Love the board and the discussions.
Never owned a T-bond direct. Intriguing thought. Is it as easy as it sounds? Just go to the U.S. Treasury site and pay via checking account withdrawal? Minimums appear low. Would $1,000 work? How about using your Visa card for convenience? (Suspect your card issuer might not allow it).
The board does a good job reflecting investor sentiment - often right on the mark. The transition to fixed income types over past 10 years is interesting. As rates fell following the ‘07 - ‘09 market turmoil and Fed easing folks gravitated to longer term bonds which rose in value. As that play subsided they transitioned to high yield bonds which had some great years. Now, with rates on the rise, they’re looking at 2-year Treasuries.
I’m not as tuned in to the trends or willing to move money around as others. However, I have backed off from DODIX slightly over the past year, but still own (and like) it. Smart people there. And after the money market “reforms” a few years back (which torpedoed yields) I moved to Price’s ultra-short. Slightly better return than mm funds with very little duration risk.
Where next? I wouldn’t be surprised to see money market or ultra-shorts become hot items in a year or so if rates continue higher. Who knows? Re RPHYX - never owned it. I’m sure it has a place in some portfolios. The thing with me is I look at the overall risk and volatility in my mix. So adding a little more risk in one area might mean cutting back in another risky area. As long as the overall risk level is appropriate for the individual, any number of combinations might work.

FYI: In a recent article, my colleague Phillip Yoo highlighted developments and risks in the bank-loan market, including rising leverage ratios, the proliferation of so-called “covenant-light” loans, and the liquidity risk inherent to the asset class. These challenges all have implications for how we evaluate actively managed funds in the bank-loan Morningstar Category.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.morningstar.com/articles/866616/balancing-act-picking-actively-managed-bankloan-fu.html
M* Bank Loan Fund Returns:
http://news.morningstar.com/fund-category-returns/bank-loan/$FOCA$BL.aspx

THDAX (and its other share classes) started 12/16/09, so the only peak to trough period to compare is the later one:
04/30/11 to 09/30/11: THADX -25.3%, peers -26.1%, APHEX -30.9%
FWIW, the relative performances over the extended flat period, 4/29/11 to 9/5/14 are:
THADX 18.7%, peers 0.3%, APHEX -13.3%
Sorry I didn't detect your sarcasm.

@Bobby I suggest reading page 2 of the latest shareholder letter:
riverparkfunds.com/Data/Sites/17/media/docs/rpsthyf/commentary/RiverPark-Cohanzick_1Q18_Shareholder_Letter.pdf

Hi Guys,
I loved the RPHYX pick a few years ago as it was a very low risk to get upper 2% yield in a zero interest world.
However, took the position down 90% about 2 yrs ago as interest rates have steadily risen. NAV has been low mids 9.7s forever (since oct 15)
We saw that Cohanzick is an average junk bond manager when junk fell a couple of yrs ago (RSIVX which was supposedly to be slightly more risk was shown to actually be really an average junk bond fund).
When 1 yr Treasury is over 2% and a 2 yr CD is 2.8......this fund should be doing 4-5% to have a raison detre...........they "promised" 250-300 over treasuries which they aint doing.
I understood their biz model when they were doing purchases of shortterm junk that was about to be refinanced........but that time is ovah.
Do you guys think there is any point to having any money in RPHYX now?

Discard the past half year (since October), and the two funds are neck and neck. Since you have long lamented how ARTZX has been treated, certainly you lamented that back in October.

Actually I've been lamenting ever since Artisan announced tapping Thornburg manager for starting emerging market fund as the going was getting good. And many other times. You are the only one who noticed!

From peak (5/31/08) to trough (2/28/09) APHEX lost 61.5%; its EM peers lost 58.7%
From peak (4/30/11) to trough (9/30/11) APHEX lost 30.9%, its EM peers lost 26.1%

I want to know how ARTYX manager did during those periods with his Thornburg fund. Then I will shut up.

I'm really at a loss to see why you want her to sue for discrimination.

The problem is it is hard to see on the internet when the VF if holding his left hand up, which means he is being sarcastic. That said, I don't recally Artisan ever giving ARTZX manager a podium to voice any opinion. Instead they went after a Thornburg manager whose funds at that time I saw as only doing well in the good times as a fund company at-large and sucking wind in bad times. What I really want is for her to quit and start her own fund and beat the pants off ARTYX.

Discard the past half year (since October), and the two funds are neck and neck. Since you have long lamented how ARTZX has been treated, certainly you lamented that back in October.
Does a relatively hot hand for a few months renders one fund superior to another? Does that mean that Negrete-Gruson was discriminated against only since last October? Or was the discrimination in the original hiring for ARTYX in June 2015?
We can research her demonstrated ability to navigate the "bad times" prior to Artisan selecting a manager for ARTYX:
From peak (5/31/08) to trough (2/28/09) APHEX lost 61.5%; its EM peers lost 58.7%
From peak (4/30/11) to trough (9/30/11) APHEX lost 30.9%, its EM peers lost 26.1%
We can look at how she performed during an extended flat market prior to June 2015 - using peak to peak dates:
From peak (4/29/11) to peak (9/5/14) APHEX lost 13.3%; its EM peers essentially flat, gaining 0.3%
Her annual performance record (for the institutional class shares, since those existed longer), prior to the hiring decision:
2008, 44th percentile
2009, 20th percentile - hot market "masking alleged ability of a fund manager" - peers returned 74%
2010, 49th percentile
2011, 96th percentile
2012, 65th percentile
2013, 72nd percentile
2014, 63rd percentile
I'm really at a loss to see why you want her to sue for discrimination.

FYI: Over the past few months, I’ve gotten this question more than any other. In 2017, bitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency, rose by almost 1,200%, prompting excitement and bafflement.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.etf.com/sections/etf-industry-perspective/vanguard-bitcoin-presents-quandary?EXCMPGN=EX:PC:FAS:Sustaining

FYI: Franklin Templeton’s Michael Hasenstab came to Argentina’s aid this week, lending Buenos Aires more than $2.25bn in a discrete cash infusion reminiscent of the bond fund manager’s support for Ireland in the wake of the eurozone crisis.
Funds controlled by Mr Hasenstab, including the flagship $38bn Templeton Global Bond Fund, snapped up more than three-quarters of the 73bn pesos ($3bn) in “Bote” bonds sold by Argentina on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter
Regards,
Ted
https://www.ft.com/content/07defef6-5927-11e8-bdb7-f6677d2e1ce8
M* Snapshot TPINX:
http://www.morningstar.com/funds/xnas/tpinx/quote.html

I'm not clear on what your point is here.
Normally small funds have higher ERs, but often the management company (not the manager him/herself) takes a hit by waiving fees to attract assets. ISTM that's a sign of support by the company for the fund.
ARTZX has waived some management fees. Absent those waivers, the total ER would have been 2.20% (and 2.25% (sic) for institutional shares). With that waiver, the total ER was 1.50%. Very recently (Feb 21, 2018), Artisan waived even more fees, reducing the ER to 1.35% (and 1.20% for institutional shares).
ARTZX has underpeformed its peers over its lifetime.. ARTYX has outperformed its peers over its lifetime. While APHEX (the institutional, older class of ARTZX) tracked its peer group very closely for its first five years (through May 2011), it greatly underperformed between June 2011 and June 2015 when ARTZX was created. THDAX was flying high during that period.
Certainly it shows discriminating taste to hire more successful managers to run new funds. Other than that, what discrimination are you referring to?

I have mentioned this a few times. I own neither funds. I have/had been a big fan and long term holder of Artisan funds. Over the past few years, I've been a net seller. When a company goes public, it affects the culture. TRP might be the exception. It used to be when Artisan opened new fund, I would just buy with the expectation to hold forever. Not any more.
I have long lamented ARTZX not getting any love from investors. Forget that, not even from within Artisan. I wonder why the woman manager of ARTZX does not quit. Artisan decides to hire an high flying manager from Thornburg who mostly made his name in the good times and put him at helm of new fund ARTYX.
Net assets of ARTZX vs ARTYX : 62.4MM vs 2.4B
Expense Ratio of ARTZX vs ARTYX : 1.35 vs 1.4
WTF???
Chart of ARTZX, ARTYX, VEIEX, since date of inception of ARTYX.

I want ARTZX manager to sue Artisan for discrimination.

Thanks for posting @Ted.
Interview Action Plan:
Recent MFO discussion on regional bank investing (KRE mentioned by Mr Tennert):
https://mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/comment/100402/#Comment_100402

Just placed an order for a small position in HOBEX ntf at Schwab with $100 minimum.I'll see if it gets filled on 5/21.

@Old_Joe - I was looking at the THOPX chart for 2015-16 and thought it showed some credit weakness for a ST bond fund. It recovered nicely, however, as circumstances changed. Just my opinion.

FYI: The legislative representative to the League of California Cities urged the CalPERS Investment Committee Monday to think “out of the box” in finding a way to exceed its 7% investment return projections, saying that cities won’t be able to pay their monthly contributions to the pension plan if returns are that low.
Dane Hutchings cited a CalPERS September 2017 report, which showed that 180 of the 449 cities and towns that participate in CalPERS had an individual funding ratio of between 60% and 70%. Sounding a warning alarm, Hutchings said a significant number of those communities could fall between the 50% and 60% funded when new CalPERS data come out in August.
I don’t even know where to begin on this one.
Regards,
Ted
http://awealthofcommonsense.com/2018/05/thinking-outside-the-box/

FYI: Amazon isn’t going anywhere, so shops that would rather not shut down are adapting, resulting in a somewhat surprising retail renaissance.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.thecut.com/2018/05/retail-success-in-the-age-of-amazon.html

THOPX

Even Plumb Balanced looks good. I know at one point there was some issue with company. Used to be Thompson Plumb funds. Then they had a tiff? Anyways, I stayed away.

Speaking of THOPX......This is an unloved great performer. I mean I even got bored of it...but check out the Rock solid performance on MS. How does one beat that for a short term core bond fund?

My ANALysis. If Dollar stays down Emerging markets do well. If it goes up - just like it did recently - they will fall.
http://schrts.co/TJyiDS
http://schrts.co/sKKyrM
http://schrts.co/8tZFEq
http://schrts.co/Wafq21

THOPX

Even Plumb Balanced looks good. I know at one point there was some issue with company. Used to be Thompson Plumb funds. Then they had a tiff? Anyways, I stayed away.

Just for the heck of it........
A chart of a few of the funds mentioned recently with SPY for reference.
Mid Dec. 2017 to date.
http://stockcharts.com/freecharts/perf.php?NEFZX,LBNDX,TSIAX,CTFAX,SPY&p=6&O=011000

Still not getting the case for CTFAX. Regardless, the chart does something funky when I select/unselect a particular fund. What is it doing?