It seems to be pretty much in line with the usual suspects, CAIBX, MDLOX, SGENX, TIBIX.
Slightly better performance, but looking at its portfolio, that could be explained by its slightly more aggressive stance. It's a bit more growthy than the others; allocation funds typically lean toward value.
It also piles on the junk bonds with 1/4 BB, 1/4 B, 1/10 below B. That's similar to TIBIX (the other funds hold much higher rated bonds). But unlike TIBIX it uses a barbell strategy with 1/4 AAA-rated. (TIBIX has 1/3 in BBB, and little above that.)
Counterbalancing the higher credit risk is a much reduced interest rate risk with a very low duration of 1.88 years, unlike the other funds.
The only downside I see is the potential end of the fee waiver (0.24%, currently set to expire 2/28/18, but these are often extended indefinitely). On the plus side, it's significantly smaller than the funds above.
BenWP's RPGAX is not a fund that one (or at least I) normally think of. But it may be the one closest to GAOSX. Similar growth leaning, similar average market cap, virtually identical std dev and Sharpe ratio. The bond side has a little less junk though still a lot, and is a little more evenly spread out in credit ratings, but still has a barbell feel. Much longer duration though. RPGAX has the lowest AUM of all the funds mentioned.

They purchased and owned what was at one time the Babson Funds which later became the Tamarack Funds. I had both the Babson Enterprise (TETSX) and the Babson Shadow Stock Fund (later known as the Microcap Value Fund (TMVSX)). Lance James was the manager of the Enterprise Fund.
Here is an old Tamarack filing from 2006:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1272950/000089710106002457/tam064554_485apos.txt

If you want a nice mix in different proportions,
https://www.ishares.com/us/products/etf-product-list#!type=ishares&tab=overview&view=list&fac=43521

It's the largest ETF of ETFs; go with the herd.
Seriously, this has got to be one of the most stupid ideas I've seen in awhile. It equal weights five of its own family's ETFs. I have problems with simplistic equal weighting, but in some domains (e.g. S&P 500) an argument can be made for it. Not here.
What's being equal weighted are ETFs that represent apples and oranges. Some may be sector funds, others industry groups. Thus a concentrated sector gets as much weighting as a broad industry group. Used this way, the equal weighting is a lazy substitute for a methodology with any thought given to weights.
Worse, this apples and oranges fruit salad is prone to redundancy. Currently it has about 1/5 in FDN (Internet index) and about 1/5 in QTEC (Nasdaq 100 Tech). You can imagine the overlap. Facebook (8.78% and 3.34% respectively of the ETFs), Alphabet A&C shares combined (9.13% and 2.94%), Citrix Systems (2.44% and 2.84%), Akamai (2.12% and 2.75%). This isn't equal weighting, it's double counting.
You get the idea. Not to mention the 0.30% management fee on top of rather expensive underlying ETFs.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1272950/000089710117001041/rbc172312_497.htm
RBC FUNDS TRUST
RBC BlueBay Absolute Return Fund
RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Corporate Bond Fund
RBC BlueBay Global Convertible Bond Fund
RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Unconstrained Fixed Income Fund
(All Share Classes)
Supplement dated August 25, 2017 to the RBC BlueBay Funds’ Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information dated January 27, 2017 (as may be supplemented from time to time)
Notice of Liquidation of the RBC BlueBay Absolute Return Fund, RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Corporate Bond Fund, RBC BlueBay Global Convertible Bond Fund and RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Unconstrained Fixed Income Fund (the “Funds”). The Board of Trustees of the Funds has approved the liquidation and dissolution of the Funds on or about September 28, 2017 (the “Liquidation Date”). Effective immediately, the Funds may depart from their stated investment objectives and strategies as they increase their cash holdings in preparation for their liquidations. Each Fund shall distribute pro rata to its shareholders of record all of the assets of the Fund in complete cancellation and redemption of all of the outstanding shares of beneficial interest, except for cash, bank deposits or cash equivalents in an estimated amount necessary to (i) discharge any unpaid liabilities and obligations of the Fund on the Fund’s books on the Liquidation Date, including, but not limited to, income dividends and capital gains distributions, if any, payable through the Liquidation Date, and (ii) pay such contingent liabilities as the officers of the Fund deem appropriate, subject to ratification by the Board. Capital gain distributions, if any, may be paid on or prior to the Liquidation Date.
Effective on or about August 28, 2017, the Funds will suspend all purchases and exchanges into the Funds other than purchases through dividend reinvestment, in order to facilitate an orderly liquidation. You may redeem your Fund shares at any time before the liquidation, as the Fund will continue to process redemptions in the ordinary course until the Liquidation Date. No sales charge, contingent deferred sales load or redemption fee will be imposed in connection with a redemption. If you do not redeem your Fund shares prior to the Liquidation Date, the Fund will automatically redeem your shares and forward the proceeds to you based on the instructions listed on your account.
If you are invested in the Fund through a tax-deferred account (e.g., an IRA) and you do not arrange to liquidate the shares held in such account prior to the Fund liquidation date, the liquidation proceeds will be reinvested in shares of the U.S. Government Money Market Fund, the shares of which will continue to be held in the tax-deferred account until you provide instructions. You should consult your personal tax advisor concerning your particular tax situation.
The sale, exchange or liquidation of your shares will generally be a taxable event. You should consult your personal tax advisor concerning your particular tax situation.
INVESTORS SHOULD RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1272950/000089710117001040/rbc172308_497.htm
497 1 rbc172308_497.htm 497
RBC FUNDS TRUST
RBC Mid Cap Value Fund
(All Share Classes)
Supplement dated August 25, 2017 to the RBC Equity Funds’ Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information dated January 27, 2017 (as may be supplemented from time to time)
Notice of Liquidation of the RBC Mid Cap Value Fund (the “Fund”). The Board of Trustees of the Fund has approved the liquidation and dissolution of the Fund on or about September 28, 2017 (the “Liquidation Date”). Effective immediately, the Fund may depart from its stated investment objective and strategy as it increases its cash holdings in preparation for its liquidation. The Fund shall distribute pro rata to its shareholders of record all of the assets of the Fund in complete cancellation and redemption of all of the outstanding shares of beneficial interest, except for cash, bank deposits or cash equivalents in an estimated amount necessary to (i) discharge any unpaid liabilities and obligations of the Fund on the Fund’s books on the Liquidation Date, including, but not limited to, income dividends and capital gains distributions, if any, payable through the Liquidation Date, and (ii) pay such contingent liabilities as the officers of the Fund deem appropriate, subject to ratification by the Board. Capital gain distributions, if any, may be paid on or prior to the Liquidation Date.
Effective on or about August 28, 2017, the Fund will suspend all purchases and exchanges into the Fund other than purchases through dividend reinvestment, in order to facilitate an orderly liquidation. You may redeem your Fund shares at any time before the liquidation, as the Fund will continue to process redemptions in the ordinary course until the Liquidation Date. No sales charge, contingent deferred sales load or redemption fee will be imposed in connection with a redemption. If you do not redeem your Fund shares prior to the Liquidation Date, the Fund will automatically redeem your shares and forward the proceeds to you based on the instructions listed on your account.
If you are invested in the Fund through a tax-deferred account (e.g., an IRA) and you do not arrange to liquidate the shares held in such account prior to the Fund liquidation date, the liquidation proceeds will be reinvested in shares of the U.S. Government Money Market Fund, the shares of which will continue to be held in the tax-deferred account until you provide instructions. You should consult your personal tax advisor concerning your particular tax situation.
The sale, exchange or liquidation of your shares will generally be a taxable event. You should consult your personal tax advisor concerning your particular tax situation.
INVESTORS SHOULD RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

Preferred stocks are said to be targeted at institutions if they have a $1k par value? These just sound like vanilla bonds, most of which have a $1K face value.
Admittedly most preferred stocks, unlike most bonds, are for smaller denominations. But the vitality of the bond market, especially munis where individual investors tend to dominate, illustrates that a $1K denomination isn't really much of a deterrent to individual investors seeking income streams.
Institutional preferreds tend to be sold OTC, just like bonds, not via private placements. From the summary prospectus: "Institutional preferred securities are targeted to institutional, rather than retail, investors, are generally traded over-the-counter and may also be known as “$1,000 par preferred securities.”
FWIW, what came to my mind is that the tax treatment for corporate investors in preferreds is usually more favorable than the tax treatment to individual investors. In that sense, one can say that most preferreds are targeted to institutional investors (like insurance companies and banks).
An insurance company in the 35% tax bracket would pay only 10.5% tax on the dividends, because 70% are excluded. In contrast, the typical individual investor would pay 15%, 25%, 28% or even more. Just as munis are "targeted" to high income investors (because they get a bigger tax advantage from the tax-free nature of munis), vanilla preferreds may be said to target institutional investors, since institutions get a bigger tax advantage than individuals.
Piper Jaffray, Prfeferred Stock: Stocks That Act Like Bonds
There's a relatively new type of preferred (about a quarter century old) that does puts individuals on a level playing field. It's sometimes called a hybrid preferred stock and more formally called a fixed rate capital security (FRCS). No 70 percent exclusion here. I'd guess that this fund stays away from these preferreds.
Here's an old AAII article describing the structure of FRCSs noting that "Monthly income preferred securities (MIPS) are geared as a fixed-income alternative for retail investors."
AAII Journal (July 1997), Hybrid Securities: A Basic Look at Monthly Income Preferred Stock

OK, I can see the private placements thing -- thanks for the info.
I've owned 1000$ denominated preferreds before ... but sure, they're probably out of the range of most people.

This time of year these five guys (SPY, IWM, HYG, AGG, GLD) are best digested with a burger and fries from a different Five Guys washed down with a chocolate shake.

From David Fabian and FMD Capital:

The summer is rapidly closing and a new season will shortly be upon us. The seasonality of the markets this time of year has always been a tricky proposition as well. With that in mind, I’m going to outline my current thoughts on some of the big picture charts.

state-market-5-charts-august-2017

@MFO Members: Institutional preferred stocks are private placements to large institutional investors, in denominations of $1000. And these are most often the preferreds that rest in favor of the holder as interest rates rise. They are not available to individual investors.
Regards,
Ted
FPEI Fact Sheet:
https://www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/Etf/EtfSummary.aspx?Ticker=FPEI

Al on M* brought this up; according to his post, "institutional" means not listed on an exchange. (I know nada about buying preferred shares retail, so I'm no help on this.)

FYI: A reader asks:
I wanted your advice about when do you recommend one sells holdings that have appreciated? I understand the concept of buying low but would appreciate your advice on when to sell. I understand reversion to the mean and have been guilty in the past of holding on too long, only to see all the gains melt away as the market corrected.
This is a topic that probably doesn’t get enough time share for investors. All of investing is more of an art than a science but there are plenty of books and research papers written about what to buy but very few about when to sell.
Regards,
Ted
http://awealthofcommonsense.com/2017/08/when-to-sell-your-investments/

FYI: This investor gets schooled in the ABCs of fund fees
Regards,
Ted
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dear-adviser-401k-plans-are-too-costly-2017-08-24/print

Muddled writing in the article, but an interesting graphic. Short term Treasury bill debt that matures at the end of Sept. (when the debt ceiling is projected to be hit) has fallen sharply in price (yield is spiking). People are pricing in the risk of late repayment of principal.

While I'm not suggesting a total financial collapse, it wouldn't hurt to check your bank's rating (FDIC could theoretically get stressed and have no Treasury backstop). It's also interesting to ponder the possibility that prime MMFs might be safer than the government MMFs that people were funneled into for safety.
That mattress is beginning to look better and better :-)
FWIW, ratings of some of the better known online banks (see depositaccounts.com)
Ally Bank: A+, 1.15% savings
Amex Bank: A, 1.15% HY savings
Barclays: A, 1.15% savings
Discover Bank: A, 1.15% savings
Goldman Sachs: A+, 1.20% savings
Synchrony Bank: A, 1.20% HY savings

@MFO Members: Lets connect the dots ! david moran post a link asking has this been posted yet? The Linkster answers no ! david moran says whew ! bee comments nice article. Hank says thanks ! david moran comments. Then Old_Joe takes a repeated swipe at the Linkster for no reason at all. The flogging didn't have any affect on Old_Joe so I must take harsher measures !!
Regards,
Ted :( :( :( :( :( :( :(

FYI: “The new fund, FPEI, will be a pure play on the institutional preferred securities market, which is not easily accessible to retail investors and that we believe offers great value in the current market environment from both an income and relative value standpoint”
Regards,
Ted
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170824005691/en
M* Snapshot FPEI:
http://www.morningstar.com/etfs/ARCX/FPEI/quote.html

Thanks.
I came across a few good articles re: Ray Dalio's recent cautionary remarks to investors while reading last evening. He's the head of Bridgewater, a large hedge fund. Dalio feels we're probably in a 1937 type political environment (sharply divided) and sees substantial risks to markets.
As a result, Bridgewater has pulled back on risk. Not all would agree. However, Dalio does make an interesting case that financial markets cannot be completely isolated from political/social factors. The two to him are intertwined - especially today.
End point - I didn't post any of the stories for fear Ted had already linked them somewhere else. For the most part, I prefer to read newspapers directly rather than to sort through 100+ posts

Nice article and website. Thanks for posting.

"The combination of a steady P/E ratio with rising earnings means that the model implies a rising S&P 500 through 2018."

Would be nice to see ETF versions of QMNNX , QLENX and AUENX to avoid 1 million minimum required for taxable accounts.

FYI: (Click On Article Title At Top Of Google Search)
Investors with courage should load up on emerging markets stocks and sell off the U.S. ones, says Rob Arnott, the founder and CEO of Newport Beach, Calif.-based Research Affiliates and a pioneer in both asset-allocation investing and “smart beta” portfolios.
The 63-year-old Arnott earned the nickname “The Godfather of Smart Beta” because of his role in developing enhanced smart-beta index funds for a variety of A-list clients, including Pimco, Invesco PowerShares, and Charles Schwab. Smart-beta funds take an active approach to passive management, using factors such as value, low volatility, and momentum to outpace long-term returns from market-weighted strategies.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&q=Rob+Arnott:+Dump+U.S.+Stocks,+Buy+Emerging+Markets+Barron's&oq=Rob+Arnott:+Dump+U.S.+Stocks,+Buy+Emerging+Markets+Barron's&gs_l=psy-ab.3...4008.9848.0.12079.12.11.0.0.0.0.96.839.11.11.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..1.8.607.6..35i39k1j33i21k1j33i160k1._pa9xi2-Uv4