@Jim0445 - there doesn't appear to be. See page 5 in the link below.
Wells Fargo CoreBuilder Shares

"Crash">I continue to read this thread with interest. My household situation is such that I can manage fine (along with wifey,) together here with extended family, though my portfolio is surely much smaller than many or most who participate here. Therefore, I have streamlined and consolidated my portfolio prior to our moving out here. Conservative bond-OEFs? Well, I actually can't afford to be too conservative. I'm happy with my TRP bond funds, along with PTIAX, which has been mentioned by several people already. My goal is to generate BETTER than plain-vanilla monthly dividends, without going overboard re: risk. I have become accustomed to what I would characterize as moderate risk; and of course, with regard to BOND funds, volatility is much less pronounced than with stocks. I have my eye on the sister-fund to PTIAX, which is the Perf. Trust Muni bond fund. I might end-up buying into that one. Wife's 403b will be directly rolled-over from VEIRX into VLAAX...And she's starting her new job here very soon. I hope there's a 401k or 403b which is not a pile of dooky. It's some sort of Nursing Home. And she tells me that employees have their medical insurance paid for by the company (?) Holy pennies from heaven, Batman! Can that be true?
Crash, that is interesting and sounds like you have established some strong conviction for what you are interested in. What is "conservative" for one investor, could be "risky" for another investor--it is all in understanding your own risk tolerance. My wife has a relatively small amount in her Traditional IRA account, and about 50% of our joint taxable account comes from her inheritance from her deceased parents. Her desires is to be much less risky than funds I put into a relatively broad conservative category. She would prefer CDs and short term bond funds as her investments of choice. Over time, I have shown her visually on performance charts how her desired short term bond funds look like compared to slightly more risky bond categories such as nontraditional bond funds. Now in her Traditional IRA account, she is comfortable with MWCIX and IISIX for an account of about $100K. In our joint taxable account, we own several of the lower risk bond oefs that she is comfortable with (funds like DHEAX), but about half of the joint taxable account consist of funds that fit my risk level (funds like SEMMX and PUTIX). You just have to develop your portfolio to fit you needs and investment style, and believe in the criteria you used to select them.

So when I notice a floating rate fund rated 5* by M*, I decided to read M*'s analysis. Like a bikini bathing suit, it revealed just enough to make for an interesting read. It seems that Victory (a division of Guardian Insurance Co.) took this fund over from USAA which had historically subcontracted the fund's management to MFS under which this fund had achieved an excellent record. Well, guess what. When Victory took over the fund, Victory decides that it can save big bucks by firing MFS and manage the fund with its own crack fixed income group consisting of a skeletal staff of six souls. M* correctly commented that this may not be in the fund's shareholders because of the possible lack of depth of management and no reduction in the fund's expense ratio. But what hit me was that M* still rates the fund 5*. If you need evidence that M*'s ratings are "rear-view mirror" based, this is a classic case. I will give M* credit for not giving the fund a grade (Gold, Silver, etc.) I believe I'll stick with floating rate funds of the likes of Fidelity and T Rowe Price. (I'm writing this from memory so forgive me if I got any details wrong. Do your own due diligence.)

I spent a lot of time on Page 63.
Paints an interesting picture.
-The negative volatility of stocks is very similar to bonds over a 5 year rolling average...negative 2% vs negative 1%...interesting.
- An all bond portfolio performs equally well compared to a 50/50% (stock/bond) portfolio over a rolling 10 year average...very interesting
- Over long rolling periods (20 years) stocks are 3 times more profitable and less risky than bonds. Or another way of looking at it, it would require only 33% funding in stocks to equal 100% funding in bonds to reach the same financial goal. Also, an all stock portfolio has a greater chance of earning a significantly higher "low end" long term return (6% vs 1%) vs an all bond portfolio over a 20 year rolling period.
Thought on Retirement strategies:
-Fund Long term (rolling 20 year needs) using a 100% stock portfolio, expect 8X on the initial investment.
-Fund short term (1-5 year) retirement needs with 100% bonds
-Fund mid term (rolling 5 years, rolling 10 years, rolling 15 years) retirement needs with a 50/50 portfolio of stocks and bonds. Might look like VWINX (40/60).
Page 62
At age 65, a husband and wife have a 90% that one will live to 80 years old and a 49% chance one will live to 90. Plan for 35 years of retirement withdrawals.
Fund age 65 - 70 withdrawal needs with an all bond portfolio. The likelihood that you will pull money from this portfolio at a loss is lower compared to the 100% equity portfolio and the 50/50 portfolio over this 5 year rolling period. The bond portfolio has a potential maximum loss of (-8%) verses (-15%) for the 50/50 portfolio and (-39%) for the all equity portfolio. Plan for these kinds of negative outcomes (sequence of return risks).
Funds for age 70 - 75 withdrawal needs (5-10 years away) might best be constructed as a balanced 50/50 portfolio. Weigh the risk / reward to ST/low duration bonds or cash like substitutes to the Total Bond Index to the Total Stock Index.
Fund age 75- 80 (10-15 years away) as well as Age 80-85 (15-20 years away) with:
-100% equities which would add more downside risk (only -1%), as well as higher possible positive returns (19%)
- 100% bonds portfolio or 50/50 portfolio provide almost identical returns variances with the 50/50 portfolio having slightly better downside risk. Neither of these two portfolios lost principal. Funding for worse case outcomes plan for the withdrawal amount to at least equal the investment amount.
Fund ages 85-100 withdrawal needs with an all equity portfolio. Determine each years Inflation adjusted withdrawals. Worse case scenario for an all stock portfolio over 20 years is a positive 6%. Fund for the kind of outcome. Fund this portfolio at 33% of the withdrawal need...for example if you will need $10K (in today's dollars) and (inflation adjusted @ 2% for 15 years), your total need would be about $350K for these 15 years of withdrawals, so one would need to fund 33% of $350K or $117K in today's dollars. $117K hopefully grow to at least $350K in 20 years in a buy and hold all equity portfolio.

"Gary1952">What is too conservative? I have a basic AA of 50/50. But the 50% bond OEFs have 50% (25% overall) in low duration/lower yielding "safer" type funds. The other 50% (25% overall) is in higher yielding multi/non-traditional funds. I own no "ballast" funds such as core/core plus OEFs. Is this too conservative or not conservative enough? My goal is to target 3-4% yearly income from divs, CDs and growth.
My market correlation for 10 years is .35%. The max draw down is -.42% for the bond OEFs.
I know it is my judgment but I am curious what others think.
Gary, In a more specific response to your post, you and I use very similar kinds of funds, although I break my funds down into funds for my taxable account, and funds for my tax exempt (IRA) account. In my taxable account if use more of the "safer" bond oefs, but with a wide variation if diversity. So, for example, DHEAX is the short term bond fund I use, but I consider it more risky than DBLSX and less risky than FIJEX. There is an argument that you could use just one of these short term bond funds, or you could use more than one of these funds for more diversification. I use 4 very different nontraditional bond oefs in my taxable account because they are all "conservative" for me, but they don't always perform the same in a given set of market conditions. PUTIX is my most risky nontraditional bond oef, MWCIX is my least risky nontraditional bond oef. I also own a municipal bond oef which is a HY MUNI (AAHMX) and this is one of the least risky HY Munis you can own. I used it to replace BTMIX, which is a very good short term investment grade muni bond oef, but I felt I was ready to move up in risk. I have considered NVHAX, but it is more risky than AAHMX, and NHHAX has some history of significant peak to trough losses and a larger "worst 3 month performance period" than AAHMX. I am still considering adding NVHAX to my portfolio in 2020, but if I do, I will probably make it much smaller position than AAHMX. In the past I have used MMHAX as longer duration and more risky bond oef, but I am not inclined to use it right now because I am not comfortable with its risk level. I am very clear that many investors will use much more risky bond oefs in their taxable account because there are a lot of pundits thinking they will sail through 2020 in the same way they sailed through 2019--that may fit their conservative criteria, but not mine.
When it comes to my IRA account, I use several multisector bond oefs that are more risky than what I will use in my taxable account. I rank order multisector bond oefs in roughly the following low to higher risk: ANGIX, VCFAX, PIMIX, PTIAX, JMUTX, JMSIX, PUCZX, IOFIX. All investors can make an argument for these funds being "conservative" based on the criteria they use. For me, I have chosen to only use VCFAX and PIMIX, but I don't dismiss the rationale from others to use some of these other funds. For me, I would not touch IOFIX with a 10 foot pole, but there are many others who believe this is the next great multisector bond oef.
At any rate, it appears to me that you are using relatively conservative bond oefs, but you could very easily change your criteria for other bond oefs to fit your investing roles you have defined for each fund.

First time poster, greetings to all, posting some investment thoughts via stream of consciousness, all feedback welcome
I'm heavily invested in Dominion Energy Reliability Notes, paying 2.7% / $50k+ investments, you are lower on the capital structure here, full access to your funds at any time, no FDIC but backed by the financial strength of the company. Does anyone have any experience investing in these Notes or have additional input?
Following closely the Bond OEF Investing for more Conservative Investors...does anyone on that thread really trust/know what their funds are invested in? Even conservative funds with asset backed holdings rated highly by the rating agencies you have to wonder don't you? Crazy how many high priced homes I see owned by folks who drive older beat up cars. Don't want to sound elitist but something tells me they are leveraged to the hilt which could spell trouble if interest rates/job market/economy changes. Driving up Sheridan Road in the affluent North Shore burbs of CHI seems every fifth McMansion is up for sale...and same homes been for sale seems like over two years...escape from taxes and/or many of those folks living in those expensive homes know we are in an epic asset bubble?
Heavily invested in Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) and Berkshire - B (BRK/B), consider them a sort of "defacto", well managed, mutual funds without the fees. Follow Akre and Ackman via GuruFocus new holdings, have invested in Agilent (A) and Descartes Systems Group (DSGX). Heavily invested in Medtronic (MDT) and Teleflex (TFX), we're all getting older and looking for the repeal of the ridiculous Medical Device Tax (taxes profits not revenue, huh, who thought that was a good idea, companies thus cut jobs or sent solid paying jobs overseas).
Not a fan of Mutual funds, no out performance, "skimming off the top" with their management fees. ETFs are not for me, do like their low cost but too linked to herd behavior, what goes up must come down, no? I'm amazed by how many folks who invest in their 401Ks etc just follow what they are told by the "plan representatives" and have no idea how the markets work or what they are invested in.
Investment style is "anti-fragile" ala Taleb. Majority % of investments in safe, very conservative investments (T-Bills, 5 year CDs), smaller % in DERI Dominion Notes and ~15-20% in handful of stocks mentioned above.
Comments?
Good investing to all,
B

The Nikkei graph:

There is an awful lot to look at here in this PDF but I'd like to draw your attention in particular to the charts on page 61 showing investors retreating from the market (defined as the S&P 500) as the market marches higher and page 64 the 20 year returns by asset class. A few surprises in there for me.
J.P. Morgan Guide PDF

What is too conservative? I have a basic AA of 50/50. But the 50% bond OEFs have 50% (25% overall) in low duration/lower yielding "safer" type funds. The other 50% (25% overall) is in higher yielding multi/non-traditional funds. I own no "ballast" funds such as core/core plus OEFs. Is this too conservative or not conservative enough? My goal is to target 3-4% yearly income from divs, CDs and growth.
My market correlation for 10 years is .35%. The max draw down is -.42% for the bond OEFs.
I know it is my judgment but I am curious what others think.

Crash, I appreciate your willingness to make active posts. If you have thoughts about types of posts, that might inspire lurkers/readers, to engage with comments, thoughts, questions, I would be very open to working in partnership with others to try to keep this thread from dying from lack of interest. Unfortunately, with the way MFO is designed, you almost have to make a post every day or 2, before it is buried. At M*, there were several "categories" for discussion--Bonds had their own discussion forum, along with about 20 other discussion forums. This thread has become one of the most viewed threads in the past month (3.5K views) but there have been literally about a hundred new threads, that often get no comments, but they ultimately bury more popular threads, at least from a view criteria. It takes a lot of work to just keep a thread from falling on to the 2nd or 3rd page of the most recent threads on MFO, and just getting lost and buried.

I started this thread about a month ago in December 2019, to see if this would be viable option for investors to discuss bond oefs. What I have learned is that there are a large number of individuals who "view" the thread (3.5K), but very few who care to make a post and help the thread be an active discussion forum--about 80 total posts on the thread, many of them are mine. The way MFO works, if there is no active posting, then the thread gets buried with more recent threads, more recent posts, and the thread ultimately dies of lack of attention. If anyone wants to keep this thread alive, I would be open to ideas of what would help that happen, otherwise I will just let it fade away, with my thanks to those few who were willing to participate in making active posts.

Hi @hank
This Nikkei graph is view only; but provides a look back to 1970 representing your notations about performance.

https://nypost.com/2020/01/07/bridgewater-associates-says-flagship-fund-will-be-flat-on-the-year/amp/
Bridgewater Associates says flagship fund will be flat on the year
The world’s largest hedge fund is proving a bit of a lightweight.
Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates has notified investors that its flagship Pure Alpha fund will be flat on the year — ending an 18-year winning streak, according to Institutional Investor.
It’s unclear what Dalio told investors in reporting the disappointing results, but flat returns could be difficult to justify in a year when the S&P 500 index returned 31.5 percent.

The title says 7 best. What makes them the "best"? The article does not define that.

+1
I would look at flexible bond funds where managers can add performance + possibly better risk attributes.

DODFX is a volatile fund that can have multi-year streaks of good or bad performance. I was going to say that despite that, it's not a white knuckle fund - with performances in, say, the top 2% or bottom 2% - until I checked. It came in at the 98th percentile in 2015 and the 2nd percentile in 2016.
That sequence goes to show that you have to look at this fund over several years. Its 72nd percentile performance in 2017 and 81st percentile standing in 2018, when combined with its 7th percentile returns in 2019 and also YTD lands it in the top 3/8th (38th percentile) over three years.
Another good year and this fund is going to wind up with a great 3 year record and it will have pulled its 5 year record up quite a bit. If one is willing to hang tight, I don't see a reason to believe that it won't continue to do well, long term. It reopened in part because of nearly a half decade of outflows. So while large, I don't expect size to be a significant issue.

For what interest it holds, Wasatch Small-Cap Growth is the only SCG fund that's both a Great Owl (risk-adjusted, entire market cycle) and Honor Roll (total returns, 1,3,5 years) fund; it has the additional endorsement of Morningstar, which recently elevated it to "Gold."
The Wasatch site says the fund is closed "to most new investors through third party intermediaries" which suggests it might not be closed to direct investment.

Try this: https://www.morningstar.com/articles/959057/how-to-pick-a-first-bond-fund
(Generally, all one needs to do is copy / paste a portion of the text and than run a Google search.)
Agree, John should include & back-test his links. I glanced at the article and thought it looked superficial. In today’s low rate environment, picking a bond fund doesn’t exite me much. But if you just fell off the turnip truck (we’ve all been there) than maybe this is an incisive read.

https://money.usnews.com/investing/funds/slideshows/best-low-cost-index-funds
8 of best low cost index funds
Index funds help users keep more money so their earnings can compound faster.
Best low-cost index funds to buy:
Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI)
Vanguard 500 Index Admiral (VFIAX)
iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM)
JPMorgan Diversified Return International Equity ETF (JPIN)
iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF (SOXX)
iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA)
SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP)
VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)

????? AOFAX 5.25% load.
AOFIX I see is no-load. Wonder why? Anyhow, it looks to be closed to new investors now..... And after looking again, so is AOFAX.

PRDSX, TRP fund. No load, a quant fund.
1-year: 29.74%
3 years: 14.24%
5 years: 11.95%
10 years: 14.99%
I've held it for several years. No plans to divest from it. It's true love. And you know, there's only two things that money can't buy: and that's true love and HOMEGROWN TOMATOES! Rest In Peace, Guy Clark. We miss ya.