A current article in The Wall Street Journal is reporting that "Many bonds around the globe are becoming harder to trade, prompting some investors to shift to other markets and raising concerns about a broad decline in liquidity."
"Liquidity, a measure of the capacity to trade securities without significantly affecting the price, has been a growing concern since the financial crisis. Traders say it has generally weakened across markets including stocks, bonds and commodities as the large banks that once kept these markets running have pulled back in response to limits on their risk-taking.
Recent episodes of extreme market stress in Italy and emerging markets have highlighted just how quickly trading conditions can deteriorate, exacerbating concerns that markets are becoming more vulnerable to a shock as central banks slow the stimulus they have supplied for a decade."

@LewisBraham. Ironically LBJ signed the Voting rights Act of 1965.

The Southern Baptist church has long been associated with the racial divide, even before Woodstock and the Civil rights movement, but LBJ’s policies cemented its political role: https://google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/chrisladd/2017/03/27/pastors-not-politicians-turned-dixie-republican/amp/

Levon Helm is the best!

+1.

neverending Woodstock payback, I call it
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2018/07/21/feature/god-trump-and-the-meaning-of-morality/

The REAL problem is MFO has become personal propaganda machine for 1 or 2 people ...

I’m aware of only 1 person who habitually abuses the site. Wish it were only propaganda. Seem more like self-emulation to me. Obviously it’s a 24/7 activity.

Behavior includes doing one's own ignoring. Example: suppose I ignore Ted then discover most thread fund subjects are posed by Ted. I guess I'll come back and ask for the site owners to work overtime to enable me to ignore Ted only when the subject is not Fund Discussions.

@Anna, Admire the skillful wordsmithing evident through your lengthier piece and agree with the sentiment of the clip I’ve excerpted above. However, I don’t know why it was directed to @AndyJ in particular. Perhaps you intended only the initial sentence (a quote) to refer to him - and your response thereafter to a broader audience? I certainly don’t need to vouch for Andy’s always considerate treatment of others, including management, and the valuable contributions he makes to the board.

Inflow into BBJP seems to be some what related to BBJP's lower fees (ER 0.19%). EWJ (higher fees) had outflows of .5B. Must be other Japan ETFs that also have seen outflows due to BBJP lower fees. Fees matter.
That said, I own HPJSX (ER 1.61%)...what's my problem? Performance matter more:

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/weve-got-3-years-bull-market-theres-catch-103019752.html
Enjoy this weekend read.
Derf

The motto, if that’s the right term, of the previous Administration was, “When they go low, we go high.” Not always an easy example to follow in our personal or public dealings, but it is worth emulating. Before clicking the “post” button, I count to 10, re-read what I have written, then spell and grammar check. The last thing I want is for my meager contributions to resemble the tweets that fill the tv screen every time I turn it on.

+1. Has this country ever been in this position before? I am hard-pressed to think of a President more disconnected, unhinged, detached, narcissistic, morally bankrupt, self-absorbed and with absolutely no integrity. (We thought GWB was as bad as things could get, but we were wrong.) The arcane and antiquated Electoral system we still use made it so. And so I truly believe that to be alarmed and indignant and "up in arms" is merely to be expected, in the USA in 2018. To say nothing of the GOP's gerrymandering. The playing field is far from level. And "third parties?" Dead before they even get out of the gate, because both Dems and Reps make sure they never see the light of day. Vested interests are totally safe, ironclad. Change must come from the grass roots. The suits at the top of the heap will never voluntarily just let go of their privilege.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/811030/000089418918003839/pmp-bpcap_497e.htm
497 1 pmp-bpcap_497e.htm SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
BP Capital TwinLine energy fund
BP capital TwinLine MLP Fund
(“BP Capital Funds”)
Supplement dated July 20, 2018 to the
Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, each dated March 30, 2018
At the request of BP Capital Fund Advisors, LLC (“BP Capital”), the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of Professionally Managed Portfolios (“PMP”) has reviewed information relating to BP Capital’s request to reorganize the above BP Capital Funds (the “Target Funds”) into newly created funds (the “Acquiring Funds”) of Hennessy Funds Trust (each, a “Reorganization” and together, the “Reorganizations”). Each Acquiring Fund will have the same investment objectives, strategies, and policies as the corresponding Target Fund. Each Reorganization will be structured as a tax-free reorganization for federal tax purposes and is subject to a number of conditions, including the receipt of approval by the shareholders of the Target Funds.
The proposed Reorganizations will result in a change in the BP Capital Funds’ management arrangements. The Acquiring Funds will be advised by Hennessy Advisors, Inc. (the “New Advisor”). The proposed New Advisor has represented to the Board that it will employ BP Capital as the sub-adviser to the Acquiring Funds. Therefore the same portfolio management team will be responsible for day-to-day investment management of the Acquiring Fund as was responsible for the corresponding Target Fund. There will also be no change in advisory fees for the Acquiring Fund compared to the corresponding Target Fund. The Acquiring Funds will be overseen by a different Board of Trustees as it will not be a part of PMP, but will instead be part of Hennessy Funds Trust. The Acquiring Funds will have the same service providers (other than the distributor) as the Target Funds.
Based on the material provided to the Board, the Board determined at a meeting on July 19, 2018 to approve an Agreement and Plan of Reorganization (the “Plan”) whereby each Target Fund would reorganize out of PMP and into the corresponding Acquiring Fund. The Plan provides for an exchange of shares of each class of each Target Fund for shares of new classes of the corresponding Acquiring Fund, which would be distributed pro rata by the Fund to the holders of the shares of such class in complete liquidation of the Fund, and the Acquiring Fund’s assumption of all liabilities of the Fund. Shareholders of each Target Fund will receive shares of the corresponding Acquiring Fund equal in value to the shares of the Fund held by the shareholders prior to the Reorganizations.
More detailed information about the Reorganizations and the changes that will result from the Reorganizations will be provided in a proxy statement that is expected to be sent to shareholders in the coming weeks. When you receive your proxy statement, please review it and cast your vote to avoid any future solicitations.
Please retain this Supplement with the Prospectus.

From the prospectus link above:
(1) ‘‘Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses’’ are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies. The operating expenses in this fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Fund’s financial highlights because the financial statements include only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Fund.
(2) The Fund’s Advisor, Shelton Capital Management, has contractually agreed to reimburse expenses incurred by the Fund to the extent that total annual fund operating expenses (excluding acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses such as litigation or merger and reorganization expenses, for example) exceed 1.25% and 1.50% until May 1, 2019. This agreement may only be terminated with the approval of the Board of Trustees of the Fund. Shelton may be reimbursed for any foregone advisory fees or unreimbursed expenses within three fiscal years following a particular reduction or expense, but only to the extent the reimbursement does not cause the Fund to exceed applicable expense limits, and the effect of the reimbursement is measured after all ordinary operating expenses are calculated. Any such reimbursement is subject to the review and approval of the Fund’s Board of Trustees.

When encountering resistance, the modern bully whines about being bullied. Happens here, happens in politics, happens in a lot of venues these days. Clearly they're searching for their own victimization b/c their skins run awfully thin.

Please implement IGNORE feature where one User does not see posts from another User. Problem solved.

Agree. It can't be that hard to do, given that M* does it.

Also not hard to provide links to SAME websites with posts from SAME Authors that keep getting posted ad nauseum by the SAME person. Fewer crap posts, fewer fights. Sometimes less is more. I tried to suggest this in an earlier post but didn't get anywhere.
The REAL problem is MFO has become personal propaganda machine for 1 or 2 people. Then when others try to combat that, they are personally attacked. THEN if they don't bend over and take it, it is somehow THEY who are not being "civil". When they can't debate based on logic they try to bully you with personal insults. When you protest they threaten you with getting you banned from MFO. Further perpetuating the notion THEY are in control of MFO. Everyday I fell that is actually the case.
Frankly the problem is with the entire world. Logic and Fact has no place. It's about Opinion and Bullshit.

Please implement IGNORE feature where one User does not see posts from another User. Problem solved.

Agree. It can't be that hard to do, given that M* does it.

Also not hard to provide links to SAME websites with posts from SAME Authors that keep getting posted ad nauseum by the SAME person. Fewer crap posts, fewer fights. Sometimes less is more. I tried to suggest this in an earlier post but didn't get anywhere.
The REAL problem is MFO has become personal propaganda machine for 1 or 2 people. Then when others try to combat that, they are personally attacked. THEN if they don't bend over and take it, it is somehow they who are not being "civil". When THEY can't debate based on logic they try to bully you with personal insults. When you protest THEY threaten you with getting you banned from MFO. Further perpetuating the notion THEY are in control of MFO. Everyday that passes, I feel more and more that is actually the case.
Frankly the problem is with the entire world and unfortunately has manifested @ MFO. Seems impossible, but tragically true. Logic and Fact has no place. It's about Opinion and Bullshit.

FYI: (This is a follow-up article.)
A continued rally in the U.S. stock market helped fuel solid inflows for ETFs this week. In total, $6.1 billion flowed into U.S.-listed ETFs during the week-ending Thursday, July 19, bringing year-to-date inflows to $137.1 billion.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.etf.com/sections/weekly-etf-flows/weekly-etf-flows-2018-07-19-2018-07-13
M* Snapshot BBJP:
https://www.morningstar.com/etfs/bats/bbjp/quote.html

I hope the following helps give a little intuitive understanding on the relative volatility of zeros:
If you buy a 1 year zero paying 2%, you'll pay about $98 for a bond returning $100 in a year.
Technically, it will cost $100/(1 + 2%) = $98.04, but $98 is close enough.
If the rates jump to 3%, you could sell that bond for only about $97.
Technically $100/(1 + 3%) = $97.09. That's about a 1% drop in price.
That's the way zeros work. duration = maturity.
(Try the same arithmetic with a two year bond - at 2% the price will be about $96, and at 3% it will be around $94.)
If you buy a bond that has a 2% coupon, paying twice a year, and market rates are 2%, you will pay (approximately) $100 for that bond.
You'll get $1 in six months, and $101 ($1 interest and $100 principal) in a year. Ignoring compound interest, that's a 2% yield.
So this coupon bond is really a combo of two zero bonds:
- a $1 bond maturing in six months
- a $101 bond maturing in a year
The shorter (six month) bond drops only 1/2% in price when rates go up 1%. So the average drop in price of the combo is less than a full 1%. The more coupon payments you expect before maturity, the more those payments help reduce the volatility of the bond.

+1. Excellent. Thanks for that!

E.R. is 10.39% for Institutional shares. Yikes.

Vanguard's VWIGX seems to out shine Vanguard's VTIAX:

Hi @Old_Joe and others,
I find rono's message ok but the language and the presentation leave much to be desired. I'm thinking that the subject post is not one that should be allowed to stand due to the very strong language used. In addition, I feel calling the President out for treason because he met with Putin in of itself is pretty strong ... and, perhaps an act of treason in those doing this.
This is much like the governor of their home state getting caught speeding by the highway patrol. They should be ticketed just as any other citizen should be and not given a pass because of who they are. And, giving a pass for this type of language used in rono''s post of "General reminder" is just unacceptable from my view.
For those that may have missed it ... rono's post reads as follows ...
rono
July 19 Flag
Howdy folks,
Stuff it. My country is under siege by a treasonous SOB that stole the election via Russian meddling. Jr. gave the Russians, the GOP voter data base so they could target the idiots that believe.
Trump is a traitor and EVERYONE that supports him is also a traitor. All of you can eat shit and die.
and so it goes,
rono
The problem I have with his post is this sentence.
"Trump is a traitor and EVERYONE that supports him is also a traitor. All of you can eat shit and die."
That is very strong and offensive language (period).
Regardless of the contributions of rono in the past this language should be removed and not allowed.
Respectfully,
Old_Skeet
I'm thinking this thread needs to be closed (better yet removed) and politics left somewhere else.