Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
"I do like this boutique shop, if one can still call it that." - Definitely not a boutique, IMO.
"This administration may be more inclined to choose a replacement, who will not be as cautious in raising short term rates. If that prediction is right, is that terrible sign for a fund like ARTFX?" - This is more of an asset allocation question than fund related.
IF there is a credit crunch, I would want to be very picky about who is managing my HY dollars. Would probably want much less downside than this manager's fund had in 2008 (loss of 20%), but that is just my take. I don't look for my bond funds to generate double-digit returns, but rather to provide some ballast and stability. That being said, Mr. Krug does a good job overall.
Drove over to Fidelity and asked them about APDFX, among other things that wanted to inquire about. Told that the initial minimum for an IRA is $250,000. So that ended that.
Not much help, but at Schwab, the min is "just" $100K.
At Fidelity, if you look at the "Fees and Distributions" tab for a fund, you'll find the mins listed. Here's that tab for APDFX.
I don't see much compelling about junk corporates now. It was mentioned in February of 2016 that junk may be the place to be.as well it was with junk and bank loans leading the way throughout the rest of that year. But why all of sudden now after its long run? At the least, there are better opportunities elsewhere in fixed income now.
The HY corp spread is within 20 basis points of a 10-year low: definitely not a bargain at these levels. Some of the multi-sector funds many of us own have small allocations to HY, which imho is plenty, for now, with the valuations so stretched.
I think it's worth noting that part of why HY spreads are near lows is because of the HY market consisting of higher quality issues than historically. I'm not saying they're not tight, but the indices being more concentrated in higher quality junk justifies, to some extent, tighter spreads. All the more reason that credit selection is key.
Comments
"This administration may be more inclined to choose a replacement, who will not be as cautious in raising short term rates. If that prediction is right, is that terrible sign for a fund like ARTFX?" - This is more of an asset allocation question than fund related.
What about ARTFX? It appears available and accessible at the web site.
At Fidelity, if you look at the "Fees and Distributions" tab for a fund, you'll find the mins listed. Here's that tab for APDFX.
It looks like the investor class (ARTFX) is available for a min investment of $1,000.00.
Skeet