This is ridiculously old news.
Many Vanguard index funds come in three classes: Investor (now closed), Admiral, and ETF. Two of those are purchased directly from Vanguard (or from Vanguard via a brokerage), one is purchased the same as a stock.
They are just different ways of owning, buying, and selling the same underlying fund.
VT, VOO, VTI, etc. are merely share classes of Vanguard World Stock Fund (VTWAX), Vanguard 500 (VFINX, VFIAX), Vanguard Total Stock Index (VTSAX), etc.
If you think the idea of wiping out cap gains by dumping them off on authorized participants and in the process making them disappear is fishy, according to the article, so does Gabelli.

To me this just smells bad. Are they saying that all I need to do to avoid paying capital gain taxes on my stock holdings I wish to get rid of is transfer them into my own personal ETF that I'd better get started on creating?

(The Closing Bell will be updated sometime after 4:00 PM CDST to include the latest updates from IBD and Bloomberg Evening Briefing.)
FYI: U.S. stocks swung between small gains and losses after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and reiterated it will stay patient with rates amid a mixed economic backdrop.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 162 points, or 0.61%, to 26429, having entered Wednesday’s session 0.9% below last year’s record. The S&P 500 fell 0.75% on the first day of trading in May, with stocks coming off one of their best four-month starts to a year ever. An advance Wednesday would mark the S&P 500’s fourth consecutive record close. The broad equity gauge is up 17% for the year.
The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite lost 0.57% and was slightly below Monday’s record.
The central bank noted Wednesday that some key economic activity slowed in the first quarter, potentially boosting confidence that it won’t change its stance as investors weigh a mixed stretch of data. Many expect upcoming economic figures to dictate’s the Fed’s next change in rates, a trend that has pushed investors to seek out risk across asset classes.
One of the most recent economic data points troubling some analysts was the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index for April, which came in softer than economists had expected Wednesday, signaling a slowdown in factory activity.
Prices of copper, oil and other materials vital for the construction and transportation industries fell, a sign that some investors remain wary of a decline in economic activity or setback in U.S.-China trade talks.
The S&P 500 energy and materials sectors fell about 1% Wednesday, with U.S. crude-oil prices declining after inventory figures showed a larger-than-expected increase in stockpiles last week.
Figures Wednesday also showed the U.S. private sector added 275,000 jobs last month, nearly 100,000 more than consensus expectations. Analysts were looking ahead to Friday’s jobs report for the latest gauge of hiring across the U.S. economy.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note also fluctuated and was recently at 2.502%, according to Tradeweb, down from 2.505% a day earlier. Bond yields fall as prices rise and tend to decline when investors are worried about economic growth and seeking safety in ultrasafe Treasurys.
Meanwhile, shares of Apple , CVS Health and Mondelez climbed following the companies’ first-quarter earnings results, the latest example of better-than-feared numbers boosting stocks.
Apple shares climbed 6.6% after the iPhone maker posted a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly profit and sales. The company also said a downturn in China showed signs of easing, an encouraging sign for investors still wary of slowing economic activity overseas.
Although Google parent Alphabet tumbled Tuesday following its first-quarter results, Apple joined Amazon.com, Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter in the group of leading internet stocks to rise following earnings reports.
Stock markets in Japan, China, Korea and across most of mainland Europe were shut for the May Day holiday, but with Danish and U.K. stocks trading, the Stoxx Europe 600 inched down less than 0.1%, extending a stretch of quiet trading.
Regards,
Ted
MarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-futures-point-to-more-records-as-apple-results-cheer-investors-2019-05-01/print
WSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-markets-quiet-for-may-day-ahead-of-fed-decision-11556698081
Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-30/stock-futures-rise-on-apple-dollar-yields-dip-markets-wrap?srnd=premium
IBD:
CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/01/stock-market-federal-reserve-meeting-outcome-in-focus.html
Reuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-street-pauses-ahead-of-fed-decision-after-apple-led-rally-idUSKCN1S73R3
U.K.:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/oil-firms-exporters-drag-ftse-100-while-sainsburys-lse-outshine-idUKKCN1S73BP
Europe: (Closed)
Asia: (Limited)
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/australian-stocks-rise-with-most-asian-markets-closed-for-holiday-2019-04-30/print
Bonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/01/us-bonds-federal-reserve-meeting-in-focus.html
Currencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/30/forex-market-china-pmi-data-fed-meeting-in-focus.html
Oil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/01/oil-markets-us-stockpiles-global-markets-in-focus.html
Gold
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/01/gold-markets-equities-the-fed-in-focus.html
WSJ: Markets At A Glance:
https://markets.wsj.com/us
Major ETFs % Change:
https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/etf-monitor
SPDR's Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-tracker
SPDR's Bloomberg Sector Performance Pie Chart:
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectors
Current Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx

I just checked how Merrill handles mutual fund tax lots. Its inability to handle fractional shares results in its doing backward somersaults to get the numbers to add up right. Fictitious lots are thrown in with phony prices. A single fund purchase of mine is shown as three different buys on the same date, all with different prices!
These cascading "rounding errors" result not in a difference of a penny here and there, but tens of dollars in costs for various lots. One cannot inform Merrill of cost basis errors online, one must submit a paper form.
Nor is it possible to specify online which fund shares to sell. (You can do this at Merrill with stocks/ETFs.) Even at Vanguard (the brokerage everyone loves to hate) one can sell specific mutual fund shares online. Of course, Vanguard understands mutual funds.
And that paper form dated 2019? It highlights (italicizes) the following incorrect information:
NOTE: The information contained in the Capital Gain and Loss section of your annual tax statement is provided by Merrill Lynch as a value-added service and is not furnished to the IRS. The IRS has several approved methods for calculating cost basis. The calculation method you choose will affect the amount of the taxable gain or loss reported for the year. You are being required to specify the method you have elected to use on your tax return. Once a method is selected, that method must be used for all shares held in the security. To change the method, the approval of the IRS is required.
The parts I underlined are wrong with respect to covered shares.

The Closing Bell will be updated sometime after 4:00 PM CDST to include the latest updates from IBD and Bloomberg Evening Briefing.)
FYI: U.S. stocks swung between small gains and losses Friday after figures showed the U.S. economy grew at a strong rate in the first quarter but the pace of consumer and business spending slowed.
The S&P 500 inched up 0.47% and had another weekly advance. The broad equity gauge closed at record high, and is up 17% for the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.30% after entering the day 1.4% below last year’s record.
Renewed confidence in the U.S. economy has helped markets rebound from last year’s slide, with the Federal Reserve signaling it is unlikely to raise interest rates this year and the U.S. and China moving toward an agreement to end their tariff fight.
Data Friday showed gross domestic product rose more than economists expected in the first quarter, lifted by an increase in the rate of exports.
The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite rose 0.34% and, like the S&P 500, closed at an all time high.
Although the pace of consumer and business spending weakened, some investors expect a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies to spur further earnings and economic growth moving forward.
The U.S. and China are set to resume negotiations next week in Beijing as they seek to wrap up a trade agreement.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note dropped to 2.507%, according to Tradeweb, from 2.536% a day earlier. Bond yields fall as prices rise, though they have recovered since hitting their lowest level since December 2017 last month with investors embracing assets considered riskier than ultrasafe Treasurys.
The WSJ Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of 16 other currencies, fell 0.2%, inching down further from Wednesday’s five-month high.
Amazon shares rose 1.7% after the e-commerce giant said that profit more than doubled last quarter and that it plans to make one-day free shipping the standard for Prime members.
Energy stocks broadly fell after President Trump said he had once again encouraged the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase supply and keep oil prices low. U.S. crude tumbled 3.5%, after earlier in the week climbing to its highest level since late October.
Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.2%.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.2%; Korea’s benchmark Kospi index dropped 0.5%; and Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.2%
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg Evening Briefing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/search?query=Evening Briefing
MarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-sp-500-futures-slip-ahead-of-us-gdp-but-tech-set-to-extend-gains-2019-04-26/print
WSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-soften-ahead-of-u-s-gdp-data-11556266432
Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-25/asian-stocks-set-for-mixed-open-dollar-steadies-markets-wrap?srnd=premium
IBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/dow-jones-nasdaq-positive-stock-market-shakes-off-intel-plunge/
CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/26/stock-market-gdp-data-and-corporate-earnings-in-focus-on-wall-street.html
Reuters:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/tech-stocks-weigh-on-wall-street-after-weak-intel-results-idUKKCN1S2163
U.K.:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/glencore-probe-weak-earnings-mar-ftse-100-ferrexpo-sinks-idUKKCN1S20OR
Europe:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-shares-get-a-lift-from-strong-earnings-u-s-gdp-idUSKCN1S20ZY
Asia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-mostly-fall-after-dow-oil-prices-pull-back-2019-04-25/print
Bonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/26/us-treasurys-higher-ahead-of-gdp-data.html
Currencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/26/forex-market-us-gdp-data-dovish-central-banks-in-focus.html
Oil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/26/oil-market-opec-output-rises-us-sanctions-on-iranian-oil-in-focus.html
Gold
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/26/gold-market-us-gdp-data-german-economic-data-in-focus.html
WSJ: Markets At A Glance:
https://markets.wsj.com/us
Major ETFs % Change:
https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/etf-monitor
SPDR's Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-tracker
SPDR's Bloomberg Sector Performance Pie Chart:
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectors
Current Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx

(The Closing Bell will be updated sometime after 4:00 PM CDST to include the latest updates from IBD and Bloomberg Evening Briefing.)
FYI: U.S. stocks swung between small gains and losses Wednesday amid concerns about the health of the world economy, a day after strong earnings propelled the S&P 500 to new highs.
The S&P was down .22%, after it registered its first record-high close of 2019 on Tuesday. It is up 17% so far this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also edged down 0.22%, having entered the day 0.6% below last October’s all-time high.
The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite fell less than 0.23%, after earlier in the day logging an intraday record following its first record close of the year.
Wednesday’s subdued market moves came after strong earnings reports boosted stocks earlier this week, in a year marked by a more cautious Federal Reserve and a stabilizing economy. This year’s powerful rally marks a reversal from the fourth quarter of 2018, when a selloff dragged the Nasdaq into bear-market territory and left the S&P 500 teetering on the edge of ending its longest bull run ever.
In one sign that investors were more anxious about the pace of economic growth, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 2.522%, according to Tradeweb, from 2.570% a day earlier. Bond yields drop as prices rise, though they have recovered since hitting a 15-month low late last month with investors selling ultrasafe Treasurys and favoring riskier assets.
Boeing shares added 0.4% after the company said it would take an initial hit of more than $1 billion on the global grounding of the 737 MAX jetliner following two fatal crashes as the plane maker suspended full-year financial guidance.
Shares of eBay climbed more 5.1% after the e-commerce company’s raised its revenue and profit outlook.
In the energy sector, Anadarko Petroleum jumped 12% after Occidental Petroleum offered to purchase the shale driller for $38 billion, launching a potential bidding war for a company that previously agreed to be purchased by Chevron for about $33 billion. Occidental shares fell 2.2%.
Among other market laggards, AT&T and Caterpillar fell following their latest results.
Facebook, Microsoft and Tesla are scheduled to post earnings after the market closes.
In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 switched between gains and losses and ended down 0.1%, following modest declines across most Asian markets. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.5% while Japan’s Nikkei closed down 0.3%.
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg Evening Briefing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-24/your-evening-briefing
MarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-futures-stage-cautious-rise-ahead-of-boeing-caterpillar-earnings-2019-04-24/print
WSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-waver-after-earnings-driven-jump-11556091910
Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-23/asian-stocks-set-for-gains-after-u-s-hits-record-markets-wrap?srnd=premium
IBD:
https://www.investors.com/news/technology/facebook-earnings-facebook-stock-q1-2019/
CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/24/stock-market-wall-street-looks-to-facebook-microsoft-earnings.html
Reuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/sp-500-hovers-below-record-highs-on-mixed-earnings-idUSKCN1S01PN
U.K.:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-100-slumps-as-oil-price-boost-fades-kcom-jumps-on-buyout-bid-idUKKCN1S00TN
Europe:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/german-shares-hit-six-and-a-half-month-high-as-sap-surges-broader-europe-ticks-lower-idUSKCN1S012L
Asia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-give-up-early-gains-following-wall-street-records-2019-04-23/print
Bonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/24/us-treasury-yields-tick-lower-as-earnings-take-center-stage.html
Currencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/24/forex-market-us-housing-data-european-economy-in-focus.html
Oil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/24/oil-market-us-iran-oil-sanctions-opec-spare-capacity-in-focus.html
Gold
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/24/gold-market-dollar-moves-stock-market-climb-in-focus.html
WSJ: Markets At A Glance:
https://markets.wsj.com/us
Major ETFs % Change:
https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/etf-monitor
SPDR's Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-tracker
SPDR's Bloomberg Sector Performance Pie Chart:
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectors
Current Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx

@young,
Glad to hear you found folks’ suggestions helpful. Not sure what you’re looking for or where you are in the investment cycle. While it doesn’t seem like it today, an ability (disposition) to withstand the inevitable market shocks both here and abroad is one consideration. Doesn’t do any good to own a top performer if the first 35% spanking is going to find you standing out on a ledge mumbling incoherently to yourself (figuratively of course).
An overlooked fund that’s not a category leader, but would be a nice middle of the road growth fund, is Price’s PRSGX (Spectrum Growth). I happen to believe there’s a margin of safety in numbers. This one invests in about a dozen different TRP funds - several of them top flight. And, unexpectedly, it’s got 36% in foreign holdings. Lipper has it middle of the pack (3/5) on return. But it leads its Lipper’s category for capital preservation.
I realize most here will shun a fund like that. But if you’re more of a “set-it-and-forget-it” type - or just too busy to pay a lot of attention, I think it’s a great long term pick. One reason it lags its Lipper peers is the substantial foreign weighting (higher than the peers it’s being ranked against). But that will turn one of these days. Just a thought since you like TRP. I like them also for many reasons.
Hope you get a response on the TCW question.

@johnN
How does your Trump/GOP 2020 statement connect to this thread topic?

@MFO Members The thrust of the article was to focus on a fund in the healthcare sector that had outstanding yield with reasonable capital appreciation. The poster chose to compare GRX strictly on capital appreciation bases totally is unfair !
Regards,
Ted
P. S. GRX yield has been income with no capital gains or ROC for the last two years.

Part of this CEF distribution in 2017 was return of one's own capital invested.
Being curious....., the below 3 healthcare related were chosen, for about 5.5 years of compare.
GRX FSPHX FHLC FSMEX compare chart starting Oct. 2013
GRX has performed well during the past 3 week healthcare whack. It appears they are able to use a percent of the money for derivatives functions; and have it right at this particular time frame.
However, we remain a total return investor; not for the yield/distribution function.

Here is an update for Old_Skeet's market barometer (which follows the S&P 500 Index) for the week ending April 18, 2019 along with my thinking. It was a short week, in the markets, due to Good Friday Holiday along with 1Q19 earning season has now begun.
Old_Skeet being a retail investor provides this information for information purposes only. It simply reflects what I am seeing in the markets, my thinking, along with what has worked best within the Index and within my portfolio for the past week. My thinking, my positioning, or my comments, should not to be taken as investment advice.
For the week Old_Skeet's market barometer closed with an overbought reading of 138 which is up from last week's extremely overbought reading of 128. Generally, a higher barometer reading indicates that there is more investment value in the Index over a lower reading. Short interest in the Index remained at 1.8 days to cover. The yield on the US10YrT moved from 2.57% to 2.56% while the yield for the Index (SPY) remained at 1.85%. The 500 Index moved downward from 2907 to 2905 for a slight loss. Trading volumes are below their averages as investors ponder stocks. There will be close to 100 companies reporting earnings this coming week, within the Index, so it will be interesting to see how the coming week progresses. The three best performing sectors, for this past week, were Industrials +1.59%, Technology +1.44% and Consumer Staples +0.96%. For Old_Skeet, I'm not presently putting new money to work in either my stock or bond funds while I await a higher barometer reading indicating a better investing climate for stocks; and, I'm also awaiting better yields from bonds. Clearly, by the metrics of the barometer, stocks are overbought.
For the week my three best performing funds (all having a global perspective) were LPEFX +1.59% ... TIBAX +1.44% ... and, DEQAX +1.44%.
In addition, I'm pondering another portfolio rebalance as I had a couple of large cash draws coming from my portfolio's cash area the past week to pay Federal & State Income Taxes owed plus I made a contribution to my church's capital fund drive campaign. This has now left my portfolio's asset allocation skewed and cash light. Since, I am equity heavy I'll be trimming equities and raising cash by a like amount in the near term. My late father had a saying, back in his day, "When the yields get thin, it's time to trim." Within the past six months, or so, the yield on the US10YrT has moved from 3.23% down to 2.56% while the yield for S&P 500 Index has moved from about 2.1% down to 1.85%. I'm thinking, the yields are now thin; and, also based upon historical seasonality trends (that he also followed), it is indeed time, for me, to trim equities.
From my perspective, investing is not an exact science and relies a lot on skill centering around the art of making a call. It's the many different investment perspectives of investors that make the markets. This is why I feel it so important to be well diversified and follow modern portfolio theory. And, furthermore, investing is really quite simple. In order to get the average return of the market you have to invest at its average price. Want above average returns? Then put new money to work at below the market's average price. This is where my market barometer helps me find good value and the better times, for me, to put new money to work. This is why buying the dips have become a popular investment strategy. Thus a phrase was coined ... "Buy the Dips and Sell the Rips." Coming off the Christmas Eve and December low the Index is up about 25%. Seems, this qualifies as a "Rip." And, for me, it's time for another rebalance.
Thanks for stopping by and reading.
I wish all ... "Good Investing."
Old_Skeet

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326544/000089418919002203/wintergreen_497e.htm
497 1 wintergreen_497e.htm SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
WINTERGREEN FUND, INC.
(the “Fund”)
April 17, 2019
Supplement to Prospectus and Summary Prospectus each dated April 30, 2018, as amended.
At a meeting held on April 15, 2019, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Wintergreen Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) approved the liquidation and dissolution of the Fund. Effective immediately at market close on April 17, 2019, the Fund has suspended most sales of its shares pending the completion of the liquidation and the payment of liquidating distributions to its shareholders. The Fund expects to make the liquidating distributions and cease operations on or shortly after June 3, 2019 (the “Liquidation Date”).
In limited circumstances, such as sales to certain retirement plans and sales made through retail omnibus platforms, the Fund will continue to offer its shares for a limited time, but no offer or sale of Fund shares will be made after April 30, 2019.
Shareholders should be aware that the Fund will convert its assets to cash and/or cash equivalents before the liquidating distributions are made to shareholders. After the Fund converts its assets to cash, the Fund will no longer pursue its stated investment objective or engage in any business activities except for the purposes of winding up its business and affairs, preserving the value of its assets, paying its liabilities, and distributing its remaining assets to shareholders.
In connection with the liquidation, the Board approved the immediate suspension of the Fund’s distribution and/or service (Rule 12b-1) fees. The Board also approved a waiver of the redemption fee of 2.00% imposed on shares redeemed within 60 days of purchase for redemptions of Fund shares that occur after the date of this supplement.
If a shareholder has not redeemed his or her shares prior to May 30, 2019, then the shareholder’s account will be automatically redeemed and proceeds will be sent to the shareholder’s address of record.
The liquidation of the Fund, like any redemption of Fund shares, will constitute an event upon which a gain or loss may be recognized for state and federal income tax purposes, depending on the type of account and the adjusted cost basis of the investor’s shares. The tax year for the Fund will end on the Liquidation Date.
The Fund expects to make one or more distributions of income and/or net capital gains prior to the Liquidation Date in order to eliminate Fund-level taxes. The Fund must declare and distribute to shareholders realized capital gains, if any, and all net investment income no later than the final liquidation distribution. The Fund currently expects to pay a capital gains distribution prior to the liquidation of the Fund. As with any other distribution, such pre-liquidation distribution by the Fund will be taxable unless you hold shares in a tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA or a retirement plan.
Please contact your tax advisor to discuss the tax consequences to you of the liquidation.
Important Action Required for Direct Shareholders with IRA Accounts
As an IRA account shareholder holding an account directly with the Fund, you should contact a shareholder service representative at 1-888-468-6473 to arrange a transfer of your Fund assets to another IRA custodian.
Please respond by May 30, 2019. If we do not receive a response by May 30, 2019, your investment in the Fund will be liquidated as an age-based distribution with 10% federal withholding on the Liquidation Date. Please also note that state withholding may also apply. Checks will be mailed to your address of record. You may have a limited time, typically 60 days, to reinvest proceeds to avoid tax consequences.
* * * * * *
YOU SHOULD RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT WITH YOUR PROSPECTUS AND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.

Interesting read that counsels lightening up on equities before a predicted earnings recession sets in. Is this in contrast to Black Rock Chief Executive Larry Fink's pondering about a possible coming stock market melt up (see short article linked below)? Or, perhaps this is just the sequence of events that gets to unfold over the next few months as animal spirits shine for a while longer before being crushed.
From this Morgan Stanley GIC Weekly:

It is appropriate that risk premiums have readjusted for the change in Fed policy, but valuation multiples are now at the high end of their range....We believe the headwinds from a weakening Europe, a strong US dollar, rising labor costs, higher oil and industrial metals prices, increased capital costs and above-average inventories will cause an earnings recession and further disappointment....Consider taking profits in the tech sector, where valuations are rich and negative operating leverage on profits may be most severe

From the short article linked below:

“Despite where the markets are in equities, we have not seen money being put to work,” Fink said. “We have record amounts of money in cash.”...Fink said the dovishness of central bankers creates a shortage of “good assets,” which could serve as a trigger for a global melt-up in equity prices.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/blackrocks-fink-says-stock-market-at-risk-of-a-melt-up-not-a-meltdown-2019-04-16

FYI: Causeway Capital Management LLC today announced that the Board of Trustees of Causeway ETMF Trust has approved the liquidation of Causeway International Value NextShares ($4.5 million in net assets) and Causeway Global Value NextShares ($4.8 million in net assets), each a series of Causeway ETMF Trust, on or about May 13, 2019.
Effective the close of business on April 15, 2019, the funds will no longer accept creation unit purchase orders. The last day of secondary market trading on NASDAQ in the funds’ shares is expected to be after markets close on May 6, 2019.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190412005005/en/Causeway-ETMF-Trust-Liquidate-Exchange-Traded-Managed-Funds

Possibly a graduate of The Bernie Madoff School of Accounting?
Haven’t watched entire video. From the mentioned discussion point it seems he’s attempting to demonstrate that an equal probability of risk (ie loss) can be achieved by investing 8X the amount of money in 2-year T Bills as in stocks. And at the same time he seems to be suggesting that the potential gains would be 8X higher with his bond position as for stocks with only equal amounts of downside risk. Be suspicious of his claim that “everybody in the business knows this”. (Get the feeling you’re being talked down to?)
The analysis is incomplete / faulty on many levels. His 16% assumption about the “average” stock market sell-off / gain is out of thin air. He cites a 16% sell-off last December as some sort of proof. Obviously, a stock sell-off / gain can be of greater or lesser magnitude (and not necessarily equal). He claims treasury bonds were the only asset class to increase in value in December 2018. Misses completely that gold climbed 5% during the month.
He seems to imply that a half-percent cut in the fed rate would translate into a 2% increase in the value of 2 year Treasury. That might be true, I can’t find any charts or calculators that might prove or disprove the assumption. But I also doubt that the correlation is as direct as he suggests.
His case rests on the assumption that by multiplying the bond term (2 years) X 8 you come up with a risk quotient equal to that magical (probable) 16% gain or loss in equities. Somehow this is supposed to translate into 8X the gain potential in 2 year treasuries as for equities. Makes no sense (he’s comparing entirely different concepts). However, it’s impossible to analyze precisely without at least knowing how much the value of that 2-year bond would be affected by a half-percent drop in rates.
Confuse, offucsate and misdirect - Maybe no one will notice. :) Possibly Mack didn’t understand - or it’s equally possible she decided to let the idiot’s words speak for themselves.

The reason to own long-term investment assets is because they thrive when the world does.

This analysis confuses general economic wellbeing with increases in investment capital when the two aren't necessarily correlated. In other words, a company can lay off employees and its stock price will go up as a result. If anything, the correlation between investment well being and economic well being has declined significantly with improvements in technology, i.e., productivity and the advent of companies like Google and Netflix which can produce oodles of money while not employing that many people. If one compares for instance the amount of employees at Netflix versus Blockbuster at its prime, you can see how much fewer employees Netflix needs to do a better job at renting video than Blockbuster.

Investing is an act of faith.

This is true. But the faith is not that investing produces happiness and wellbeing for the world. It is faith that the rich will always find new and more creative ways of exploiting the poor. This has been true throughout human history and is the fundamental reason why in the long run stocks tend to go up. The more profits companies can squeeze out of their employees and consumers, the better it is for investors and the wealthy rentier class in general. There are some benefits to this exploitation--better iphones for instance--but the realities of capitalism are more like this than Rekenthaler claims:

FYI: Akre Focus Fund (AKREX) takes buy-and-hold investing to heart, often holding the same small group of stocks for years at a time.
The $9.8 billion mutual fund, which was up more than 19% in the first quarter of this year, currently has 22 holdings that the fund managers believe compound shareholder capital at above-average rates of return. Investments are made based on four criteria, says John Neff, one of the fund’s portfolio managers.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-funds-long-time-frame-forever-11554688920
M* Snapshot AKREX:
https://www.morningstar.com/funds/xnas/akrex/quote.html

In addition, REITs are now somewhat more attractive to own outside of tax shelters, because they get a Section 199A 20% reduction in taxes. That is, whatever income they pass through, you get to deduct 20% of that. So if you're in the 22% tax bracket, you'll owe a net 17.6% (80% x 22%).
Still higher than the 15% cap gains rate, but not by very much. Something to consider if you're looking to generate income, or if you've already filled your IRA with bonds that are taxed at a higher rate.
http://www.2ndmarketcapital.com/reits/reit-benefits/ (quick and dirty summary)

...
(With nonretirement-account losses able to 'detax' any gains for years to come, I have been pondering recently, as I raise cashflow from both rollovers and Roths per ORP, whether the taxfree future of my Roths really matters.)

Different ways of viewing it for sure. In pure dollars and cents the linked article probably makes sense. Did 3 conversions. First & biggest in March ‘09. Motivation was primarily to reduce by at least 50% the RMDs that would be coming down the road in a few more years. (And there are years when the only distribution comes from the traditional.)
While they’re invested conservatively (like the traditional IRAs) I vowed never to keep a cash position in any of the Roths. That has probaby made the biggest difference in their outperformance. Also, I avoid holding newer untested funds in the Roths. Deserve a bit extra care.

Doing it for you, with the same conclusion (spread, anyway):
https://www.i-orp.com/bequest/index.html
(With nonretirement-account losses able to 'detax' any gains for years to come, I have been pondering recently, as I raise cashflow from both rollovers and Roths per ORP, whether the taxfree future of my Roths really matters.)