Totally agree. Many college graduates have large college loan debt - often $50-100K. Finding jobs in this pandemic is not easy. Our companies hired a few this year but that is less than the attrition rates due to retirement and others.
Younger generations are very different than the older ones. Some don't invest because our company offers only low cost index funds, even with generous company match. Guess our priorities on investing are quite different.

@Baseball_Fan
I'm mainly a bond fund trader who uses momentum and usually 2-3 funds but several times annually I trade stocks/ETF/whatever for hours-days when I think I have a good chance to make money. I don't invest in alternative funds because most/all don't have long term reliable risk/reward. My goals at retirement are very specific based on a need of just 4% annually including inflation for the next several decades: make 6+% annually + never lose more than 3% from any last top. I did much better since retirement in 2018. Any time I feel risk is elevated I just sell a big % of my portfolio.
ADVNX is doing very well year-to-date (rated at M* in the top 4% for Multi sector funds) but management changed on 2/21/2020 so you can't rely on previous risk/reward.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1548609/000089418920007697/brownadvisoryfundsstrategi.htm
497 1 brownadvisoryfundsstrategi.htm 497
BROWN ADVISORY FUNDS
Brown Advisory Strategic Bond Fund
(the “Fund”)
Institutional Shares (BIABX)
Investor Shares (BATBX)
Advisor Shares (Not Available for Sale)
Supplement dated September 14, 2020
to the Prospectus, the Summary Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information
dated October 31, 2019
The Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of Brown Advisory Funds (the “Trust”), based upon the recommendation of Brown Advisory LLC (the “Adviser”), the investment adviser to the Fund, has determined to close and liquidate the Fund. The Board concluded that it would be in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders that the Fund be closed and liquidated as a series of the Trust effective as of the close of business on October 14, 2020. Accordingly, the Board approved a Plan of Liquidation and Termination (the “Plan”) that sets forth the manner in which the Fund will be liquidated.
The Board has determined to waive any applicable redemption fees and exchange fees for shares redeemed on or after September 14, 2020.
Effective September 15, 2020, in anticipation of the liquidation, the Fund is no longer accepting purchases into the Fund. In addition, the Adviser will begin an orderly transition of the portfolio to cash and cash equivalents and the Fund will no longer be pursuing its stated investment objective. Shareholders of the Fund may redeem their investments as described in the Fund’s Prospectus.
If you hold your shares in an IRA account, you have 60 days from the date you receive your proceeds to reinvest or “rollover” your proceeds into another IRA and maintain their tax-deferred status. You must notify the Fund’s transfer agent by telephone at 800-540-6807 (toll free) or 414-203-9064 prior to October 14, 2020, of your intent to rollover your IRA account to avoid withholding deductions from your proceeds.
Pursuant to the Plan, if the Fund has not received your redemption request or other instruction prior to October 14, 2020, your shares will be redeemed on October 14, 2020, and you will receive your proceeds from the Fund, subject to any required withholding. These proceeds will generally be subject to federal and possibly state and local income taxes if the redeemed shares are held in a taxable account, and the proceeds exceed your adjusted basis in the shares redeemed.
If the redeemed shares are held in a qualified retirement account such as an IRA, the redemption proceeds may not be subject to current income taxation. You should consult with your tax advisor on the consequences of this redemption to you.
Shareholder inquiries should be directed to the Fund at 800-540-6807 (toll free) or 414-203-9064.
Please retain this supplement for your reference.

Yes, the stock market and the economy is two very different thing. Those of us who have jobs and 401(K) are very different those who live from paycheck to paycheck with little saving, let alone investing for retirement. Unfortunately these income folks will not benefit from the stock market and the bigger pictures of the American Dream.

According to the most recent Federal Reserve data, the top 1 percent of U.S. households by wealth own 39 percent of equities and mutual fund shares, and the top 10 percent own 83 percent . Also, the top 1 percent of U.S. households by income own 41 percent of equities and mutual fund shares, and the top 20 percent own 87 percent.
https://federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/dataviz/dfa/distribute/chart/#quarter:122;series:Corporate%20equities%20and%20mutual%20fund%20shares;demographic:networth;population:1,3,5,7;units:shares;range:1989.3,2020.1
This data suggests the need to sell shares to fund retirement needs is likely to have a fairly small impact on stock market behavior. (I just noticed @Mark posted some of this data on another post earlier this morning.)
The quote already pasted to this thread about valuation and TINA speaks to the PE ratio question. That's a daily marketplace decision. But, that decision takes into account the knowledge that central banks are active participants and that fiscal policy is also playing an active role in supporting the economy. The quote suggests it will be difficult for valuation concerns to gain traction in this environment. I suspect if the upward creep in the P/E ratio is gradual the marketplace will continue to accept it assuming the economy can return to a pattern of growth (but I am certainly not betting the farm that is the case). But, what happens if (when?) inflation takes hold? That will presumably force central banks to modify their behavior. The limits of MMT tie in with this too. But, it appears the marketplace views those issues as distant concerns for another day.

per Politico:
I read that the stock market isn't the economy, but after a while . . .

More than 22 million rental units, a little over half the rental housing in the country, are in single-family buildings with between one and four units, according to data compiled by the Urban Institute. And most of those buildings have a mortgage — meaning the property owners themselves still need to make their own monthly payments.
“In a four-unit building, if one person can’t pay rent you’ve just lost 25 percent of your income,” Pinnegar said.
Most of the units are owned by mom-and-pop landlords, many of whom invested in property to save for retirement. Now they’re dealing with a dramatic drop in income, facing the prospect of either trying to sell their property or going into debt to meet financial obligations including mortgage and insurance payments, property taxes, utilities and maintenance costs. If enough landlords can no longer make those payments, it would threaten everything from the school budgets funded by property taxes to the stability of the $11 trillion U.S. mortgage market itself.
Six months into the crisis, millions of tenants can no longer meet their rent — and the situation is only getting worse. Tenants already owe some $25 billion in back rent and will owe nearly $70 billion by the end of the year, according to an estimate last month by Moody’s Analytics.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1020425/000168386320013174/f6885d1.htm
(MSSFX)
497 1 f6885d1.htm FORM 497
LITMAN GREGORY FUNDS TRUST
Supplement dated September 11, 2020
to Prospectus of the
Litman Gregory Funds Trust dated April 29, 2020, as supplemented
This supplement should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus dated April 29, 2020, as supplemented.
For all existing shareholders of the PartnerSelect Smaller Companies Fund (formerly, Litman Gregory Masters Smaller Companies Fund):
The Board of Trustees (the "Board") of the Litman Gregory Funds Trust (the "Trust" or the "Funds") has approved the tax-free reorganization of the PartnerSelect Smaller Companies Fund, a series of the Trust (the "Smaller Companies Fund"), into the PartnerSelect SBH Focused Small Value Fund, a series of the Trust (the "SBH Focused Small Value Fund") (the "Reorganization"). The Reorganization does not require the approval of the shareholders of the Smaller Companies Fund or the SBH Focused Small Value Fund.
The Reorganization was proposed because, among other things, the announced pending retirement of Dick Weiss, portfolio manager of the portion of the Smaller Companies Fund sub-advised by Wells Capital Management, Inc., and the decision by Litman Gregory Fund Advisors LLC (the "Adviser") to not recommend the continuation of the sub-advisory relationship with Wells absent Mr. Weiss as portfolio manager. The Board also considered the overall decline in assets in the Smaller Companies Fund from shareholder redemptions that has resulted in a corresponding increase in the Smaller Companies Fund's expense ratio. The Adviser has advised the Board that it is unlikely that the Smaller Companies Fund will increase in size significantly in the foreseeable future. The SBH Focused Small Value Fund and the Smaller Companies Fund have the same investment objective and similar investment strategies, policies, risks, and restrictions. Furthermore, the investment sub-advisor of the SBH Focused Small Value Fund also currently manages a portion of the Smaller Companies Fund, thus preserving access by shareholders to this manager's portfolio management expertise. The Adviser has committed to limit the expenses of the SBH Focused Small Value Fund at a level below that of the Smaller Companies Fund at least through April 30, 2022. By consolidating the two funds instead of liquidating the Smaller Companies Fund, the Adviser believes that significant realized and unrealized capital losses and capital loss carryforwards may be preserved for the benefit of shareholders while allowing individual shareholders to assess their particular tax situations and act in their own best interest with respect to the realization of capital gains or losses.
To effectuate the Reorganization, the Smaller Companies Fund will transfer all of its assets to the SBH Focused Small Value Fund, and the SBH Focused Small Value Fund will assume all of the liabilities of the Smaller Companies Fund. On the date of the closing of the Reorganization, shareholders of the Smaller Companies Fund will receive Institutional Class shares of the SBH Focused Small Value Fund equal in aggregate net asset value to the value of their shares of the Smaller Companies Fund, in exchange for their shares of the Smaller Companies Fund. The Reorganization is expected to be effective in October 2020.
Effective September 14, 2020, shares of the Smaller Companies Fund will no longer be offered to new shareholders, and shareholders holding Institutional Class shares of any other series of the Trust will not be able to exchange their shares for shares of the Smaller Companies Fund. Shareholders of the Smaller Companies Fund will be allowed to redeem their shares in the Fund until the closing of the Reorganization.
Please keep this Supplement with your Prospectus.

You may remember Stan Druckenmiller as a frequent guest on the old PBS Nightly Business Report. This is not intended to represent a broad spectrum of opinion. Nor is his view anything new (unless you’ve been asleep in a cave for the past decade or longer). Since Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia, I’m quoting an amount of bio that under normal circumstances might be inappropriate.
“Druckenmiller began his financial career in 1977 as a management trainee at Pittsburgh National Bank. He became head of the bank's equity research group after one year. In 1981, he founded his own firm, Duquesne Capital Management. In 1985, he became a consultant to Dreyfus, splitting his time between Pittsburgh and New York, where he lived two days each week. He moved to Pittsburgh full-time in 1986, when he was named head of the Dreyfus Fund. As part of his agreement with Dreyfus, he also maintained management of Duquesne. In 1988, he was hired by George Soros to replace Victor Niederhoffer at Quantum Fund. He and Soros famously "broke the Bank of England" when they shorted British pound sterling in 1992, reputedly making more than $1 billion in profits, in an event known as Black Wednesday. They calculated that the Bank of England did not have enough foreign currency reserves with which to buy enough sterling to prop up the currency and that raising interest rates would be politically unsustainable. He left Soros in 2000 after taking large losses in technology stocks ...
According to Bloomberg News, on August 18, 2010, Druckenmiller announced the closing of his hedge fund "telling investors he'd been worn down by the stress of trying to maintain one of the best trading records in the industry while managing an 'enormous amount of capital.'" Duquesne Capital Management posts an average annual return of 30 percent without any money-losing year. His funds were down for about 5 percent when he announced his retirement in August. However, they had since erased the losses and closed with a small gain through successful bets that the market would rally in anticipation that the Federal Reserve would announce further "Quantitative Easing" to assist in reducing unemployment and avoid deflation.
According to The Wall Street Journal, on August 18, 2010, Druckenmiller "told clients that he's returning their money and ending his firm's 30-year run, citing the 'high emotional toll' of not performing up to his own expectations." He indicated it was not easy to make big profits while handling very large sums of money.“
Link to Wikipedia Article

Postscript: It’s clear to me that one of my money managers has absolutely no concept of what a bubble is. Dodge and Cox clearly doesn’t like to party. Their flagship domestic stock fund, DODGX, is down nearly 10% YTD. It’s negative over 1-year and has averaged just a sedate 5.2% annualized return over the past 3. “What mania?” they might be asking about now.
:)

Thanks, David for point us to this. Here’s Barron’s take : https://www.barrons.com/articles/climate-change-poses-a-major-risk-to-u-s-financial-system-warns-regulator-51599667397
“ The risks from climate change include damage to infrastructure, housing, crops, communities, and livelihoods, as well as to the value of financial assets, according to the report, which argues that systemic shocks related to climate change can undermine the financial health of banks and insurance markets.
It makes 53 recommendations, including that financial supervisors require bank and nonbank financial firms to address climate-related financial risks, that companies make meaningful disclosures about climate risk, and that U.S. and financial regulators provide clarity to confirm the appropriateness of making investment decisions using climate-related factors in retirement plans.”

For long-term investors, which in aggregate retirement plans are, even if their individual employees may not be, climate change will have a huge impact on the investment landscape no matter what the current ostrich head in the sand chief says.
I think ultimately the big traditional energy players will acquire the alternative energy ones as the competition from solar and other players becomes more viable as it has already been each year. Then ESG investors will really be scratching their heads as to what to own. An affordable electric car isn't far off, yet I don't necessarily think Tesla will be the one to make it. Telecommuting thanks to climate change and covid will become the norm to reduce traffic, carbon and office space. Avoid office real estate. Avoid insurers of coastal properties in Florida.
Anecdotal story I heard from one realtor who does business in Florida, that most mainstream insurers no longer want to insure Florida's coastal homes and the insurers that do charge exorbitant rates and actually model for a binary situation--either disaster doesn't happen and they're hugely profitable or it does happen and they go bankrupt and screw policy holders. Bankruptcy is modeled in.
But I wonder if the investment thesis is really what matters at this point. There needs to be real government regulation--on a global level--to reduce the inevitable destruction.

from today's New York Times:

A report commissioned by federal regulators overseeing the nation’s commodities markets has concluded that climate change threatens U.S. financial markets, as the costs of wildfires, storms, droughts and floods spread through insurance and mortgage markets, pension funds and other financial institutions.
“A world wracked by frequent and devastating shocks from climate change cannot sustain the fundamental conditions supporting our financial system,” concluded the report, “Managing Climate Risk in the Financial System”

Managing Climate Risk in the US Financial System (September 2020)
Recommendation #4 seems to directly address the administration's push against the inclusion of ESG investments in retirement plans. The CFTC, to the contrary, recommends:

The United States and financial regulators should review relevant laws, regulations and codes and provide any necessary clarity to confirm the appropriateness of making investment decisions using climate-related factors in retirement and pension plans covered by ERISA, as well as non-ERISA managed situations where there is fiduciary duty. This should clarify that climate-related factors—as well as ESG factors that impact risk-return more broadly—may be considered to the same extent as “traditional” financial factors, without creating additional burdens.

How this plays out at the individual investor level puzzles me. Even if we can guess the three likeliest short-term outcomes (say, increases in extreme weather, greater number of "orphaned" assets, a push for more-sustainable energy generation and distribution), I'm not exactly sure of how to act on the information. Do you simply dodge carbon? Look for "impact investors" who actively seek to mitigate effects? Shift to financials on the premise that insurance companies make money from catastrophic events (high short-term payoff offset by even higher premium increases)?
Curious.
David

I have no idea if there will be a rotation to value or mid-caps in the near-future. Regarding turnover, I generally avoid equity funds with turnover greater than 40%.
The ARTQX management team outperformed the mid-cap value category for a number of years based on total return/risk-adjusted return. However, poor stock selection and the retirement of one of the senior managers seems to have taken a toll. ARTQX has lagged its category every calendar year from 2014 - 2019 (except 2016).
TRMCX is a good fund. Although there is some key-person risk, T. Rowe Price is well-resourced and generally handles manager transitions well. Purchase of this fund may be restricted to customers who trade directly with T. Rowe Price.
If you're not opposed to indexing, VMVAX may also be worthy of consideration.

https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/retirement-planning/601350/does-a-40-bond-allocation-make-sense-in-todays-portfolios?amp
Does 40% bond allocation make sense in today's portfolio
Whether you’re the kind of investor who meets regularly with an adviser or the set-it-and-forget-it type who rarely looks at your 401(k), there’s a good chance your portfolio is set up with something close to a 60/40 mix of stocks and bonds.
Think it depends on your age and risks assertion. For us have 20s-25s% in bonds distribution, these levels maybe right for us. BTW we also hold other vehicles for risk stratification (strategy)

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=IR5WX4rLGbKvtgWqkLvICQ&q=Saving+for+Retirement+Is+Never+Easy.+The+Covid+Pandemic+Has+Made+It+Even+Harder.&oq=Saving+for+Retirement+Is+Never+Easy.+The+Covid+Pandemic+Has+Made+It+Even+Harder.&gs_lcp=ChFtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1ocBADUKsYWKsYYPIiaABwAHgAgAHZAYgB2QGSAQMyLTGYAQCgAQKgAQGwAQA&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-hp
Saving for Retirement Is Never Easy. The Covid Pandemic Has Made It Even Harder.
Ed Daizovi, a 57-year-old career diplomat, entered the retirement homestretch earlier this year: He had just moved back from Africa and was setting up a new home in Miami where he planned to retire next year with his wife of 29 years, after investing diligently to fund a comfortable retirement.
But the coronavirus pandemic—and the volatility stirred first by the market’s crash and quick recovery, and now by uncertainty heading into the election—is making Daizovi wary about his retirement timeline
Many folks indeed are suffering. We hope c19 conditions improve in the near future and more peoplemay get their old jobs back/lives back in orders. Heard so many personal stories of misdeeds, financial turmoils/ family restrains and conflicts previously.

https://www.schwab.com/resource-center/insights/section/on-investing
Schwab Fall issue
Come What May
1 0
by
Walt Bettinger
| AUGUST 24, 2020
Whatever the circumstances, we’re here to help.
The Law of Averages and Your Portfolio
9 3
AUGUST 24, 2020
How outsize gains plus outsize losses may produce long-term success.
Tax Withholding in Retirement
3 0
AUGUST 24, 2020
How to help ensure you prepay enough taxes once you’re no longer working.
Socially Responsible Investing in Your 401(k)
AUGUST 24, 2020
What to know before adding socially responsible investments to your retirement portfolio.
How to Shop for Bonds
3 0
AUGUST 24, 2020
You comparison-shop for everything else—so why not for bonds?
Can Your Family Members Collect Social Security When You File?
by
Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz
| AUGUST 24, 2020
Social Security benefits begin with you—but they don’t end there.
Enjoy
....

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/836487/000110465920100504/a20-27131_3497.htm
497 1 a20-27131_3497.htm 497
Prospectus and Summary
Prospectus Supplement
August 31, 2020
Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund, Inc.
Supplement dated August 31, 2020 to the Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund, Inc. Prospectus and Summary Prospectus dated April 30, 2020, as amended May 11, 2020
Global Opportunity Portfolio (the "Portfolio")
Effective at the close of business on December 31, 2020, the Portfolio will suspend offering Class I, Class A, Class C, Class IR and Class IS shares of the Portfolio to new investors, except as follows. The Portfolio will continue to offer Class I, Class A, Class C, Class IR and Class IS shares of the Portfolio: (1) through certain retirement plan accounts, (2) to clients of certain registered investment advisors who currently offer shares of the Portfolio in their asset allocation programs, (3) to directors and trustees of the Morgan Stanley Funds, (4) to Morgan Stanley affiliates and their employees and (5) to benefit plans sponsored by Morgan Stanley and its affiliates. The Portfolio will continue to offer Class I, Class A, Class C, Class IR and Class IS shares of the Portfolio to existing shareholders. The Portfolio may recommence offering Class I, Class A, Class C, Class IR and Class IS shares of the Portfolio to new investors in the future. Any such offerings of the Portfolio's Class I, Class A, Class C, Class IR and Class IS shares may be limited in amount and may commence and terminate without any prior notice.
The Portfolio has suspended offering Class L shares to all investors. Class L shareholders of the Portfolio do not have the option of purchasing additional Class L shares. However, existing Class L shareholders may invest in additional Class L shares through reinvestment of dividends and distributions.
Please retain this supplement for future reference.
IFIGOPSUMPROSPT 8/20

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.

@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.

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.