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.
The edit button on threads are intended to allow posters to modify posts, to help better reflect their original intent in their posts, to resolve misunderstandings, and to promote civility in posting. I used the edit button with those objectives in …
Anna, I apologize for not doing a better job of explaining my thoughts on types of threads, that produces different levels of participation. Again it was not my intent, for my previous post to be interpreted the way you did. Hopefully my edited pos…
Anna, it was not my intent for my previous post to be interpreted the way you have. I was simply attempting to state that there are different kinds of threads on MFO--some are very narrowly focused threads, such as newspaper or magazine articles, t…
Participation is an interesting subject. You can get a large number of more narrowly focused threads, with very few comments, and they will then go into a category of participation with minimal poster participation. You can get another thread that…
MikeM: "Maybe I'm reading you wrong dtconroe and I apologize if that's the case, but it seems like you are saying 'if you don't play my game I'm going to take my ball and go home'. To that I say, just post if you want, don't post if you don't want t…
Today, there was a series of comments on this thread, and a series of related comments on the thread entitled, "moderated" status of board members. Because of those comments, and what I experienced yesterday, I feel compelled to make a few addition…
Although I indicated an intention of introducing another category of bond oefs on this thread, I have subsequently decided to take some time and evaluate what I have experienced on MFO with this thread. Thanks again for those who have been supporti…
Since I protested the decision of David Snowball to close the thread, partially because it had become too long and unwieldy to navigate, he finally agreed to restore it, even though he stated: "the argument that it is unwieldy strikes me as valid".…
I find the "follow up" comments on this thread interesting. It is clear to me that if I had not vigorously protested the arbitrary closure of my thread, the thread would have stayed closed. There were a significant number of posters, who joined me…
Thanks to those who were supportive in getting this thread restored. I will be introducing another topic for discussion, on this thread, in a day or so.
Thanks for the reconsideration! If there is something that I need to know to correct some issue, or make an improvement, please inform me and give me a chance to address it. I am very sensitive to any issue of incivility, as I think it is imperati…
If you want to set limits on the number of pages, that is certainly your prerogative. It would be interesting to understand how you rationalize ending very popular threads, that so many posters value and follow. It is much easier for me to find a …
"TheShadow">The reason it was closed was due to two reasons.
One of the reasons is inaccurate and should have been directed to another thread that is still open and running. The other reason is strange and confusing, as it has become long becau…
"sma3">While it is not public knowledge who has been "moderated", I have found dtconroe's ideas and threads to be useful and more the target of the "Spats" not the source.
I for one would be very disappointed if dtconroe does not continue to co…
jerry: "The link Gary1952 provided results in a page saying "Discussion not found">My guess is that it is a an official action. Too bad I love to read about splats and see if the nasty gets too nasty."
I have worked very hard to ensure that my…
I have had a large number of posters supporting my thread, a large number of viewers viewing my thread, and I worked very hard to keep the thread civil and positive. I am hugely disappointed in this MFO decision and certainly not motivated to start…
What!!--my Bond OEF thread had absolutely no "spats". You are getting it confused with "Bond Mutual Fund Analysis" thread, started by FD, that had constant "spats". Could you provide one example on my thread where there was any argumentative posti…
"MikeW">@dtconroe. I know I speak For a lot of folks on this board that greatly appreciate the contributions you've made over the last couple of months to MFO. I have learned a great deal about different classes of bond funds based on your post…
Regarding DHEIX/DHEAX, I am not sure when it became a frequently discussed fund at M* or MFO. I first heard about it in 2018 from FD, who was talking about a couple of short term bond oefs, that could be a safe harbor in that turbulent market peri…
"Gary1952">SDMZX appears somewhat unique. It is named a multi-purpose fund with low duration. I would say DBLSX and SDMZX are not directly comparable. DBLSX focus is on low duration.
Gary, as I said in my comments above about these 2 Schwab re…
"Gary1952">I am at Schwab and all too often fail to research there. Thanks for the update. I will look into those funds. DBLSX is my oldest bond OEF holding. recently I have been thinking about selling some. But with 50% equities now I like the r…
Schwab recommendations for Short Term Bond oefs are interesting. We are familiar with frequently discussed short term bond oefs like DBLSX and DHEIX, but neither of those funds made the Schwab recommendation list. The 2 short term bond oefs that S…
I wished these Headline Articles would be more specific. To be accurate, it should have said "Stock" mutual funds have a hard time beating "Stock" indexes. That is why there are a number of investors, who will combine a "Stock" index fund, with an…
Carew, since you asked about BMPAX, and I have not previously discussed this fund, I thought I might add a few comments. It is from the Intermediate Core Bond category, which is a little more in line with funds, that have higher investment grade h…
"carew388">@dtconroe Thanks again for your ongoing discussion of the numerous oef bond categories. How would BMPAX PMZAX and MTGAX fit into this discussion ?
carew, all 3 of these funds could be considered conservative bond oefs, although ea…
FD, I don't disagree with your statement above. The government bond oef category is a very high investment grade category, but within the category you do find some variance regarding duration and interest rate risk. Most of the intermediate durati…
Thanks bee--I agree it is an excellent option. VFIIX standard deviation is 2.04, duration is 2.68, Credit Rating of AAA, M* Risk is average, 1/3yr Total Return is 5.75/2.97. In categories like Government Bond OEFs, Vanguard benefits with its very …
This post is about Government Bond OEFs. Historically, this has been a very popular choice for safe haven, ballast, and alternative to cash roles. These are dominated by AAA and AA investment grade bonds, so they are excellent for avoiding credit …
Hey Gary, best wishes on your investment decisions. Everyone has to make their own personal decision, for how much risk they are willing to take, and what level of risk fits their investment objectives. Hope it works out well for you!
I thought I would mention one other fund that was barely above my risk criteria--SNTIX. This fund had a standard deviation of 2.07, credit quality of BBB, duration of 5.10, and at total return of 1yr/3yr of 8.17/5.53. It is another investment grad…
"Crash">Weird, small, mid-month dividend. Nothing, as expected and per usual, toward the end of Jan. How come?
Crash, I have held PTIAX off and on over the years, and part of its performance pattern is a level of surprises that are difficult to…
"carew388">@dtconroe Is VMPAX comparable to BTMIX? Thanks for your contributions to this website !
carew, VMPAX is in the same category as BTMIX, is a little more risky than BTMIX with lower credit rating of bond holdings being in the BBB inve…
"BigTom">Baird has an excellent, super safe, Intermediate Muni Bond fund (BMBIX) which is filled with pre-refunded bonds (super safe)
BigTom, interesting fund. I looked it up to see why it did not make my list, and it was because its SD was jus…
"Gary1952">I opted for NVHAX over BTMIX when I bought on 1-2-2020. The allocation to NVHAX was in my taxable account with money for future (most likely 2 years down the road) monthly expenses. I like the stronger performance over BTMIX. The short…
This post is about some of the more conservative Muni bond oefs. Interest rate and credit risk can impact the various categories, but if you are interested in Munis, here are a few funds for you to consider, with standard deviation below 2 and dura…
Just a note that I do not "analyze" funds mentioned in this thread based on a single day's performance, or one month's performance, or 3 month's performance. When I provide information about funds, I try to provide 1 year and 3 year total return an…
"Old_Skeet">@dtconroe,
I have enjoyed reading and following your thread on open end bond funds (oef).
One of the things that I picked up on in reading this thread is that you are a momentum type investor and move among one fund, or funds, to an…
