Keep your eye on Blackrock:

The Federal Reserve began its historic purchases of corporate bonds exchange-traded funds, almost half of the Fed’s purchases went into BlackRock funds, according to ETFGI, an ETF research and consulting firm.
The five largest purchases by the Fed, in order, were iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD), Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund ETF Shares (VCIT), Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund ETF Shares (VCSH), iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) and SPDR (JNK).
The optics of the Fed’s purchases of iShares ETFs are controversial, given that BlackRock (ticker: BLK) is running the Fed’s three debt-buying programs. BlackRock has said it won’t charge management fees on the iShares ETFs it buys behalf of the Fed. A BlackRock spokesperson wasn’t immediately available to comment.
BlackRock’s iShares has 38.1% of the exchange-traded product market; Vanguard has 26.5%, and State Street’s SPDR ETFs has 16.5%,

blackrock-is-biggest-beneficiary-of-fed-purchases-of-corporate-bond-etfs

Hi @Charles
You noted in your commentary: Under Chairman Janet Yellen and continued by Jerome Powell, the Fed tried to “normalize” rates by gradually increasing the so-called Discount Rate from near zero to 2.4% over a three-year period from January 2016 through December 2018. The 10-year rose above 3%. It did not last long.
The average US Treasury fund drew down about 11% during this period with longer duration being hardest hit, as one would expect. Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury Index (VEDTX) was off 20.4% during this period. BlackRock iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) off 15.2%. Its 7-10 year cousin (IEF) off 7.1%.
1. I used the period you noted (Jan. 2016 - Dec. 31, 2018) for IEF, TLT and threw in ZROZ (a bit more volatile than TLT, but represents 30 year, AAA zero coupon bonds). For whatever reason, VEDTX wouldn't chart.
2. Perhaps I've had either not enough or too much coffee; OR I don't understand your use of "drew down" vs total return. Secondly, is that I am suffering from cranial/rectal inversion; and thus, not aware of the status.
--- VEDTX had the following total returns for the years being discussed (per M*): VEDTX , performance link at Vanguard.
2016 = +1.53%
2017 = + 13.52%
2018 = -3.49%
This CHART is for IEF, TLT and ZROZ. Total return is at the right edge of the chart for the 3 year period of Jan. 2016 - Dec. 31, 2018.
Please alert me to any boo-boo's with statements or charts.
Thank you.
Catch

Every post you make FD is all about you. "I saw this. I did that. Every one else is dumb for missing it." The point is the likelihood of anyone 'investing" in this fund, not trading, would not have seen a 40% drop in 2 days on the horizon.
Yes, totally BS. And what is the smiley face for?

You are correct, I didn't know in advance how bad it could be but I expected it to be bad.
Your reaction is typical, I see anger and disbelief when I tell you my thoughts and how I operate. The smiley is to let you know it's all expected.
In this thread(link), I documented many trades that I have done since 2-28-2020. I made several similar posts on MFO too, see (here). Why no admit I made a great call.
I'm pretty sure you will come back and request me to post every trade I make :-)
My trading style has been established for years which helped me in the last 3 years since retirement in 2018. I will sell any bond fund that loses more than 1%, actually, I even sell earlier if other funds in the same category behave differently or I can find a better fund according to my goals.
Here is the bottom line: while you claim it's all BS the facts show I sold all my portfolio to cash prior to the meltdown.

Cross immunity (immunity due to exposure to similar viruses in the past, e.g. certain variants of the common cold) is another theory that might explain what's happening in Italy and elsewhere. Spain has just had its first day without any COVID-19 deaths. This was not expected when they started easing their lockdowns
Or it's just warm weather and we'll be royally screwed in the fall.

For those who absolutely must have an Israel fund, be of good cheer. There's still TPIAX

In the top 25 stocks TPIAX has just one Israeli stock (link)

The basics are still the same: Know what you own, expect the worse(which is what I do) and past performance and volatility are not guaranteed.

I call BS on that advice FD. None of what you said is usable. This was a fund with good consistent returns and a very low STD to boot. It would have been easier to interpret the risk if the funds literature would have been more accurate, especially on liquidity and possible fire-sale risk. The fund collapsed 45% before the dust could settle. 40% within 2 days. Trading limits on mutual funds that only allow trades after the market closes gives an investor 2 days as the quickest reaction time to unload. Most here aren't day traders so your advice on this fund is worthless.
Sorry, but your infallible preaching is a bit nauseating.

Well, several quotes from the past
1) 2-28-2020-According to MFO databased when you search for Multi sector funds for 3 years + best martin ratio you get the following funds
Fund performance ANFIX 5.3 IOFIX 10.6 SEMMX 5.1 BDKNX 5.7 ANGLX 4.2
2) 2-29-2020-I'm taking my profit and watching. There is no way to be sure how IOFIX will do if markets go wild
3) 3-3/2020-There is no guarantee of what will happen in the future. I think the worse was in 11/2018 when IOFIX lost more than 1% in one day.
Over the years:
I have watched IOFIX jumping 2-3 times annually 2-3% within days while others didn't.
In 2008 MBS got crushed. ORNAX(HY Muni) fell over 40% and more than others.
I can't remember the fund name but it was a bond fund in 2010-11 that I owned, sold before it crashed and you couldn't sell it for years.
Look at the above, item 3, how can a fund make 10% annually which is double than most in its category. IOFIX is an exotic fund with illiquid bonds and its daily pricing is just a guesstimation. When something looks too good to be true, it usually is
So, with the above in mind, I always watched IOFIX very carefully and was in/out over the years.
Did I know it will crash over 40%? of course not, but I thought 20% was a possibility.
As a trader, I also have specific guidelines. Prior to retirement, I would sell any bond fund that lost 3%, after retirement, it's just 1%.
I also learned years ago while trading stocks that when markets get wild and you try to sell a stock with low volume, it can go down 30% in seconds while QQQ,SPY go down just several %.
BTW, I also sold my other riskier fund which was NHMAX(HY MUNI), prior to the crash and it lost over 22%.
If you still think the above is BS, then be it :-)

With the election 5 months away and Trump's popularity sagging as always, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if Trump started a foreign war as a distraction from his continued onslaught on his own country. Forget about 100,000 + deaths from the coronavirus and the highest unemployment numbers since the depression, a foreign war would take over the headlines and rally his base and possibly undecided voters in his favor. Boy would Trump look presidential ...
My betting money is on him finding a reason to attack Iran.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1074440/000138713120005366/amidex-497_060120.htm
(AMDAX,AMDEX,AMDCX)
497 1 amidex-497_060120.htm SUPPLEMENT DATED JUNE 1, 2020
REVISED FOR REVIEW AND DISCUSSION
AMIDEX™ Funds, Inc.
4300 SHAWNEE MISSION PARKWAY, SUITE 100
FAIRWAY, KS 66205
1-888-876-3566
SUPPLEMENT DATED JUNE 1, 2020 TO THE SUMMARY PROSPECTUS, PROSPECTUS AND
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION DATED SEPTEMBER 30, 2019, AS SUPPLEMENTED
This Supplement updates certain information contained in the Summary Prospectus, Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) of AMIDEX Funds (the “Fund”), dated September 30, 2019, as supplemented. You should read this Supplement in conjunction with the Prospectus and SAI and retain it for future reference. You may obtain an additional copy of the Prospectus and SAI, free of charge, by calling 1-888-876-3566 or by sending an e-mail request to [email protected], or you can view, print and download a copy of these documents at the Fund’s website at www.amidex.com.
The purpose of this Supplement is to provide you with information about the liquidation and termination of the AMIDEX35 Israel Fund (the “Fund”).
Information Regarding the AMIDEX35 Israel Fund
At a meeting held on May 15, 2020, the Fund’s Board of Directors (the “Board”), upon the recommendation of Index Investments, LLC, the Fund’s investment adviser, the Board determined that is was in the best interests of the shareholder’s of the Fund to close and liquidate the Fund and on May 28, 2020 the Board of Directors approved a Plan of Liquidation (the “Plan”) under which the Fund will liquidate and terminate. It is expected that the liquidation will take place on or about June 19, 2020 (the “Liquidation Date”). Under the Plan, the Fund will sell its portfolio securities for cash and will convert any other assets to cash or cash equivalents by the Liquidation Date and pay any liabilities. On the Liquidation Date, the Fund will distribute cash pro rata to all remaining shareholders who have not previously redeemed all of their shares. This distribution will be a taxable event for each shareholder that is not tax-exempt, resulting in a gain or loss measured by the difference between the amount distributed to the shareholder and the shareholder’s basis in the Fund’s shares. Once the distribution is complete, the Fund will terminate.
In anticipation of the liquidation, the Fund will close to new investments, effective on June 1, 2020. In addition, the Fund will sell its portfolio holdings in an orderly manner to convert its assets to cash. During this time, the Fund might not pursue its investment objectives or policies.
Please note that you may be eligible to exchange your shares of the Fund at net asset value per share at any time prior to the Liquidation Date for shares of the same share class of another fund under certain circumstances. Please also note that you may redeem your shares of the Fund at any time prior to the Liquidation Date as described in the Fund’s Prospectus, dated September 30, 2019, as supplemented. In general, exchanges and redemptions are taxable events for shareholders. If you own Fund shares in a tax deferred account, such as an individual retirement account, 401(k) or 403(b) account, you should consult your tax adviser to discuss a Fund’s liquidation and determine its tax consequences.
For more information, please call 1-888-876-3566.

Re: IOFIX
Somehow received (Lipper’s) “Multi-sector income” classification
1.50% ER / Inception: May 2015
The chart : Steady climb upward following inception, gaining over 50% for investors in fewer than 5 years - during an era of 2% (or lower) interest rates on investment grade paper. Leverage and / or derivatives had at work to achieve that stunning record. Dropped completely “off the radar” in mid-March and plunged to the ground with breathtaking speed. Without really having the data, obviously there was a rapid exodus of investors heading for the gate when things started to come unglued. Harkens back to the liquidity issue addressed by many here, including Lewis Braham most recently.
I’ve never observed a chart like that nor seen a fund fall so precipitously so fast. I can empathize with those who were taken to the cleaners. (There but for the grace of God ... ) On the other hand, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. The only thing remotely similar in my memory would be Oppenheimer’s “Core Bond” and their “Champion Income” funds - both of which imploded in 2008 and resulted in numerous (successful) lawsuits. The difference: Oppenheimer was a large long established full-feature fund house and the travesty involved a couple funds that had been in existence many years. For some reason they decided to reach for yield and ended up wrecking the funds ... likely contributing to their own future demise.

The basics are still the same: Know what you own, expect the worse(which is what I do) and past performance and volatility are not guaranteed.

I call BS on that advice FD. None of what you said is usable. This was a fund with good consistent returns and a very low STD to boot. It would have been easier to interpret the risk if the funds literature would have been more accurate, especially on liquidity and possible fire-sale risk. The fund collapsed 45% before the dust could settle. 40% within 2 days. Trading limits on mutual funds that only allow trades after the market closes gives an investor 2 days as the quickest reaction time to unload. Most here aren't day traders so your advice on this fund is worthless.
Sorry, but your infallible preaching is a bit nauseating.

Well, it follows previous patterns of coronavirus but news out of India report the opposite, mutations that are worse. For example, google "coronavirus India" in Google News. Here is my first hit:
https://www.indiatvnews.com/science/coronavirus-mutant-positive-cases-deaths-covid-19-scientists-614526

The new-old paradigm: https://nytimes.com/2020/05/23/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-economic-response.html

Here's link to April marketing brief:
http://alphacentricfunds.com/funds/IncomeOpp/presentation.pdf
No mention of liquidity crisis.
Just: "Turn in Q1 2020 Marks The Sharpest Reversal in History"
Once the Fed stepped-in and the redemptions stopped (aka once it survived a run on the fund), the fund has rebounded nicely, if still a long way to go.
I still like the strategy, but as an MBS value trade, not for no-drawdown, steady-eddy behavior the fund displayed for nearly 5 years.
At the end of the day, it's still a high-yield, non-investment grade bond fund ... concentrated in one sector.
Allocate accordingly unless you are willing to treat it as a trade and exit at first sign of trouble.
Eyes wide open and fearful everyday you own it.

Wish I had more in BIAWX, myself. That fund allows you to get in with just $100.00 and I've been adding exactly that much, each time. One-year perf of that fund = 26.59. YA!

I've been thinking that for years... too greedy and you'll tip the cart, don't push it...we're getting close. Do you really need that 3rd yacht and 5th multi-million dollar house? Be careful or you'll watch them burn to the ground.

I’ve no prediction for the S&P. He could have it right. However, his unwarranted arrogance gets in the way of communication here. Agree with @davidrmoran. This guy struggled to earn a C in high school comp class. But let’s see what we can glean from his four investing “gems.”
- Rule Number One : The market is not going to do what you want it to do. You cannot invest in your opinion, your bias, or in the headlines that you agree with.
I like that one. I find it the most challenging obstacle to my effective buying / selling. It’s called “confirmation bias”. Here’s a good definition: “Confirmation bias is the natural human tendency to seek or emphasize information that confirms an existing conclusion or hypothesis.” Fight not to let your own confirmation bias lead you in the wrong direction.
- Rule Number Two : You will get a lot better feel for the market by looking at 100 one-year charts than you will from reading 100 headlines.
That’s BS. One year tells you little. Anything can happen in one year. I like charts - but 5 & 10 year patterns are more useful. As previously reported, Yahoo Finance lets you dig up performance figures for funds all the way back to inception. Wonderful tool. Use it. And than to further indict all “headlines” ..... ? Depends which headlines idiot! Twitter? Probably “No.” While ignorance may be bliss, Franklin had it right when he wrote that emptying one’s “purse” into his head is a road to better dividends. Reading widely (WSJ, Barron’s, Reuters, FT, etc.) helps provide the grounding for making informed decisions.
- Rule Number Three : The market is forward-looking.
Agree.
- Rule Number Four : Stocks and the market follow earnings and earnings expectations.
Not my forte. But judging by the way certain tech stocks have behaved in the past (AAPL, TSLA) I wonder whether that’s true.

Fact sheets (compare and contrast before and after):
http://web.archive.org/web/20190411093154/http://alphacentricfunds.com/funds/IncomeOpp/FactSheet.pdf (4Q2018)
http://alphacentricfunds.com/funds/IncomeOpp/FactSheet.pdf (1Q2020)
A few things stand out to me. One concerns investments in asset-backed securities (ABS).
The current (August 2019) prospectus (see Lewis' link) says that "The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by primarily investing in asset-backed fixed income securities ... and non-agency residential and commercial mortgages". Yet in both late 2018 and early 2020 the fund had less than ½% in ABS. For that matter, no commercial mortgages at all.
But there was a change in how the fact sheet described the fund's investments.
4Q2018: overlooked segments of RMBS, ABS, and securitized markets
1Q2020: primarily non-agency RBMS and other residential housing debt (ABS is omitted)
Risk/reward changes also stood out.
4Q2018: Sharpe ratio 2.22, std dev 3.81%
1Q2020: Sharpe ratio: 0.03, std dev 17.86%
current (M*): Sharpe ratio: , std dev 23.38%
Finally, here's the main supplement, dated March 23, to the current prospectus. (There are two others; one is for change of address, the other is for load waivers.)
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1355064/000158064220001282/alphacentric497s.htm
To the section on liquidity risk, it added two sentences, saying that the coronavirus affected liquidity in fixed income markets "including many of the securities the Fund holds." It went on to say that "it is more likely" (than before, I guess) that the fund will conduct fire sales to meet redemptions.
To the market risk section, it added two paragraphs of boilerplate about war, terrorism, public health, depressions, etc. This addition, unlike the first, applied to all AlphaCentric funds.

I've included a link for all of the IOFIX SEC filings.
https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?CIK=C000153407&action=getcompany&scd=filings
http://www.garpc.com/iofix/

This short article discusses changes Nicolas Colas, co-founder of DataTreck Research, thinks have taken place during the 21st century compared to the prior 50 years. He thinks these changes have increased what the stock market accepts to be reasonable valuations. Its interesting he includes a "DC Put" in his description of the crisis response tools the markets will expect to be utilized going forward.

A new model for assessing stocks may include higher valuations, as the old paradigm is no longer valid, according to a research note from DataTrek Research on Tuesday.
More aggressive Fed interventions will keep the stock market bottoms higher, and low interest rates and more innovation can boost the tops.

https://marketwatch.com/story/were-in-a-new-paradigm-for-stocks-this-analyst-argues-get-ready-for-permanently-higher-valuations-2020-05-19?mod=home-page