@yogibearbull, It boils down to the expense ratios. In David July commentary, Vanguard is attracting the second most asset while BlackRock is leading everyone.
Currently BlackRock offers institutional TDF with 0.06% fees while Vanguard offers TDF with comparable low fees. Since TDF are funds of funds, it is equally important to examine the underlying index funds, share classes and fee structures. Preferably, only institutional shares should be used so to keep the overall fees low.
This month’s commentary @shadow discussed T. Rowe Price’ 3 series of TDFs. One of them

Retirement Blend funds: relatively aggressive glide path (the same as Retirement’s), diversified portfolio, a mix of active and passive funds.

I am sure TRP will come up with an all index fund-based TDF. Question is will their fee competitive to those of BlackRock and Vanguard? Think Fidelity is subsidizing their index funds as a way to lower their fees.

@Roy, think you are doing the right thing by reduce equity risk as you approach retirement. Five years out is not far away. Shifting more to balanced/allocation funds is another way to increase bond allocation. My high yield and bank loan funds have done well this year; YTD is about 5%. Likely these funds will have a solid year by year end. The rest of short term high quality bond funds are moving along well yielding 5%.
Watching if the market will broaden out more to smaller caps and cyclicals. If the recession strikes this year, bonds will serve as a ballast when stocks will fall.

Recently reduced our equity exposure by ~6-7% and placed those funds into MM and bond funds. Probably within 5 years of beginning portfolio withdrawals and trying to find a personal comfort zone with volatility as we are in a good position for retirement at this time.
Most of you can probably take this as a contrarian signal and load up on equities!! :)

@dt. I have been been overweight CD’s since early 22 as well. I have become very comfortable with a risk free 5% and find that it suits me well. I am torn between going out as far as I can and still be real close to 5% or slowly returning to a more diverse mixture of dividend stocks and income producers that might do well when the pivot arrives. It’s on my mind but meanwhile life is good at 5%.

Thanks larryb, your comments are very similar to what I am now evaluating. I am not committed to CDs for a long period of time, and am now questioning how much longer I actually want to continue investing in CDs, compared to other types of investments. I was quite content with bond oef investing, until the FEDs started raising rates, which was very negative for my bond oef portfolio. I chose to use CDs as a transitional choice, so I could re-evaluate, what I wanted to do with my retirement portfolio. I do not like the illiquid aspect of brokerage CDs, because selling them before they mature, is very costly. Now I am facing shorter term CDs maturing, and I am uncertain if I really want to lock in more longer term CDs for the future. I am content with 5% CDs, and there are still an ample supply for me to choose from 6 months to 2 years, but some categories of bond oefs are starting to look attractive again. Hence, I am now evaluating whether I want to continue a "laddering" approacch to renewing CDs, or whether I want to start developing a more diversified portfolio that reduces my CD holdings. I have not made a final decision, but continuing portfolio of longer term CD holdings was not part of plans in 2022.
I thought that possibly a few other posters might be experiencing the same investing decision, but was not sure. If so, I was interested in what others thought was attractive/acceptable to renew CDs, vs replacing them with other investing options. Hence my question in my initial post on the thread:
"For those continuing to have a desire to invest in CDs, I would be curious as to what you consider as attractive rates to maintain your investing interest."

@TheShadow knows everything about fund changes! The old Hambrecht and Quist (until 1999), and then the Tekla is Capital Management healthcare CEFs have been acquired by a bigger closed-end operation, the former Aberdeen, now known as the vowel-less mouthful, abdrn. (Is this name progress?) I was a fan of HQL, until ETFs made it much easier to do sector investing. HQL and HQH, like many beleaguered CEFs, had to adopt a generous distribution policy to offset the persistent discounts. As a result, these sector funds became something much more akin to equity-income funds. Volatility remained a problem, however.
I'm curious to know if the lynchpin of TCM, Daniel Olmstead, who started his career at Merck while doing his PhD, is motoring on into retirement or if a more unpleasant departure is in store. OTOH, maybe the buyout has terms favorable to current management. This post is pure wonk, if anyone has read this far…

That’s a dour viewpoint @Baseball_Fan. A favorite old expression of mine begins, “Well, I don’t know … that may be so ….”
The trouble is that the markets, by and large, have kept moving higher during most of my 75+ year lifetime. Optimists have done much better than pessimists over that time. Sure, there have been setbacks along the way. 2007-09 was miserable. And had you been 100% invested in Japan in the 90s you’d probably be poorer today. (Most of us weren’t 100% invested in Japan.)
There’s just too many unknowns to predict how various markets will perform year to year or decades out. So the target-date (structured / programmed inflows) are a part of the picture. But they’re not the entire story. I’ve always felt that given enough time all paper curriencies depreciate in value. Makes me want to invest in good businesses, real estate, metals, infrastructure - just about anything other than paper.
Allocation to large-cap / S&P stocks should be / would be expected to be higher if investors’ time horizons are longer. Heck, with a 50 year time horizon that type concentration may be desirable. As retirement draws nearer the target date funds I’m familiar with reign in that risk. Checked TRP’s 2025 retirement fund (TRRHX) and find it just a tad over 30% invested in U.S. large cap stocks. Last time I looked at the average 401K / retirement fund balances for U.S. workers, those averages were pathetically low. We are to believe these same savers have propelled U.S. equity markets into the stratosphere?
What drives equity markets over the shorter run - day to day, month to month? In other words, what causes some stocks to move up or down unpredictably? Don’t know. Not strictly fundamentals because they rarely change so rapidly. I’d guess computer driven programmed buying and selling is one actor. Also, hedge fund managers trying to get a leg up on the next one (or a leg down if selling something short). Also reaction to bits and pieces of macro news as they emerge. (This week it may be the FOMC minutes which get published.) The sheer size of some funds like PRWCX (and now its cousin TCAF) may be partially responsible. Even very small (as a % of holdings) buys / sells of their enormous holdings may be large enough to send vibrations through equity markets for weeks on end as, it’s likely they try to stagger these buy / sell orders over time to try and minimize the impact. And what do you think happens when Buffet sells off a holding or adds a new one?

Stable-Value (SV) Rates, 7/1/23
TIAA Traditional Annuity (Accumulation) Rates
+25 bps changes in all except New IRA.
Restricted RC 6.75%, RA 6.50%
Flexible RCP 6.00%, SRA 5.75%, Newer IRAs 5.20%
TSP G Fund hasn't updated yet (previous monthly rate was 3.875%).
Options outside of workplace retirement plans include m-mkt funds, bank m-mkt accounts (FDIC insured), T-Bills, short-term brokered CDs.
#401k #403b #StableValue #TIAA #TSP
https://ybbpersonalfinance.proboards.com/post/1091/thread

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1014913/000110465923075579/tm2319682d1_497.htm
497 1 tm2319682d1_497.htm 497
Filed pursuant to Rule 497(e)
Registration No. 333-07305
1940 Act File No. 811-07685
FRONTIER FUNDS, INC.
Supplement to Prospectus Dated October 31, 2022
Frontier MFG Select Infrastructure Fund
Institutional Class Shares (FMSIX)
Service Class Shares (FMSSX)
The Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Frontier Funds, Inc. (the “Company”), based upon the recommendation of Frontegra Asset Management, Inc. (“Frontegra”), has determined to liquidate the Frontier MFG Select Infrastructure Fund (the “Fund”). Frontegra is the Fund’s investment adviser and MFG Asset Management is the Fund’s subadviser. After considering a variety of factors, the Board concluded that it would be advisable and in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders that the Fund be closed and liquidated as a series of the Company, effective as of the close of business on the liquidation date, August 23, 2023.
The Board approved a Plan of Liquidation that determines the manner in which the Fund will be liquidated. Pursuant to the Plan of Liquidation and in anticipation of the Fund’s liquidation, the Fund will be closed to new purchases, additional investments and incoming exchanges, except for purchases made through an automatic investment program or the reinvestment of any distributions or a purchase exception that is approved by the officers of the Company, effective after market close on June 29, 2023. After the Fund is closed to new investments, shareholders will be permitted to exchange their shares of the Fund for shares of the other available Frontier Funds or to redeem their shares of the Fund, as provided in the Fund’s prospectus, until the liquidation date. No redemption fees will be imposed by the Fund in connection with redemptions or exchanges; however, please note that your financial intermediary may charge fees in connection with redemptions or exchanges.
Prior to the August 23, 2023, liquidation date, the Fund will no longer actively pursue its stated investment objective, and MFG Asset Management will begin to liquidate the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund’s portfolio managers will likely increase the Fund’s assets held in cash and cash equivalents in order to prepare for an orderly liquidation and to meet anticipated redemption requests. As a result, the Fund is expected to deviate from its stated investment objective, policies and strategies.
Pursuant to the Plan of Liquidation, any shareholder who has not exchanged or redeemed their shares of the Fund prior to the liquidation date of August 23, 2023, will have their shares redeemed in cash and will receive one or more payments representing the shareholder’s proportionate interest in the net assets of the Fund as of the liquidation date, after the Fund has paid or provided for all taxes, expenses and any other liabilities, subject to any required withholdings. The automatic redemption of Fund shares on the liquidation date will generally be treated the same as any other redemption of Fund shares for tax purposes, so that shareholders (other than tax-exempt accounts) will recognize gain or loss for income tax purposes on the redemption of their Fund shares in the liquidation. In addition, the Fund and its shareholders will bear transaction costs and tax consequences associated with the disposition of the Fund’s portfolio holdings prior to the liquidation date. The Fund expects to have declared and paid a distribution or distributions, which, together with all previous such distributions, will have the effect of distributing to the Fund’s shareholders all of the Fund’s investment company taxable income and net capital gain (after reductions for any available capital loss carryforward), if any, realized in the taxable periods ending on or prior to the liquidation date. The distribution or distributions will include any additional amounts necessary to avoid federal income or excise tax. Shareholders should consult their tax adviser for further information about federal, state and local tax consequences relative to their specific situation.
Important Information for Retirement Plan Investors
If you are a retirement plan investor, you should consult your tax adviser regarding the consequences of a redemption of Fund shares. If you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred retirement account, you should consult with your tax adviser or account custodian to determine how you may reinvest your redemption proceeds on a tax-deferred basis. If the redeemed shares are held in a qualified retirement account such as an individual retirement account (IRA) and you have made no election regarding tax withholding, the redemption proceeds may be subject to a 10% federal income tax withholding and any applicable state required withholding. If you will receive a distribution from an IRA or a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA that is terminating as a result of the liquidation of the Fund, you must either roll the proceeds into another IRA within 60 days of the date of the distribution in order to avoid having to include the distribution in your taxable income for the year, if applicable, or request that the distribution be made directly to another IRA or eligible retirement plan. Please note you can make only one tax-free rollover of a distribution you receive from an IRA to another (or the same) IRA in any 12-month period, regardless of the number of IRAs you own. If you receive a distribution from a 403(b)(7) custodial account (tax-sheltered account) or a Keogh account, you must roll the distribution into an eligible retirement plan within 60 days in order to avoid disqualification of the plan and inclusion of the distribution in your taxable income for the year. If you are the trustee of a qualified retirement plan or the custodian of a 403(b)(7) custodial account (tax-sheltered account) or a Keogh account, you may reinvest the proceeds in any way permitted by its governing instrument.
This supplement should be retained with your Prospectus for future reference.
The date of this Supplement to the Prospectus is June 28, 2023.

Not a fan of Rekenthaler. With 401, 403, 457, it is just another employer option of a variety of mutual funds, some risky and some less risky. When I retired, I transferred all of my 401, 403, 457 holdings into a rollover IRA, so they would be consolidated. As far as "retirement income", you pick all kinds of options on the risk/reward continuum, depending on your portfolio objectives. For years, I chose multisector bond oefs, nontraditonal bond oefs, HY and FR/BL options, Municipal bond oefs, etc. for the monthly dividends they paid, to produce a very nice retirement income on a monthly basis. When the markets started crashing with higher interest rates, I chose to move to CDs, MMs, etc. I will likely go back to some combination of a variety of OEF bond funds and CDs/MMs in the future, but for now I don't feel compelled to latch on to any option unless it meets my low risk criteria for producing "retirement income".

I do wonder how much of that was Steve Leuthold personally. I get a sense that the firm had a fairly major refresh at the point of Steve's retirement, rethinking a number of positions that might have been getting a bit too dogmatic.
Last year Leuthold published, in the same week, one article that said the stock market was screwed and another that said it was doing just fine. When I reached out to ask what was up they said that they've been working to encourage independence of thought across the firm and that especially the institutional research side often marches to a different drummer than the investment management side. The institutional research people tend to be more risk tolerant, investment management people more risk conscious.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1438681/000158064223003318/alphamarksupplement.htm
497 1 alphamarksupplement.htm 497
Supplement dated June 26, 2023
to the Summary Prospectus, Prospectus and
Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) of AlphaMark Fund (the “Fund”)
ALPHAMARK FUND
Ticker Symbol: AMLCX
This Supplement provides new and additional information beyond that in, and should be read in conjunction with, the Fund’s Summary Prospectus, Prospectus and SAI.
The Board of Trustees of AlphaMark Investment Trust (the “Trust”), after notice of the Advisor’s termination of the investment advisory agreement and based on information provided by AlphaMark Advisors, LLC (the “Advisor”), has determined that it is in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders that the Fund be liquidated. In connection therewith, the Board has approved a Plan of Liquidation and Dissolution (the “Plan”) for the Fund. Effective immediately, the Fund will cease to pursue its investment objective, will cease selling shares, and the Fund’s investment manager, AlphaMark Advisors, LLC, may begin liquidating the Fund’s investments.
Pursuant to the Plan, the Fund will liquidate its investments and thereafter redeem all of its outstanding shares by distribution of its assets to shareholders in amounts equal to the net asset value of each shareholder’s Fund investment after the Fund has paid or provided for all of its charges, taxes, expenses and liabilities. The Advisor anticipates that the assets of the Fund will be fully liquidated and all outstanding shares redeemed on or about July 31, 2023 (the “Liquidation Date”). This date may be changed without notice to shareholders, as the liquidation of the Fund’s assets or winding up of the Fund’s affairs may take longer than expected.
Until the Liquidation Date, you may continue to freely redeem your shares, including reinvested distributions, in accordance with the section in the Prospectus entitled “How to Redeem Shares.” Unless your investment in the Fund is through a tax-deferred retirement account, a redemption is subject to tax on any taxable gains. Please refer to the “Dividends, Distributions and Taxes” sections in the Fund’s Prospectus for general information. You may wish to consult your tax advisor about your particular tax situation.
As a result of the anticipated liquidation of the Fund, the Fund is expected to deviate from its stated investment strategies and policies and will no longer pursue its stated investment objective. The Fund will begin liquidating its portfolio and will hold cash and cash equivalents, such as money market funds, until all investments have been converted to cash and all shares have been redeemed. During this period, your investment in a Fund may not experience the gains (or losses) that would be typical if the Fund were still pursuing its investment objective.
Any capital gains will be distributed as soon as practicable to shareholders and reinvested in additional shares prior to distribution, unless you have previously requested payment in cash.
ANY SHAREHOLDERS WHO HAVE NOT REDEEMED THEIR SHARES OF THE FUND PRIOR TO THE LIQUIDATION DATE WILL HAVE THEIR SHARES REDEEMED AUTOMATICALLY AS OF THE CLOSE OF BUSINESS ON THE LIQUIDATION DATE. THE PROCEEDS OF ANY SUCH REDEMPTION WILL BE EQUAL TO THE NET ASSET VALUE OF SUCH SHARES AFTER THE FUND HAS PAID OR PROVIDED FOR ALL OF ITS CHARGES, TAXES, EXPENSES AND LIABILITIES. ANY LIQUIDATING DISTRIBUTION, WHICH MAY BE IN CASH OR CASH EQUIVALENTS EQUAL TO EACH RECORD SHAREHOLDER’S PROPORTIONATE INTEREST OF THE NET ASSETS OF THE FUND, DUE TO THE FUND’S SHAREHOLDERS WILL BE SENT TO THE SHAREHOLDER’S ADDRESS OF RECORD. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR NEED ASSISTANCE, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR DIRECTLY OR THE FUND AT 1-866-420-3350.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR RETIREMENT PLAN INVESTORS
If you are a retirement plan investor, you should consult your tax advisor regarding the consequences of a redemption of Fund shares. If you receive a distribution from an Individual Retirement Account or a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA, you must roll the proceeds into another Individual Retirement Account within sixty (60) days of the date of the distribution in order to avoid having to include the distribution in your taxable income for the year. If you receive a distribution from a 403(b)(7) Custodian Account (Tax-Sheltered account) or a Keogh Account, you must roll the distribution into a similar type of retirement plan within sixty (60) days in order to avoid disqualification of your plan and the severe tax consequences that it can bring. If you are the trustee of a Qualified Retirement Plan, you may reinvest the money in any way permitted by the plan and trust agreement. If you have questions or need assistance, please contact your financial advisor directly or the Fund at 1-866-420-3350.
This Supplement and the Fund’s Summary Prospectus, Prospectus and SAI provide relevant information for all shareholders and should be retained for future reference.

Through my State Teachers Retirement System, I learned of a lesser know vehicle known as a 401(a) plan, which was offered on a voluntary basis to individual teachers.
Wish I had known about it earlier in my career.
I always felt their was a knowledge vacuum when it came to 403(b) plan choices. More often that not, individual teachers had poor choices. It usually was an uphill battle to try and promote better options. This lead me to look beyond my local 403(b) offerings.
The 401(a) plan, at the state level, was one of those choices for me. Glad I pursued it.
https://investopedia.com/terms/1/401a
401a-plans-rollover-rules

23 June, 2023:
https://wealthtrack.com/retirement-blind-spots-and-how-to-fix-them-with-morningstars-personal-finance-guru-christine-benz/

@catch22, 1035 exchanges are for personal annuities.
Workplace tax-deferred annuities (401k/403b/457b) can be rolled over into T-IRA - in-service cash rollovers if allowed by plans, and cash rollovers on retirement/resignation/termination from jobs.

@hank @yogibearbull et al
A unique annuity.
Fidelity Personal Retirement Annuity
A 'lite' overview: Fido's annual fee = .25%. There are 55+ fund choices for investments, each having their own ER's. So, if fund 'x' has an ER of .75%, + the .25% fee, ones total annual charge would be 1%.
Tax deferred growth.
There may be some changes since I first read through the prospectus several years ago.
The link will provide the full overview.
@msf and I discussed this annuity choice several years ago.
And @hank, if I recall properly, 403B's were pushed by lobbying groups of the insurance companies to become part of the IRS code. 401k's came later.

It depends.
Annuities are complex because they are insurance CONTRACTS and come with thick prospectuses. But don't let that fool you.
Some low-cost accumulating annuities have all-in ERs that are less than those of typical mutual funds.
Several company and state retirement plans offer annuitized payouts that may be too good to pass up. Some may tie continuing group health coverage to annuitants only, so early retirees, take note. On the commercial side, low-cost SPIAs may be fine. Partial annuitization to meet basic expenses may work for many who don't have time, expertise or aptitude to manage money.
The flip side is that retirees may be offered lump-sum payout that are more favorable to companies/institutions than retirees. So, think before taking the money and run.
Like anything, look into details before accepting or rejecting annuities.
What is bad? Plenty. Many high-cost annuities pay the highest commissions of any product around to salesman/brokers. Some bad players may pitch unnecessary annuity replacements for extra commissions. There may be surrender charges. Many school districts just handover their 403bs to annuity companies and their salesmen to feast. It's a jungle out there.

I would be curious if he mentioned gold or real estate. In January he mentioned both to Market Watch.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-crazy-retirement-portfolio-has-just-beaten-wall-street-for-50-years-11672945313

"Aside from Social Security and other pensions, retirees may obtain guaranteed income from 1) traditional bonds, 2) inflation-protected bonds, or 3) annuities. For ease of presentation, this article narrows the list to one version of each: 1) Treasury bonds, 2) ladders of Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, and 3) single-premium immediate annuities, also known as lifetime annuities....."
https://www.morningstar.com/bonds/retirement-income-treasury-bonds-tips-ladders-or-annuities

@yogibearbull, at her first employer there was a quasi defined benefit (pure traditional) along side a contribution aspect (TIAA variable annuity products). Her subsequent TIAA, that offers other products, is part of a state employee retirement plan that she qualified for as a result of her previous association with TIAA.
Thanks for the link. I'll check it out.
Add> Those payout rates look pretty darn good. Might be getting a little help from covid. I'm not sure why I would add bonds over their traditional if I want to get to, say something like 60% equity.

I haven't opened a position in TCAF as of yet, though I had fully intended to. Doesn't mean I won't, but with us coming to within 5 years or less until retirement I find myself not wanting to add to risk assets and am considering adding to our fixed income holdings to bring our equity allocation down from its current ~57%---even though inflation is still an issue eating away at purchasing power.