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Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
  • Nuveen NWQ Japan Fund to liquidate
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1041673/000119312517184532/d394774d497.htm
    497 1 d394774d497.htm NUVEEN INVESTMENT TRUST II
    NUVEEN NWQ JAPAN FUND
    SUPPLEMENT DATED MAY 26, 2017
    TO THE PROSPECTUS DATED MARCH 31, 2017
    Nuveen NWQ Japan Fund will be liquidated after the close of business on July 24, 2017.
    Effective June 19, 2017, the fund will stop accepting purchases from new investors and existing shareholders, except that defined contribution retirement plans that hold fund shares as of today may continue to purchase fund shares until July 17, 2017. Existing shareholders may continue to reinvest dividends and capital gains distributions received from the fund. The fund reserves the right to modify the extent to which sales of shares are limited prior to the fund’s liquidation. After the close of business on July 24, 2017, the fund will liquidate any remaining shareholder accounts and will send shareholders the proceeds of the liquidation.
    PLEASE KEEP THIS WITH YOUR PROSPECTUS
    FOR FUTURE REFERENCE
    MGN-NWJP-0517P
    NUVEEN NWQ JAPAN FUND
    SUPPLEMENT DATED MAY 26, 2017
    TO THE STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION DATED MARCH 31, 2017
    Nuveen NWQ Japan Fund will be liquidated after the close of business on July 24, 2017.
    Effective June 19, 2017, the fund will stop accepting purchases from new investors and existing shareholders, except that defined contribution retirement plans that hold fund shares as of today may continue to purchase fund shares until July 17, 2017. Existing shareholders may continue to reinvest dividends and capital gains distributions received from the fund. The fund reserves the right to modify the extent to which sales of shares are limited prior to the fund’s liquidation. After the close of business on July 24, 2017, the fund will liquidate any remaining shareholder accounts and will send shareholders the proceeds of the liquidation.
    PLEASE KEEP THIS WITH YOUR STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
    FOR FUTURE REFERENCE
  • Josh Brown: What We’re Telling Clients About European Stocks
    I'm actually overweighting international in my tax-deferred accounts for a few months. Not because I have some crystal ball, but simply because my ANALysis. And not even because I simply looked at any index, but more because of funds available to me in my retirement accounts. Just chart X:Y and if line moving up buy X and line moving down buy Y. If line staying steady but either.
    What funds are you using for international exposure? Thanks.
  • Josh Brown: What We’re Telling Clients About European Stocks
    Very surprised to hear (I will not say learn because I am a COB who does not believe anything printed), people are pulling out of international and going into domestic stocks. I'm actually overweighting international in my tax-deferred accounts for a few months. Not because I have some crystal ball, but simply because my ANALysis. And not even because I simply looked at any index, but more because of funds available to me in my retirement accounts. Just chart X:Y and if line moving up buy X and line moving down buy Y. If line staying steady but either.
    One thing Josh Brown. I want to see article you published in Jan, at least Feb when you said you moved your clients assets into European stocks. Not *now* after everyone has seen the move in those stocks. Else it is what I call "using hindsight to market your genius" over the past 6 months. Seen it a long time. "How we told our clients to sell at the 2000 market top". You tell it to me few months down the road, means nothing.
  • Vanguard's Irritating Perch On Moral High Ground
    For one reason or another there are those who don't want to manage their finance and retirement. In these situations, robo-advisors would serve their purpose. Personally I would choose a well run balanced fund such as Vanguard Wellington or TRP Capital Appreciation.
  • Allan Roth: Where I Disagree With Warren Buffett
    FWIW, my take on Buffett's 90% equity/10% short term bond is that this was a retirement portfolio recommendation, and assuming 4% withdrawal rate, that is enough "cash" to wait out a 2-3 year market drop. Even if the market doesn't fully recover in 3 years, it should have recovered significantly.
    The bond allocation wasn't an attempt to predict interest rates, but to provide a near cash allocation, ISTM.
  • Wells Fargo Advisors Restricting Investments For Retirement Accounts
    Prohibiting preferreds, munis (not that you necessarily should put them in an IRA), and other forms of relatively popular and 'safe' corporate debt in a retirement account? Is it me, or is that crazy? Heck even some of their brokers are questioning the logic of this plan....
    Per the article:
    "One Wells Fargo adviser was confused by the changes, saying that he couldn't recommend the corporate debt of a well known U.S. corporation because it did not meet new credit quality restrictions but could recommend other riskier securities under the new guidelines.
    Wells Fargo Advisors recognizes that "clients need choices when making their investment decisions to help them achieve their long-term goals," spokeswoman Emily Acquisto wrote in an email. "We are assessing the DOL's latest guidance and will continue to evolve our strategy to ensure our clients have the best outcomes under the rule." "

  • Wells Fargo Advisors Restricting Investments For Retirement Accounts
    FYI: (Click On Article Title At Top Of Google Search)
    Mutual fund sales will be limited to T shares, while municipal bonds, preferred stock and international debt will be prohibited.
    Regards,
    Ted
    https://www.google.com/#q=Wells+Fargo+Advisors+Restricting+Investments+For+Retirement+Accounts
  • Barry Ritholtz: Retirement Savers Really Do Need Government Help
    FYI: The good news is that the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule, which states that any broker or manager offering advice on retirement-savings accounts must put the clients’ interests first, looks like it will survive. It goes into effect officially on June 9.
    The bad news? There is no evidence that Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta either understands the reasons for the rule, or believes it is important. He makes that much clear in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal:
    Regards,
    Ted
    https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-05-24/retirement-savers-really-do-need-government-help
  • Young People Should Put Down Their Smartphones, Step Away From The Avocado Toast, And Do This
    Here's another regret they might have--not having lived while they're young. The idea that all meals out with friends and family--moments you may treasure for the rest of your life--are "mindless" or that buying coffee to say study for a test or just for the sheer pleasure of being alive and enjoying a coffee is always a waste sounds like the typical view you hear from these financial planning types. They're busy wagging their fingers at kids when in fact young people are making less money today in low-end jobs on an inflation-adjusted basis than they did thirty or forty years ago in many states. It also makes the assumption that every young person will live to retirement age when in fact they won't. It's a matter of achieving balance--enjoying some daily pleasures--and saving. It's also a matter of paying young people appropriately.
  • Young People Should Put Down Their Smartphones, Step Away From The Avocado Toast, And Do This
    FYI: Millennials, here’s one way to avoid a regret that’s plagued people for generations: Start saving for retirement immediately.
    Nearly 3 out of 4 adults have financial regrets, with not saving enough for retirement sitting at the top of that gloomy list at 22%, according to a Bankrate survey released Tuesda
    Regards,
    Ted
    http://www.marketwatch.com/story/young-people-should-put-down-their-smartphones-step-away-from-the-avocado-toast-and-do-this-2017-05-23/print
  • Jason Zweig: Are You Really Crazy Enough To Buy A Quadruple-Leveraged ETF?
    I think market knows there are enough crazy people, so yeah. I'm going to stay underinvested if this bull market continues for next 5 years, except for my retirement accounts where I tend to be fully invested.
  • Do Not Drain Your 401(k), Or Let A Former Employer Do It
    People need to learn to be responsible for their own retirement. These days rolling over 401(K) can be readily done with various brokerages - Schwab, Fidelity, and others.
  • Do Not Drain Your 401(k), Or Let A Former Employer Do It
    FYI: If you are lucky enough to work for a paternalistic employer, it can be easier than ever to set yourself up with a retirement savings account. Many employers have taken to signing people up automatically for 401(k)’s and similar workplace plans. Some even raise the amount you set aside each year unless you object.
    When it comes time to leave that employer, however, too many people end up with drained accounts, while paying penalties and taxes and leaving themselves with reduced retirement savings or none at all.
    Regards,
    Ted
    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/your-money/401ks-and-similar-plans/do-not-drain-your-401-k-or-let-a-former-employer-do-it.html?ref=your-money
  • Wells Fargo Small Company Growth Fund to close to new investors
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1081400/000108140017001077/smallcompanygrowthPROsupp.htm
    497 1 smallcompanygrowthPROsupp.htm SMALL COMPANY GROWTH FUND SUPPLEMENT
    SUPPLEMENT TO THE PROSPECTUSES
    and SUMMARY PROSPECTUSES
    OF WELLS FARGO EQUITY GATEWAY FUNDS
    Wells Fargo Small Company Growth Fund(the “Fund”)
    Effective July 31, 2017, the Fund is closed to most new investors. For further information, please see the section entitled "Additional Purchase and Redemption Information" in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information. Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC reserves the right to reject any purchase order into the Fund if it believes that acceptance of such order would interfere with its ability to effectively manage the Fund.
    May 18, 2017 EGIT057/P904SP
    OR
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1081400/000108140017001078/smallcompanygrowthSAIsupp.htm
    497 1 smallcompanygrowthSAIsupp.htm SMALL COMPANY GROWTH FUND SAI SUPPLEMENT
    SUPPLEMENT TO THE STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (“SAI”)
    OF
    WELLS FARGO EQUITY GATEWAY FUNDS
    Effective at the close of business on July 31, 2017, the following information is added to the section titled “ADDITIONAL PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION – Investors Eligible to Purchase Closed Funds” in the SAI.
    All classes of the Small Company Growth Fund (the “Closed Fund”) are closed to new investors, except in connection with the closing of a reorganization or as outlined below. Additional investments will not be accepted in the Closed Fund unless the investment falls within one of the below referenced categories. If you believe you are eligible to purchase shares of the Closed Fund, Funds Management may require you to provide appropriate proof of eligibility. Funds Management reserves the right to reject any purchase order into the Closed Fund if it believes that acceptance of such order would interfere with its ability to effectively manage the Closed Fund.
    Existing Shareholders. You may continue to purchase shares of the Closed Fund if:
    You are an existing shareholder of the Closed Fund (either directly or through a financial intermediary), with an open and funded account, and you wish to:
    add to your existing account through the purchase of additional shares of the Closed Fund, including the reinvestment of dividends and cash distributions from shares owned in the Closed Fund; or
    open a new account that is registered in your name or has the same primary taxpayer identification or social security number (this includes accounts where you serve as custodian, such as UGMA/UTMA accounts). Please note: Selling agents who transact in the Closed Fund through an omnibus account are not permitted to purchase shares of the Closed Fund on behalf of clients that do not currently own shares of the Closed Fund.
    You are the beneficiary of shares of the Closed Fund (i.e., through an IRA or transfer on death account) or are the recipient of shares of the Closed Fund through a transfer and wish to utilize the proceeds of such account to open up a new account in your name in the Closed Fund.
    You sponsor a retirement plan, benefit plan or retirement plan platform (collectively, “Retirement Plans”) that currently offers the Closed Fund as an investment option. Each such Retirement Plan may add new participants, and the sponsor may also offer the Closed Fund as an investment option in other retirement or benefit plans offered by the same company, its subsidiaries and affiliates.
    New Investors. Certain new investors who meet the conditions and/or criteria outlined below may qualify to purchase the Fund:
    New Retirement Plans;
    For centrally managed (home office) model portfolios, new accounts may be opened, and additional investment for current accounts may be made, in the Closed Fund if they are made through existing fee-based investment products and/or existing mutual fund wrap programs (e.g. through a broker, dealer, private bank and trust company or consultant) that currently use the Closed Fund; however, new model portfolios introduced in existing products and platforms must be preapproved by Funds Management;
    Separately managed account clients of, or investors in a pooled vehicle advised by, the Closed Fund’s sub-adviser and whose assets are managed by the sub-adviser in a style similar to that of the Closed Fund (either presently or within the last 60 days of their request to open a new account) are allowed to open a new account;
    Registered investment advisers who currently utilize the Closed Fund in their asset allocation programs will be able to open new accounts and/or continue to invest in the Closed Fund;
    Private bank and trust platforms that currently offer shares of the Closed Fund are eligible to add new accounts if approved by Funds Management;
    Non-centrally managed discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio programs that currently offer shares of the Closed Fund or share the same operational infrastructure as programs that currently offer shares of the Closed Fund if approved by Funds Management; and
    Funds of Funds advised by Funds Management may purchase shares of the Closed Fund.
    May 18, 2017
  • how does your brokerage display your holdings' gain?
    What an interesting story. Thanks. That fifo override thing is wild.
    I do not use an adviser anywhere.
    I like ML a lot and like Fido a lot. I was just pretty duh about what I was seeing in the columns without drilldown, and I even posted here about how lamely I was doing w PDI from having skipped the initial reinvestment.
    ML is also trying to catch up and compete with all of the others. Their yodlee aggregator thing (My Financial Picture), which I find extremely handy in retirement, is MUCH more up to date and supple and hence accurate, compared w Fido's identical FullView. Also more reliable in its intercourse w other institutions.
    The Fido people I complained to about FV asked me to send screenshots of discrepancies, as where it shows a Fido account w one total and right next to it is the actual account with the more recent total. I did this several times and eventually they said, Oh, yeah, right, there is a lag in the updating, sure, we knew that.
    ML's MFP is up-to-date.
    I also pay no commissions at ML for any etfs, not the case at all at Fido.
  • IBD: Paul Karzeff: Why Many Millennials' Retirement Savings Will Be More Than Twice Baby Boomers'
    FYI: Younger Americans have a reputation for being skittish about investing. Merely one-third of millennials, for example, who are in their midthirties or younger, invest in stocks or mutual funds or have a retirement account, Bankrate found.
    Regards,
    Ted
    http://www.investors.com/etfs-and-funds/mutual-funds/why-many-millennials-retirement-savings-will-be-more-than-twice-baby-boomers/
  • Paul Merriman: Try This Low-Cost Portfolio With Massive Diversification
    IMHO, the simplest thing to do is stop listening to people like Paul Merriman. You will figure out quickly what you want to do with your money, and based on your age how long to hold it for.
    "Try this...". Sure. Let's "try". At worse, it's just like bad coffee. Not like it can mess your life up. Which 65 year olds retirement messed up in 2002 and 2008 with this buy and hold strategy? No one's. At least no one we know. Besides can't you see the sheer genius of moving 10% from S&P 500 into Large Value? OMG. Been waiting for someone to explain to me all my life.
  • Are You A Schwab Client?
    Bob, I feel your pain :-) I really do. Have you ever dealt with TRS? I spent something like 6 months to a year, including meeting in person at least a monthly basis, to get my parents' retirement accounts straightened out with them. Dealing with TRS and TIAA is like night and, well, twilight.
    You find yourself in the position of having clients dump all their TIAA issues in your lap, and being largely unable to help because of the lock up. Here though, I'm somewhat unsympathetic to the "victims". Don't invest in what you don't understand.
    At retirement, TIAA usually does not require participants to annuitize (the 10-year certain TPA or a lifetime annuity). Most contracts allow retireees to keep money in TIAA Traditional, subject only to RMD requirements. On the other hand, if you want your money immediately at retirement, some contracts (e.g. SRA, GSRA) allow that. The tradeoff is that participants get a lower rate of return. Flexibility isn't free, at TIAA or elsewhere.
    See FAQ #27: https://www.tiaa.org/public/pdf/TT_FAQ.pdf
    TIAA Guide to Your Payment Options: https://www.tiaa.org/public/pdf/TT_FAQ.pdf
    As a DIY retail investor, I personally focus more on the investment products available and their costs than the service offered. So I'll invest with Vanguard, even though the service I receive isn't as great as it is at Schwab or Fidelity. Likewise, if TIAA has something different to offer me, I'll consider them as well. So long as they can get their 1099s straight (something that Scottrade botched badly when I tried them out years ago), I can live with most other foibles. But each person has his own priorities.
  • Are You A Schwab Client?
    I hesitate to wade back into a discussion on TIAA, since some folks obviously have had good experiences with them. The reason for my earlier comments are simply that, based on our experiences over the last 30 years, working with clients who have accounts at TIAA has not been positive. Acknowledging that all these accounts were 403b, mostly in the traditional fixed-annuity bucket (which is a decent product), our experience was and is that working with TIAA customer service people has been worse than having teeth pulled. And then you have the salespeople who fail to disclose the roadblocks of moving dollars from the traditional bucket to the CREF bucket, or the 10-year withdrawal requirement at retirement. Perhaps they have a different service culture on the retail brokerage side of their business. I shut up now.
  • Portfolio review for a 30 year old
    I have reservations about turning funds over to a new retirement fund manager. I would think it would be more advantageous to put into a personal IRA and manage independent of a new 401K. Just saying!!!
    Gary