Some other bond funds and how they fared yesterday

@little5bee.

I got into TIBIX at Schwab for $100k by begging!

I like that...will have to try that sometime. My PCRA is with Schwab so I get the institutional rate, but normally TIBIX has $2.5M min. TIBAX imposes a 0.25% 12b-1 and a 4.5% max front load.

Also check out wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed-end_fund
For information on specific CEF's, check out:
http://www.cefconnect.com
And old (1990) Harvard/JEP paper
http://scholar.harvard.edu/shleifer/files/closed_end_mut_funds.pdf
and more recent:
http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/midwest.econometrics/Papers/MEGSAnderson.pdf
and other classic references here:
http://altruistfa.com/readingroomarticles.htm#ClosedEndFunds

FYI: Bill Gross’s bond mutual fund at Janus Capital Group Inc. suffered a 2.87% decline in its net asset value Monday, according to fund-research firm Morningstar Inc.
The drop is unusually large for a bond fund, according to people familiar with the industry.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bill-grosss-bond-fund-at-janus-lost-29-monday-2015-08-25-81033757/print

@DAK: For your information.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0712/closed-end-vs.-open-end-funds.aspx
Pros & Cons Closed-End Funds:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703673604575550451680831216

FYI: Only 50 of 8,000 funds passed all of Russ's tests.
Regards,
Ted
http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=712248

@wxman123 futures up big today...it will be interesting to see how MCXAX/MCXIX performs today. Yes, I agree, they must be trading volatility.

FYI: Just days ago the S&P 500′s trailing 12-month P/E ratio was sitting near 19. After the last week or so, we’ve seen it dip all the way down to 16.75.
In the second chart below, we highlight the percentage of stocks in the S&P 500 trading above their 50-days after today’s rout. At this point just 8% of stocks in the index are above their 50-days, which is below the reading we saw at the lows during the Ebola scare last October.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.bespokepremium.com/think-big-blog/8-of-s-pe-ratio-down-to-16-75/

AKREX is only down 1% YTD, up 18% 5YR AR
MBEAX is down 2% YTD, 10% 5YR AR, 7% 10YR AR
PRWCX is up for the year!

I know that problem littlebee! Still, up nearly 10% TODAY did ease the sting of a brutal day just a bit. Think I'll stand pat for now. Thank the lord this is a 40 Act fund or you'd really have to wonder.

The play in this space is xmpt when the discount of the underlying holdings nears 10% as it is now. Not to mention the CEF space is getting pummeled in general. On the safe side why not just stick with VWLUX? The high yield in munis is often driven in part by duration as much as credit risk. Still think interest rates going up, eventually.

@wxman123 I know, I'm tempted, too, but it seems like whenever I go all in on a particular fund, it starts to underperform.

Seriously. All charts all over are signaling "sell" signal.

Everything is screaming sell except the VIX. Very rarely goes above 40. However, the datapoints below aren't useful, because buy signal happened 10/10/2008, after SP500 dropped from 1300 to 900, with low under 700.
With economies slowing down, SP500 triple from bottom, SP500 death cross, why didn't I go more in cash last week? Maybe on next uptick, get out slowly.
http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/content/analysis/2015/08/24/is-it-safe-to-fade-the-latest-vix-rip?utm_source=SR&utm_medium=Link&utm_campaign=Recap

I too was on vacation and came back to a slightly different portfolio. In the two weeks, of my etfs, VNQ lost the least, funds FRUAX and MMUIX (utilities)and surprisingly OSMYX my small cap intl. Of my stocks, Southwest Ar (LUV) only was down 2% in that period. Poetic justice for me on LUV since while trying to get to Myrtle Beach by air, was stranded in Baltimore on the 15th, took 7 hours to find my luggage since all aircraft grounded due to that "glich" at FAA then had to drive to Myrtle Beach (9 hours). Maybe that was the harbinger of things to come :). Got home today to portfolio that to say the least, was a bit lower. Did manage to catch an octopus while deep sea fishing though. I thought I had caught my line on the bottom it felt so heavy reeling it in :)

Dex, It wasn't I that pointed out HYD as more times than I can count I have lambasted junk ETFs on this board. Today is yet another example as HYD was down over 1% while the open end were unchanged to up. Check out NSIOX or the more conservative VWAHX.

Junkster, I sold my positions in SNTIX and VWAHX due to the sharp downturn in HYD over the last two days, which I feared would send the open end munis reeling downward. Since most open end munis were up today, I'm wondering if they'll be down tomorrow due to a lag effect. Or maybe the open ends and HYD have no reliable relation to each other.
If the markets in general stabilize and the open end munis continue upward, I'll get back in, probably via ABHYX, which looks promising.

I prefer to look at TFI intraday. It's becoming more and more of an inexact science not just in the munis but the corporates figuring how the open end will price based on the action intraday of their ETF brothers. TLT is due for a bad day and I am looking to add to the munis. Albeit they have been pretty resilient lately on such days. Nothing wrong with ABHYX. I prefer NSIOX, MMIIX, or DVHIX. As I mentioned earlier, I bet you are ahead of 99% on this board YTD.

Dex, It wasn't I that pointed out HYD as more times than I can count I have lambasted junk ETFs on this board. Today is yet another example as HYD was down over 1% while the open end were unchanged to up. Check out NSIOX or the more conservative VWAHX.

Junkster, I sold my positions in SNTIX and VWAHX due to the sharp downturn in HYD over the last two days, which I feared would send the open end munis reeling downward. Since most open end munis were up today, I'm wondering if they'll be down tomorrow due to a lag effect. Or maybe the open ends and HYD have no reliable relation to each other.
If the markets in general stabilize and the open end munis continue upward, I'll get back in, probably via ABHYX, which looks promising.

Yes, Dan Sullivan is one of the better ones out there. And as you mentioned, he has a real money account. Must be a big difference between a timer and a trader (and there is) as I could never imagine sitting through the drawdown Mr Sullivan must have had until his end of the day sell signal this evening. Congrats on being 60% in cash last Thursday. Rule #1 in wealth accumulation for a trader - Don't lose! Meaning, never sit in a losing position and never allow a winner to turn into a loser.

Dex, It wasn't I that pointed out HYD as more times than I can count I have lambasted junk ETFs on this board. Today is yet another example as HYD was down over 1% while the open end were unchanged to up. Check out NSIOX or the more conservative VWAHX.

Including interest as of today I'm up 6.8%. I think HYD will recover fairly well in the short term.
NHMAX also held up very well but that has a 4.2% load - I got some of that what Fidelity didn't have a load on it.

Dex, It wasn't I that pointed out HYD as more times than I can count I have lambasted junk ETFs on this board. Today is yet another example as HYD was down over 1% while the open end were unchanged to up. Check out NSIOX or the more conservative VWAHX.

Here is another take on QLACs: http://andrewtobias.com/column/qlacs/

In reality annuities are a poor investment. Even more so in this low interest rate environment. The article above has some errors but makes two good points. An annuity can give you piece of mind and are best for those who live to a ripe old age into the 90s. If you purchase a QLAC for the maximum amount of $125,000 at age 70 and receive payments beginning at 80, those first five years you are basically just getting back your $125,000. I may rethink these QLACs when I turn 70 and hopefully have a larger nest egg.