@Gary1952, I believe Diamond Hill funds have a transfer fee at Schwab. One reason I don't consider them.

DHEAX is NTF $2500 min, with short term redemption fee and it appears that DHEIX is not sold by SCHWAB. But I would guess it would have the $49.95 fee attached if it was sold.

Correction (as long as the above analysis is correct) : DHEAX WAS the better fund.
The daily obsession with some posters (especially one) looking back at prior performance and deeming a given fund as the better/best is mind-numbing.
Had a poster, THREE YEARS AGO, stated that DHEAX will perform better than another similar fund over the next three years, and it did, now that would be something.
But truth be told, the first post about DHEIX/DHEAX that I EVER SAW on on ANY board by posters who now hail it as the better/best over the last three years was made within the last TWO months.
The last TWO months.
----------------------------------
To wit...
This MFO search history for DHEAX shows for that VintageFreak and willmatt72 posted about it in April-June 2019.
ALL other posts about it, including by those who hail it NOW as the better/best, were made between Dec 2019 and today.
https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/search?Search=dheax
This MFO search history for DHEIX shows for that willmatt72 posted about it in Feb 2018.
ALL other posts about it, including by those who hail it NOW as the better/best, were made between Dec 2019 and today.
https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/search?Search=dheix

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 relative safety of DBLSX.
Is Schwab selling DHEIX yet?
Edit: PSHYX is Pioneer Short Term Income fund.

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 Schwab recommends is:
1. SDMZX, a short term bond oef from PGIM. This fund has a BBB portfolio rating, has a M* risk of above average, has a standard deviation of 1.15, a duration of 3.5 and expense ratio of .39%. Its portfolio has 36.4% in securitized holdings, 20.25% in corporate holdings, 19.4% in government holdings, and about 14.5% in derivatives, and about 9% in cash and equivalents. Its 1and 3 year total return of 6.47%/3.85%.
2. PSHYX, a short term bond oef from Pioneer. This fund has a BBB portfolio, has a M* risk of low, has a standard deviation of .79, and a duration of 1.76, and an expense ratio of .46%. Its portfolio has 62% in securitized holdings, 29% in corporate holdings, 6% in government holdings, and 3% in cash and equivalents. Its 1and 3 year total return of 4.87/2.81.
Comments: It appears PSHYX is very low risk and has some similarities to DBLSX. SDMZX is a higher risk short term bond oef, but is well diversified with a low standard deviation, but its total return appears to be related to its longer duration holdings of 3.5, which is much longer than most funds in this category. SDMZX has a higher than average yield distribution, which makes it more attractive for dividend harvesters. For me personally, SDMZX is a very interesting option in this category. I sold DBLSX at the end of 2019 because I wanted a little better total return, and so I replaced it with DHEAX. I do think SDMZX provides that better total return and looks like a nice complement to DHEAX.

@MikeW: "DHEIX has an average annual return of about 4% and a MAXDD of only 0.2%. Looks like a very interesting fund. SD is only 0.7."
Also, DHEIX has only been negative one month. I shares were down 17bps in November 2016 while the benchmark was down 41bps. There have been 41 full calendar months of performance since inception (August 2016 through Dec 2019. The securitized debt in the fund is ABS 62%, all IG. The overall credit rating of the fund is 80% IG. Its duration is 1.43 years.

As a generic rule, I would invest in MBS before I would invest in HY. MBS/Securitized is where great managers have great risk/reward + you get higher distributions which is what many retirees want/need. The following funds have a high % in Securitized DHEIX,PIMIX,VCFAX,IISIX,SEMMX,IOFIX,EIXIX.
I also have a hard time finding data on RPHIX on their site such as duration and breakdown of bond categories and rating. I don't trust M* numbers.

@FD1000

DHEIX is the only one with 80+% in investment-grade rating. I can't buy DHEIX at Schwab but I can buy DHEAX with no fees.

I'm pleased that someone mentioned DHEIX at this point in this discussion and its performance. It has outperformed RPHIX lifetime, 3yr., 2yr., and 1yr. (Also, I note that it has a negative correlation, although a small one, to RPHIX.) I do own DHHIX, the HY offering, and have been considering DHEIX for purchase. Both funds are $20/TF at Vanguard.

I put more emphasis on the last 3 years. When I compare RPHIX,ZEOIX,SEMMX,DHEIX(link)
RPHIX has inferior numbers to the other 3.
DHEIX is the only one with 80+% in investment-grade rating. I can't buy DHEIX at Schwab but I can buy DHEAX with no fees.

"fundly">@dtconroe.
I have thoroughly, again thoroughly, enjoyed your post and was able to evaluate some of your named funds to add to those I currently keep in my portfolio. Each post I believe has value to someone and some repetition is no problem at all, as in the end,the next post usually has some newly added value or information. Do not be offended by any ones opinion about your methodology, as it is only an opinion. The only true arbiter of this forum is Dr. Snowball and his minions. If it has to do with investing keep it coming!! Dr. Snowball only rarely gets involved and typically only with character assault issues.
I am retired also, and keep a 30% equity, 50% bond 20% cash portfolio and use a barbel type philosophy with the portfolio, with aggressive funds balanced by conservative ones both OEF's and etf's. One of my favorite HY Muni funds is VWALX. On my Wells Fargo platform this Admiral fund has a minimum purchase of $0. Yup. $0 instead of the 50K at Vanguard.This could be available similarly at certain other brokerages. If not VWAHX is available with a $3000 minimum and an ER of .17% This is a HY classified Muni fund but in actuality is mostly investment grade with an average BBB bond portfolio and with great metrics for what it is. Highly rated by M*.
I liked what I saw with DHEIX and at Vanguard it is available with only a $2500 minimum. Even with the $20 purchase fee, with a reasonably sized purchase it is far cheaper to keep for a year than DHEAX which is ntf. I made the purchase in my Vanguard account.
I do not post but rarely ,so keep up the good work and welcome to the board.
fundly
fundly, very encouraging post. Thanks for letting us know what you are doing and the reasons. Sounds like you have a good handle on what you are doing and could be very helpful in sharing your knowledge and experience with other posters. I look forward to other posts from you in the future. One of the things I personally get from posts like yours, is what is available through other brokerages that I am not familiar with. I envy you being able to get DHEIX so inexpensively at Vanguard.

@dtconroe.
I have thoroughly, again thoroughly, enjoyed your post and was able to evaluate some of your named funds to add to those I currently keep in my portfolio. Each post I believe has value to someone and some repetition is no problem at all, as in the end,the next post usually has some newly added value or information. Do not be offended by any ones opinion about your methodology, as it is only an opinion. The only true arbiter of this forum is Dr. Snowball and his minions. If it has to do with investing keep it coming!! Dr. Snowball only rarely gets involved and typically only with character assault issues.
I am retired also, and keep a 30% equity, 50% bond 20% cash portfolio and use a barbel type philosophy with the portfolio, with aggressive funds balanced by conservative ones both OEF's and etf's. One of my favorite HY Muni funds is VWALX. On my Wells Fargo platform this Admiral fund has a minimum purchase of $0. Yup. $0 instead of the 50K at Vanguard.This could be available similarly at certain other brokerages. If not VWAHX is available with a $3000 minimum and an ER of .17% This is a HY classified Muni fund but in actuality is mostly investment grade with an average BBB bond portfolio and with great metrics for what it is. Highly rated by M*.
I liked what I saw with DHEIX and at Vanguard it is available with only a $2500 minimum. Even with the $20 purchase fee, with a reasonably sized purchase it is far cheaper to keep for a year than DHEAX which is ntf. I made the purchase in my Vanguard account.
I do not post but rarely ,so keep up the good work and welcome to the board.
fundly

Bobpa: "Any opinion on LALDX or HOBEX? Thank you for all your input." .
Bobpa, I owned LALDX for years through an employment retirement menu--I considered it a good, relatively low risk, fund, with a large AUM (likely due to its being marketed through company retirement plans). I think Lord Abbot is somewhat more aggressive in their asset management approach for this fund, compared to funds like DBLSX and DHEIX. I think it can be a good fund for ballast portfolio roles, and for a conservative bond oef investor, it looks like a very viable option.
Regarding HOBEX, it is a relatively new fund (about 3 years old), generally looks to be a High Risk/High Return fund for its category. Focuses heavily on Corporate bonds, and with a bit higher volatility than most of its peers. I don't like its very high Expense Ratio (1.81) and I don't care for a relatively steep peak to trough loss in 2018 for this category of funds. It would not fit my criteria for investing, but certainly has had a high return for its category in its 3 year existence. It is not a fund I follow, not a company I am familiar with, so I personally would be careful with what I know.

Just my opinion based on what is available at Schwab brokerage--not sure about other brokerages, but here are some of the lower volatility, low risk bond oefs you might consider for your taxable account:
Short Term Investment Grade bond oefs--DBLSX/DLSNX is a very solid, very conservative fund, which I periodically use as a very safe haven option. DHEAX/DHEIX is very similar to DBLSX/DLSNX, but with a bit better TR and yield. FIJEX is a hidden gem short term bond fund, in the institutional class but cheap to buy, but holds lower class investment grade bond oefs that has produced more volatility but higher TR than most short term bond oefs.
Low risk nontraditional bond oefs--MWCRX/MWCIX is one of my favorites and cheap to buy. CUBAX is very similar to MWCRX and cheap to buy. PMZIX/PMZAX is an excellent fund from PIMCO, with a solid TR history, good yield, and PIMCO investment expertise--it is not as tax efficient as some funds buy very conservative. SEMMX/SEMPX is a low volatililty, very consistent TR fund, with higher TR and yield than almost any of the lower volatility funds available--holdings are more in the HY category but excellent management history to control risk with solid TR. IISIX/ISIAX is a great TR fund, very similar to more aggressive multisector bond oefs, but pays a solid yield--not as good tax efficiency as other nontraditional bond oefs.
Short Duration HY bond oefs--ZEOIX is an excellent fund, and institutional class fund, but cheap to buy at Schwab--very consistent and low risk performance history. AAHMX is another excellent fund, with a slightly better TR history. SSTHX is another good fund.
Short Term Muni Bond funds, with emphasis on investment grade bonds: BTMIX is my favorite, but other good funds are VMPAX, and ORSTX.
HY short duration Muni Bond oefs: NVHAX and SDHAX are my favorites and much lower risk than most HY Muni Bond oefs. NVHAX had a significant peak to trough performance in the 2015/2016 meltdown, but since then has been solid as a low risk Muni option.

MikeW: " Have you evaluated DHEIX as an option? It has an average annual return of about 4% and a MAXDD of only 0.2%. Looks like a very interesting fund. SD is only 0.7."
Hi Mike--In my taxable account, I own DHEAX, a different share class of DHEIX, and have been very pleased with it. I am not able to purchase the DHEIX share class at Schwab. I also own MWCIX and PUTIX, which I also am pleased with. My other 2 major holdings in my taxable account are DBLSX and BTMIX, but I am in the process of determining whether I want to replace them with funds that I think will produce higher total return, with slightly more risk.

@dtconroe. Have you evaluated DHEIX as an option? It has an average annual return of about 4% and a MAXDD of only 0.2%. Looks like a very interesting fund. SD is only 0.7.

The following 2 great funds SEMMX+DHEIX invest mainly in securitized bonds (just like FPFIX) + ST duration + have better performance + better risk attributes. See this (link) results since the inception of FPFIX

A couple other bond funds that seem to be holding up fairly well during this rising rate environment: BSIIX, GILPX, DHEIX, ASDAX and ISIAX. They all seem to be shorter in duration and lean toward being more credit sensitive.

Just curious if this fund popped up on anyone's radar, as it looks pretty good for a new-ish bond fund. I found it NTF at Schwab but not Fidelity or Vanguard. Very good yield, expenses not too bad and good performance through this most recent messy market. The one-year chart looks fairly tame, too. It doesn't appear to have a low quality portfolio, either. Thoughts?