PONDX was the D share class of the Pimco Income Fund which had no load at that time. I believe PIMCO phased out the D share class.
See the attached SEC filing which states D share class was converted to A share class:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/810893/000119312518015966/d500842d497.htm
It appears that D share class investors were grandfathered from the "A" share class load on future purchases after the conversion.

Golub1- I'm at Fidelity as well & you can purchase VWINX at for $5 per transaction vs $75 by setting up automatic investments (dollar cost average). You can set up when you want to start and end the auto purchases. You can also stop them at any time.
Accounts & Trade
Account Features
Payments & Transfers
Set up auto tran or inv
Set up auto inv
You can check with your Fidelity rep as well & they can assist. Some reps may not be aware of this and will need to check with a more senior person.
Hope this helps as there are no good subs for VWINX in my opinion!

Looking at the Fido website, when you set up an automatic investment it has to be into a mutual fund you already own. Unless I’m missing something, there doesn’t appear to be any way around the $75 TF for the first purchase, only for subsequent purchases.

If this is for a buy-and-hold or a buy-and-gradually-sell long term position, it may be cost effective to simply pay the one time fee and amortize it over years. That is, think of it as, say, a $15 fee/year for five years. Compare the fee with the how much you'll be paying in higher expense ratios of other funds and this can still come out to be your best bet.
If you're looking at investing more than $50K, you could save 7 basis points ($35/year) by buying VWIAX at Vanguard and (if you want to keep everything at Fidelity) transferring the account to Fidelity. Generally you can hold Admiral shares at Fidelity but not buy any more.
If you still want to buy a similar fund at Fidelity, you could look at HBLYX/HBLAX submanaged by Wellington. It is managed by St. John/Reckmeyer/Hand/Illfelder. St. John is the lead manager for VWESX, and Reckmeyer is the lead at VWINX. HBLYX takes a bit more credit risk than VWINX and is a bit more volatile, still generally not dissimilar to VWINX. The equity profiles are quite similar, and both funds lean toward longer durations.
The Y shares are available at Fidelity at a low min, but with the $49.95 initial fee. As discussed above, this could still save you money in the long run. (You should be able to add shares for a $5 fee via automatic investments, but that should be verified with Fidelity. I'm less certain about the ability to use automatic investments with Vanguard Investor shares, though you should check with Fidelity for VWINX also.

Dimensional Funds
https://www.mydimensional.com/dfsmedia/f27f1cc5b9674653938eb84ff8006d8c/43847-source/options/download/pdf-2020-distributions.pdf
Dodge and Cox (new)
https://www.dodgeandcox.com/pdf/shareholder_services/dc_estimated_year_end_distributions_2020.pdf
Oakmark Funds
https://oakmark.com/news-insights/2020-fund-capital-gain-distribution-estimates/
Third Avenue (new)
https://thirdave.com/2020-estimated-income-capital-gain-distributions/

Golub1- I'm at Fidelity as well & you can purchase VWINX at for $5 per transaction vs $75 by setting up automatic investments (dollar cost average). You can set up when you want to start and end the auto purchases. You can also stop them at any time.
Accounts & Trade
Account Features
Payments & Transfers
Set up auto tran or inv
Set up auto inv
You can check with your Fidelity rep as well & they can assist. Some reps may not be aware of this and will need to check with a more senior person.
Hope this helps as there are no good subs for VWINX in my opinion!

MY IRAs are at Fidelity where I own a large amount of PRWCX. I'd like to pair it with VWINX but it's a transaction fee at Fidelity - not even their usual $49 but $75. I like how it's more value focus. Can anyone suggest a low fee Mutual Fund or ETF with the same profile that might be a good sub for VWINX?

The "combo" actually is just the proxy that incorporates the registration (prospectus) by reference. It does contain links to the prospectuses on p. F-13 (near the bottom of the file Shadow linked to).
Here's the link to the acquiring fund's (Queens Road Small Value Fund's) new prospectus:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1170611/000139834420019562/fp0058114_497.htm
Tax issue, from the proxy statement:
"Any sales by the Target Fund [FPA Capital], including those made in anticipation of the Reorganization, of portfolio holdings prior to the Reorganization may generate capital gains that are expected to be distributed to shareholders prior to the Reorganization, which distribution may be taxable to shareholders." (p. 4)
"Because there are differences in the Funds’ principal investment strategies, if the Reorganization is approved by shareholders of the Target Fund, it is anticipated that substantially all of the investments held by the Target Fund will have to be sold prior to the Reorganization and reinvested in accordance with the investment strategies of the Acquiring Fund." (p. F-14)
M* reports a negative 17% cap gains exposure in FPPTX, so in theory this should not be a problem. The downside of having capital losses is that they will be carried over (I think) to the merged fund and thus apportioned among a larger base of shareholders.

Could you cite sources and explain your thinking? I've occasionally sold, or declined to buy, funds because I fundamentally disagreed with the manager's approach. But when investing in actively managed funds I generally take the view that I'm buying certain expertise and philosophy and rarely second guess changes.
M* calculates the weighted average credit rating of the fund's holdings (based on Sept. 30th portfolio) to be "A". M*'s methodology is not a simple average, but a weighting based on default probabilities. This gives more weight to lower graded bonds. So if anything, M*'s calculation tends to give funds lower credit ratings than the funds would appear to merit.
Of 126 distinct core plus funds for which M* reports credit ratings, it rates only 3 at AA and 19 at A, including DODIX. The remaining 104 are rated BBB or BB (mostly BBB). There are 28 unrated funds.
M* reports average duration for 122 distinct core plus funds. While DODIX's 4.8 years is not near the bottom numerically (there are a few very short duration funds), it is 21st lowest (3 way tie), i.e. in the quintile of shortest durations.
These figures raise the broader question: do you want to own any core plus fund? The comment, "I want them to be boring" suggests the answer is no. Not because DODIX is making changes that you currently disagree with, but because this is what actively managed funds generally, and core plus bonds specifically, tend to do.
My approach with actively managed bond funds is that I don't want them to be boring. That's what index funds are for. If I'm paying for active management, I want to see the managers take advantage of a variety of opportunities - in sectors, in quality, in yield curves, in economic cycles, etc. Different strokes for different folks.
Regarding the last (semi) annual report, the fund did open a new position in Exxon Mobile (sic). However, that was presented as one of sixteen new positions that represented a variety of sectors. The securities were selected individually and not based on sector. Likewise, the 2019 annual statement "highlighted ... the additions of AbbVie, Occidental Petroleum, UniCredit, and Vodafone Group over the course of the year."
That said, a closer look at the June 2020 and Dec 2019 statements does show a significant increase in energy debt, e.g. Petroleo Brasileiro SA and Petroleos Mexicanos among others.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1170611/000110465920114615/a20-32694_1n14.htm
Excerpt from filing:
It is proposed that this filing will become effective on November 13, 2020, pursuant to Rule 488 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Finding compelling reasons to invest when faced with so many unknowns is a daunting challenge — but one that our quarterly panel of veteran investors lives with every day. These money managers now see opportunities that stretch from cyclical stocks — which benefit when the economy runs hot — to battered European banks and the sovereign debt of China.

how-to-invest-10k/

Because it matters: https://barrons.com/articles/blackrock-supports-fewer-shareholder-requests-for-climate-risk-disclosures-51603024200

Thanks for the excellent article @bee. Like several posters here I also use PRWCX and VWINX as my main balanced funds, and they performed well through March drawdown and bounced back in 6 months.
With respect to VMVFX, this global fund has underwent several sizable changes while trailing its benchmark badly this year. YTD -8.1% versus Vanguard total world index, 4.3%. I too invested in this fund since inception but left two years ago to refocus my oversea exposure elsewhere toward growth oriented funds.
1. the top 10 holding of VMVFX has changed considerably. Now it holds Alibaba (#1) and Taiwan Semiconductor (#3) and they are certainly NOT low volatility stocks.
2. a change of fund manager in 2018 (Antonio Picca)
3. an increased of emerging market exposure to 10.1%
4. Currency hedging hurts its performance as USD has been declining this year.
5. Large % of REITs early in the year does not help as REIT is still not doing well. Recent data indicated that REIT holding has reduced to 4%.
My Vanguard total bond market index fund, institutional share, in a target date fund has done a solid job this year and that is good enough for us.
@Ironranger61, bond funds you picked are quite good. One suggestion I have is Vanguard International Total bond index, Admiral share, VTABX - a conservative bond fund. https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/profile/portfolio/vtabx

My advice to youngsters is to save as much as they can because they will be facing the perils of lay-offs after 50. If not before. We never went into long-term debt for anything but a house.
We certainly intend to spend down our retirement savings. That's what they're for. We do hope to pass on the principal of some small family inheritances even if we need to take income from them.
Not sure when we'll get to travel under the current circumstances. We logged thousands of miles all over the West before we started having kids. Most of the time we were sleeping under the stars.
I have never been out of North America. But my wife traveled extensively in her career. I'ld like to rent a country place for a while, and visit the farmer's markets, and local establishments. Wife likes my cooking, so she agrees.
Never felt the need to read a book about what to do with my retirement time.

Great comments.
Retirement continues to be good after 15 years. Actively putting attention into maintaining good health makes sense to me as does accepting the aging process as it inevitably occurs. Being close to relatives makes sense in our situation (in some situations it doesn't!). Financially, maintaining a balance between current enjoyment and set asides for the future continues to make sense to me. My simple minded approach for about a decade has been to release income (including some long term gains) from investment accounts to our household account each year. Remaining portfolio balances continue to be set aside for growth, for potential use in extreme emergencies, and for assisting relatives if needed. Any remaining balances will eventually be distributed to heirs and to non-profits.
As my 70th birthday approached last year, I decided to somewhat increase the income being generated by the portfolio for release by beginning to move 25% of the OEF/ETF portfolio balance to a newly created high yield portfolio (an @Junkster thought process led to this decision). That process was recently completed. The new portfolio has been populated with higher yielding stocks (3%+ yields at time of purchase), cefs, bdcs, reits, and commercial mreits. Time will tell if this exercise has been helpful or not!
Income released to the household is used for a variety of general purposes. What remains is mostly used for travel. Unfortunately, an early March return from Hawaii heralded the end to this year's travel. Summer travel plans got cancelled or mothballed. Also, the month in Hawaii scheduled for this coming winter will probably get cancelled soon.
Trips since the pandemic hit have centered around getaways most weeks to our nearby beach cabin (having that has proved to be a real blessing this year). My hope is that a relatively effective vaccine will be fairly widely distributed by next summer. Once that happens, I am hopeful travel risk will be reduced enough that somewhat more normal travel can resume. I am not getting any younger!
After thought: Alway remember life is short! Don't take any day for granted! My wife recently mentioned she could count 19 friends, co-volunteers of hers at the American Legion, and relatives who have passed away during the past year. (We just visited a friend at the coast yesterday who lost his wife to liver cancer during the past month. She was about our age and appeared to be in good health when we last visited them during the winter. The problem was only recently discovered.)

Not sure if the following is referenced behind the WSJ paywall, but several years ago, PIMCO was 'caught' by the SEC doing the same thing with its bond fund ETF::
PIMCO Settles Charges of Misleading Investors About ETF Performance
https://www.sec.gov/news/pressrelease/2016-252.html
Reuters version
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pimco-sec/pimco-to-pay-20-million-over-misleading-investors-about-etf-performance-idUSKBN13Q5WZ
And Semper Capital was tripped up by the same thing earlier this year.
Barrons:SEC Accuses Mortgage Fund of Overstating Its Returns
https://www.barrons.com/articles/sec-accuses-mortgage-fund-of-overstating-its-returns-51588272533

We love to travel and have done it since the early 80". We did 2 months in the US, then 2 months in the Far East. Immigrated to the US and traveled again to 48 states in the next 15 years several weeks annually.
Since 2007 we traveled to Europe for 3 weeks annually but couldn't do it this year because of COVID-19. So the only thing left is local hiking in GA. We decided a month ago to hike twice a week and treat it like a vacation.
We are using a great site https://www.alltrails.com
Example: we hiked the Raven cliff falls trail (link).

“Then look at Prepositions and particles and my head is spinning“.
Kick in = start
Kick off = start
-
FD, Thanks for responding. What you’ve posted above are actually known as prepositional verbs. (To be perfectly honest, I had to look that one up.) You’ve used the verb form of “kick“ and followed it with a preposition. These tend to be mostly colloquial (casual) expressions, not often found in formal writing.
Prepositions are quite easy to comprehend. Think of one as: a “linking word” having a noun or pronoun as an “object“. Examples: in, on, by. Prepositional phrases add additional meaning to other parts of the sentence. Example: “in this post”: In this example the preposition “in” is followed by its object “post“ and explains where the information was presented. If you think you see a preposition standing alone (having no object) it’s probably serving as an adverb.
Regarding your “COME, HOME, TOMB “, with just 26 letters and only 5 vowels in the language, it’s necessary to assign various pronunciations for the same letter or combination thereof. I agree that that aspect of pronunciation would be most difficult to assimilate. I’d imagine some of the hardest for folks to get their heads around would be combinations of letters which produce sounds (neighbor, phantom). However, this issue should not pose a problem in written discourse as we’re dealing with in your “rising interest rates” post.
I respect those like you who are multi-lingual. I don’t know any other languages, but had a couple years of Latin in HS from a very fine teacher. That experience did more to help me understand and enjoy the English language than anything else. Helping teenagers understand the poetry of Shakespeare (during another life) also contributed to my appreciation for the language. Sorry I wasn’t a bit more polite in my original intrusion into your choice of wording. Didn’t realize than that English was a second language. Just trying to be helpful. As I remarked to @Graust, you do communicate quite well. However, I think those three simple worksheets I linked would be helpful to anyone (even @Old_Joe) who might need a bit of added instruction.
Regards
PS - Regarding “Particles”, I assume you intended “participials”. Let’s save that one for another day! :)

Schwartzer makes a good case for mid-stream and the quality pick of EPD makes sense to me. My aversion to EPD relates to the Schedule K-1 they issue (See: https://www.forbes.com/sites/baldwin/2017/02/08/state-filing-requirements-for-mlp-investors/#4c5be8d13751)
Anyone who wants to consider a mid-stream investment without the Sch K-1 hassle might look at WMB or KMI. (I recently purchased some KMI and also own some RTLR which is more speculative. It also avoids the Sch K-1).

@Crash
You noted: In an ideal world, you'd be able to get at least decent returns on CDs and bond funds.
Four decent bond etf's/fund, BAGIX being active managed.
--- FBND, Fido Total Bd., Credit Qual. = AAA-BBB, E.R. = .36%. YTD = +7.98%
--- AGG, I shares U.S. Aggregate, Credit Qual. = AAA-BBB, E.R. = .04%. YTD = +6.73%
--- BND, Vang. Total Bd., Credit Qual. = AAA-BBB, E.R. = .035%. YTD = +6.86%
--- BAGIX, Baird Aggregate, Credit Qual. = AAA-BBB, E.R. = .30%. YTD = +7.57%
If one chooses to not be a short term trader, the above 4 cruise along. Not unlike most bonds, if interest rates have a reason to travel higher for a sustained period, then the price performance will begin to suffer.
Otherwise, @Crash , I don't know what else you would want to discover for performance, from a fairly stable grouping of bonds.

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