While returns have been solid in 2025, at the index level, the purchases haven’t been as lucrative as they would have been if executed in other major stock markets. The S&P 500 has underperformed equity benchmarks in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Japan and China, both in local currency and in US dollar terms.
The MSCI World Index has advanced 15% this year and is currently on pace to outperform the S&P 500 for the first time since 2017. The MSCI All-Country World Index with US stocks excluded is outperforming more sharply, rising 22% compared with 13% for the S&P 500.

Conditions Favoring Foreign Equity Outperformance
Valuation Discounts: Foreign stocks are often priced at substantial discounts to US peers, sometimes at as much as a 35% discount, making them more attractive on a forward-return basis, especially during periods when US valuations are elevated.
Currency Effects: Periods of US dollar weakness tend to amplify returns for US investors holding foreign equities. Conversely, a strong dollar often dampens relative foreign returns.
Cyclical Macro Shifts: International equities benefit when global economic growth prospects outside the US are stable or improving, particularly when the US is facing recessions, stagflation, or policy uncertainty (e.g., tariff shocks, higher US interest rates).
Sector Leadership: Foreign markets with strong sector tailwinds (such as renewable energy in Europe or manufacturing in Asia) can outperform when those sectors are globally competitive.
Policy and Structural Reforms: Governments outside the US with fiscal capacity and willingness to stimulate growth can boost earnings for local stocks.
US Market Headwinds: Foreign equities tend to outperform when US equities are affected by factors such as policy-driven uncertainty, overvaluation, or a narrow concentration of gains among a few mega-cap stocks. [In regard to that last insight I'll add that we've boiled our market down from a nifty fifty to a mag7]

My question starts with why do you need a core bond fund?
I looked at CBLDX and IMO, it's better than all the funds above.
I checked from 1-1-2020 and it's number one.
For one year it's not number 1, but it's still among the top.
And it's the best risk/reward fund, AKA Sharpe.
It still pays about 5.3% yearly dist based on last month.
The manager's track record is known.

SECURE 2.0 introduced two notable changes to this system:
mandatory Roth treatment for catch-up contributions by high earners for taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2023
optional "super catch-up" contributions for participants ages 60 to 63 for taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2024

Due to concerns that plan sponsors and recordkeepers would be unable to comply with the mandatory Roth catch-up requirement by the original deadline, Notice 2023-62 provided a transition period that delayed the effective date until Jan. 1, 2026 (although, a later effective date may apply for collectively bargained plans).

No FICA Wages, No Roth Mandate. Participants without FICA wages (e.g., partners who have only self-employment income) are not subject to the Roth requirement.

I wouldn't laugh. HOSIX earned basically it's coupon return plus a bit of capital appreciation since inception. Just a bit better total return compared to BGHIX since inception. What gives HOSIX it's high Sharpe is the low SD...but in comparing HOSIX to other funds since inception its NAV hardly declined at all even when other funds experienced significant DD. I can only attribute that to my assumption that HOSIX's assets are hard to value and probably not marked down on a daily basis. I could be wrong, of course, and that's why I'm considering the fund. Another issue is the small number of holdings. It has 129 holdings compared to 864 at JSVIX. A few defaults in HOSIX could be impactful, again think ZEOIX.

Can SEQUX be far behind? It's up to 215~
Sequoia a whole 'nuther beast. While all OEFs can redeem in kind, Sequoia actually does this. As they wrote to the WSJ in 2016:

For many years Sequoia Fund has clearly disclosed that we can and do pay large redemptions with securities rather than cash ...
We redeem with shares to benefit our continuing shareholders, who might otherwise pay capital-gains taxes on the sale of appreciated stock that might be required for redemptions. By redeeming in kind, our 20,000 continuing Sequoia shareholders will pay lower capital-gains taxes in the future. Our goal is always to be tax-efficient and to do what is right for continuing shareholders. For a departing shareholder, there is no tax or other consequence to receiving stock instead of cash, aside from the minor inconvenience of having to sell a security upon receipt. We take care to always deliver stocks that trade in sufficient volume so that the exiting shareholder can sell them immediately without depressing the market for a particular security.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/sequoias-redemption-with-securities-is-tax-efficient-1460583731

For many years Sequoia Fund has clearly disclosed that we can and do pay large redemptions with securities rather than cash ...
We redeem with shares to benefit our continuing shareholders, who might otherwise pay capital-gains taxes on the sale of appreciated stock that might be required for redemptions. By redeeming in kind, our 20,000 continuing Sequoia shareholders will pay lower capital-gains taxes in the future. Our goal is always to be tax-efficient and to do what is right for continuing shareholders. For a departing shareholder, there is no tax or other consequence to receiving stock instead of cash, aside from the minor inconvenience of having to sell a security upon receipt. We take care to always deliver stocks that trade in sufficient volume so that the exiting shareholder can sell them immediately without depressing the market for a particular security.