The bull "market" is extremely narrow. The equal weight S&P 500 index ETF (RSP) is still down on the year. What's leading the market higher is tech, especially large cap tech. There are some funds/ETFS like ARKK up 84% YTD. It's march higher has been relentless. This reminds me so much of the tech bubble that it hurts. Yes, it is different this time, and it always is until it isn't.

Hi @Derf my top year-to-date performers, with better than a 20% return, through 8/28 are SPECX +33.16% ... AOFAX +29.82 ... FISCX +27.24 ... AGTHX +22.86 ... and, CTFAX +22.25%. Overall (year to date) I'm up about 4.3% with a portfolio yield of about 3.3%. So, I am now currently north of my yield.

Much better than all of my others: PRIDX but it's just 6.7% of my total. And it's closed, these days. +19.26% YTD. So that one could be added to the list.

Wellstrade has one of the highest closeout fee around, $95. So it's a good thing that Firstrade covers those fees up to $200. I got so fed up with Wellstrade that, free trades and all, I left them years ago.
Remember Scottrade? Or before that Scudder Retirement Plus? Like Wellstrade, for a number of years they let you trade all funds without fees. I expect Firstrade to drop this feature also at some point, though that could be a decade or more off.
OTOH, I expect Vanguard Flagship level ($1M+) to keep free mutual fund trades around indefinitely. Vanguard has deeper pockets and its program is different. To qualify, customers must invest a large amount of money in Vanguard funds. That gives Vanguard a revenue stream that Firstrade doesn't get when you invest through them in third party funds.
Vanguard has not only maintained this perk, but has increased its value over time. Originally you received 8 free trades per year, counting not only TF fund trades but equity trades. Vanguard raised the number to 25. Then early this year it eliminated commissions on equity trades, ensuring that all 25 free trades were applied to your TF fund transactions.
There's a lot I'll criticize Vanguard for, and I have, but investing in funds (not stocks, not ETFs) on its brokerage platform is not one of them. The platform is bare bones, but simple to use for this basic task. Now if you want to talk customer service, trading tools, etc., that's a whole 'nother kettle of fish.

Wellstrade ( Wells Fargo) sent me a letter last month discontinuing the free 100 yearly trades of TF funds ,promised ,when I opened the account 13 years ago. So that kept me in their fold even with all the shenanagans going on, which never affected me. Now all TF fund buys and sells will be $35. Their platform of NTF funds is small compared to the other big guys. So now they get the finger and my account which is very, very large is going to Firstrade in which ALL trades and ALL 11,000 funds are traded FREE. This includes all Vanguard funds including Admiral class. I hope someone at Wellstrade sees this. The customer service is ok if you get a USA based CSR.. The site is easy to work and trade on. The company and management stinks as most know, by now. This is not a time that a brokerage should be reneging on its promises with all the competition out there. But from Wells Fargo not unexpected. Good riddance to Wellstrade!!

I thought you could only get Admiral Class shares at Vanguard.

follow-up
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1005020/000110465920100855/tm2029720d5_497.htm
497 1 tm2029720d5_497.htm VIRTUS FORT TREND FUND
Virtus Rampart Equity Trend Fund,
a series of Virtus Opportunities Trust
Supplement dated August 31, 2020 to the
Statutory Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”),
each dated January 28, 2020, as supplemented
IMPORTANT NOTICE TO INVESTORS
The statutory prospectus and SAI for Virtus Opportunities Trust have been updated to reflect changes to Virtus Rampart Equity Trend Fund, including a name change.
Effective August 31, 2020, the Virtus Rampart Equity Trend Fund’s name has been changed to Virtus FORT Trend Fund (the “Fund”). The disclosure for Virtus Rampart Equity Trend Fund in the Virtus Opportunities Trust statutory prospectus and SAI is no longer valid. Please see the Fund’s separate statutory prospectus, summary prospectus and SAI for additional disclosure regarding these changes.
Investors should retain this amendment with the
Prospectuses and SAI for future reference.
VOT 8020 RampartEquityTrendFORTChanges (8/2020)

Wellstrade ( Wells Fargo) sent me a letter last month discontinuing the free 100 yearly trades of TF funds ,promised ,when I opened the account 13 years ago. So that kept me in their fold even with all the shenanagans going on, which never affected me. Now all TF fund buys and sells will be $35. Their platform of NTF funds is small compared to the other big guys. So now they get the finger and my account which is very, very large is going to Firstrade in which ALL trades and ALL 11,000 funds are traded FREE. This includes all Vanguard funds including Admiral class. I hope someone at Wellstrade sees this. The customer service is ok if you get a USA based CSR.. The site is easy to work and trade on. The company and management stinks as most know, by now. This is not a time that a brokerage should be reneging on its promises with all the competition out there. But from Wells Fargo not unexpected. Good riddance to Wellstrade!!

@Derf, What would your fund selection be to play (the rebound) after a stock market swoon?
I'm thinking of using IALAX for my next spiff. And, AMCPX for an equity ballast position.
To do this, I'm planning to open a new possition in ITAAX and pay the commission of 2.5%. When the stock market pulls back then on the rebound I can open my spiff position by doing a nav transfer into IALAX commission free. For equity ballast, I'll use AMCPX by doing a nav transfer from some of the currently owned MIAQX.
Just wondering what your "preplanned" pick(s) might be?

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/us-stocks-aug-31-2020
S&P 500 fights for best 5-month stretch since 1938 as Apple, Tesla split
U.S. equity markets were little changed on Monday and on track to wrap up their best month since April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 52 points, or 0.18%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were higher by 0.01% and 0.16%, respectively. All three of the major averages look to be on track for a fifth straight month of gains and are looking at their best five-month stretch in years
We are +7.4% YTD...glad did not pull out completely in March 20
Will trend continue at end summer/fall, nobody know

Bought a slug of Ontrak, Inc. 9.50% Series A Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock at 24.85 (par $25) as it became available for trading.

Simon would you care to share what funds you have that are up 65% ytd ?!
Check out this link for top 20 fund performance.
https://www.financial-planning.com/slideshow/best-mutual-funds-and-etfs-ranked-by-ytd-returns
Have a nice day, Derf

That is a peculiar list.
M* quickrank shows a number of funds greater than 65%. A lot of the funds look like multiple share classes of the same product.

Hi @Derf my top year-to-date performers, with better than a 20% return, through 8/28 are SPECX +33.16% ... AOFAX +29.82 ... FISCX +27.24 ... AGTHX +22.86 ... and, CTFAX +22.25%. Overall (year to date) I'm up about 4.3% with a portfolio yield of about 3.3%. So, I am now currently north of my yield.

Simon would you care to share what funds you have that are up 65% ytd ?!
Check out this link for top 20 fund performance.
https://www.financial-planning.com/slideshow/best-mutual-funds-and-etfs-ranked-by-ytd-returns
Have a nice day, Derf

@Simon @WABAC I'm not COMPLETELY in bonds (for protection) only because of the Fed stimulus. It does matter just what is driving markets, whether up or down. Central Banks have come to the rescue--- AGAIN. @rono likes to say: "This will not end well." I agree. In the meantime, this is still the only game in town. The next item that I'm required by law to do is to begin taking RMDs at age 72. (Yes, the change, due to covid distress. ) In January, I pulled out a pre-determined chunk at a pre-determined time. Almost all my stuff is in Trad IRAs. I was lucky. We were at or near a Market-top back then. Since then, Mr. Market has been kind--- thanks to The Fed. When the punchbowl gets pulled, I might just move from 57% bonds to 80% bonds. The payouts from my bond funds are tasty, right on schedule, too. I've learned not to boast about portfolio results. I'll just be paying attention. Chugging along. My portf. is comprised of my best fund choices, up to the present. I sleep well.

Anyone at, or close to RMD's is in a different situation than Simon, our young accumulator.
I had re-balanced the IRA last December - January so that I was close to 60-40 stocks/bonds, not counting cash. I'm back to 70-30 on the Biden rally and purchases made in March. And I think I'll let it ride. I still have a little nubbin of cash if there is another serious downdraft.
Bernard Baruch is supposed to have said that he made all his money selling too soon. Disciplined selling is one sure way to have cash on hand for those buying opportunities.
I sort of regret selling NASDX to put into really boring stuff. But that's the sort of calculus to make with retirement funds if you're going to need them sooner than later.

“Female fund managers, who remain woefully under-represented in the US Mutual Fund industry, have done a better job picking stocks than their male counterparts in 2020, Bloomberg reported. According to data compiled by Goldman Sachs Group, among 500 large-cap US mutual funds, those with at least one-third manager posts held by women have exceeded those with no women by 1 percentage point this year.” STORY

@Simon @WABAC I'm not COMPLETELY in bonds (for protection) only because of the Fed stimulus. It does matter just what is driving markets, whether up or down. Central Banks have come to the rescue--- AGAIN. @rono likes to say: "This will not end well." I agree. In the meantime, this is still the only game in town. The next item that I'm required by law to do is to begin taking RMDs at age 72. (Yes, the change, due to covid distress. ) In January, I pulled out a pre-determined chunk at a pre-determined time. Almost all my stuff is in Trad IRAs. I was lucky. We were at or near a Market-top back then. Since then, Mr. Market has been kind--- thanks to The Fed. When the punchbowl gets pulled, I might just move from 57% bonds to 80% bonds. The payouts from my bond funds are tasty, right on schedule, too. I've learned not to boast about portfolio results. I'll just be paying attention. Chugging along. My portf. is comprised of my best fund choices, up to the present. I sleep well.

So how's the Great Bear Market for you guys who sold at the bottom? How's it all going?
I told you 6 months ago we were not in a bear market by any metric or measure. But none of you listened and your kneejerk reaction was to sell quality assets for no reason. Some supposedly experienced investors here were in complete denial and expressed shock at my comments that this ongoing bull will last until the 2030s.
Meanwhile my mutual fund retirement portfolio is up over 65% since January 1st. That's definitely a bull market....isn't it?
You old-timers really need to be more humble, consider the opinions of others, and learn from your mistakes.

I haven't sold anything since rebalancing in January. That put me in a position to buy in March.
Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if we were all humble, listened to others, and learned from our mistakes?
Now. Where do you think the market would be if The Fed had not injected trillions of dollars into it?
What you call a bull market looks like a speed freak to me. Now is the time to think about selling.

So how's the Great Bear Market for you guys who sold at the bottom? How's it all going?
I told you 6 months ago we were not in a bear market by any metric or measure. But none of you listened and your kneejerk reaction was to sell quality assets for no reason. Some supposedly experienced investors here were in complete denial and expressed shock at my comments that this ongoing bull will last until the 2030s.
Meanwhile my mutual fund retirement portfolio is up over 65% since January 1st. That's definitely a bull market....isn't it?
You old-timers really need to be more humble, consider the opinions of others, and learn from your mistakes.

Unfortunately, I'm a piker, so I'll start with $500 at Schwab and see how that does.

Hi @Derf,
My money flow indicator moved from a reading of 52 to 88 this week. As money returned the price of the Index moved upward from 3397 to 3508 for a nice gain of 3.26% with the heavy lifting coming, this past week, mostly from the underlying stocks. At last weeks close there were 66% of the stocks within the S&P 500 Index trading above their 50 day moving average and this week there were 82% as we closed the week. Still as you point out the Big Ten stocks account for about 26% of the Index's valuation as the S&P 500 Index is cap weighted. Should the Big Ten begin to falter ... well, I'm thinking that the underlying will follow. In addition, I'm thinking, the stocks that gained the most will loose the most as investors cut and run booking profits. I'm thinking there are some strong profits to be had with the price runup especially coming from the Big Ten.
In short answer to your question. The barometer is already tuned as it follows breadth (number of stocks above their 50 and 200 day moving averages and the direction of money flow. A narrow breadth condition is of good concern as well as a outward trend in money flow. With the Big Ten having about a 26% weighting in the Index they have a great deal of influence in the barometer's reading.
Perhaps, the Democrat and Republican conventions had some influence on the markets over the past couple of weeks. After all, elections are coming and things are beginning to heat up. Will the market melt? Possibly.
With this, I'm staying within the confines of my "all weather" asset allocation of 20/40/40 (cash/bonds/stocks) + or - 5%. If stocks continue in the updraft I've got plenty of equities invested to enjoy the upward ride; and, if the downdraft comes I've got plenty of cash to do some equity buying. In addition, my portfolio generates a good income stream. So, for now I sit ... and, I await to see how this plays out.
Derf, your SWAG is probally as good as mine.

Yeah - I’ve pondered taking a small spec on it. It was hot in 2019 so I’m guessing it won’t do much for a while yet just looking at its history on Yahoo’s great site. I’m in no hurry to add one more to the “fund collection”.
Minimums? If directly at TRP It’s still a low $1,000 for IRAs ($2500 regular accounts).