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Money Market Funds or Bond Funds?

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Comments

  • I believe William Bernstein has stated he doesn't believe in investing in corporate bonds, only invest in treasuries if buying bonds. Thinking is that when economy tanks, stocks tank and corporate bonds have the characteristics of having 10% equities meaning they'll go down as well. I'm sure many on this board like FD and I forgot the gentleman name who periodically chimes in with very astute bond investing commentary would disagree but if you're looking for safety is it really worth the extra points with Corp bonds vs treasures etc?
  • Well, are you investing long-term, or trading? That might affect the response given. I am thinking of @Junkster re: the name you can't remember. Is it him?
  • Yes, exactly, Junkster is the gentleman I was referring to
  • edited January 18
    Crash said:

    Well, are you investing long-term, or trading? That might affect the response given. I am thinking of @Junkster re: the name you can't remember. Is it him?

    Of course.

    I have enough trouble keeping equity risk in check w/o adding to my concerns with high yield. It takes a real expert like Junkster to understand the risk level / valuations. Low quality bonds can make an income fund feel very safe and secure for long periods. When the s*** strikes the fan they can fall out of bed overnight. When the poor souls who own them wake up they wonder what happened to this “great” steady-eddy income fund. That said, I continue to sit on PRIHX which fell out of bed in ‘22 and rebounded nicely last year. I don’t think I’d ever sink money into it again - but wasn’t willing to bail out while it was under water.

  • "Low quality bonds can make an income fund feel very safe and secure for long periods. When the s*** strikes the fan they can fall out of bed overnight."

    We haven't heard much from JohnN in quite a while.
  • edited January 18
    Old_Joe said:

    We haven't heard much from JohnN in quite a while.

    @JohnN was among the kind folks who weighed in on my “burning” question - What’s the most you’d ever invest in a single stock?” last August.

    Here’s the thread

    Sounds like he had 15% in TSLA then. Hope it’s working for him.

    I continue to struggle with the same question. Recently I sold off two stocks, leaving just one that I believe is a good long term hold. Hours of backward looking research (covering more than 15 years). Anyhow … it’s at 5% and “diluted” with a like amount in a short term bond fund (playing name games here). So that combined they comprise a 10% portfolio sleeve. Intend to keep them in relative balance over time as a risk mitigation measure.
  • edited January 18
    So, what happened in March 2020?
    Covid spread around the world, and panic and uncertainty were everywhere, think about what happened to businesses, people, and commerce. All = black swan = sell everything.
  • Think @johnN is now driving a new Tesla with the huge run up on Tesla.

    Personally we will not buy EVs due to their poor reliability in cold weather. Lithium ion battery performance drops precipitously at low temperatures as many dead Tesla failed in recent freeze weather in northeast.
  • hank said:

    Crash said:

    Well, are you investing long-term, or trading? That might affect the response given. I am thinking of @Junkster re: the name you can't remember. Is it him?

    Of course.

    I have enough trouble keeping equity risk in check w/o adding to my concerns with high yield. It takes a real expert like Junkster to understand the risk level / valuations. Low quality bonds can make an income fund feel very safe and secure for long periods. When the s*** strikes the fan they can fall out of bed overnight. When the poor souls who own them wake up they wonder what happened to this “great” steady-eddy income fund. That said, I continue to sit on PRIHX which fell out of bed in ‘22 and rebounded nicely last year. I don’t think I’d ever sink money into it again - but wasn’t willing to bail out while it was under water.

    The very same logic at work right here, but re: TUHYX.
    Then, opportunistically, I plowed into PRCPX while it was still on the floor after having fallen out of bed, a sister fund in TRP of the same flavor: Junk. Specific performance in the portfolio by PRCPX looks better than a lot of my equity stuff right now. One of the better horses in the stable. In fact, both junk funds are doing nicely, though TUHYX is still underwater, but only ankle-deep at this point.
  • edited January 18
    FD1000 said:

    BaluBalu said:

    FD, Unless you are getting paid by RSIIX or otherwise chose to do their bidding, why are you trying to bury my question by replying with an obvious?

    There is no reason to think or assume that posters here asking questions or raising issues are incompetent. If those replying assume that posters asking are the same or more competent as the ones replying, the quality of replies are bound to elevate if not for anything those replying are likely to read the posts carefully / closely before drawing their bazookas.

    You asked, I answered. I didn't bury or assume anything. Pretty simple. You just made up the rest.
    Yes, you are well versed in the art of BS asymmetry. The only thing your BS answer did was to bury my question so it is no longer visible to others who may be interested in the question or know the answer. I would appreciate it if you could please not answer my posts in the future.
  • edited January 19
    Hi @hank, There are several posts in this forum comparing RSIIX and OSTIX, including posts by RSIIX manager himself. I simply wanted to know what caused RSIIX not to be able to protect investors during March 2020 as well as OSTIX did. The difference in their drawn downs was meaningful. I am fine if the manager or someone that knows the answer does not want to share. I would rather have the question go unanswered than be BSed by self appointed proxies, and I am sure you would understand that. I will also accept a private message if that is more convenient for someone.

    (Just an FYI, I am very familiar with the investing environment during Covid and GFC and the related US Federal Reserve and US Govt actions. I try not to pose questions to the forum for which I can get answers by googling and / or using a generative AI app.)
  • edited January 19
    BaluBalu said:

    I never got an answer for my perhaps impolite question asking why RSIIX was not able to protect investors better during March 2020.

    @BaluBalu -

    I won’t attempt to shed any more light on the financial environment in March 2020 as you are more than up to speed on that. And my apologies for even considering otherwise.. But where is the original “question” you are referring to? Was it in another thread somewhere? Whom specifically was it addressed to?

    @Soupkitchen’s initial inquiry is rather general. ISTM he wonders only in a general sense whether board members think bonds will outperform cash going forward. I think it’s safe to assume he / we know that cash is the more stable asset of the two. You have apparently chosen to add another component to the discussion. . That’s fine. Is there another thread somewhere with your question? If so, kindly provide a link. Or, maybe you could quote the message in its entirety again. Sorry for any extra trouble it might cause you.
  • I found the ? in another thread !

    "
    BaluBalu
    December 2023 Flag
    I never owned either.

    Does anyone remember why RSIVX lost quite a bit more than OSTIX during the Covid crash? What about RSIVX that prevented it from taking necessary actions to lose less? RSIVX AUM is about 1/10th of OSTIX - so size was not a constraint.
  • edited January 20
    Thanks @Derf. That helps.

    However, I get the sense this goes beyond the simple question in your referenced quotation: (“Does anyone remember why …?”)

    Here’s a couple excerpts from Morningstar’s analysis of RSIVX:

    “David K. Sherman brings over 13 years of portfolio management experience to the table. It is encouraging to see that the strategies managed by Sherman have outperformed on a risk-adjusted basis, with an average Morningstar Rating of 4.7. Isolating the analysis to the fund at hand, David Sherman has delivered a mixed track record, leading the average category peer but lagging the category benchmark for the past 10-year period ….

    “Undergoing some change … Co-founder and co-chief investment officer Mitch Rubin departed the firm in November 2022 on the heels of weak performance across the firm’s equity strategies. Meanwhile, RiverPark’s assets under management has declined 35% since December 2020 as outflows across most of its products have been persistent in recent years.”

    -

    Since Mr. Sherman ( @davidsherman ) sometimes posts here, I’m assuming @BaluBalu’s question is intended for him. ISTM an informal / mostly anonymous / lightly moderated forum like this may not be the appropriate setting for an extended dialogue with a fund manager. Likely, the reasons the fund did not meet @BaluBalu’s expectations are complex. I suspect they may have already been addressed in the fund’s Annual / Semi-Annual reports from that period. In the absence of such, than it would seem appropriate for past or current clients to contact Mr. Sherman or one of his subordinates directly.

    Link to M* https://www.morningstar.com/funds/xnas/rsivx/quote
  • Hi @hank, Thanks for taking the time and effort to consider my question.
  • FWIW to the naysayers of CDs, my CD ladder has outperformed gem fund RPHIX for the past 3, 5 and 10 years with no market risk and guaranteed, FDIC'd interest payments.
  • BTW RPHIX lost considerably less ( 3%) than either OSTIX ( 10%) or RSIIX ( 15%) during Covid panic.

    I wonder if the difference has to do with the necessity of valuing infrequently traded bonds by proxy. So when everyone sells, that value has to be used instead of the previous proxy
  • Maybe consider Ultra Short Duration mutual funds as well
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