FYI: The fund industry's trade publication, Ignites, reports that a startup is providing 401(k) plans with a difference. (No link, paywalled.) Rocket Dollar's offering "enables you to invest beyond traditional stocks and bonds." Rocket Dollar 401(k) plans enable their owners to buy cryptocurrency, rental properties, and venture-capital funds. Perhaps they wish to make small business loans. When it comes to possible investments, "the sky's the limit" for those who board the Rocket Dollar...rocket.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.morningstar.com/articles/871895/should-401k-plans-embrace-alternative-investments.html
Rocket Dollar Website:
https://rocketdollar.com/

Hi, guys.
We tried to offer a light, low-stress issue in celebration of mid-summer.
Ed reflects a bit on the Morningstar conference and its billionaire founder
Charles, after months of conversation with Venk Reddy & co., offers a profile of the new and improved Zeo Short Duration Income Fund (ZEOIX)
Dennis Baran, reacting to the Board's curiosity, dives into Holbrook Income (HOBIX)
In celebration of the three-year anniversary of Prospector Partner's management of the fund, I renewed our profile of LS Opportunity (LSOFX). Profiles of the long/short offerings from RiverPark and 361 Capital are in the pipeline.
Beyond that, I offer a precis of our various Morningstar meetings. Grantham was grim, most of the other keynotes are B's. The Matthews Asia Value manager came across as incredibly sharp, as did Sam Lee. As Ed notes, the conference increasingly feels like its shifting from talking about investing to talking about running an advisory firm with specific reference to marketing Morningstar's services to those firms. On Day One, for example, 18 of the 20 people on stage were Morningstar employees. Day Two offered the meat of the conference, which Morningstar seems to acknowledge with two access options: $900 for 3 days or $600 for one day. Since Monday is marketing and Wednesday is a half-day, the message seems to be: $600 for the one-day Morningstar investment conference.
Fifty funds were liquidated, or filed for imminent liquidation. We've seen a slow unwinding of the industry's commitment to liquid alt funds; managed futures funds have been dropping like flies and now five "absolute return" funds surrendered in the same month. Relatively few manager changes and several interesting new funds in the pipeline.
Wishing you all the best,
David

Section 407(a)(2) of ERISA (29 USC § 1107) generally limits traditional (defined benefit) pension plans to acquiring no more than 10% of the stock of an employer. This is noted in the article.
So while there can be some risk to pension plans, they're not going to go bust simply because the employer did. The fact that ERISA allows limited investments by a plan in employer stock answers the question of whether there is a fiduciary duty to eschew this stock. There isn't.
But there's still the usual fiduciary requirement that the selection of investments by the plan (whether company stock or anything else) be prudent.
This is a different question from whether individuals ought to buy company stock in their defined contribution (DC) plans (where there is no 10% limitation).
There are NUA rules that allow company stock appreciation to be taxed as cap gains instead of ordinary income, as is the usual case for anything else held in a DC plan. That changes the risk/benefit calculation a bit, encouraging some investment in employer stock with a DC plan. But one still shouldn't go overboard.
https://www.kitces.com/blog/net-unrealized-appreciation-irs-rules-nua-from-401k-and-esop-plans/
Finally, with respect to SCANA, the article may have been poorly worded, as opposed to factually incorrect. SCANA Energy, a company owned by SCANA Corp, services only Georgia, and provides only natural gas (as noted in the article). That appears to be the company the article is referring to.
https://www.scanaenergy.com/
SCANA Corp has several subsidiaries including South Carolina Electric and Gas.
https://www.scana.com/

@msf is correct IMO. It's because of cheaper memory why so many "stupid" ideas are now "genius". Nothing really changed in the "intelligence" behind the idea. It's not like a car from 1920 was improved upon in the year 2020. The idea behind neural nets has not changed.
I think we are at a point where we have advances in technology but we either can't find applications OR can't find applications that can benefit people OR can't find applications where we can make money but let's get some investment while we fool everyone around - so BlockChain anyone?

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/773757/000119312518204090/d601516d497.htm
497 1 d601516d497.htm CFST I
Supplement dated June 26, 2018
to the Prospectus, Summary Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (SAI), as supplemented (as
applicable), of the following fund (the Fund):
Fund Prospectus and Summary Prospectus Dated SAI Dated
Columbia Funds Series Trust I
 Columbia Diversified Absolute Return Fund 10/1/2017 6/1/2018
The Board of Trustees of the Fund has approved a Plan of Liquidation and Termination (the Plan) pursuant to which the Fund will be liquidated and terminated.
Effective at the open of business on July 27, 2018, the Fund is no longer open to new investors. Shareholders who opened and funded an account with the Fund as of the open of business on this date (including accounts once funded that subsequently reached a zero balance) may continue to make additional purchases of Fund shares, including purchases by an existing retirement plan that has a plan-level or omnibus account with the Transfer Agent or other omnibus accounts relating to new or existing participants seeking to invest in the Fund. Effective July 27, 2018, any applicable contingent deferred sales charges will be waived on redemptions and exchanges out of the Fund.
Under the terms of the Plan, it is anticipated that the Fund will be liquidated on or about September 7, 2018 (the Liquidation Date) at which time the Fund's shareholders will receive a liquidating distribution in an amount equal to the net asset value of their Fund shares. For federal income tax purposes, the liquidation of the Fund will be treated as a redemption of Fund shares and may cause shareholders to recognize a gain or loss and pay taxes if the liquidated shares are held in a taxable account. You should consult with your own tax advisor about the particular tax consequences to you of the Fund’s liquidation. Shareholders of the Fund may redeem their investments in the Fund or exchange their Fund shares for shares of another Columbia Fund at any time prior to the Liquidation Date. If the Fund has not received your redemption request or other instructions prior to the Liquidation Date, your shares will be automatically liquidated on the Liquidation Date.
As of the close of business on the business day preceding the Liquidation Date, the Fund will not accept any orders for the purchase of or exchange for shares of the Fund. Orders for the purchase of or exchange for shares of the Fund may, in the Fund’s discretion, be rejected prior to the Liquidation Date, including for operational reasons relating to the anticipated liquidation of the Fund.
During the period prior to the Liquidation Date, the Fund’s investment manager, Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC (the Investment Manager), may depart from the Fund’s stated investment objectives and strategies to reduce the amount of portfolio securities and hold more cash or cash equivalents to liquidate the Fund’s assets in an orderly manner that the Investment Manager believes to be in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders. Shareholders remaining in the Fund may bear increased transaction fees incurred in connection with the disposition of the Fund’s portfolio holdings. Such transaction costs would reduce distributable net capital gains.
The Fund will pay out all distributable net income and net capital gains prior to the Liquidation Date. Shareholders will receive liquidation proceeds as soon as practicable after the Liquidation Date.
Shareholders should retain this Supplement for future reference.

FYI: U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as gains in technology, consumer discretionary stocks and General Electric (GE.N) helped Wall Street recover from a sharp sell-off a day earlier on spiraling global trade tensions.
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-25/asia-stocks-to-extend-global-slide-dollar-dips-markets-wrap
Reuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-street-rebounds-from-selloff-on-trade-worries-idUSKBN1JM1CO
MarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-industrials-set-to-take-a-breather-after-their-300-point-tumble-2018-06-26/print
IBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/major-stock-averages-rebound/
CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/25/us-stock-futures-trade-keeps-investors-on-edge-data-in-focus.html
Bonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/25/bonds-and-fixed-income-trade-tumult-remains-a-hot-topic.html
Currencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/26/forex-dollaryen-in-spotlight-as-us-escalates-global-trade-fight.html
Oil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/26/oil-surges-after-state-dept-orders-buyers-to-cut-iranian-imports.html
Gold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/26/gold-markets-dollar-in-focus-as-trade-dispute-intensifies.html
WSJ: Markets At A Glance:
http://markets.wsj.com/us
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: Positive
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx

I've found an AT&T (T) make whole note, coupon 6.5%, maturing 3/15/29, with an asking YTW of 4.991%. (Other maturity bonds are also available; longer ones with higher yields and shorter ones with lower yields.) CUSIP 001957AW9.
On the page you cited is a link to a Bloomberg article from ten days ago:
AT&T Cut by Moody's as Time Warner Deal Adds Billions of Debt

The purchase made the company the most indebted in the U.S., excluding financial companies. AT&T’s debt load will force it to refinance large amounts of debt every year, "making the company beholden to the health of the capital markets," Moody’s said as it lowered the company’s unsecured debt rating one level to Baa2, two levels above speculative grade.

IMHO it's reasonable to hold a ten year corporate bond like this as part of one's diversified bond portfolio. Good cash flow (especially since it's a premium bond). So it does what a bond is supposed to do. Whether it's a good vehicle in which to hold cash is less clear. I suppose that depends on what one's requirements are for cash.

SHY
SPEXX
PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active ETF (MINT)
iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF (FLOT)
SPDR Barclays Capital Investment Grade Floating Rate ETF (FLRN)
Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (BSV)

Odd isn’t it? Such low volatility.
I like to hunt for really beaten up sectors to throw a bit of $$ at. Sometimes it works. Sometimes doesn’t. But fun nonetheless. There really aren’t any right now. Latin America comes closest. But still sporting nice 1-year gains. So doesn’t meet my definition of “really beaten up.” EM bonds off a bit - but not greatly. Real estate’s another one. But not down as much as earlier in the year. Not nearly beaten up enough for me to take a gamble on it (but I hold a slim slice as a long term portfolio component).
It’s been said “A fool and his money are soon parted”. This is not the time to be brave IMHO.

FYI:
Regards,
Ted
June 21, 2018
Dear WEALTHTRACK Subscriber,
We are celebrating the launch of our Fifteenth Season on Public Television this week! Talk about long-term investing. We are delighted that you are here to share it with us.
Our goal when we started the show was exactly as it is now - to help our viewers build long-term financial security through disciplined, diversified investing, with advice from some of the top professionals in the business. We are continuing that tradition this week.
One of the hallmarks of Great Investors and Financial Thought Leaders is independent thinking. In order to beat the market you have to do unconventional things. This week’s guest is a prime example. He is known for his rigorous research and ability to create strategies that are either non-correlated with market behavior, i.e., they zig when the market zags, or add alpha, a performance edge over the market using more conventional strategies.
We’ll be joined by Cliff Asness, Co-Founder, Managing Principal and Chief Investment Officer of AQR Capital Management, a global money management firm he launched in 1998. It now has $225 billion dollars under management in hedge funds, as well as other alternative and more traditional strategies for clients and its family of mutual funds, which it started in 2009. One of the oldest, the AQR Managed Futures Strategy Fund, which has so far achieved its goal to be non-correlated to the market is co-managed by Asness and has a Morningstar Bronze analyst rating.
AQR stands for Applied Quantitative Research. The firm uses proprietary computer models to forecast returns for a wide variety of assets and geographies using a heavy application of old fashioned human brainpower, which it has in abundance. At last count 11 of the firm’s 26 principals have doctorate degrees and 5 are current or former professors.
Asness is a PhD in Finance from the University of Chicago where he was Nobel Laureate Eugene Fama’s teaching assistant for two years. He has won numerous prestigious awards for his own research including the CFA Institute’s James R. Vertin Award in recognition of his “body of research notable for its relevance and enduring value to investment professionals”.
AQR is known for its value orientation but Asness is quick to point out there are other key strategies employed. During this week’s interview, we’ll discuss the four core strategies AQR has identified over the years that can add a performance edge to portfolios.
If you miss the premiere show of our new season on air this week, you can always watch it on our website. It’s available to our PREMIUM viewers right now and to everyone else over the weekend. We also have an EXTRA interview with Asness about his research on a seldom used but highly effective ice hockey strategy that has investment applications.
Also, if you're looking to take WEALTHTRACK with you on your commute or travels, you can now find the WEALTHTRACK podcast on TuneIn, Stitcher, and SoundCloud, as well as iTunes. Find out more on the WEALTHTRACK Podcast page.
Thank you so much for watching. Have a great weekend and make the week ahead a profitable and a productive one!
Best regards,
Consuelo
Video Clip:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/63210/000119312518199483/d770939d497.htm
497 1 d770939d497.htm THE GAMCO MATHERS FUND
Filed Pursuant to Rule 497(e)
Registration No. 002-23727
The GAMCO Mathers Fund (the “Fund”)
Supplement dated June 21, 2018 to
the Class AAA Summary Prospectus and Prospectus dated April 30, 2018 (the “Prospectus”)
The Board of Trustees of the Fund has approved a Plan of Liquidation for the Fund, pursuant to which the Fund will be liquidated (the “Liquidation”) on or about August 31, 2018 (“Liquidation Date”). This date may be changed without notice at the discretion of the Fund’s officers. All capitalized terms used but not defined in this Supplement shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the registration statement.
Suspension of Sales. Effective the close of business on June 20, 2018, the Fund will no longer sell shares to new investors or existing shareholders, including through exchanges into the Fund from other funds in the Fund Complex.
Mechanics. In connection with the Liquidation, any shares of the Fund outstanding on the Liquidation Date will be automatically redeemed as of the close of business on the Liquidation Date. The proceeds of any such redemption will be equal to the net asset value of such shares after the Fund has paid or provided for all of its charges, taxes, expenses and liabilities. The distribution to shareholders of these liquidation proceeds will occur as soon as practicable, and will be made to all shareholders of the Fund of record at the time of the Liquidation. Additionally, the Fund must declare and distribute to shareholders any realized capital gains and all net investment income no later than the final Liquidation distribution.
Other Alternatives. At any time prior to the Liquidation Date, shareholders of the Fund may redeem their shares of the Fund and receive the net asset value thereof, pursuant to the procedures set forth under “Redemption of Shares” in the Prospectus. Shareholders may also exchange their Fund shares for shares of the same class of other funds in the Fund Complex.
U.S. Federal Income Tax Matters. For tax purposes, with respect to shares held in a taxable account, the automatic redemption of shares of the Fund on the Liquidation Date will generally be treated as any other redemption of shares (i.e., as a sale that may result in gain or loss for federal income tax purposes). Instead of waiting until the Liquidation Date, a shareholder may voluntarily redeem his or her shares prior to the Liquidation Date to the extent that the shareholder wishes to realize any such gains or losses prior thereto. See “Tax Information” in the Prospectus. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors regarding the tax treatment of the Liquidation.
If you have any questions regarding the Liquidation, please contact the Fund at 1-800-GABELLI (1-800-422-3554).
Please retain this Supplement with your Summary Prospectus and Prospectus for future reference.

Did not sell much past yr, some Corp bonds just matured and gain capitals back to buy more Corp bonds.
For taxes the boa or schwab just send us 1099misc and its pretty simple to do w turbotax and automatically filled
Will look at the performance little later on

Tax treatment of bonds, even vanilla ones, is pretty complex. My impression is that nearly everyone gets it wrong. I've a relative who, a few years ago, went to a lawyer (don't ask) to have the relatively straightforward tax return prepared. Even this lawyer made a common error in her handling of market premium of a muni bond (not discussed below - special rules for munis).
The good news is that the brokerages (actually the clearing brokerages) seem to have gotten much better in providing accurate information in the past couple of years. At least that's my experience.
You might buy a bond on the secondary market at less than face (par) value, i.e. at a discount. At maturity, you get the par value. The way this is treated is that each year, it is as though you received interest, i.e. the interest "accrues". At maturity, the total accrual equals your "gain". But you must declare this accrual as interest, not cap gains. (You have the option of declaring the interest annually, but by default it's declared all at once, at maturity.)
You might buy a bond on the secondary market above face value, i.e. at a premium. You may choose to amortize this premium. That means that each year, a little piece of the interest you receive is a partial return of the premium. So when the bond matures, there's no premium left to claim and no capital loss. But each year, since some of the "interest" you received was just return of principal, only part of the interest was taxed. If you don't amortize, then you get to take the capital loss at maturity. Simpler, but from a tax perspective worse, since reducing taxable interest is more valuable than taking a capital loss.
It gets even more complicated when there's original issue discount (OID) involved. Or it can be very simple if you just buy retail Corporate Notes at par and hold them until maturity.
Generally speaking, you should receive1099-INTs along the way (for interest payments), a 1099-B when you sell (automatic at maturity), and possibly 1099-OIDs. I haven't dealt with the latter, since I invest in munis where you don't get these. I don't know when a 1099-MISC would be issued for a bond.
Assuming you're holding to maturity, the easiest way to figure out your return is to look at your purchase confirmation. That should show the yield to maturity. That's the effective yield you get every year, after taking into account discounts, premiums, and coupons.
Here's a good IRS FAQ page. Questions 7 and 8 explain what I wrote above regarding market discount. Questions 9 and 10 explain what I wrote above regarding market premium. The fact that there are so many other questions is a clue that things can be even a lot more complicated.
https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/cost-basis-reporting-faqs

Here’s the full story which is much better than the reformed broker one:
https://bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-06-13/gundlach-sees-6-yield-in-3-years-anyone-else
I and almost every analyst think Gundlach’s wrong, but if he’s right there’d be no point owning either stocks or bonds in 2020. Both markets would tank. Meanwhile Japan despite all the austerity shills has survived with large deficits and ultra low rates for decades. In fact it was priming the pump even more that got that country’s equity market moving again in recent years. It’s true the tea party nuts may push back as Gundlach says, but how fast would they roll over if markets and their beloved portfolios started to tank as rates went higher? I think Gundlach is increasingly sounding more like one of them than viewing the situation with the appropriate level of detachment.

Hey wait. I called this long time back. In middle of Trump's 2nd term.
And hindsight is always 2020. Pun very much intended.

More often than not, I do like one manager, it is usually the reason I am drawn to a fund, assuming he/she has enough analysts doing the grunt work. However, when it comes to an allocation or balanced fund, I like a team, since the equity side and bond side take very different talents. Regarding new or existing funds with new managers, I like new managers who have a strong record elsewhere before, such as AOFAX, which I recently added after seeing posts regarding her record at Brown Capital mentioned by Old_Skeet.

FYI: Fidelity Investments started a new mutual fund and tapped two of its most successful managers, William Danoff and Joel Tillinghast, to run it. There’s just one catch: it’s only available to Canadian investors.
Fidelity Global Growth and Value Class fund marks the first time the managers will run a fund together. The new product aims to achieve long-term capital growth by investing in companies anywhere in the world, according to a news release issued Thursday. It was created by Fidelity Investments Canada, which operates independently of the U.S. fund giant.
regards,
Ted
https://www.fa-mag.com/news/fidelity-brings-together-firepower-of-star-managers-for-new-fund-39225.html?print
M*Canada:
http://news.morningstar.com/all/printNews.aspx?article=/CNW/20180614C4204_univ.xml

FYI: Jeff Gundlach upped the rhetoric on DoubleLine’s webcast last night. The famed bond manager is now talking about a spike in 10-year yields to as high as 6% (from 3% currently) and the potential for a recession in 2020
Regards,
Ted
http://thereformedbroker.com/2018/06/14/gundlachs-bond-call/

FYI: The Goldman Sachs JUST U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (JUST) just had the biggest-ever launch for a socially responsible ETF.
On Wednesday, its first day of trading, JUST took in $250 million in net inflows. Meaning that, after just one day of trading, the fund is already the ninth-largest socially responsible ETF.
Most of these flows are likely from "BYOB" assets from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and effectively function as the ETF's starting seed capital, says Dave Nadig, managing director of ETF.com.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.etf.com/sections/features-and-news/just-takes-250m-its-first-day

You're going to be taxed on the distributions whether you reinvest or not. So from a tax perspective, you're sitting with a tax bill (from the distributions), some cash, and fund shares. The question is: what do you do with the cash that was distributed?
If you need the cash (either for spending or rebalancing), then you might as well keep it. That's what you seem to be implying by saying that you'd have to sell shares to pay the taxes owed.
So the question might be viewed instead as one of where to park that cash for the short term - say six months until your tax bill comes due. If you park it in a MMF or bank account, you'll get more divs (MMF) or interest (bank). So while keeping the cash may appear simpler, because, well, it's just cash, that approach still generates more report-able distributions.
If you park the cash in your bond fund (say, by reinvesting divs), then you've got cap gains (when you sell) as well as more divs from the bond fund. Slightly more complex, but not fundamentally different.
A couple of additional thoughts:
- For tax efficiency, it's usually better to sell specific shares than use average cost. That lets you pick shares with the highest cost, generating the lowest cap gains or possibly even losses. (Of course you pay for that in the future, because your remaining shares have the lowest cost, hence the highest gains when you ultimately do sell them.)
- Some bond funds declare daily, and pay monthly. For these funds, the share price doesn't drop when there's a distribution, because the daily dividends are not incorporated into the share price. (If you liquidate your position in the middle of the month you get not only the value of the shares but the accrued dividends through the partial month.)

I happen to own USA as a small percentage (<2.0%) of my dividend growth portfolio. I couldn't afford to buy many of their top holdings outright so I saw this as a way to gain a foothold while getting a little back in return. The author stated that it is run by 5 managers however the company website says: "Multi-managed fund that allocates its portfolio assets on an approximately equal basis among several independent investment organizations (currently three in number) having different investment styles and/or strategies recommended and monitored by ALPS Advisors, Inc., the Fund's investment advisor."
As Lewis noted nearly all of the return comes from LT capital gains. The last time it returned capital was in 2014 and that was roughly $0.07/share.