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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.

Jonathan Clement's Blog: Missing The Target: TDFs
FYI: USE THE RIGHT tool for the job and you’ll get the best result. If you need to connect two boards, you could use a hammer and a nail or a screwdriver and a screw. Either methods work—and they’re certainly better than banging in a screw with a hammer, which I’ve seen tried. It was not effective.
Participants in 401(k) plans, alas, display similar behavior with target date funds, or TDFs. A TDF offers a diversified portfolio in a single fund, with the mix of stocks and bonds changing as you approach retirement. When used correctly, the fund’s asset allocation should be appropriate for your age—aggressive while you’re young and becoming more conservative as you age. There’s no need to trade or adjust the mix. The fund does that automatically. The evidence, however, suggests many people use TDFs incorrectly.
Regards,
Ted

Ted November 2019 in Fund Discussions
looking for input: amount of brokerage information to share
Hi, guys.
Several months ago a reader asked if we could include brokerage availability information with all of our single-fund articles (profiles, Elevator Talks, Launch Alerts). That seemed like a reasonable request, so I started hunting. The information used to be available on Morningstar.com but no longer is.
I was in conversation with the folks at Morningstar and they offered to provide their master list of brokerage availability to use with our articles; the only condition was that the list of "for internal use only," which means that I can extract information about an individual fund's availability in the course of an article but I can't give folks access to the list itself.
Fair enough. Generous, actually.
Here's the place where I'd like your help. How much brokerage information should we list? The easy answer is "all of it," but "all of it" is a swamp. FAMEX, for example, has 80 listed brokerage options including multiple listings for many platforms (Schwab One Source, Schwab NTF, Schwab Institutional ...). Here's what it looks like, straight from the master list:
Ausdal Financial Partners Inc;Cetera Advisors LLC;Cetera Advisor Networks LLC;E TRADE Financial;Mid Atlantic Capital Corp;Pershing FundCenter;EP Fee Small;Shareholders Services Group;JPMorgan;Merrill Lynch;T. Rowe Price;TD Ameritrade Trust Company;LPL SAM Eligible;Fidelity Retail FundsNetwork;Fidelity Retail FundsNetwork-NTF;Fidelity Institutional FundsNetwork;Fidelity Institutional FundsNetwork-NTF;DATALynx;Dreyfus NTF;Federated TrustConnect NTF;Mony Securities Corp;SunAmerica Securities Premier / Pinnacle;Vanguard NTF;ETrade No Load Fee;SunGard Transaction Network;Royal Alliance;Bear Stearns No-Load Transaction Fee;CommonWealth Universe;Robert W. Baird & Co.;JPMorgan INVEST;WFA MF Advisory Updated 2/01/2019;RBC Wealth Management-Network Eligible;DailyAccess Corporation RTC;DailyAccess Corporation FRIAG;Sterne, Agee & Leach, Inc.,;EP Fee Large;ING Financial Ptnrs PAM and PRIME Approv;Ameritas NTFN;Ameritas NTF P;Firstrade;Scottrade NTF;Standard Retirement Services, Inc.;TIAA-CREF Brokerage Services;Pershing FundVest NTF;Matrix Financial Solutions;Trade PMR Transaction Fee;ING Financial Advisers - SAS Funds;Mid Atlantic Capital Group;HD Vest - Vest Advisor;Securities America Advisors;Bear Stearns;Securities America Advisors Top Rated;Protected Investors of America NTF;JP MORGAN NO-LOAD NTF;JP MORGAN NTF;JP MORGAN NO-LOAD TRANSACTION FEE;TD Ameritrade Retail NTF;TD Ameritrade Institutional NTF;TIAA-CREF NTF;MSWM Brokerage;WFA Fdntl Choice/PIM Updated 2/01/2019;DailyAccess Corporation Mid-Atlantic;RBC Wealth Management-Wrap Eligible;E-Plan Services, Inc.;Investacorp NTF;ING Financial Partners Inc.;Securities America Inc.;Nationwide Retirement Flexible Advantage;JP Morgan No Load;Merrill Edge;DailyAccess Corporation Matrix;DailyAccess Corporation MATC;LPL SWM;Schwab All (Retail, Instl, Retirement);Schwab OneSource & NTF (No Load & No Transaction Fee);Pershing Retirement Plan Network;HD Vest;Commonwealth (NTF);Commonwealth (NTF - PPS/Advisory);Commonwealth (PPS/Advisory);
Uh ... ick.
This project is being handled by David Welsch, who is learning to do all of the technical stuff as part of our business continuity planning. Good guy. Bright. Good spirited. But not a fund industry obsessive, so I'll need to provide very specific directions to keep it manageable and consistently high quality.
The easiest option is to include every platform, but just once. That cuts JPMorgan from six to one, and reduces the list from 80 to 43:
Ameritas NTF P; Ausdal Financial Partners Inc; Bear Stearns; Cetera Advisors LLC; Commonwealth (NTF); DailyAccess Corporation RTC; DATALynx; Dreyfus NTF; EP Fee Large; E-Plan Services, Inc.; ETrade No Load Fee; Federated TrustConnect NTF; Fidelity Retail FundsNetwork; Firstrade; HD Vest; ING Financial Advisers ; Investacorp NTF; JP MORGAN NO-LOAD NTF; LPL SWM; Matrix Financial Solutions; Merrill Lynch; Mid Atlantic Capital Group; Mony Securities Corp; MSWM Brokerage; Nationwide Retirement Flexible Advantage; Pershing FundVest NTF; Protected Investors of America NTF; RBC Wealth Management; Robert W. Baird & Co.; Royal Alliance; Scottrade NTF; Securities America Advisors; Shareholders Services Group; Standard Retirement Services, Inc.; Sterne, Agee & Leach, Inc.; SunAmerica Securities SunGard Transaction Network; T. Rowe Price; TD Ameritrade Retail NTF; TIAA-CREF NTF; Trade PMR ; Vanguard NTF; WFA Fdntl;
So the Ausdal's of the world continue to clutter the list and lots of those brokerages have details (SWS versus SAM in the case of one firm, Fdntl for another) that are significant but not worth our time to suss out.
The second option is to include only the top tier brokerages, once we fiqure out who those are (it's Schwab but is it LPL? Baird?). So:
The fund is available through 80 platforms or programs including ETrade, Fidelity, Firstrade, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Pershing, Robert W. Baird & Co., T. Rowe Price, TD Ameritrade, TIAA-CREF and Vanguard.
Which works only if we agree on which names to have David look for. It also strips out the infinite variety of fee levels; JPMorgan had six entries because it is sometimes NTF, sometimes Institutional, sometimes Load ...
Curious, as ever, about your thoughts.
David

David_Snowball November 2019 in Fund Discussions
Social Security ‘Bridge’
Lots of discussion about waiting till 70 to take social security. I was going to wait until 70, then 2 friends died at 67 without ever drawing from social security. I started taking it at my full retirement age; haven't looked back; enjoy the money every month; waiting till 70 sounds enticing if you live that long; government is betting you won't.

Patrick1 November 2019 in Fund Discussions
BUY - SELL - HOLD - November 2019
Hi @Starchild,
Thanks for your comment and question that you directed my way. Many of my American Fund holdings came to me via gift and inheritance with some of the funds dating back a couple of generations thus being in family hands all the way back to my great grandfather. As my great grandfather and grandfather sold off farm land they invested the sale proceeds and spread it out among family members with some of it being invested in American Funds. We also have a policy of not putting all of our eggs in a single basket.
Starchild I'd like your thoughts on where I overlap. Please consider manager stradegy with your answer as the funds might occupy the same style boxes, etc. but the managers themselves differ using many different investment strategies. Notice I've got growth, value, momentum, contrarian, equity dividend, fixed income of many types, special opportunity, etc.
I'm posting my sleeve management system along with portfolio positions so you have an understaning of what I actually do own for a better understanding of how I govern family money.
Consolidated Master Portfolio & Sleeve Management System ... Last Revised on 11/15/2019
Now being in retirement here is a brief description of my sleeve management system which I organized to better manage the investments held within mine and my wife's portfolios. The consolidated master portfolio is comprised of two taxable investment accounts, two self directed retirement accounts, a health savings account plus two bank savings accounts. With this, I came up with four investment areas. They are a Cash Area which consist of two sleeves ... an investment cash sleeve and a demand cash sleeve. The next area is the Income Area which consist of two sleeves ... an income sleeve and a hybrid income sleeve. Then there is the Growth & Income Area which has more risk associated with it than the Income Area and it consist of four sleeves ... a global equity sleeve, a global hybrid sleeve, a domestic equity sleeve and a domestic hybrid sleeve. Then there is the Growth Area where the most risk in the portfolio is found and it consist of five sleeves ... a global growth sleeve, a large/mid cap sleeve, a small/mid cap sleeve, an other investment sleeve plus a special investment (spiff) sleeve. The size of each sleeve can easily be adjusted, from time-to-time, by adjusting the number of funds held and their amounts. By using the sleeve management system I can get a better picture of my overall investment landscape. I have found it beneficial to Xray each fund, each sleeve, each investment area, and the portfolio as a whole quarterly for analysis. All my funds with the exception of those in my health savings account pay their distributions to the Cash Area of the portfolio. This automatically builds cash in the Cash Area to meet the portfolio's disbursement needs (when necessary) with the residual being left for new investment opportunity. Generally, in any one year, I take no more than a sum equal to one half of my portfolio's five year average return. In this way principal builds over time. In addition, most buy/sell transactions settle from, or to, the Cash Area with some net asset exchanges between funds taking place. My rebalance threshold is + (or -) 2% of my neutral allocation for my Income Area, Growth & Income Area and Growth Area while I generally let the Cash Area float. However, at times, I can tactically position by setting a target allocation that is different from the neutral weighting to overweight (or underweight) an area without having to do a forced rebalance. I do an Instant Xray analysis of the portfolio quarterly and make asset weighting adjustments as I feel warranted based upon my assessment of the market(s), my goals, my risk tolerance, my cash needs, etc. I have the portfolio set up in Morningstar's portfolio manager by sleeve, by each area and the portfolio as a whole for easy monitoring plus I use brokerage account statements, Morningstar fund reports, fund fact sheets along with their annual reports to follow my investments. In addition, I use my market barometer and equity weighting matrix system as a guide to assist me in throttling my equity allocation through the use of equity ballast, or a spiff position, when desired. I also maintain a list of positions to add (A) to, to buy (B), to reduce (R), or to sell (S). Generally, funds are assigned to a sleeve based upon a best fit basis. Currently, my investment focus is to position new money into income generating assets. The last major rebalanced process was started during the 4th Quarter of 2018 and was completed in the 1st Quarter of 2019 with some sleeves being reconfigured along with the movement to a new asset allocation of 20% cash, 40% income and 40% equity.
Portfolio Asset Allocation: Balanced Towards Income ... 20% Cash, 40% Income, 30% Gr & Inc and 10% Growth
CASH AREA: (Weighting Range 15% to 25%, Neutral 20%, Target 15%, Actual 14%)
Demand Cash Sleeve ... Cash Distribution Accrual & Future Investment Accrual
Investment Cash Sleeve ... MMK Funds: AMAXX, GOFXX(B), PCOXX, CD Ladder(R) & Savings
INCOME AREA: (Weighting Range 35% to 45%, Neutral 40%, Target 40%, Actual 39%)
Income Sleeve: APIUX(A), BLADX(A), GIFAX, JGIAX(A), NEFZX, PGBAX, PONAX & TSIAX
Hybrid Income Sleeve: AZNAX(A), BAICX, CTFAX(A), DIFAX, FBLAX, FISCX, FKINX, FRINX, ISFAX, JNBAX & PMAIX
GROWTH & INCOME AREA: (Weighting Range 25% to 35%, Neutral 30%, Target 30%, Actual 32%)
Domestic Equity Sleeve: ANCFX, FDSAX, INUTX(A) & SVAAX
Domestic Hybrid Sleeve: ABALX, AMECX, HWIAX & LABFX
Global Equity Sleeve: CWGIX, DEQAX, DWGAX(A) & EADIX
Global Hybrid Sleeve: CAIBX, TEQIX & TIBAX
GROWTH & OTHER ASSET AREA: (Weighting Range 5% to 15%, Neutral 10%, Target 15%, Actual 15%)
Large/Mid Cap Sleeve: AGTHX, AMCPX & SPECX
Small/Mid Cap Sleeve: AOFAX, NDVAX & PMDAX
Global Growth Sleeve: ANWPX, NEWFX & SMCWX
Other Investment Sleeve: KAUAX(A), LPEFX & PGUAX
Equity Ballast & Spiff Sleeve: No position held at this time.
Currently, I'm heavy in equity awaiting December mutual fund capital gain distributions that will preform an automatic rebalance of sorts by raising my cash allocation as I recieve all mutual fund distributions in cash. This should bubble me back towards a 20%/40%/40% asset allocation. Equities, indeed, had a nice run this year.
Well ok then Skeet!

Starchild November 2019 in Fund Discussions
BUY - SELL - HOLD - November 2019
Hi @Starchild,
Thanks for your comment and question that you directed my way. Many of my American Fund holdings came to me via gift and inheritance with some of the funds dating back a couple of generations thus being in family hands all the way back to my great grandfather. As my great grandfather and grandfather sold off farm land they invested the sale proceeds and spread it out among family members with some of it being invested in American Funds. We also have a policy of not putting all of our eggs in a single basket.
Starchild I'd like your thoughts on where I overlap. Please consider manager stradegy with your answer as the funds might occupy the same style boxes, etc. but the managers themselves differ using many different investment strategies. Notice I've got growth, value, momentum, contrarian, equity dividend, fixed income of many types, special opportunity, etc.
I'm posting my sleeve management system along with portfolio positions so you have an understaning of what I actually do own for a better understanding of how I govern family money.
Consolidated Master Portfolio & Sleeve Management System ... Last Revised on 11/15/2019
Now being in retirement here is a brief description of my sleeve management system which I organized to better manage the investments held within mine and my wife's portfolios. The consolidated master portfolio is comprised of two taxable investment accounts, two self directed retirement accounts, a health savings account plus two bank savings accounts. With this, I came up with four investment areas. They are a Cash Area which consist of two sleeves ... an investment cash sleeve and a demand cash sleeve. The next area is the Income Area which consist of two sleeves ... an income sleeve and a hybrid income sleeve. Then there is the Growth & Income Area which has more risk associated with it than the Income Area and it consist of four sleeves ... a global equity sleeve, a global hybrid sleeve, a domestic equity sleeve and a domestic hybrid sleeve. Then there is the Growth Area where the most risk in the portfolio is found and it consist of five sleeves ... a global growth sleeve, a large/mid cap sleeve, a small/mid cap sleeve, an other investment sleeve plus a special investment (spiff) sleeve. The size of each sleeve can easily be adjusted, from time-to-time, by adjusting the number of funds held and their amounts. By using the sleeve management system I can get a better picture of my overall investment landscape. I have found it beneficial to Xray each fund, each sleeve, each investment area, and the portfolio as a whole quarterly for analysis. All my funds with the exception of those in my health savings account pay their distributions to the Cash Area of the portfolio. This automatically builds cash in the Cash Area to meet the portfolio's disbursement needs (when necessary) with the residual being left for new investment opportunity. Generally, in any one year, I take no more than a sum equal to one half of my portfolio's five year average return. In this way principal builds over time. In addition, most buy/sell transactions settle from, or to, the Cash Area with some net asset exchanges between funds taking place. My rebalance threshold is + (or -) 2% of my neutral allocation for my Income Area, Growth & Income Area and Growth Area while I generally let the Cash Area float. However, at times, I can tactically position by setting a target allocation that is different from the neutral weighting to overweight (or underweight) an area without having to do a forced rebalance. I do an Instant Xray analysis of the portfolio quarterly and make asset weighting adjustments as I feel warranted based upon my assessment of the market(s), my goals, my risk tolerance, my cash needs, etc. I have the portfolio set up in Morningstar's portfolio manager by sleeve, by each area and the portfolio as a whole for easy monitoring plus I use brokerage account statements, Morningstar fund reports, fund fact sheets along with their annual reports to follow my investments. In addition, I use my market barometer and equity weighting matrix system as a guide to assist me in throttling my equity allocation through the use of equity ballast, or a spiff position, when desired. I also maintain a list of positions to add (A) to, to buy (B), to reduce (R), or to sell (S). Generally, funds are assigned to a sleeve based upon a best fit basis. Currently, my investment focus is to position new money into income generating assets. The last major rebalanced process was started during the 4th Quarter of 2018 and was completed in the 1st Quarter of 2019 with some sleeves being reconfigured along with the movement to a new asset allocation of 20% cash, 40% income and 40% equity.
Portfolio Asset Allocation: Balanced Towards Income ... 20% Cash, 40% Income, 30% Gr & Inc and 10% Growth
CASH AREA: (Weighting Range 15% to 25%, Neutral 20%, Target 15%, Actual 14%)
Demand Cash Sleeve ... Cash Distribution Accrual & Future Investment Accrual
Investment Cash Sleeve ... MMK Funds: AMAXX, GOFXX(B), PCOXX, CD Ladder(R) & Savings
INCOME AREA: (Weighting Range 35% to 45%, Neutral 40%, Target 40%, Actual 39%)
Income Sleeve: APIUX(A), BLADX(A), GIFAX, JGIAX(A), NEFZX, PGBAX, PONAX & TSIAX
Hybrid Income Sleeve: AZNAX(A), BAICX, CTFAX(A), DIFAX, FBLAX, FISCX, FKINX, FRINX, ISFAX, JNBAX & PMAIX
GROWTH & INCOME AREA: (Weighting Range 25% to 35%, Neutral 30%, Target 30%, Actual 32%)
Domestic Equity Sleeve: ANCFX, FDSAX, INUTX(A) & SVAAX
Domestic Hybrid Sleeve: ABALX, AMECX, HWIAX & LABFX
Global Equity Sleeve: CWGIX, DEQAX, DWGAX(A) & EADIX
Global Hybrid Sleeve: CAIBX, TEQIX & TIBAX
GROWTH & OTHER ASSET AREA: (Weighting Range 5% to 15%, Neutral 10%, Target 15%, Actual 15%)
Large/Mid Cap Sleeve: AGTHX, AMCPX & SPECX
Small/Mid Cap Sleeve: AOFAX, NDVAX & PMDAX
Global Growth Sleeve: ANWPX, NEWFX & SMCWX
Other Investment Sleeve: KAUAX(A), LPEFX & PGUAX
Equity Ballast & Spiff Sleeve: No position held at this time.
Currently, I'm heavy in equity awaiting December mutual fund capital gain distributions that will preform an automatic rebalance of sorts by raising my cash allocation as I recieve all mutual fund distributions in cash. This should bubble me back towards a 20%/40%/40% asset allocation. Equities, indeed, had a nice run this year.

Old_Skeet November 2019 in Fund Discussions
BUY - SELL - HOLD - November 2019
I am building positions in VWIAX-Wellesly, VMNVX-VangGlobLowVol & BAFWX-BrownAdvSusGrowth. I am 15 months away from retirement at the age of 65, slowly selling high SD funds.

kings53man November 2019 in Fund Discussions
Retirement strategies for Widow (or Widower)
For those of us that have a spouse that DOES NOT want to OR cannot participate in portfolio development, modification, monitoring, withdrawal strategies and etc.
How do you set up a Portfolio/Retirement/Withdrawal (KISS) strategy that will sustain your spouse throughout the rest of their life AND does NOT require your Widow/Widower to get involved. In other words, an "auto pilot" portfolio and withdrawal strategy?
Is this possible for the DIY investor? OR
Do you need to turnover your portfolio to a Full-service wealth management firm? OR
Another type of wealth management firm OR
A Financial Adviser (fee only?) OR
Someone else?
Thank you for any and all thoughts, suggestions and guidance!!!
Matt

mcmarasco November 2019 in Fund Discussions
Social Security ‘Bridge’
Here's the whole paper:
https://crr.bc.edu/working-papers/how-best-to-annuitize-defined-contribution-assets/
About a third is in (relatively) plain English. It discusses why people might want to use annuities and why they might not (both rational and irrational reasons). This includes the newer advanced life deferred annuities ("longevity insurance"). A good summary of the pros and cons.
The paper compares four options: the baseline (drawing SS at age 65); (1) buying an immediate annuity at age 65 (with 20% or 40% of retirement assets); (2) spending an amount equal to SS's PIA (full retirement benefit) out of 20% or 40% of retirement assets until age 70 or assets depleted, then taking SS; and (3) buying longevity insurance with 20% of retirement assets.
Generally, non-annuitized assets are drawn down according to RMDs. But if one buys longevity insurance, this doesn't make sense, because at age 85 another income stream kicks in. So the researchers looked at two cases: (a) drawing down according to RMD (i.e. underspending), and (b) spending everything between ages 65 and 85.
A discussion of the results starts on p. 26 (pdf p. 27). Table 3 summarizes the results. The lower the number, the less you have to spend to get the same result as the baseline. The two cases that came out best were: using 40% of assets to fund income until age 70 and then drawing SS; and buying longevity insurance (spending down everything by age 85).
A concern with the latter is that you don't have reserves for an emergency around age 85. The next three tables in the results section show how good the strategies are if one assumes random "shocks" (needs for sums of cass). The wealthier you are, the more you can survive shocks even after spending money on annuities (because you're getting higher income from the annuities).
Perhaps it would only have made a marginal difference, but they might have also considered buying a temporary life annuity to serve as the bridge to SS. That's an annuity that would pay out an income stream from, say, age 65 to age 70 or until death, whichever came first. Since you're betting that you'll live to collect SS at age 70, a temporary life annuity just increases the bet a little. And because you forfeit some money if you don't make it to 70, that temporary annuity costs less than "self-funding" the bridge.

msf November 2019 in Fund Discussions
Social Security ‘Bridge’
FYI: Unless you can get a guaranteed annual return of 8% on your retirement savings, employing a Social Security “bridge” with 401(k) and other savings until age 70 is the right move for almost all Americans who can afford to forgo the income.
This bridge strategy, laid out in a white paper by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, works for most people because retirees’ monthly Social Security checks increase 7% to 8% for every year they delay claiming up to age 70, when Social Security benefits max out.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.marketwatch.com/articles/social-security-bridge-q-a-answers-to-your-questions-about-the-retirement-income-strategy-51573912801?mod=barrons-on-marketwatch

Ted November 2019 in Fund Discussions
Barron's Cover Story: Retirement Savers Are Turning To Dividend Stocks For Income.
FYI: ( Just remember what the Linkster has always said. Dividends are the mother's milk of investing.)
For investors who are saving for retirement, dividend stocks are a crucial building block—with reinvested payouts juicing returns during the preretirement phase and providing crucial income to retirees during the drawdown phase.
Indeed, the once-sleepy world of dividend investing is hot. With their attractive income and yields, dividend stocks not only offer solid returns in an era of ultralow bond yields that doesn’t appear to be ending soon, but also hold the promise of price appreciation. The S&P 500 index’s yield was recently around 1.9%, about even with that of the 10-year U.S. Treasury note—itself a common source of income for retirement savers.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.barrons.com/articles/how-to-generate-income-in-retirement-with-dividend-stocks-51573837865?mod=past_editions

Ted November 2019 in Fund Discussions
The Most And Least Friendly States For Retirees
But think of the antelopes playfully leaping!
NH, lacking a sales tax or tax on wages, has a very high property tax rate and a lot of problems. Have looked into the state (which I *heart*) as retirement for self and relatives, and concluded it was a bad deal.

InformalEconomist November 2019 in Fund Discussions
Invesco Oppenheimer International Small-Mid Company Fund manager change
@ET91,
You are correct as listed in the below 5/25/19 filing:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/880859/000119312519154380/d723247d485bpos.htm#toc726790_201
..."Limited Fund Offering
The Fund is closed to new investors. Investors should note that the Fund reserves the right to refuse any order that might disrupt the efficient management of the Fund.
Investors who were invested in the Fund on May 24, 2019, may continue to make additional purchases in their accounts.
Any Employer Sponsored Retirement and Benefit Plan or its affiliated plans may continue to make additional purchases of Fund shares and may add new accounts at the plan level that may purchase Fund shares if the Employer Sponsored Retirement and Benefit Plan or its affiliated plan had invested in the Fund as of May 24, 2019. New Employer Sponsored Retirement and Benefit Plans or its affiliated plans authorized prior to May 24, 2019 will have until December 31, 2019 to fund the account. Any brokerage firm wrap program may continue to make additional purchases of Fund shares and may add new accounts at the program level that may purchase Fund shares if the brokerage firm wrap program had invested in the Fund as of May 24, 2019. The Fund may also accept investments by 529 college savings plans managed by the Adviser during this limited offering.
The Fund may resume sale of shares to new investors on a future date if the Adviser determines it is appropriate."

TheShadow November 2019 in Fund Discussions
How Retirees Can Withdraw More Than 4 Percent Per Year
@Derf - Correct Sir. Too many variables there to address which way is better. Certainly if you have a traditional IRA in which some assets temporarily get beaten up during retirement it may prove a wise tactical move to convert them while they’re under water.
All that said, it does throw that 4% withdrawal figure into question.

hank November 2019 in Fund Discussions
How Retirees Can Withdraw More Than 4 Percent Per Year
Agree with @MikeM (assuming he means “Better safe than sorry” here).
You don’t know until it’s you out of your life’s work with ongoing expenses and at the mercy of what we collectively term “the markets”. Guess wrong and you might find yourself out looking for a job on your 95th birthday.
I’’m atypical in that I have a DB pension. Wish everybody did. So with that I went 6-7 years into retirement without having to touch the IRA. If you can do that, it’s a great way to build up that nest egg. But 4% yearly? I’ve been able to take a bit more than that over the past 10-12 years and not really “ding” the balance. In fact it’s grown. But I’ve been lucky. Most years I pull 5-7% out. But a couple years, for new car purchases, it’s been a bit higher than 7%.
I doubt the linked OP article even addresses the traditional vs Roth issue. If you’re pulling $$ from a Roth IRA, it’s quite likely that $10 withdrawn from that Roth will buy you as much as $12-$15 pulled from a traditional IRA would (after taxes are accounted for). So, with a Roth, you need to pull out a significantly smaller percentage to maintain the same lifestyle.
The markets are a real wild card. I’d be loath to try and draw too many conclusions from the past 10 or even 20 years. That’s too short of time. History has a much longer memory. Final comment - It seems as if the bond market is hooked on “downers” today while the equity markets are doing steroids. One wonders how long that dichotomy can persist.

hank November 2019 in Fund Discussions
How Retirees Can Withdraw More Than 4 Percent Per Year
FYI: Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway were digging around in a Scottish cave. They discovered a special map that, they hoped, held the key to the origin of life on Earth. It was one of the earliest scenes in the science fiction thriller, Prometheus. And their discovery was a bit like the 4 percent rule.
OK, I might be stretching things a bit. But who’s to say William Bengen didn’t discover the 4 percent rule in a man-cave of his own? Bengen, a financial planner from MIT, published his discovery in a 1994 publication of the Journal of Financial Planning. He tested several portfolio models back to 1926. His research showed that if retirees had diversified portfolios comprising at least 50 percent in stocks, they could have withdrawn an inflation-adjusted 4 percent per year and not run out of money over a 30-year retirement.
Regards,
Ted
https://assetbuilder.com/knowledge-center/articles/how-retirees-can-withdraw-more-than-4-percent-per-year

Ted November 2019 in Fund Discussions
How Should You Invest In These Uncertain Times?
Psychologically, what helps me (in these uncertain times) is having already set up my multi year "withdrawal" bucket for retirement. The rest of the portfolio I let ride in a balanced portfolio and don't worry about trying to time a down term. I'm still working full time and plan to work part time next year, so the W-bucket allows me not to change those plans and if I want to stop working altogether, even if the market crashes, I still have that multi-year safe bucket where I can let the market recover.
In any case, the safe bucket has allowed me to not worry about what the financial market has instore.

MikeM November 2019 in Fund Discussions
BUY - SELL - HOLD October
Retirement accounts are prevented from buying or exchanging into tax-free mutual funds through the electronic channels.
Wow, that seems very strange to me that a fund company would decide what is acceptable in your portfolio. I don't believe Schwab does that. I've owned a municipal bond ETF for the last couple years, PZA, in my IRA with pretty good results in total return and a nice 4.7% yield. I could be fooling myself but I think of it as lower risk than say corporate bonds.

MikeM October 2019 in Fund Discussions
BUY - SELL - HOLD October
@Puddnhead
For benefit of others: Fidelity Quarterly report, sectors report October 29.
Our house remains healthcare and tech. for the equity side, and investment grade bonds for the bond portion; with a cash position looking for a home in the next few weeks.
Lastly, as to your earlier question about about a muni fund in an IRA. I do not find a reason to place muni's inside an IRA. Below in bold is the Fidelity reply when one attempts a muni purchase in an IRA account:
The security you are attempting to trade is a tax-free mutual fund. Retirement accounts are prevented from buying or exchanging into tax-free mutual funds through the electronic channels. For more information, contact a Fidelity representative at 800-544-6666.
Good evening,
Catch

catch22 October 2019 in Fund Discussions
Ken Fisher Says No Lay-Offs Despite Withdrawals Over His Remarks
FYI: (This Is A Follow-Up Arrtcle.)
Fisher Investments founder Ken Fisher said there will be no lay-offs at his Washington state investment firm despite some $3 billion in withdrawals by pension funds and others over allegedly sexist remarks he made at an investor conference.
In a local newspaper column published late on Friday, Fisher wrote that most of the firm is growing based on business from high net worth individuals, retirement savings plans and foreign institutions.
He wrote that growing revenue in those areas more than makes up for high-profile withdrawals from state and local pension plans and other clients. The withdrawals totaled more than $3 billion as of Friday as systems in Texas, California and elsewhere withdrew money.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-funds-fisher/ken-fisher-says-no-lay-offs-despite-withdrawals-over-his-remarks-idUSKBN1X71OY?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+reuters/businessNews+(Business+News)

Ted October 2019 in Fund Discussions
Will the Dow Jones Crash by the end of 2019?
Absolutely not. I'm 100% all in stocks (via mutual funds). This bull has another 15 years to run fueled by demographics and technology. Of course, there will be corrections along the way, some of them steep, which the doomsters will proclaim (as always) as the end of civilization, but I'm having none of that nonsense.
I believe right now is a great time to be buying risk assets - perhaps more so than in 2009. Stocks have essentially been building a mighty base over the last 18 months in preparation for an explosive move higher that will continue for years to come. As the stock market is the most efficient leading economic indicator, I simply cannot see a recession next year or for many years to come. A cursory glance at a basic S&P500, Dow, or Nasdaq chart supports this point of view. Are they collapsing or on a terminal downward spiral? No.
Note: I speak as a 53 year old with at least 10 years to retirement. My circumstances and outlook may be different to yours and I encourage some degree of diversification no matter your age.

Simon October 2019 in Fund Discussions