The Best Bond Funds for Uncertain Times - Barrons, October 2

hank

“The drastic changes in the fixed-income market in recent months—largely driven by the Federal Reserve’s signaling that interest rates will stay near zero until 2023, plus the central bank’s aggressive bond-buying—necessitates a reassessment of bond portfolios.”

Good read. The problem with bonds isn’t anything most of us don’t already know. Several money managers are cited, including Dan Fuss. I found it curious that Price’s Spectrum Income (RPSIX) made the top 10. Sure hasn’t impressed me lately (but still own a little). Dan Fuss’s income fund is allowed to hold up to 20% equities, and he seems to favor equities over bonds right now. Also discusses the the barbell approach to portfolio construction.

No guarantee you can get through the paywall. But here’s the link. https://www.barrons.com/articles/the-best-bond-funds-for-uncertain-times-51601679748

carew388

+1 hank TGHNX and MWHYX outperform DSIAX and BHYAX for total return and Sharpe ratio.

Crash

Thanks, Hank. And glad for the mention of RPSIX. What you say in reaction makes sense to me. I still own a lot of it. Ya, I'm locked out of Barron's.
Here's an explanation about the barbell strategy: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/013114/barbell-investment-strategy.asp

Soupkitchen

If you have Firefox or Opera browser you can install a javascript disabler as an extension. If you disable javascript you can access the articles, the NY Times etc.

msf

As Lewis and others have pointed out, story headlines can be, well, flaky. The print version of this story has the title "The Right Bond Funds for an Uncertain Future".

That print version may be available for free online via your local (or not so local) public library.

There are still virtues in reading print editions, even if you don't hold them in your hands. In this instance, one sees that the piece is just a sidebar to (or perhaps a "highlights" recap of) the writer's main article, "Building a Stronger Bond Portfolio". Or as it is entitled in the online edition, "How to Build the Best Bond Portfolio for Crazy Times".

https://www.barrons.com/articles/how-to-build-the-best-bond-portfolio-for-crazy-times-51601679774

hank

@msf - I’m essentially working with the “print” edition (delivered by Amazon Kindle). I’m thinking now I might have juxtaposed (ie “confused“) a couple related articles on bonds in the Oct. 2 edition in my original post. The one I’ve linked below quotes Fuss and others.

I think Barrons is a bargain at the $12.50 monthly I’m paying. (Some can get it for less, depending on format desired.) I figure if I can’t pocket an extra $150 a year with a couple smart moves from being better informed, what good am I? Would rather folks pay for what they read. Puts food on the plates of top quality journalists.

All that said, when I need to copy / paste something to the board (hard to do from a Kindle read), I can usually locate the article with the DuckGo browser. This might work better (top article). https://duckduckgo.com/?q=There's very little middleground these days and thats reflected in the bond market Barrons&ia=images

FD1000

msf said:

https://www.barrons.com/articles/how-to-build-the-best-bond-portfolio-for-crazy-times-51601679774

Pretty good rare article.

hank

FD1000 said:

msf said:

https://www.barrons.com/articles/how-to-build-the-best-bond-portfolio-for-crazy-times-51601679774

Pretty good rare article.

Ditto. If you ever wondered what the barbell approach looks like .....