”. Almost by definition it’s not classifiable. That’s because the word “alternative” essentially means “not something else”. However, as commonly referenced in investing “alternatives” are investments other than conventional stocks, cash or bonds. For instance, precious metals are sometimes cited as an alternative investment. So are things like art, comic books, stamps, real estate. The fund industry has jumped on the “alternative” bandwagon and concocted hundreds of variations to stock or bond funds under the banner of “alternative.” I have no problem with them applying the name alternative to whatever exotic high cost product they wish to market. I’m just saying - be careful with that term. To your point … we both lived through the madness here 10-15 years ago with MFLDX, an early alternative fund that soared as its fame and popularity rose and than nose-dived as investors fled overnight it seemed.
I like the concept of alternatives as part of a portfolio - but apply the term loosely to fit my needs. In my 45% alternative sleeve, I have: a conservative allocation fund that overweights commodities a bit (ABRZX); a style permea fund that spreads risk around among stocks, precious, metals, natural resources, bonds (PRPFX); a multi-strategy fund (BAMBX); and a long-short fund (NLSAX). The other components consist of 3 individual stocks representing distinctly different market sectors. As stocks carry no fees, their inclusion helps offset the higher fees of the alternative funds. As you can see, I define the term “alternative” very loosely to fit my own needs.
As far as ‘high” expenses go, I hold virtually none of the most expensive asset of all - cash. With inflation at 8-10% annually, cash is a guaranteed looser. Total allocation to all types of income oriented investments is 20% at present. Most is in DODLX and PRIHX. A smaller sum in GNMA etf. Only a trace resides in money market funds or bank accounts. So my use of alternatives is a way of maintaining some level of portfolio stability as needed at my age without carrying much cash.
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I dunno about why folks buy and sell a lot. But I’d guess the results vary depending on what gets bought or sold and when. Markets have been ugly. If you can grab off a quick 1K or so playing Cathie’s musical chairs or taking some other gambit and than reinvest that $$ back into your regular portfolio, why not so indulge? :) Especially beneficial if the winnings are inside a Roth.
With me the spec money ranges between 5-10% … play money really. Right now it’s committed to a couple inverse funds as a hedge against some really nasty rainy day - an insurance policy. And there’s a bit in GLTR - for mostly the same reason. Than, there’s my predilection to lay more money on the table when stocks appear cheaper and than pull it back off after they rebound. Might be what you’re seeing in other individuals as well.
Glad you like your Schwab Robo Advisor Mike! Has to be far better than many of the “low risk” conservative funds nowadays. (Check out AOK)

@yogibearbull,12% or higher permanent cash is expensive. Barron's info is behind a paywall for me.
5 yr performance for PRWCX, FBAKX, and VWELX is 11.5%, 10%, and 8%, respectively, per M* performance tab. Mine is 11%. (I would not have guessed VWELX would be so much lower.) I would consider 9.5% (inclusive of cash) for Schwab Robo acceptable for me. Is it?

i concur. and i had not heard about teresa kong's leaving. where did she go? does anyone know? I will take a look.....
...Found this. RETIRING???? She can't be that old.....
https://citywireselector.com/news/a-rated-bond-boss-to-exit-matthews-asia/a2391349
Or is the word being used here in a non-standard way?

Exactly. All the portfolio managers that left have been Teresa's age or younger. Firm has lost an entire generation of leaders on the investment team. Teresa is not that old herself, she's <50 years old if I had to guess? It's a really bad sign.
Looking at the direction of the company, its not a surprise. Why stay on the proverbial sinking ship when your skill set is in high demand? Having felt the change there over the years, I'm not sure why matthews didn't make a leadership change sooner at the top. It almost seems too late at this point. You all might remember they brought in some outside leaders, but they ended up resigning or leaving after very short stints. Yu Ming Wang famously joined in 2020 as Global CIO/President, but resigned within 9 months. That is also a really bad sign and highly unusual. Actually I've never heard of such a thing happening.
https://www.pionline.com/money-management/matthews-asias-presidentglobal-cio-resigns

@BaluBalu, there is a performance table in Barron's for typical 60-40 robo-advisor portfolios. As expected, due to higher cash %, Schwab lost less (but not the least) for YTD and 1-yr, but lagged for 3-yr and 5-yr.
Real reason for Schwab to have high cash % (12% from @MikeM was just an example) was to keep its fee literally "zero", but Schwab shifted that money to Schwab Bank, made money on it and split some of that with the brokerage. So, in a round about way, Schwab robo holders paid for the accounts. After the SEC settlement, the new ad disclosures just make this more visible and clear (previously, it was a small print in footnotes). And Schwab has also introduced a new version (SIP Premium) with more services and flat fees.

I have not delved into Robo-Advisors or their products.
Since Schwab Robo is mentioned a few times, how does their performance compare against a moderate allocation fund such as PRWCX, FBAKX, & VWELX over a 1, 3, & 5 year period.
I am always looking for passive, buy and hold options. If the Schwab Robo performance (inclusive of cash) keeps pace with a combination of the above three active funds, then Schwab Robo is attractive.
What is Schwab's stated logic of keeping 12% permanently in cash?

@WABAC: I agree with you on water. I have a decent amount in FIW, and I have stuck with it despite drops since late 2021. The fund holds companies whose business extends beyond water per se, but I think they are solid industrial companies. Lots of good companies’ stocks have been gored for no good reason other than a bad market environment. I’m hoping that quality will rise to the surface and receive investors’ (i.e., stock pickers’) attention. I also have a position in GFLOX which holds water-related businesses.

@Crash, I like the suggestion from David. Also, I’ve found nothing works as well as a carefully typewritten letter outlining your case and sent to a company’s customer relations department by certified mail. It serves notice that you’re a literate person who might just be willing to enlist your own legal representation, write nasty online reviews, or refer the case to regulators. No need to say that. Don’t threaten. They’ll infer as much if letter is well written. Doesn’t always work, but worth the effort.
However, since you’re not intending to pursue this any further with TRP, I’ve linked some music to lesson your angst from the album “Too Late to Cancel” by Mitch Benn and the Distractions.
“Too Late To Cancel is the third album by Mitch Benn, released in 2004 under the name of 'Mitch Benn and The Distractions' and featuring his backing band composed of Kirsty Newton (of Siskin) and Tasha Baylis (of Hepburn). All songs were written by Mitch Benn. Several had previous versions feature in the radio shows The Now Show, It's Been a Bad Week and Mitch Benn's Crimes Against Music.”
Track Listing
"We Haven't Got A Clue" – 2:32
"Never Went Through A Smiths Phase" – 2:17
"Boy Band" – 3:13
"I Want" – 1:17
"Can't Do Disco" – 2:33
"Lonesome Führer" – 2:43
"Stinky Pants" – 2:14
"Now He's Gone" – 2:51
"Never Mind The Song (Look At The Stage Set)" – 3:22
"Tea Party" – 2:39
"One-Way System Blues" – 2:53
"Hard To Shock" – 3:07
"I'm Still Here" – 1:28
"West End Musical" – 3:48
"The Hardest Song In The World To Find" – 3:12
"Please Don't Release This Song" – 3:05
"The Interactive Song (Live)" – 2:58
"Macbeth (My Name Is) (Live)" – 4:48
"Baby I'm Sorry (Live)" – 3:43

I think that you change (nonqualified) annuity carriers through 1035 Exchange. It is not a complicated form but just another layer of paperwork beyond normal account/money transfer paperwork. I found a sample 1035 Exchange form from NY Life. Inheriting annuity (or anything else) can be more complicated due to required proof of death and the legitimacy of beneficiaries; besides, there are different options for spouse and non-spouse beneficiaries.
https://www.nylannuities.com/assets/documents/applications-and-forms/service-forms/1035 Exchange Form.pdf

Local paper ad. 2yr annuity 2.85 , 3yr 3.35 , & 4yr 3.6 %. 100 k minimum .
What happens if holder dies ?

Keep in mind that once an annuity, always an annuity (until 59.5).
So, that 5-yr term-annuity can only be rolled into another term-annuity to avoid 10% penalty before 59.5.
So, comparison with 5-yr CD (bank or brokered) is not fair.
Insurance co is counting on keeping that annuity money forever by offering 5-yr teaser rate.

I was aware of the 1971 incident which led to the demise of the Bretton Woods Agreement.
However, I was incognizant of the other defaults.

+1. understood!

yup, I recall that 1971 business. I wrote a thing about it for a school class.

i concur. and i had not heard about teresa kong's leaving. where did she go? does anyone know? I will take a look.....
...Found this. RETIRING???? She can't be that old.....
https://citywireselector.com/news/a-rated-bond-boss-to-exit-matthews-asia/a2391349
Or is the word being used here in a non-standard way?

People often say that allocation/balanced funds are declining, dead, kaput. But they are wrong. Broadly speaking, target-date funds, robo-advisors and age-based 529s are nothing but allocation/balanced funds in some form. So, this universe is expanding. Robo-advisors alone are $1 trillion now.

Completely agree. I checked out Wealthfront the other day and opened a portfolio. I've followed them from their earliest days and was a fan of Andy Rachleff (spelling?).
I was kind of shocked with Wealthfront's suggested "portfolio solution". It was a 3 ETF portfolio that I could of built myself. Is this what Roboadvisors have come to be?

Word on the street is that Bill Hackett was asked politely to retire, or in otherwords, he was fired. Matthews has lost more than 10 portfolio managers in the last 2 years, and no, they aren't people retiring but rather the up and coming, next generation portfolio managers that got tired of poor leadership of the firm. Tiffany Hsiao, Beini Zhang, Lydia So, Raymond Deng, Rahul Gupta are just a few names. Just last month, Teresa Kong head of fixed income, also left. This exodus of talent is unprecedented and something I've never seen in my career from a small boutique.
Per their website, Matthews Asia's assets stood at $17.2 billion as of July 2022. I was in their offices in 2017/2018 and their assets were nearly $35 billion. I've heard from portfolio managers at the company that most of the drop in assets are due to outflows (clients redeeming), not markets.
It sounds like Cooper was brought in to try and turn things around. He has a tough job ahead of him. Besides massive outflows, the performance of the funds has been horrible. Their flagship, Pacific Tiger has underperformed its benchmark for nearly the last 5 years. Two of their other big funds, Innovators and Asia Growth, were heavily loaded with tech names and took huge hits with the latest correction.
https://www.matthewsasia.com/funds/mutual-funds/asia-growth/pacific-tiger-fund/?FundClassType=MIPTX
Matthews fall from grace has been sad to see. I met with their founders years ago and loved their passion for Asia and entrepreneur spirit. But that energy left the firm many years ago, and the firm has become mediocre at best. I wish Cooper luck, but its a steep mountain to climb and competitors have really stepped up their game in both Asia and EM. Matthews is not the only trick in town anymore.

+1.