PUCZX is a fund with several moving parts and why it's harder to predict every move. PIMIX is another fund like that. PUCZX is down 1.4% from its top while PIMIX is down "only" 0.7% but for 3 years PUCZX performance is better than most. BTW, IOFOX SD is higher than many but its performance is way better than most.
According to MFO databased when you search for Multi sector funds for 3 years + best martin ratio you get the following funds
Fund performace
ANFIX 5.3
IOFIX 10.6
SEMMX 5.1
BDKNX 5.7
ANGLX 4.2
PUCZX 7.2
ZEOIX 3.3
IISIX 5.2
TSIIX 4.9
JMUIX 6.2
RCTIX 7.8
DPFNX 6.2
ENIAX 3.9
JMSIX 6.1
MINC 2.9
PIMIX 5.7
For several years I have been using mainly a subsector of Multi which is securitized. The following funds have at least 85+% in it. DHEIX,SEMMX,VCFAX,DPFNX,IOFIX. In this category, SEMMX has the best performance for SD<1 and IOFIX has the best performance over 10% annually for SD< 2.7. There are only 2 Multi funds with performance over 7% RCTIX,PUCZX.

Below is what I posted on 1/31/2020
Performance..1 month...YTD as of 1/31/2020
• Multi
• PDIIX……1.5.....
• PUCZX….1.1..…
• JMUTX....1.15....
• JMSIX.....0.8……. (JGIAX)
• Multi(high % securitized)
• PIMIX.....0.8….
• EIXIX…..1.1….
• VCFAX...1.3...
• IOFIX.....1.8....
• SEMMX...1.3.... (ST duration, 3 year SD less than 1, over 30% IG bonds-good cash sub)
• DHEIX….0.6…..4.85 (ST duration, 3 year SD less than 1, over 80% IG bonds-good cash sub)
• HY Munis
• PHMIX…..2.1.....
• NHMAX....2.7.....
• MMHAX....2.0.…..
• OPTAX.....2.4....
• ORNAX….2.6……..
• GHYAX......2.1......
• GWMEX….2.6…... (IG Munis but BBB+A rating)
• NVHAX……1.7……. (ST duration HY Munis-lower SD than the above)
• Inter Term CORe/CORE PLUS
• USIBX.......2.1.....
• BCOIX......1.9…....
• PINCX……2.1..…….
• BND….......2.0…......
• Bank Loans/Floating rate
• EIFAX.......0.5.....
• Uncontrain/Nontrad
• IISIX..........0.7....
• PUTIX......-0.1….
• PAJZX……0.7….
• HY +EM
• HYG.........-0.5.....
• PHIYX.......0.....
• ZEOIX……0.3…….(ST HY, 3 year SD less than 1, good as cash sub)
• FNMIX……1.4…….
• Corporate
• PIGIX….…2.5..….
• Preferred
• PFINX…...1.5……
• OTHER
• FXAIX.…..0..…(SP500)
• PCI………0.9... (CEF)
Rating several good choices
Multisector+NonTrad-
SD less than 1=SEMMX,ANFIX,ANGLX,DHEIX…
SD less than 1.5=IISIX,TSIIX…
SD less than 2=VCFIX,/VCFAX,JMUIX/JMUTX,PIMIX…
SD less than 2.7=IOFIX,PUCZX,DPFNX,JMSIX
HY Muni-…
SD less than 2=NVHIX,WHYIX,ISHYX…
SD less than 3=NHMRX/NHMAX,GHYIX/GHYAX,MMHIX/MMHAX
Core+Core plus-…
SD less than 1.5=FIJEX…
SD less than 3=PINCX,GTO
Observations:
2020 OPENED WITH A BANG FOR BOND OEFs. Rates were down and many funds did nicely.
Multi- Another good month and especially for IOFIX. SEMMX did great for its low SD.
HY Munis continues to be a great category with 2+% for a month.
Inter term – did fantastic because rates were down
Bank loans – are lagging
Uncontrain/Nontrad-are lagging and PUTIX fell off the cliff
HY+EM – HYG lost money and EM did pretty well.
Corp – This category was on fire because of the rate cut.
===========================
Generic Views
My 2 favorite categories are Multi+HY Munis.
HY Munis-The funds that I usually invest in are NHMAX,OPTAX,ORNAX.
The Multi funds I’m interested are IOFIX,EIXIX,VCFAX,PIMIX,JMUTX,JMSIX/JGIAX,PUCZX but IOFIX is usually the leader. SEMMX did very well for a very low SD fund.
Investors who don't mind and understand the risk, may use SEMMX,DHEIX,ZEOIX as a "cash sub" LT, see 3 year SD less than 1(link). In taxable, you can use ST duration Munis. NVHAX duration is about 4 which is between ST to LT. I remember so many posts in 01/2019 about MM/CD that were paying just 2-2.5%.
============================
Any question or subject about bond mutual funds (not CEFs) is welcome in this thread. I will try and answer all of them.

For cash, I would look at SEMMX or DHEAX/DHEIX. SEMMX has lower rating bonds and better performance than DHEAX (Investment grade > 80%). I call these funds "cash sub" for investors who are willing to take a calculated risk.
See PorVis(link)
I hardly ever hold cash/MM/CD but that's what I do and what suites my goals.

DHEAX has been discussed well back into 2019 at M*. Not sure if you are referring to MFO only.
================================
Well, that's the thing about the internet...
According to this M* search, the first post about DHEAX was on 10/30/2019:
https://community.morningstar.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?q=dheix&noSynonym=false&collapse_discussion=true
According to this M* search, the first post about DHEIX was by yogi in a Barron's Summary on 04/29/2019:
https://community.morningstar.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?q=dheix&noSynonym=false&page=2&collapse_discussion=true
The majority of posts about them, here and there, have been in the last TWO months, yet posters like to celebrate them (and hundreds of other funds) as though they knew about them/owned them during the period they refer to them as the better/best.
So what's your point again?

DHEAX has been discussed well back into 2019 at M*. Not sure if you are referring to MFO only.
================================
Well, that's the thing about the internet...
According to this M* search, the first post about DHEAX was on 10/30/2019:
https://community.morningstar.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?q=dheix&noSynonym=false&collapse_discussion=true
According to this M* search, the first post about DHEIX was by yogi in a Barron's Summary on 04/29/2019:
https://community.morningstar.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?q=dheix&noSynonym=false&page=2&collapse_discussion=true
The majority of posts about them, here and there, have been in the last TWO months, yet posters like to celebrate them (and hundreds of other funds) as though they knew about them/owned them during the period they refer to them as the better/best.
So what's your point again?

Why so testy? I was only commenting. I have been considering DHEAX for much longer than a couple of months. One will never know how long it was discussed on M* because the forum changed less than a year ago. Cheers.

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 period. FD had mentioned both DHEAX and SEMIX as short term bond oefs, that were available to him at Schwab. When I moved my brokerage account from Fidelity to Schwab in early 2019, I took a close look at both DHEAX and SEMIX, but did not choose to invest in them at that time. Toward the end of 2019, when I was doing some end of year portfolio adjustments, I decided to put some money into DHEAX. I have been pleased with it so far, but I think there are a number of short term bond oefs in addition to DHEAX, that would be good choices for a conservative bond oef investor.

"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 relative safety of DBLSX.
Is Schwab selling DHEIX yet?
Edit: PSHYX is Pioneer Short Term Income fund.
Gary, thanks for the correction--I edited my post above. I had about 10 different short term bond oefs I had on a watchlist, and I accidentally referenced the fund as Putnam instead of Pioneer, when I was reviewing the information on them. Putnam also has a very good short term bond oef, but it was not one of the funds that Schwab had on its recommendation list.

DHEAX has been discussed well back into 2019 at M*. Not sure if you are referring to MFO only.
================================
Well, that's the thing about the internet...
According to this M* search, the first post about DHEAX was on 10/30/2019:
https://community.morningstar.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?q=dheix&noSynonym=false&collapse_discussion=true
According to this M* search, the first post about DHEIX was by yogi in a Barron's Summary on 04/29/2019:
https://community.morningstar.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?q=dheix&noSynonym=false&page=2&collapse_discussion=true
The majority of posts about them, here and there, have been in the last TWO months, yet posters like to celebrate them (and hundreds of other funds) as though they knew about them/owned them during the period they refer to them as the better/best.
So what's your point again?

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

DHEAX has been discussed well back into 2019 at M*. Not sure if you are referring to MFO only.

@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.