FYI: SOCIALISM. It’s a word that can make people on the far left swoon, as they imagine an egalitarian utopia, even while inciting those on the far right to mumble protective oaths like a medieval citizen seeing a sign of the devil. It’s also a word that Google Trends reports has had a surge in search-related interest since last December.
Regards,
Ted
https://humbledollar.com/2019/04/the-s-word/

IOFIX was near the bottom of the barrel in a robust Bondland until the past month where it has suddenly surged ahead. . Except for the new offering EIXIX which @The Shadow mentioned here, IOFIX leads all the others this year in the non agency rmbs arena. I still think IOFIX is an excellent and well managed fund. My problem with IOFIX was its one day decline late last year of 1.29%. Regardless, junk corporates from day one this year have been and remain the place to be in Bondville with gains in the 7% to 8% and more range. Even the normally staid (compared to its peers) Vanguard junk fund VWEHX is having a bang up year over 8% YTD. Four times out of the past five negative years in junk they came back the following year with double digit returns. So let’s hope this will be 5 out of 6 as last year was negative.

Thank you, @MikeM. I'm too lazy to go to the website, but M* shows it has apparently re-shuffled: 81% asset-backed. And 9% Agency MBS CMO. And 4% Non-agency RMBs. And 4% Commercial MBS.
I like my core bond fund, though it's billed as "Global Multi-Asset Bond," which is PRSNX. Anyhow, it is my anchor now, at over 50% of total portfolio. I'm growing my supplemental bond fund for the purpose of monthly income, which is PTIAX. I know it is not a "core" fund, either. It shows 30% Non-agency Residential MBS and 17% Commercial MBS and 7% corporate bonds and 4% Agency MBS CMO and 4% asset-backed.
Biggest difference between them is in the Asset-backed category. Quite a chunk of difference between them in the Agency MBS CMO category, too.
IOFIX doesn't hold any Corporates to speak of, apparently.
PTIAX is giving me a bit better dividend each month, but that's not etched in stone, either.
PTIAX suits me re: risk/reward profile, in category: Low/High.
IOFIX, so far this year, has produced a tiny bit more in share value at +2.59% vs +2.4% for PTIAX.
Just wanting to look under the hood. Unless things go to shit, maybe IOFIX could be a tertiary source of income, down the line. Its risk/reward profile looks good, too.

Here is the vanguard announcement for the new commodities fund that is mentioned in this post. .20% expense ratio is cheap!
https://pressroom.vanguard.com/news/Press-Release-VG-Announces-Plans-to-Launch-Commodities-Fund-04-04-19.html

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/889519/000093247119006752/ps1498042019.htm
1 ps1498042019.htm VANGUARD MANAGED PAYOUT SUPPLEMENT
Vanguard Managed Payout Fund
Supplement to the Prospectus
The board of trustees of Vanguard Managed Payout Fund has approved a
reallocation of a portion of the Fund’s assets from its wholly owned subsidiary to
the proposed Vanguard Commodity Strategy Fund. The Managed Payout Fund is
expected to implement this change in the coming months should Vanguard
Commodity Strategy Fund become available for sale.
Vanguard Managed Payout Fund does not have a fixed asset allocation. As
described in the Fund’s prospectus, the exact proportion of each asset class or
investment may be changed to reflect shifts in the advisor’s risk and return
expectations. This change is not expected to increase the Fund’s expense ratio.
The Fund’s prospectus will be amended to reflect the Fund’s intention to gain
exposure to the commodities markets by investing a portion of its assets in
Vanguard Commodity Strategy Fund. References to the Fund’s wholly owned
subsidiary will be deleted from the prospectus.
© 2019 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor.
PS 1498 042019

@JohnN - Thanks. :)
@Catch22, You’re not rambling - just a little too complex perhaps for the intellectually challenged.
What I gleaned from your response to my question is that you’re not so much opposed to @John’s article’s focus on market crash as you are bothered by the often unsupported assertions that pop-up (usually in links) on the board from time to time. Good point. I agree. In fact, by performing a Google Search most any dimwit could dig up whatever predictive scenario they want to. Search for market crash and you’ll dig up half dozen or more compelling articles to that effect.
An equally compelling number of articles can be found making absurd pie-in-the-sky predictions to the contrary. S&P 3000 by the end of last year comes to mind. (We all know how that went.) Same goes for predictions about gold, bonds - or even rare whiskey (something for everyone here). :) https://www.forbes.com/sites/felipeschrieberg/2017/03/24/the-latest-hot-investment-rare-whiskies-hit-a-new-record/
Catch - I think you’re saying (in a nice way) that links are cheap. The internet is filthy with different financial scenarios. But selectivity and objectivity in regards to those links are precious and in short supply. We stand as testament. Thank you.

Thanks for the info on the Lipper category, msf. I was thinking of M*, which uses a cutoff of a duration of 4.5y (not 5y as I thought I remembered) between short and intermediate, shown in their category classification document, and like you said, that makes ISHAX M* intermediate. NVHAX comes in (right now, at least) just inside short duration territory by the M* measure.

Wait... wait! I guess that "one party" figured that they need a bit more practice before tackling SS...
Attorneys General Sue Trump Administration Over School Nutrition Rollbacks
Here's a report from NPR:
A coalition of state attorneys general is suing the Trump administration for weakening the federal nutrition standards for school meals that are fed to about 30 million children across the country.
"Over a million children in New York — especially those in low-income communities and communities of color — depend on the meals served daily by their schools to be healthy, nutritious, and prepare them for learning," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. Joining James in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico and Vermont.
As we've reported, last year the Trump administration gave school lunch administrators more flexibility in serving up refined grains, including white breads, biscuits and white pastas. The move weakened standards set during the Obama administration aimed at serving more nutritious and fiber-dense whole grains, which are a key part of a healthy diet.
In addition, the Trump administration put the brakes on targets to reduce the amount of salt allowed in school meals. At the time, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue wrote: "If kids are not eating what is being served, they are not benefiting, and food is being wasted."

Thx David. I think Core is still a fine fund, especially now that they dumped WFC. For the moment that's the main holding in my Roth IRA.
BTW what's the plural of Parnassus? Parnassi? :)

Quick note on Parnussuses. There are 18 socially-conscious Great Owl funds (inception to date). Only one of those is from Parnassus. If I modify the criteria, for example a 5-year rating of "5" without the GO requirement, that pops to three funds: Midcap, Core and Endeavor. That said, they're an exceptionally solid family. I do worry about the consequence of Mr. Dodson's (eventual) departure but investors - ESG and otherwise - really have little to complain about.

@MFO Members: The fund began tradind on 2/22/19, here is a M* Snapshot.
Regards,
Ted
M* Snapshot:
https://www.morningstar.com/funds/XNAS/CANNX/quote.html

:( Ramble on !

Lipper categories:
SMD - Short Municipal Debt Funds - Funds invest in municipal debt issues with dollar-weighted average maturities of less than three years.
SIM - Short-Intmdt Municipal Debt Funds - Funds invest in municipal debt issues with dollar-weighted average maturities of one to five years.
ISHAX has an average effective weighted maturity of 9.37 years. (Effective maturity is generally shorter than stated maturity because it incorporates the likelihood of being called.) That makes it clearly not short term by Lipper definitions. Likewise, M* shows the fund as intermediate term.

Nicely articulated by @LewisBraham. Thank you. (I too can do without Suzie O.) :)
Re “aged scotch” ... Just for accuracy: All scotch is aged (minimum of 3 years in oak casks - by law). That’s the only kind there is.
Here’s the exact language from the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 (SWR) : “ (Must be) wholly matured in an excise warehouse in Scotland in oak casks of a capacity not exceeding 700 litres (185 US gal; 154 imp gal) for at least three years”
Source - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch_whisky

@mcmarasco:
For me, ISHAX might be a named as a short duration high yield muni fund; but, from my perspective, it is anything but a short duration fund as it carries an average duration of 4.64 years with an average effective maturity being listed, by M*, at 9.37 years. To me, this is not a short duration high yield muni fund. I'm thinking short duration would be within a 1 to 3 year range with an average effective maturity likewise falling within that range as well.

FYI: If spending $5 a day on fancy coffee puts your retirement at risk, you’ve got bigger problems.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-04-03/buying-a-latte-every-day-won-t-ruin-your-retirement

In this article Paul Merriman offers up his thoughts on the subject of how much risk investors should take with their portfolio. One of the links within the article opens a chart that reflects the annual return of differenet asset allocation models by year and over time. An asset mix of 50% bonds and 50% stocks offered up an average annualized return of about eight and one half percent over an extended period of time.
The study used the S&P 500 Index to represent stocks and intermediate term US Treasuries to represent bonds.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-much-investment-risk-should-you-take-2019-04-03/print
Enjoy the article.
Old_Skeet

Protect Your Portfolio From a Market Crash
https://money.usnews.com/investing/investing-101/slideshows/7-ways-to-protect-your-portfolio-from-a-stock-market-crash?src=usn_invested_nl
April 4, 2019
Signs are emerging that a stock market crash may be coming. The current 10-year bull market is the longest in history.
The bond yield curve is trending toward an inversion, with longer term interest rates lower than short-term yields; historically, the inversion of the yield preceded many U.S. recessions. For example, the curve inverted in 2007 before the U.S. equity market collapsed.
While the only guaranteed way to protect your money from the next crash is to avoid investing in the market, the average 9% stock market return from long-term investments may be worth it. If history is a valid guide, patient investors will profit from risking a portion of their money.
Reduce permanent capital losses. When stock prices decline, investors must pause and think. “The most important strategy for investors worried about the next bear market is to reduce the risk of a permanent loss of capital,” says Daniel Kern, chief investment officer at TFC Financial Management in Boston.
It’s natural to want to ease the pain of a stock market loss by selling and leaving the stock market altogether. Investors who make this fatal step, let their emotions dictate their decision-making and ultimately turn a temporary loss into a permanent one. Research shows that investors who sell after a market drop have lower long-term returns than those who hold on and wait for the market to rebound.
Prepare in advance for a stock crash. Implementing well-respected portfolio management strategies and creating an appropriate mix of stocks, bonds and cash for one’s age, time horizon and risk tolerance can set investors up to handle the next stock crash.
Gage DeYoung, founder of Prudent Wealthcare in Denver, found that a balanced portfolio of 50 percent stocks, 40 percent bonds and 10 percent cash would have lost about 19 percent of its value from November 2007 to February 2009 during the Great Recession; that's based on a study using financial planning software. A conservative portfolio with 20 percent stocks 50 percent bonds and 30 percent cash would have suffered a small 3 percent loss during that same time, according to his analysis. – Barbara Friedberg

@David_Snowball enjoyed your analysis of BAFWX. Thank you. In the article you mention that:
" With an 18.0% lifetime APR, BAFWX is an MFO Great Owl in the multicap growth category. That means it has consistently received a return rank of 5 (Best) for all periods three years and longer. It joins only nine other GO funds in that category. Investors have not sacrificed returns or experienced a tradeoff from using ESG characteristics in the portfolio."
Could you please provide a list of the other 9 GO funds with a return rank of 5 for all periods? thank you

RE: "Turn off the tube!": It would be my guess that very few if any of us still have a "tube" to turn off. A flat screen, surely.

Well now, if we're going to get literal ... :-)
Flat screen TVs are just tube TVs where the front of the tube ("screen") is relatively flat:
Your Next TV–Flat Screen vs Flat Panel (2007)
https://pseudosemantics.wordpress.com/2007/03/21/your-next-tv-flat-screen-vs-flat-panel/
Those these days terminology gets recycled, what's old is new, and curved screens are back in vogue:
Consumer Reports (2018): Is a Curved TV Better Than a Flat-Screen TV?
https://www.consumerreports.org/tvs/is-a-curved-tv-better-than-a-flat-screen-tv/